LOUISIANA VETERANS BENEFITS BLOG
Law Office of Michael J. Sepanik. Representing Veterans in Louisiana and Nationwide.
VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a monthly benefit paid to qualifying surviving spouses and dependent children of Veterans. The monthly rate for 2023 is $1,562.74 and the benefits are tax exempt. For certain surviving spouses, additional monthly payments are available as part of their DIC eligibility. Continue reading “Widows (Surviving Spouses) May Be Owed Additional DIC Amounts”
In 2018, we posted a blog entry addressing that, well over a decade past Hurricane Katrina, Veterans’ claims were still hampered by mistakes made by local VA offices in the months and years following the disaster. The prior post discussed that Louisiana Veterans who filed claims between 2005 and 2012, or those whose claims were in the evidentiary phase at the New Orleans Regional Office, faced myriad problems including unadjudicated claims, ratings mistakes, and failure to retain and consider medical records, examinations and lay statements, among other issues. Continue reading “Louisiana Widow Prevails At the CAVC on Katrina-Era VA Mistake”
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cause of cancer-related deaths. The VA considers prostate cancer as “presumptively related” to Agent Orange exposure, so that any Veteran who served in Vietnam will have their prostate cancer service-connected for disability purposes. Continue reading “Prostate Cancer and Vietnam-Era Service: What Widows Should Know”
Studies of young U.S. veterans show that the probability of having obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) grew with the increasing severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. OSA is often seen in older Veterans whose long-term PTSD or other service-connected disabilities caused increased weight gain, a common cause and/or aggravating factor of OSA. Continue reading “Veterans’ High Rates of Sleep Apnea Linked to PTSD”
Veterans who are discharged under Conditions Other Than Honorable often face considerable difficulty earning VA Benefits. Veterans with such discharges will often receive medical care at a VA medical center, and may have a PTSD or other mental health diagnosis directly related to combat service. Those Veterans are oftentimes befuddled and frustrated when the VA denies their service connection claim despite the confirmed combat stressor and current PTSD diagnosis by a VA provider. Continue reading “How Vets with “Bad Paper” Can Still Win PTSD Benefits”
It is not uncommon for a VA disability claim to be awarded five, ten, or even twenty years after it is originally filed. It’s no secret– VA claims often take a very long time. However, so long as the “claim stream” is kept alive by meeting all time deadlines for filings and appeals, upon service-connection, a Veteran will receive a back benefits award equaling the monthly payments owed since the time they first filed for benefits. Continue reading “Don’t Let a Faulty VA Exam Sink Your Claim”
You may or may not have an attorney representing you before the VA. If you are unrepresented, the greatest obstacle you face is preserving the earliest effective date possible for your claim for service connection. An earlier effective date can translate into a Veteran being awarded years, or sometimes even decades, of back benefits. Continue reading “Veterans Tip: Protect Your Earliest Effective Date”