It's been 50 years since Army Specialist 4 Gary Colletti finished his tour in Vietnam as one of the early U.S. military advisors in the rapidly escalating conflict. Today he’s back in “service,” helping veterans of all wars receive the benefits they earned from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. [more]
Released 11/10/15 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
The Veterans Administration is a complex government organization, and the rules are constantly changing. But veterans don’t have to maneuver the system alone when looking for information about benefits and claims. They can turn to an accredited veterans service officer like Terry Gendron, who recently began working at the district office of Rep. Mark Keller at 81 Walnut Bottom Road, Shippensburg. [more]
Released 11/3/15 | Tags:
The National Law School Veterans Clinic Coalition (“Coalition”) is hosting a conference in Washington, D.C., on November 2-3, 2015. Registration is currently closed. The Coalition is a collaborative effort of many of the nation’s law school legal clinics dedicated to addressing the unique needs of U.S. military veterans. [more]
Released 10/31/15 | Tags:
The Veterans Clinic at the University of Missouri School of Law will host its second annual symposium, “Traumatic Brain Injury: Lessons Learned from Our Nation’s Athletes and Military,” that will feature professionals knowledgeable in veterans’ issues including the effects of traumatic brain injury. These professionals will discuss the relationship between injuries observed in athletes and in our nation’s service members. NVLSP attorney to speak. [more]
Released 10/29/15 | Tags:
Profile of attorney R. Brendan Fee, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Fee provides advice and advocacy services to veterans through the National Veterans Legal Services Program. [more]
Released 9/29/15 | Tags:
The limits and lags in medical care and disability benefits for veterans are well established. Look no further than a federal lawsuit filed in April by combat-injured veterans forced to wait up to two years or more for required records from the VA before they could apply for benefits. Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," has repeatedly called out the agency for its red tape and backlogs of claims. As The Huffington Post recently reported, nearly one-third of the 847,000 veterans with pending applications for health care through the VA have already died. But perhaps no population of veterans are more frustrated by VA denials and delays than those who believe they were sickened by environmental exposures during their service. [more]
Released 7/21/15 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits
To understand the predicament of World War II veterans exposed to mustard gas, take a look at what happened to another set of American veterans who were exposed to a different toxic chemical. Last month, NPR reported that some of those World War II vets are still fighting for disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs because the agency says they don't have enough proof to substantiate their claims. Alan Oates says that's the same response Vietnam War veterans started receiving from the VA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. [more]
Released 7/16/15 | Tags:
Following an extensive, nation-wide executive search, the Executive Board of The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program (The Veterans Consortium) today announced that it has appointed Edmund M. Glabus the group's new Executive Director. Glabus was unanimously endorsed by the Executive Board, and assumed his post on June 19, 2015. The Veterans Consortium was founded in 1992 by The American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, National Veterans Legal Services Program, and Paralyzed Veterans of America, in response to a request by the Court and from a Congressionally-created program administered by the Legal Services Corporation. [more]
Released 7/9/15 | Tags:
Coffee? Check. Pastry? Check. Advice on filing for disability benefits with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs? Check. A Starbucks in Williamsburg, Virginia, lists that last menu item courtesy of a collaboration with the College of William and Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law's Lewis B. Puller Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic. The clinic holds weekly benefits counseling and outreach programs for veterans at the coffeehouse — a pilot program dubbed Military Mondays that organizers hope to expand nationwide with the help of other law schools. [more]
Released 7/3/15 | Tags:
New rules posted to the federal register on Thursday make it possible for American service members exposed to Agent Orange years after the Vietnam War to be awarded compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for related health problems. But it is unlikely that many of the now-eligible, dioxin-sickened veterans who previously applied for compensation will have an active date-of-claim any earlier than tomorrow -- June 19, 2015 -- when the rule change takes effect. [more]
Released 6/18/15 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits