| Get an insider's
view of the Department of Veterans Affairs! Written by
practicing attorneys at the National Veterans Legal Services
Program, this manual contains valuable insight and analysis from a
team of experts at the forefront of veterans law. Use our first-hand
experience fighting for veterans' rights and our insider's view of
the Department of Veterans Affairs to get all the benefits your
clients have rightfully earned.
User-friendly, well-indexed, and packed with practical information,
it includes sample forms and briefs, flowcharts, checklists,
citations to legal authorities, and other documents designed to
streamline the claims process and save you and your veteran client
valuable time.
The Veterans Benefits Manual contains dozens of effective,
battle-tested advocacy tips for veterans and advocates, along with
all the latest developments in veterans law.
What's New In 2009 Edition
New advice on what to do during the 19 months that it takes
on average for VA to forward an appeal to the BVA after the
filing of the Substantive Appeal;
Why it is now more difficult to obtain medical opinions from
VA physicians and how to obtain a persuasive private medical
opinion;
How to take advantage of the new law that applies when a
veteran dies while a claim is pending, so that VA quickly
decides whether a surviving family member is entitled to the
benefits the veteran had sought;
An expanded analysis of Combat Related Special Compensation
(CRSC)—the program that allows some veterans to receive both
military disability retirement payments and VA disability
compensation;
Discussion of the new VA rules making it easier for veterans
diagnosed with PTSD in service to obtain service connection for
PTSD;
An analysis of the new VA disability rating schedule for
scars;
How to take advantage of the new law that makes it easier to
obtain reimbursement for non-VA emergency treatment;
How to determine if a veteran qualifies for free VA health
care and medications under the enhanced health care program for
combat veterans;
An explanation of the new rights claimants have as a result
of the recent scandal involving mass shredding of documents in
VA claims files by VA employees;
How frail, chronically ill veterans can qualify for free VA
home care;
A detailed explanation of the steps attorneys must take to
become accredited and maintain accreditation to represent VA
claimants.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Barton F. Stichman, Co-Director of and lead litigator for NVLSP, has earned over $200 million in VA benefits for his
clients over the last 29 years.
Ronald B. Abrams, Co-Director of NVLSP and a 17-year VA insider.
Over the past 18 years he has trained thousands of veterans’
advocates.
SELECTED CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Introduction and how to use
this manual
Part I: Disability Benefits for Veterans
Chapter 2: Veterans basic eligibility for VA disability benefits
Chapter 3: Compensation for veterans with service-connected
disabilities
Chapter 4: Compensation for injury or death caused by VA health care
or other specified activities
Chapter 5: Setting, increasing, or reducing a veteran's
service-connected disability rating
Chapter 6: Pension for veterans with non-service-connected
disabilities
Part II: VA Benefits For Non-Veterans
Chapter 7: VA Benefits for Family Members of Living or Deceased
Veterans
Part III: Rules Affecting the Amount of Benefits Paid
Chapter 8: Effective dates for awards of benefits
Chapter 9: Special issues for disability and death benefits
Part IV: VA Health Care and Other Benefits
Chapter 10: VA health care
Chapter 11: Other VA benefits
Part V: The VA Claims Adjudication Process
Chapter 12: Adjudication of original and reopened claims by VA
Regional Offices
Chapter 13: Board of Veterans' Appeals
Chapter 14: Common errors in final VA decisions denying benefits and
the avenues available to correct them
Chapter 15: Court review of VA decision-making
Part VI: Advocacy on Behalf of VA Claimants
Chapter 16: Reviewing VA Claims Files
Chapter 17: Effective advocacy before the VA and researching
veterans law
Chapter 18: Attorney's and agent's fees paid by VA claimants or by
the VA
Part VII: Correction of Military Records
Chapter 19: Military records correction issues
Chapter 20: Upgrading less than fully honorable discharges
Here's everything you need to prepare for practice at the VA
Regional Office, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the Court of
Appeals for Veterans’ Claims.
Go from zero to a high-level of
competency with this complete practice guide. Click the Details
button below and you will be taken directly to the Lexis-Nexis site
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