Author Archives: John Gately

If you are placed on the TDRL for PTSD, you may expect to have your case reviewed within a few months of your initial retirement date. Even in the age of COVID-19, these reviews are still happening promptly.   I have been receiving calls regularly over the past few weeks from TDRL members in receipt of […]

For your convenience, I have attached a document containing all of the key contact information for you to track the VA hearing schedule as it impacts your case. More importantly, it reviews what is necessary for you to schedule a virtual hearing that will help those already scheduled for hearings to stay on track by […]

COVID19 DOD Accessions Update- And, in a classic example of the “walking it back” Washington two-step, it appears that the DOD is considering waivers for COVID19 patients who were not hospitalized due to the virus.  Stay tuned for more details to be posted here as the waiver policy and criteria are finalized.  https://bit.ly/2YIuNHw    

The DOD plans to permanently disqualify all prospective enlistees or officer candidates who are diagnosed COVID19 survivors- no info yet on whether waivers will be granted.  Check back for updates, as I will post any info on potential waivers as it becomes available. See the attached link for details.  https://bit.ly/2YH13uL    

Due to the COVID19 pandemic, many VA providers have been tasked with performing C&P exams by telemedicine.  However, they currently have no way of performing objective assessments by telemedicine- i.e., range of motion in your joints, length of scars, etc.  So, they are merely writing “unable to perform due to COVID19” for any exams requiring […]

On Monday, the Secretary of Defense extended travel restrictions until June 30th- for disability hearings, this means that in-person hearings will not occur until later this summer, if at all. As per my previous post, the United States Army has opted to mandate that hearings will be telephonic for the foreseeable future. The real issue […]

The Army PEB recently decided to convert all pending FPEB hearings to telephonic proceedings to comply with DOD limitations on domestic travel due to the COVID19 pandemic.  Here is how I will respond to this development. First, while the regulations allow for telephonic proceedings, I will file a reconsideration request seeking an “on the record” […]

Faced with a mounting backlog of Compensation and Pension (“C&P”) exams in IDES cases, the VA has decided to conduct as many of these exams as possible via a videoconference call.  This bizarre development has caught both VA examiners and the PEB system off-guard, with no one knowing how to conduct objective physical exams by […]

I have had several inquiries this week from prospective clients who have requested formal hearings in IDES cases, only to be told that these hearings will be scheduled for July, August, or September due to the COVID19 situation.  While this may change soon, enlisted members and probationary officers whose service agreements will expire while awaiting […]

As our nation battles the COVID19 pandemic, I pondered how service members rendered unfit for further service due to residuals of COVID19 will be rated in the disability process.   Since the VASRD does not contain a schedular rating for this new disorder, we may expect that it will initially be rated by analogy to COPD, […]