While the VA acknowledges a link between exposure to Agent Orange and cancers such as Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, it says the evidence isn’t there for esophageal cancer and 34 other diseases that Vietnam veterans have sought to have added to the list of recognized, service-related illnesses. [more]
Released 5/26/18 | Tags: Agent Orange
Since their first encounter with nuclear weapons tests in the 1940s, U.S. servicemembers have been exposed to atomic radiation, toxic defoliants and choking burn pits, among other contaminations that, while slower-acting, are often just as lethal as bullets and bombs. In each of these situations, the government response to afflicted veterans’ needs for information, acknowledgment and health care has been even slower – decades of denial, followed by begrudging but limited acceptance and bureaucratic skepticism. The American Legion has been at the forefront of advocating on behalf of these veterans, from the Legion service officer in Iowa who helped Orville Kelly win the first atomic veteran’s claim, to the continuing fight for Agent Orange benefits and today’s work on behalf of post-9/11 veterans. [more]
Released 5/21/18 | Tags: Agent Orange
The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP and on Facebook) is offering a free online app for veterans at http://app.nvlsp.org. It is designed to help veterans and their advocates identify the VA disability benefits to which they may be entitled. By answering a series of questions, the specific disability benefits claims that could be filed with the VA are identified. The app is available through the Apple app store and Google Play. [more]
Released 5/18/18 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP and on Facebook) is offering a free online app for veterans at http://app.nvlsp.org. It is designed to help veterans and their advocates identify the VA disability benefits to which they may be entitled. By answering a series of questions, the specific disability benefits claims that could be filed with the VA are identified. The app is available through the Apple app store and Google Play. [more]
Released 5/18/18 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
Nicole Cogswell’s dreams unraveled three years ago in a sick hall in Fort Lee, Virginia. You’re done, she recalled an Army doctor telling her. Her military career was over. She should be discharged. [more]
Released 4/30/18 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned a 19-year precedent that denied disability claims for pain without connection to a specific medical diagnosis or event. Veteran advocates estimate that over 11,000 disability claims have been denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which asserted “pain alone is not a disability for the purpose of VA disability compensation.” [more]
Released 4/27/18 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
Rochelle Bobroff of the National Veterans Legal Service Program says much has changed in recent years concerning benefits for military veterans. The program offers free legal help for veterans seeking discharge upgrades, applications for military medical retirement, benefit appeals and other services. [more]
Released 4/25/18 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
Free legal help is available to veterans and active-duty personnel seeking benefits. That was the message National Veterans Legal Services Program delivered to 14 people at the Washington County Commission on Aging on Wednesday. "There are tens of thousands of veterans who don't have all of the disability benefits that they should have," Rochelle Bobroff, the organization's director of pro bono services, said before the program. [more]
Released 4/25/18 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
A recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia provided insight into the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system’s financial health and raised more questions. The case, National Veterans Legal Services Program et al. v. United States of America, 1:16-cv-00745, is a dispute over PACER funds. The plaintiffs claim the fees charged by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts exceeded the amount that could be collected under the E-Government Act of 2002. [more]
Released 4/18/18 | Tags: Class Actions
National Veterans Legal Services Program’s (NVLSP) New APP helps Veterans Analyze Eligibility for Benefits. The application helps veterans, with or without the assistance of a veteran’s advocate, determine specific VA benefits to which they are likely entitled. [more]
Released 4/17/18 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits