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Archive for November, 2011
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
How will you be spending your Veterans Day 2011 weekend? How about ending the week at a dinner honoring our South Florida veterans, followed by a Saturday night full of poker, raffles, and prizes?
If this sounds like a great weekend to you, what’s even better is that both events benefit a great cause!
Care for Disabled Veterans is a non-profit organization based in Ft. Lauderdale that provides free or low cost Independent Medical Exams to veterans seeking disability benefits through the VA.
The charity event kicks off with a veterans appreciation dinner at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 11. The dinner is open to the first 1,000 veterans who may bring up to 2 guests each – but you must register quickly!
To register, send an email to dinner@careforvets.org before 12 p.m. on Friday with the following details:
- name;
- mailing address;
- contact phone number;
- the branch of military you served in; and
- number of guests (please indicate if any are under 13 years of age, limit 2 guests per veteran).
If your submission is received before noon you will get a confirmation email with your seat reservation. The event will begin at 5 p.m. at the historic Dania Jai-Alai facility in Dania Beach, FL and you will need a photo ID to be admitted to the dinner.
To continue the celebration of Veterans Day in Ft. Lauderdale, Care for Disabled Veterans has also put together a charity poker tournament with a first prize of $10,000 (with a minimum of 200 players)! This event is 5 p.m. Saturday, November 12 and there’s plenty going on besides poker!
Registration for the poker tournament can be done immediately online at the discounted rate of $100 until 11:59 p.m. Friday, November 11. Online registration can be completed using their secure online registration form on the event page. All major credit cards are accepted and you will receive a confirmation email to bring to the event. Questions about online registration should be directed to the Care for Disabled Veterans online contact form, or for immediate assistance call 1-877-617-2170 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday.
Don’t worry if you didn’t register online! You can still register at the door for $125 between 4 and 5 p.m. the day of the event.
The poker tournament will allow unlimited rebuys through the first 6 levels and bounty spiffs with 32 giveaways. Even if Texas Hold ‘Em isn’t your thing and you’re just there to support your card shark, there’s plenty going on this evening! Aside from the card games, there will also be a silent auction, raffles, and a Spin-A-Wheel prize giveaway!
If you need a break from winning big, there will be a cash bar available, as well as the Dania Jai-Alai on-site restaurant. Please remember that the facility is primarily non-smoking (there are designated smoking areas) and there is free on-site parking as well.
All proceeds from the Veterans Day 2011 Charity Poker Tournament will go to support Care for Disabled Veterans. While there are many Veterans Day events going on across the nation, take some time to come by and support a local effort for Veterans Day in South Florida.
Tags: veterans day 2011, veterans day events, veterans day ft. lauderdale, veterans day south florida
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Benefits, Veterans' Disability, Veterans' Events | No Comments »
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
The efforts the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) have been making toward preventing suicide among soldiers, veterans, and veterans with disabilities may not have been enough. According to an article in The Huffington Post, some of the systems in place to prevent these tragedies are “insufficient” to overcome the reason veterans and soldiers aren’t seeking help.
A recent study discovered an increase in suicides among veterans and soldiers since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have started. There were over 1,800 suicide attempts made in 2009 alone. According to the VA, a veteran will take his own life every 80 minutes. With these numbers, the need for new, widespread, and more effective suicide prevention and treatment programs has become very apparent.
The country may be facing a real danger with the imminent return of so many troops within the next couple of months. It’s feared that, without severe changes, overburdening the VA health care system with the influx of new veterans will result in a rash of new suicides.
The stigma surrounding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is still very real in the military world. That stigma has unfortunately prevented soldiers and veterans from getting the help they need, and has cost lives. Not every VA or DoD prevention program is worthless but if the veterans and soldiers aren’t seeking out help because of the stigma attached to having PTSD, the effectiveness of the program is irrelevant.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: military suicide, VA healthcare, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Disability, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
Not only has the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) refused to follow recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding set-aside contracts for small businesses owned by veterans with disabilities, they made that refusal official by informing the GAO of their decision. The Washington Business Journal reported the VA’s refusal is in response to a GAO protest decision filed in early October.
The GAO’s decision concluded the VA violated a 2006 law by refusing to grant 2 contract solicitations set-aside status. Small businesses owned by veterans with service-related disabilities are given preference on set-aside contracts. Therefore, the GAO recommended the VA to cancel those specific solicitations and then re-issue them as set-asides.
The VA, however, will not comply with that recommendation. That position was first discovered via an internal memo and was later confirmed by the VA. The original protest against the VA was filed by a small business in Michigan. The VA emailed both that business and the GAO at the same time informing them of its position and promised a “much more detailed position in the near future.”
Now that the VA refusal has become official, certain procedural steps are available. Veteran-owned small businesses can now file a complaint in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in order to protect their rights and pursue what it theirs.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs, Set-Aside Contracts, veteran-owned small businesses, Veterans disability, Veterans Disability Benefits
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Benefits, Veterans' Disability | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
A bill was recently introduced to the Senate that would give more Blue Water veterans benefits for being exposed to Agent Orange during Vietnam, according to an article in The Leaf Chronicle. The new bill will provide a basis of eligibility for over 250,000 Naval veterans, many of whom are already classified as veterans with disabilities but have been unable to draw benefits.
