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Archive for April, 2011
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Soldiers are awarded Purple Hearts for being injured in combat, but not every injury qualified soldiers for the award. Recent scientific evidence concluded soldiers suffering even very short episodes of dizziness or headaches can be evidence of concussions. Accepting these findings, the Army is going to make more battlefield concussions adequate injuries for the Purple Heart award. Thousands of soldiers previously denied the Purple Heart will now be able to wear it on their uniform.
Although concussions have been on the qualifying injury list for Purple Hearts for decades, the decision to grant the award always rested with the battlefield commander or doctor. Many of those people operated under the “no blood no Purple Heart” mentality, essentially ruling out most soldiers with concussions.
The Army’s new rules take out the guess work and supply much more definitive terms for what will qualify soldiers for being awarded a Purple Heart. Soldiers are required to receive medical care as part of being given the award, and under the new rules that can be as little as rest and Tylenol.
Symptoms of concussions include:
- momentary loss of consciousness or memory;
- dizziness;
- headache; and
- nausea or light sensitivity.
Since 2001, more than 80,000 American soldiers have suffered concussions, and many of those have happened in combat. Compare that to the 26,000 Purple Hearts issued for other wounds in that same time period. It is not known how many of those 80,000 concussions will qualify for the Purple Heart.
Not every branch has the same standards for the award. This is significant because being awarded a Purple Heart means that soldier has priority enrollment for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits as well as co-pays for VA hospital care.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), head injury, Purple Heart, Veterans disability, Veterans' Benefits
Posted in General, Veterans' Benefits, Veterans' Disability | No Comments »
Monday, April 11th, 2011
Finishing an enlistment and returning to the civilian world can a stressful transition for many veterans, particularly when there is no reliable support system in place and no employment prospects. The transition can seem like an overwhelming prospect. Archi’s Acres is a small farm in Southern California helping veterans to not only make the transition to the civilian world, but to learn valuable employment skills at the same time.
Colin Archipley is a Marine veteran with three tours of Iraq under his belt. He is also the owner of Archi’s Acres, a 3-acre farm strategically situated in the San Diego hills, close to Camp Pendleton. Archipley is an organic farmer, and he is teaching the veterans working his farm how to plant and harvest food in a sustainable agricultural environment.
There is more to the farm than farming, however. Veterans leaving the military need more than a paycheck in the civilian world. Just as the military gave them a purpose, they need one in their civilian life a well. According to Archipley, this farm does that very thing. The Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training Course is 6-weeks long and Camp Pendleton’s Transition Assistance Program has given its stamp of approval.
Many veterans may never have considered farming. Getting outdoors, working on the land among other veterans attempting to adjust to civilian life serves to change many minds, however. Just as many Marines enlisted to serve their country, being able to produce sustainable, organic food serves their community. This service has been recognized for its value and organizations like the Farmer-Veteran Coalition provides scholarships so some veterans can attend the program.
Organic farming is not an easy career, which is why many veterans will succeed. For many former Marines, launching a career in organic farming will just serve as their next challenge, and one that will be overcome, providing them a much needed sense of purpose.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Veterans disability, veterans education, Veterans Employment
Posted in General | No Comments »
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
More than 300 veterans took to the slopes last week while competing in the 25th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Village, Colorado. The Winter Sports Clinic provides injured veterans and those who have just recently become injured or disabled the opportunity to competitively take part in rehabilitative and adaptive winter sporting events.
The very nature of the clinic’s events push the competitors to go beyond what they believed possible, given their injuries. Most discover they were not as limited as they believed they were before competing. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Sec. Eric Shinseki praised the competitors as year-round inspirations, and not just because of their efforts during the competition.
The clinic is sponsored by both the VA and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). It is a rehabilitation program and veterans suffering from particular conditions and receiving care at any VA health care facility are eligible. The Winter Sports Clinic should be considered an expansion of the daily rehabilitative care provided by the veterans’ local VA medical centers. Those conditions include:
- spinal cord injuries or disease;
- visual impairments;
- specific neurological conditions;
- orthopedic amputations; and
- specific other disabilities.
The clinic lasted for 6 days, and consisted of multiple adaptive sporting events. The events included lessons on adaptive skiing, both Nordic and Alpine, as well as scuba diving, rock climbing, sled hockey, and trap-shooting.
