In 2014, it became known that veterans have encountered multiple problems when dealing with the Veterans Administration. From the earliest days of the United States, the government has recognized that wounded veterans deserved compensation for their service and sacrifice. While this has been the intent, this has not always worked out well in actuality.
Only 3,000 veterans of the Revolutionary War ever received the pension of half-pay for life that was supposed to be given to those suffering a lost limb or serious injury. Far more were entitled to it, but never got a dime. The huge number of disabled soldiers after the Civil War caused President Abraham Lincoln to call for the nation to care for wounded soldiers and for widows.
Since then, the VA has expanded the benefits and medical treatments offered to vets, but it’s still a huge, unwieldy bureaucracy. When all of the problems vets had been having without adequate and timely medical care were discovered in 2014, it was also found that there was a huge backlog of disability claims. At one point, it was reported that mail bins full of disability claims had been shredded or simply ignored. Unprocessed claim forms dating to 2011 were discovered; some old claims had dates changed so that they would appear to have been received much more recently.
Claims were not always processed correctly; an audit revealed that claims involving a traumatic brain injury were handled incorrectly about 25% of the time. At the end of 2014, there was a reduction in the number of first-time claims. However, the backlog of cases being appealed after a denial had risen to 287,000 cases, according to Military Times. Some speculated that cases were being denied in order to reduce the first-time claims backlog due to the intense pressure by Congress and the public to correct the problem. The VA is not expected to reach the stated goal of zero backlog by the end of 2015.
Veterans who served with honor and were injured deserve, at the least, prompt and fair consideration for Disability Benefits in Libertyville. The system is complex and cumbersome, making it very difficult for many to get the VA disability benefits that they deserve. To know more contact Jeffrey A. Rabin & Associates today.
