Bill Minnix got some good news on March 1. He was told that a Department of Veterans Affairs hearing in Portland recently had decided his service from February to July in 1973 in the U.S. Air Force is considered honorable for VA purposes. The hearing was focused on the character of Minnix’ discharge from the military in 1973, when he was given a less than honorable discharge. [more]
Released 3/8/16 | Tags:
In early 2014, as his Oklahoma Air National Guard unit ramped up for a Middle East deployment, Senior Airman Jesse Daniels noticed he wasn't feeling well. He got tired after just a few minutes on his feet. He couldn't walk more than 20 feet without getting winded and feeling his heart racing. He never made it to the Middle East. But Daniels still found himself in a fight for his life. Eventually Daniels, now 27, would be diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. [more]
Released 3/7/16 | Tags:
A Connecticut veteran who has spent years trying to gain Agent Orange benefits for veterans who served in Korea in 1967 has persuaded the Veterans of Foreign Wars and two other veterans’ organizations to take his case before Congress. [more]
Released 3/5/16 | Tags:
Four U.S. senators are calling on the Army to stop kicking out soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and have been diagnosed with mental health problems or traumatic brain injuries — effective immediately. [more]
Released 2/1/16 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
NVLSP, The American Legion, law professors and former VA attorneys filed briefs urging the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to allow class action lawsuits to be filed at the court. Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal. [more]
Released 12/30/15 | Tags:
Over its 35 years, the National Veterans Legal Services Program has helped veterans obtain $4.5B in benefits. Its benefit reception honored people including NVLSP founder David Addlestone, who's spent his entire career fighting for veterans' rights. [more]
Released 12/23/15 | Tags:
NVLSP and The American Legion filed briefs urging the Supreme Court to hear the case of a military child whose medical malpractice suit was dismissed because her injuries stemmed from complications during birth from her active duty mother. Read the full article at MilitaryTimes.com [more]
Released 12/21/15 | Tags:
The National Veterans Legal Services Program has worked pro bono to help veterans obtain more than $4.5B in benefits since it was founded in 1980. At the Mayflower recently, the seventh annual benefit reception honored Rep. Jeff Miller, David Addlestone, General Electric and Sidley Austin. [more]
Released 11/25/15 | Tags: Supporters
NVLSP's Ron Abrams talks with Federal News Radio on Michael Missal's nomination to be the new Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. When asked what advocates think a new IG should be doing Abrams says: “He needs to hire the right people to delve into the VA and he has to have enough support from the administration so that he can expose this and have reassurances that they will act,” said Ron Abrams, joint executive director at the National Veterans Legal Services Program. “That’s what we’re hoping for. He has to be competent enough to hire people with the right background. He has to hire people who understand the purpose of this. It’s a sacred trust. The VA is supposed to take care of those who risked their lives for us.” Abrams, a former legal consultant to the VA’s Compensation and Pension Service (C&P), said an ideal inspector general would be someone “who knows how to turn over rocks and look for bad things, can hire people to do that, and enough backing to change what is a corrupt bureaucracy. We want somebody honest, and it looks like this guy’s honest. We want someone who will hire people with enough knowledge that they won’t be hoodwinked or deceived by bureaucrats in the VA.” [more]
Released 11/17/15 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
The United States sets aside one day each year—this day—to honor the women and men who have served our nation by swearing an oath and donning the military uniform. Our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen often encounter tragedy and violence on an incomprehensible scale and return home carrying the terrible weight of those experiences. [more]
Released 11/11/15 | Tags: