VA Disability Benefits Taking Too Long part 2

Years ago, I wrote an article, pasted at the bottom of this, about benefits taking too long to come though.  I have had some recent experience that is baffling to me, and I wanted to hear from other vets on what their experiences have been like.

I'm back!

I wanted to write to let everybody know that I am going to be more active in writing on this blog once again.  It's been a while, and a lot has happened with me, but I want to devote more time to helping fellow veterans.

There has been a shift in how the VA is treating veterans because of the spotlight on the VA in the media, and I wanted to hear from people to see what has been the biggest change they have seen so far.  It could be from any part of the VA, whether it is medical, eligibility, vocational rehab, or any other program.

Please share your thoughts and check in with the blog to see what I am writing about.  Thank you again!

Intentionally or negligently hurt while in the military? It is time to repeal the Feres Docterine!

"Feres doctrine refers to a principle whereby a member of the military is barred from recovering damages from the United States on a claim brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries sustained in military service. The standard was set in the Supreme Court case Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (U.S. 1950). The Federal Tort Claims Act allows persons intentionally or negligently wronged by a government employee to sue the government for their injuries. However Feres decision bars suits involving injuries to members of the armed forces. Even though the doctrine has long been criticized as unfair to service members it continues to be in force. "  (uslegal.com)

This law was put in place with good intentions I am sure, because the government can not afford to pay large settlements to every member of the military who was injured in service.  The problem here is that there are many people that were intentionally and negligently injured by their chain of command, and there are no repercussions for such an act.

Trouble Getting Disability Benefits: What Can We Do About It?

It has been very obvious to me that many of the people reading my blog were having the same trouble that I had with getting their disability benefits in a reasonable time.  It took me over 18 months, 14 of which I could not work.  The last 4 months I was forced to work through the pain to pay my bills.  Many people do not know who they can turn to for help.  I have received many emails from people that needed some pointers on how to get their benefits faster.  There is no one answer, but one thing is for sure:  WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

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Let's get a petition going.  Please sign the petition below to show the government that we need to be treated better!  Tell your friends to come on and sign the petition.  I called it "Get Veteran Benefits in 4 Months or Less".

Online Petitions by iPetitions.com

Debt Deal and Veteran's Benefits

The new debt deal was signed and the government has to make billions of dollars in cuts to government spending.  Multiple sources have stated that these cuts will not affect veteran's benefits, but I am a bit skeptical.  The main reason that I am not so sure that this will not affect benefits is that the government is likely to stop hiring new positions, and we have already seen hiring freezes within the VA.  There are millions of new benefit claims each year and that number is growing.  If they cannot hire more people to compensate for all of these new claims it will make each claim take longer to approve.

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