Veteran Disability

According to a Huffington Post report, First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama is tackling the serious issue of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The initiative is part of Michelle Obama’s Joining Forces campaign, which focuses on issues affecting veterans and their families, and she has received commitment from more than 100 medical schools to boost training and research for the treatment of veterans with PTSD (in addition to other mental health injuries).

Each participating school has agreed to rev up training for medical students in how PTSD is treated, along with traumatic brain injury, and share new information, practices, and research. A report by the Rand Corp. think tank estimates that about 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans currently suffer from either PTSD or major depression, but more than half did not seek treatment the preceding year.

Post traumatic stress disorder is a very serious mental health condition that is triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms of this condition can last for months or even years and may include flashbacks, severe anxiety, nightmares, and uncontrollable thoughts about the event. PTSD is a common condition experienced by those who have been in the service, so it is essential veterans receive treatment and aid to prevent the disorder from becoming long term. In addition, a person with PTSD may be at a higher risk for other mental health problems and medical illnesses, such as:

• Depression;
• Drug or alcohol abuse;
• Chronic pain;
• Suicidal thoughts or actions;
• Cardiovascular disease; or
• Autoimmune diseases.

This serious condition is treatable, however, and can include the use of different medications or psychotherapy.

Veterans who have sustained any kind of injury or illness while on active duty, or whose condition was worsened by active duty, should be eligible for disability compensation. The application process to receive this financial assistance requires a great deal of paperwork, such as discharge papers and medical records. In order to promptly receive the compensation a veteran needs, a qualified Maryland veterans disability attorney can help. Steven H. Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer,” can help any veteran applying for benefits simplify the process. To see how he can help, please call (877) 228-4878 for a free consultation.

Maryland has been a home to veterans since the founding of the United States. Today, veterans in Maryland are entitled to a long list of state and federal benefits, including benefits for disability. In order to claim these benefits, however, the veteran must meet the definition of “veteran” under federal law. According to the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, a person may seek disability benefits as a “veteran” if he or she:

• Served on full-time active duty in the U.S. armed forces and was discharged or released from duty. Veterans disability benefits may also cover injuries or illnesses suffered while on active duty and in training, or while training on inactive duty. However, those who were only on duty for training or who received a dishonorable discharge do not qualify as “veterans.”
• Became eligible via service in certain reserve units of the U.S. armed forces or performing certain duties with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or the regular or reserve corps of the U.S. Public Health Service.

Maryland veterans’ disability benefits are available to help injured or ill veterans manage life with their disabilities. These injuries are often severe, particularly for those veterans who have served in combat. To learn more about your rights under Maryland and U.S. laws when it comes to veterans disability benefits, call experienced Maryland veterans disability lawyer Steven. H. Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer,” at 877-228-4878 for a free and confidential consultation.

On January 25, 2011, new VA regulations were published in the Federal Register that would presume exposure to herbicides for any Veteran who served in a unit determined by the VA and Department of Defense to have operated in an area near the Korean DMZ where herbicides were applied between April 1, 1968 and August 31, 1971.

Prior to this new regulation, the VA only recognized that Agent Orange exposure could be conceded to Veterans who served in certain units along the Korean DMZ between April 1968 and July 1969.

If you have any of the diseases listed below and you served in overseas in Korea at any time from April 1, 1968 through August 31, 1971, you may be able to claim VA disability benefits and receive health care services without having to prove that your condition is connected to your service.

The VA now recognizes a presumptive service connection for the following diseases:

• Acute and Subacute Peripheral Neuropathy
• AL Amoyloidosis
• Chloracne (or similar Acneform disease)
• Chronic B-cell Leukemias
• Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
• Hodgkin’s Disease
• Ischemic Heart Disease
• Multiple Myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
• Prostate Cancer
• Respiratory Cancer
• Soft Tissue Sarcoma

For more information about Agent Orange Exposure, see:

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp

Here at the Law Offices of Steven Heisler, our Maryland veteran disability lawyers are glad to see these new regulations go into effect to help even more Veterans who have so bravely served their country.

If you have been turned down for Veterans Disability Benefits, contact Steve Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer,” at 877-228-4878.

On September 29, 2010, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki, announced new regulations that make it easier for veterans who served in Southwest Asia, including Iraq and Afghanistan, to obtain disability benefits. The new regulation establishes a presumptive of service connection for nine infectious diseases associated with service on or after the first Gulf War on August 2, 1990, through the conflict in Iraq and on or after September 19, 2001 in Afghanistan.

If you have any of the diseases listed below and you served overseas in the military from the first Gulf War, to the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, you may be able to claim VA disability benefits and receive health care services without having to prove that your condition is connected to your service.

The VA now recognizes a presumptive service connection for the following diseases:

• Brucellosis
• Campylobacter jejuni
• Coxiella Birnetii (Q fever)
• Malaria
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Nontyphoid salmonella
• Shigella
• Visceral leishmaniasis
• West Nile virus

Here at the Law Offices of Steven Heisler, our Maryland veteran disability lawyers are glad to see these new regulations go into effect, as they help those who have fought and given so much for our country. It is only fair for our country to give something back to them in return.

If you have been turned down for Veterans Disability Benefits, contact Steve Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer,” at 877-228-4878. Steve handles Veterans Affairs disability appeals.

Agent Orange is an herbicide that was used during the Vietnam War to clear forested areas. Exposure to Agent Orange has resulted in a multitude of illnesses for Veterans and their children. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recently added Parkinson’s Disease and Ischemic Heart Disease to the list of “presumptive illnesses” related to Agent Orange exposure. If you have any of the illnesses listed below and are a Veteran who served in Vietnam at any time from January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975, you may be able to claim VA disability benefits and receive health care services without having to prove that your condition is connected to Agent Orange exposure. (This policy does not apply to Veterans who served only on “Blue Water” Navy ships in Vietnam.)

With these new additions, the VA now recognizes the following illnesses as associated with exposure to Agent Orange:

• Acute and Subacute Peripheral Neuropathy
• AL Amyloidosis
• Chloracne
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and other Chronic B Cell Leukemias
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Hodgkin’s Disease
• Ischemic Heart Disease
• Multiple Myeloma
• Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
• Prostate Cancer
• Respiratory Cancers
• Soft Tissue Sarcoma

For more information on diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange and the recent policy changes at the VA, see: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp

If you have been turned down for Veterans Disability Benefits call Steve Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer,” at 877-228-4878. As a Maryland veteran disability attorney, Steve handles Veterans Affairs disability appeals.