A Blue Water veteran is a name used to describe those veterans who served on ships in the waters surrounding Vietnam but didn’t step into Vietnam and didn’t “traverse inland waterways.” In 2002, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) decided that only veterans who had served on Vietnam land could draw benefits from the VA’s presumptive illness list for Agent Orange exposure. This ultimately left out about 250,000 from being considered for VA benefits.
Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that Agent Orange infected on-board water sources, troops in airplanes transporting the toxic defoliant, and directly affected sailors on ships downwind from areas where Agent Orange was deployed.
The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2011 would ensure that Blue Water veterans are considered eligible for VA benefits due to Agent Orange exposure. The bill will allow coverage for those who served “within the territorial seas or approximately 12 miles offshore of Vietnam.”
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Agent Orange, Agent Orange Equity Act of 2011 (S. 1629), Blue Water Veterans, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Benefits, Veterans' Disability, Vietnam veterans | No Comments »
Friday, November 4th, 2011
According to an article in The Air Force Times, however, there are still a significant amount of veterans not receiving the necessary care because of barriers preventing that care. For those veterans with disabilities not receiving care, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) stresses the importance of getting help.
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operating Enduring Freedom have produced about 2.6 million veterans. The Government Accountability Office recently released a report stating that just over 8% of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan looked to the VA for help with mental health issues between 2006 and 2010.
Many veterans refuse to seek help because they have privacy concerns. For others, it’s a lack of knowledge about the services’ existence, or the distance they have to travel to get help. For younger veterans, there may still be a perception about using VA services, i.e., they’re only for “older veterans.” These younger veterans are often also attempting to satisfy other priorities in their lives, and spending time at the VA isn’t the most pressing.
The VA has made changes in how it screens for mental health conditions, and those changes have resulted in the VA recognizing more mental health conditions. Between 2006 and 2010, the VA diagnosed 96,916 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder. The types of injuries facing younger veterans are diagnosed and treated in different ways than in previous years and should get the needed help.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Mental Health Care, VA health care, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Iraq-Afghanistan War, VA News, Veterans' Disability | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
After President Obama announced that the U.S. is withdrawing troops from Iraq by the end of the year, much concern was raised within the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to an article in City Watch. One major concern is what type of environment will exist for veterans with disabilities and veterans without disabilities upon their return and if the VA is ready for such an influx.
Approximately 30% of soldiers will likely develop “serious mental problems” within 3-4 months after returning to civilian life. Approximately 20% will return to this country with “serious brain and spinal injuries” and they will need either instant or ongoing direct medical attention.
Reports of veterans suffering from substance abuse and homelessness are common, and those 2 conditions will likely worsen; however, there are not solid numbers available for how much is spent combating these issues because programs are constantly evolving and changing. Reintegration into civilian life has been taking dangerous tolls on many veterans and their families.
Unemployment rates among veterans will likely skyrocket with the sudden flood of veterans looking for work. The entry of new disability claims into the VA’s system most likely will worsen their already established backlog of disability claims, and may very well undo the positive steps that have been made toward clearing the backlog over the last couple of months.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs, iraq veterans, Veterans disability, veterans disability claims
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, Iraq-Afghanistan War, Veterans' Disability | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
Of all the veterans requiring health care, those veterans suffering from substance abuse disorders and mental illnesses are a large and growing population, according to an article in MedPage Today. The majority of the veterans with disabilities requiring care for mental health conditions suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Researchers who examined medical records and administrative data, in 2007, found an average cost of $12,337 for every patient being treated in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers for a mental illness or substance abuse issue. The cost of care for veterans without those issues was $4,579 in the same year.
At the time, veterans with mental health problems amounted to about 15.4% of the entire veteran population receiving treatment in the VA health care system. Their treatment, however, totaled 33% of the VA’s total healthcare cost for the year. The largest mental health issue facing veterans at the time was PTSD, which can require complex and layered treatments over extended periods of time.
Those costs do not end with medical treatment, however. For many of these veterans, employment is not a possibility, leading to “wider economic consequences.” To avoid those consequences, the VA is always attempting to do more to treat many of these issues as early and effectively as possible. Doing so, however, requires extensive research, planning, and implementation, all of which cost money.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: VA health care, Veterans disability, veterans mental conditions
Posted in General, VA News, Veterans' Disability | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
The Pentagon created the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) to review and reassess the disability ratings originally given to all veterans who served between December 31, 2009 and September 11, 2001 but since September 30, 2011, less than 4% of all qualifying veterans with disabilities have been reviewed, according to an article in The Air Force Times.
The vast majority of veterans, however, are unaware of the board’s existence. Approximately 77,000 veterans qualify for the review, yet only 2,842 applications have been received since January of 2009.
Eligible veterans were assigned disability ratings of no more than 20%. If a veteran were to be awarded 30%, however, that veteran could then qualify for medical retirement and lifetime benefits as well.
The PDBR compares veterans’ applications to their original review board records. They then look at any additional information veterans submit to support their request for a higher disability rating. Of those applications for review the PDBR has already considered, 49% have resulted in disability ratings being pushed to 30% or more.
Congress believes there were “inconsistencies in disability ratings across the services,” which is what the board was created to address. Some of those inconsistencies are branch-exclusive, meaning the highest disability ratings seemed to be awarded to Air Force officers while the lowest disability ratings seemed to be given to “enlisted Marines and soldiers.” Although the review process itself is fairly lengthy, the PDBR cannot lower veterans’ current disability rating.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: disability rating, Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR), Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Disability | No Comments »
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