Many veterans who served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm are suffering from a range of physical disabilities, chronic ailments, and unexplained illnesses which may be due to an “undiagnosed illness.” Thousands of veterans who served in the Gulf War have come down with a pattern of symptoms that include rashes, joint and muscle pain, sleep issues, and gastrointestinal problems. However the cause of these problems remains unclear.
What is clear is that many Gulf War veterans are suffering from very real physical problems, and they are concerned along with their families about the long and short term consequences of these health problems. Many of these veterans suffering from what’s commonly called “Gulf War illness” have turned to the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) for assistance. Congress has recognized, however, that “many ill Gulf veterans report having been told when they sought medical treatment that their ailments were ‘all in their heads.’” Report of the Special Investigation Unit of Gulf War Illness, 105th Congress. See http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/docs/USSenate_ReportoftheSIUonGulfWarIllnesses_ReportNo105-39PartI_1998.pdf
The Washington Post has recently reported that in an effort to change this attitude on the part of VA, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki, has confirmed that VA will be re-examining the disability claims of what could be thousands of Gulf War veterans suffering from ailments. VA does not have an estimate of the number of veterans who may be affected, but it could be in the thousands. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022506625.htmlVA also plans to improve training for medical staff working with Gulf War veterans and a review of “Gulf War illness” regulations to ensure that veterans receive the compensation they are entitled to by law.
Nancy L Foti Veterans Benefits Claims Gulf War veterans, Undiagnosed Illnesses, veterans disability benefits
Whether a veteran claimant is seeking to establish service connection for a disability or obtain an increase in rating, a medical assessment by a doctor or other health care provider will almost always be vital. To establish service connection, a claimant needs to show a causal relationship between his or her current disability and some event or manifestation of disease in service, which, except in very obvious cases, will have to be established by someone with medical expertise. Likewise, evaluation of the degree of impairment most often requires a doctor’s input.
Many claims fail at VA initially because the necessary medical assessment is not obtained. Veterans seeking benefits can greatly shorten the agony of a prolonged involvement with VA by dealing with this need early on. Two challenges arise.
One is locating a doctor willing to provide the assessment. While doctors can be engaged to provide “independent medical opinions,” this is a service that must be paid for by the veteran and is usually rather costly. By far the best option for obtaining an assessment is usually the veteran’s treating physician. Such a doctor will be familiar with the veteran’s condition and will usually want to be helpful to his or her patients. This circumstance may be complicated if the veteran receives her health care from a VA facility. There used to be a VA policy that actually encouraged VA doctors to assist veterans with supporting their claims via medical opinions. That policy was abandoned by VA. But there is no prohibition against VA doctors providing information, including expert assessment, to veterans pursuing claims; some VA doctors seem to believe, mistakenly, that there is such a prohibition.
If a veteran receives care from a non-VA doctor, or is able to convince his VA doctor to provide help, what is needed is a statement from the doctor in writing that addresses the issue in a way that will be useful in supporting the claim. (The assurance that a written statement will suffice and no live or deposition testimony will be necessary, is often a selling point for doctors.) Again, much waste of time and stress can be avoided if the medical opinion is done right to begin with. Many statements from private doctors are of little help because the doctors do not understand the VA system and do not provide the crucial information.
Doctors do not think like lawyers, and the claim process is a legal system. One important thing to get straight with the doctor is the VA standard of proof: many doctors, if they’ve had any acquaintance with the legal system at all, will be comfortable stating opinions only to a “reasonable degree of medical certainty.” This is commonly required in civil litigation, but it is not the basis for establishing a fact in a veteran claim. Veterans need only demonstrate that something is “as likely as not” true, so doctors need to understand that if they are comfortable saying that something is just as likely as unlikely, that is enough to support a claim.
It is also important to have the doctor include the necessary information to make the opinion valuable. She should list or describe the medical data relied on: the records reviewed, examinations performed, and tests administered. She must then provide not only a bald conclusion such as “the arthritis is related to the injury in service,” but also a reason for the conclusion, such as: “arthritis can result from traumatic injury of the type the veteran received in service, and there are no other obvious causes in the medical history, therefore it is as likely as not that his arthritis is related to service.”
Securing a solid medical opinion can often win a case outright and, at the very least, it can make it more difficult for VA to deny, which is sometimes the essence of the fight.
David E Boelzner FAQs, Veterans Benefits Claims medical opinions, Veterans Benefits Claims, veterans disability benefits
In December 2008, a class action lawsuit was filed in Sabo v. United States on behalf of veterans who (1) served in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom, (2) were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and (3) were discharged from service with ratings of less than 50 percent.
Recently the attorneys representing the veterans and the government reached an agreement, wherein at least 4,300 members of the class action will be entitled to an expeditious review of their disability evaluations as well as a correction of their past and future benefits.
The disability ratings are essential to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. A permanent disability rating of 30 percent or higher entitles a veteran to monthly disability benefits for the remainder of the veteran’s life, to free health care for the veteran and his or her spouse for life, and to free health care for their minor children.
Veterans who are eligible for such review are those who were discharged from service between December 17, 2002, and October 14, 2008 and were determined unfit to serve in part due to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
While notices have been mailed to roughly 4,300 veterans, if you did not receive a notice and believe you are a veteran who fits the criteria discussion above, you have until July 24, 2010 to “opt-in” to the class action lawsuit. You should go to www.ptsdlawsuit.com to obtain additional information regarding the lawsuit and information on how to become a member of the lawsuit.
David J Lowenstein PTSD, Veterans Benefits Claims PTSD, veterans disability benefits