Sunday, March 05, 2017

Veteran's IU and Social Security Disability

If you can't work due to your service connected disabilities then in most cases you should be trying to get both Social Security Disability (SSDI) and VA Individual Unemployability (IU).  You can get both of these benefits.  When trying to get SSDI, the Social Security Administration will look at all your medical conditions to determine if you are unable to work under their rules.  When you apply for VA IU benefits the Department of Veterans Affairs will only look at your service connected medical conditions when determining if you are unable to work.  The purpose of this post is to just make veterans aware that if they are getting or trying to get VA IU benefits they should make sure to also talk to a VA disability lawyer to see if they may also qualify for SSDI benefits.  The same is true if you are getting or trying to get SSDI benefits you will want to consult with a VA disability attorney to see if you can also get VA IU benefits.  What ever you do don't put off looking into these benefits because you may lose benefits if you wait.  If you have any questions about theses benefits feel free to call me at 1-877-527-5529.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Camp Lejeune New Law for Veterans

The VA announced on January 13, 2017 that they will now recognize 8 medical conditions as presumptively service connected due to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune.  If a veteran served a minimum of 30 days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 and was diagnosed with one of the following conditions: Parkinson's, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, liver cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, aplastic anemia with other myelodysplastic syndromes, or adult leukemia then the VA will find them presumptively service connected.  This new law on Camp Lejeune will make it easier for veterans to get their VA disability benefits.  A few questions still remain when it comes to the Camp Lejeune issue.  What about veterans who are just outside the time frame but who suffer from one or more of the listed medical conditions?  What about the Camp Lejeune veteran's children who were born with birth defects?  Lastly, what other conditions will be added to this list over time?  Hopefully, this is the start of a new series of regulations on this subject.  For more information on Veterans disability benefits.