The more successful athletes at the clinic may qualify to participate in even more competitive events. The VA partners with the U.S. Paralympics to introduce successful adaptive athletes to higher end levels of competition at the Paralympic games.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Adaptive Sports, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Disabled Veterans, National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, Paralympics, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Events, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Congress and the Obama administration will likely make it more difficult for companies attempting to secure federal contracts through the Small Business Administrations’ (SBA) various socioeconomic contracting programs. New legislation (The Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention Act) will provide for more oversight and stricter scrutiny.
The legislation was introduced through bipartisan Senators and if passed will completely change the oversight into awarding federal contracts into “a wide-ranging, cradle-to-the-grave” structure. The cradle phase is where contractors are properly certified so they can accept the contract. The most important side of the new oversight structure is monitoring the contractors after they begin work toward fulfilling their contractual obligations. Despite their best efforts, contractors continually, fraudulently win federal small business contracts. This new legislation increases criminal penalties for such contractors and civil penalties under the False Claims Act.
The bill’s increased oversight applies to small businesses falling into specific categories. Every contractor hoping to be considered for contracts from businesses in those categories will be required to tender paperwork reflecting their standing in the Online Representations and Certifications Application database. Those categories include small businesses:
- Owned by service-disabled veterans;
- Owned by women;
- Located in a Historically Underutilized Business Zone; or
- Operating in the 8(a) Business Development Program.
The proposed legislation would make other significant changes to the entire SBA contracting process. The changes are crucial to combat and prevent fraud and put every eligible company on the same playing field.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Federal Contract Oversight, Military Legislation, Small Business Administration, The Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention Act, VA contracts
Posted in General | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
The Veteran Directed Home and Community Based Services program focuses on veterans enrolled with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The program allows veterans to direct a portion of their own care, and by doing so, allows those veterans to continue living in their existing neighborhood and avoid being put into an institution. There is no age restriction on veterans who may use the program, so long as they are at risk of being placed in a nursing home and interested in self-directed care. Local agencies on aging implement this program.
Enrolled veterans must be referred to the Agency on Aging via the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C. (VAMC-DC). Once the referral is made, the veteran is given an assessment and then assistance in planning their care. It is then up to the veteran and his or her family caregivers to decide what goods and/or services would provide the best results for their situation.
If veterans choose to enroll, they hire the caregivers of their choice, which can include family members. Those people the veterans hire however, do not become employees of the agency, but the veteran. This means the veteran is responsible for all payroll issues. The VA pays back the local Agency on Aging their upfront expenses for providing counseling and whatever services the veteran requires.
The VA’s referral to the Agency includes a VA-determined monthly budget. Whatever money the veteran does not use rolls over and can be used toward such things are retrofitting vehicles. There are currently 15 states implementing the directed care program.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Agency on Aging, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Self-Directed Care, The Veteran Directed Home and Community Based Services Program, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Monday, April 4th, 2011
All 34 chapters of the Paralyzed Veterans of America are celebrating the 65th Anniversary of its founding this April. Their focus is to promote the empowerment of paralyzed veterans. Mission: ABLE is a newly launched campaign seeking to recruit Americans to help disabled veterans and their families get the resources they need to live as independently as possible.
To help reach that goal, Mission: ABLE aims to help paralyzed veterans receive:
- Various levels of care;
- Benefits; and
- Gainful employment.
Everyone in the community can help paralyzed veterans in some way, whether it is a local business owner who can hire a veteran with a disability or even just saying thank you to a disabled veteran just coming back from Afghanistan or Iraq. With the ultimate goal being to help better the lives of disabled and paralyzed veterans, everyone can do something.
Across the country Paralyzed Veterans of America will host various events to raise awareness and support. Specifically, these events will seek to raise consciousness and understanding of the difficulties veterans with spinal cord injuries and disease face in their day-to-day lives. Paralyzed veterans have an unemployment rate of 85%, so anything that can be done to help them find solid employment is welcomed.
Paralyzed Veterans of America does more than invest in research looking for treatments and cures for paralysis. They also focus on easing accessibility for paralyzed veterans as well as sponsoring wheelchair sports and making available other recreational activities. They offer a plethora of services to paralyzed veterans as well as their families free of cost. None of this would be possible, however, without the public’s support.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Mission: ABLE, Paralyzed Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Vet Groups & Networking, Veterans' Disability, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
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