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 Vallarta Living | Veteran Affairs | March 2007 
The Claim and the Conflict
 David Lord - PVNN
| | Veterans listen as President Bush addresses the American Legion 47th annual Washington Conference, Tuesday, March 6, 2007. (AP/Charles Dharapak) |
The Veteran is a Hero, who is too often treated as a beggar when he or she returns wounded to America and are made to fight a new battle for their rightful benefits. Their medical care was the best that could be given, but the almost magic surgeries are defeated when recovery is in run down facilities.
The stark reality of neglected wards makes the physical recovery much more difficult, a limbo, where they wait for military medical review boards. I personally spent five years after my release from the Great Lakes Naval Military Hospital, waiting each year for medical examinations and reviews, until the mandatory maximum period of five years passed.
Waiting, it seemed to take forever for the decision to either retire me or put me back on active duty. There is little any service member can do during this period. You really feel like you're in limbo because the decision on your future is in the hands of those that are working against you.
The facts are that many who are watching the V.A. and the Military are very concerned with the treatment given our war fighters, the ones that go at it in war so you remain free to decide your future. Veterans Advocate Larry Scott tells us why Veterans should have the right to an attorney, and I agree.
Craig Kabatchnick worked for the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) from 1990 to 1995. He frankly states that his job was to keep veterans from getting VA benefits. Kabatchnick was a VA attorney.
This situation can only get worse as shrinking budget projections have caused the VA re-examine all areas of veterans' disability claims. Recent and ongoing reviews have looked at veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), those who are unemployable and those who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI.) The VA's army of attorneys stands ready to fight every claim, and they do so with great zeal.
At stake is a fundamental American right: The right to legal representation. Currently, a Civil War-era law virtually denies veterans the right to use attorneys in the first two levels of the three-tiered VA claims process. That law limits legal fees to $10. It's difficult to get an attorney for $10.
So, for the initial claims process and any appeals to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA,) veterans are on their own or must use a Veterans' Service Officer. These Service Officers are provided free-of-charge by many veterans' service organizations (VSOs.)
Who supports the legislation and who opposes it? It's a strange mix. Ramona Joyce, spokeswoman for the American Legion, the nation's largest veterans' service organization, says the Legion is not opposed to veterans using attorneys in the claims process. However, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) are vehemently opposed.
(It should be noted that currently some attorneys represent veterans at the first two levels of the VA claims process by using a "gift agreement" to get around the $10 fee limit. The standard "gift" is just 20 per cent of retroactive compensation. There is no "gift" if the claim is not awarded.)
The adversarial nature of the VA claims process is a fact of life. Every veteran knows the saying "Delay and Deny and Hope that I Die," and will tell you it is the VA motto.
And, not surprisingly, the VA is the most vocal opponent of this legislation. The VA argues that its relationship with veterans is that of a caring provider and describes the claims process in these benign terms: "All a claimant need do is file a claim, and VA will notify the claimant of the information and evidence necessary to substantiate the claim, assist the claimant in obtaining relevant Government and private records, provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion when necessary to decide a compensation claim..."
I doubt any veteran who has fought the VA for years to receive a small amount of disability compensation would agree with that description of the process.
POWERED WHEELCHAIRS FOR VETERANS IN MEXICO/LATIN AMERICA PROGRAM
I have some powered wheelchairs for veterans in need, these chairs cost six thousand dollars apiece, so please contact me if you know of any former Veteran with low income needing this type equipment. I will have to drive to Ohio to pick them up so let me begin the process with a personnel meeting with the Veteran to determine the best way to assist, call or email me.
On another note, Don't forget that the Puerto Vallarta's American Legion Post 14 meets at 3 pm on the third Wednesday of every month at Steve's Sports Bar on Basilio Badillo (just up from Viva Jewelry Store, across from Roberto's Restaurant.)
 David Lord served in Vietnam as combat Marine for 1st Battalion 26th Marines, during which time he was severely wounded. He received the Purple Heart and the Presidential Unit Citation for his actions during the war in Vietnam. In Mexico, David now represents all veterans south of the U.S. border all the way to Panama, before the V.A. and the Board of Veterans Appeals. David Lord provides service to veterans at no fee. Veterans are welcome to drop in and discuss claims/benefits to which they are entitled by law at his office located at Bayside Properties, 160 Francisca Rodriguez, tel.: 223-4424, call him at home 299-5367, on his cell: 044 (322) 205-1323, or email him at david.lord@yahoo.com.
Click HERE for more Veteran Affairs with David Lord »»» |
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