Blog

In Beaudette v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Court of Veterans Claims recently determined that veterans denied caregiver benefits could appeal through the BVA in a landmark decision that I have attached for your review. In doing so, the court certified Andy Legovlan of Paul Hastings LLP and Amanda Pertusi of Public Counsel’s Center for […]

As a teenager, I remember my Dad – a combat veteran of fierce fighting in North Africa, Sicily, Anzio, Salerno, and Monte Cassino- pouring three glasses of single malt with his friend “Snake” on Memorial Day in a toast to their fallen friends. One for each of them, one for those who never came back.  […]

Senator Jon Tester unveiled his groundbreaking COST of War Act yesterday- a bill that recognizes the federal government’s responsibility to provide health care and disability compensation to veterans fighting the effects of toxic exposure connected to their military service. This legislation would allow all veterans who were at risk of toxic exposure to obtain immediate […]

If you served on Guam from 1958-1980, the NVLSP and the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic have updated their groundbreaking White Paper showing that it is “as likely as not” that veterans who served in Guam from 1958 to 1980 were exposed to Agent Orange and other dioxin-containing herbicides.   This White Paper provides […]

TODAY, the VA announced that it would begin automatically adjudicating previously- denied Blue Water Navy Herbicide Exposure claims under the court order issued on November 5, 2020, by the U.S. District Court for Northern California in Nehmer v. Department of Veterans Affairs.  This review will occur automatically and does not require veterans or eligible survivors […]

The DOD has announced the formation of a new board of appeals for service members with separation dates on or after December 20, 2019. The Discharge Appeal Review Board (DARB) will provide a final review of discharge or dismissal characterization upgrade requests when petitioners have exhausted all available administrative remedies at the Discharge Review Board […]

For those of you who have not yet been provided a copy of the DOD 2020 edition of the Wounded, Ill, and Injured Compensation Benefits Handbook, I have attached a copy for you to download and share with anyone who might benefit from it.  Here it is: DoD-WII-Compensation-and-Benefits-Handbook_October-2020.12.20

For those of you who may have missed this development, the AFBCMR has now gone to portal submissions. This means that you can submit petitions for relief and supplemental documents electronically, as well as ascertaining your case status that way. Here is a link to the portal link for your use- https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2560800/new-air-force-review-boards-agency-website-launched/

For all disabled veterans and their advocates, I have attached a link to the March 2021 Update from Ms. Cheryl Mason, the Chairperson of the Board of Veterans Appeals.   In addition to an overview of the Board’s current caseload and processing times, it provides vital information regarding uploading documents through the Centralized Mail Portal, procedural […]

The VA has now complied with Congressional orders to repost the DBQ exam questionnaires online so that your private providers can complete them to provide much-needed evidence to support your VA claims.   For your convenience, I have posted the link to the new DBQ forms here: https://tinyurl.com/2hxb6k4u