1. Some veterans are eligible to receive both service-connected compensation through the VA, as well as Social Security disability benefits (SSDI) – without setoff.

2. If there is medical malpractice at a Veterans Hospital, a veteran – or if applicable, a surviving spouse – can file for service-connected compensation from the Veterans Administration (38 U.S.C. §1151). If there has been a recovery from a Federal Tort Claims Act case, the benefits will be offset. However, there is no time limit for filing a claim through the VA, so even if the statute of limitations has expired for a F.T.C.A. case, a veterans disability claim can still be filed.

3. There are certain statutory presumptions for Vietnam veterans. For example, if a veteran who served in Vietnam during the war is diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and if that disability is rated at least 10 percent, there is a presumption that the disease is service-connected.

4. In one sense, there is no res judicata concerning veterans claims. Even if a veteran’s claim for service-connected benefits was previously denied, he or she can file a new claim for the same benefits at any time, if the veteran can prove there is “new and material evidence.”

5. If a veteran was in the service during a period of war (whether or not he or she was in the war zone) and is permanently and totally disabled, he or she may be eligible for a non-service connected pension, even if the disabilities are not service connected. As with SSI, the veteran seeking benefits for non-service connected benefits has to meet certain financial requirements and there is a setoff for Social Security disability benefits.

6. A service-connected disability, whether injury or disease, does not have to be incurred during combat. As long as the disability began when the claimant was in service, it is service-connected. For example, if a person was assaulted while in service or if there is evidence that an illness began while a veteran was on active duty, he or she can make a claim for service-connected compensation.

Alan J. Nuta, who served in the Army from 1961-1963 and graduated from Georgetown Law School in 1971, represents clients in their veterans disability and Social Security disability claims. His primary office is in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

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After living for four years on workers’ compensation payments of $1,075 a month, Pamela Chini of Lackawanna this month finally qualified for the Social Security disability benefits for which she had been fighting since 2003.

In a five-minute hearing, a judge ruled that her back problems were so severe she could not work and that she should have been paid those benefits ever since she was hurt.

She will get retroactive pay for the thousands of dollars she’s owed, but it will come a little late… full story under this link

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From Frost Illustrated:

Few people realize that their Social Security survivor’s insurance is probably worth more than any life insurance they have through work or a private insurance company. And, it is insurance protection that almost every American worker who pays into Social Security has. Your spouse and dependent children would have a base of financial protection should something happen to you, and it is important to know about it. The following questions are designed to help you find out how much you know about your Social Security survivors’ insurance protection.
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Did you know that disabled veterans may be eligible for Social Securuty benefits as well as VA disability benefits? There is dual coverage in most cases.

This article explains how credits are earned while in the military:

“People in the military have been covered under Social Security since 1957. Even people in the service before 1957, may receive special credit for some of their service. People in the military are covered for the same survivors, disability and retirement benefits as everyone else.

A person’s Social Security benefit depends on earnings, averaged over a lifetime. Generally, the higher your earnings, the higher your Social Security benefit. Under certain circumstances, special earnings can be credited to your military pay record for Social Security purposes. The extra earnings are for periods of active duty or active duty for training…”
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At a meeting in Columbus Monday, Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said that more than 160 new administrative judges are needed to ease the backlog of hundreds of thousands of disability cases and eliminate years-long waits.

“I want to fix this thing on my watch,” said Astrue.

From today’s Washington Post:

Despite the importance of administrative law judges, the hiring program has struggled in recent years. Eight years ago, litigation over how the agency had ranked applicants for ALJ positions shut down the program. The case was resolved in favor of the agency four years ago, but the rule establishing a new hiring program took effect only last month.

“I’m frankly concerned that the process has taken this long,” said Rep. Michael R. McNulty (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Social Security subcommittee. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex.), the ranking member, called it “criminal that you are waiting to the end of the year” to establish a new roster of qualified applicants.
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The Associated Press reports:

“It is shocking and scandalous even by the VA’s own low standards that top officials at the VA would get performance bonuses when there’s a backlog of over 600,000 cases,” said Hall, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on disability assistance.

A list obtained by the AP of bonuses to senior career officials in 2006 documents a generous package of more than $3.8 million in payments by a financially strapped agency straining to help care for thousands of injured veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The disclosure prompted outrage among veterans groups and on Capitol Hill, where Democratic leaders have demanded an explanation from VA Secretary Jim Nicholson and said they would hold hearings to investigate. The VA says the bonuses were needed to help retain hardworking employees.
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All over the country, delays are mounting in the processing of disability claims. This story, out of KING TV in Seattle, documents the delays, by city, using statistics supplied by Social Security.
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