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NVLSP News Articles
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
It used to be that a veteran could literally put a name and phone number on a piece of paper, write a line or two about wanting to file a claim, and the Department of Veterans Affairs would be responsible for getting in touch to help fill out a form. The start date began when that first correspondence was received and the veteran had a year to finish sending the information. Now back-of-the-envelope filing is no more. As of March 2015, claims must follow a set of new requirements and be on specific forms to be considered. [more]
Released 5/21/15 | Tags:
One of NVLSP’s jobs is to make sure the VA pays the survivors of Vietnam veterans the disability benefits the veteran is owed due to the veteran’s exposure to Agent Orange. [more]
Released 5/19/15 | Tags:
Amy Odom, the director of litigation for the National Veterans Legal Services Program, said D.C. is great place for attorneys to network and that it’s obviously more immune to an economic downturn in the industry. [more]
Released 5/19/15 | Tags: Staff
Two more veterans organizations are going to court against the Veterans Affairs Department over the agency's decision to end its historic informal claims process. [more]
Released 5/8/15 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
Two more national veterans groups have filed suit to stop a new Department of Veterans Affairs disability claims process, the second such suit filed since March. [more]
Released 5/7/15 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits