The past 3 months have seen a flurry of VA proposals to revise the VA Schedule of Rating Disabilities (VASRD). This has reached a climax in the avalanche of VA claims regulations proposing new rating criteria for many conditions, including but certainly not limited to hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep apnea, and psychiatric claims. According to […] The post Making the Sausage: Here’s what you need to know about new VA Claims regulations. appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

In a January 26, 2022, panel decision, the Veterans Court reiterated its holding in Bailey v. Wilkie, 33 Vet.App. 188 (2021). In doing so, the Court reminded the Secretary that when it came to the informal claim for service connection “…a separate formal claim is not necessary for VA to be required to recognize, develop, […] The post Veterans Court reminds the VA: the BVA must adjudicate the “logically related” informal claim. appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

In late December 2021, the Federal Circuit issued the rare “en banc” decision, addressing the legal standard for review of the BVA’s application of the VA benefit of the doubt rule.  When a court sits “en banc,” it means that the entire court sits to hear the issue raised on appeal – and not the […] The post Did the VA Benefit of the Doubt Rule just disappear? appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

Effective November 14, 2021, the criteria used to establish a VA rating for kidney disease (providing disability compensation for renal dysfunction to veterans with service-connected genitourinary conditions) was updated. Why is the VA updating the VA rating for Kidney Disease (Renal Dysfunction)? There’s a lot to unpack in this updated regulation, but we need to […] The post Regulation Update: VA Ratings for Kidney Disease and Renal Dysfunction. appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

How is Veterans Law Made? If you file a VA claim or appeal, you are bound by the law – and so, too, is the Department of Veterans Affairs (at least in theory); how, then is Veterans Law made? And, second, can this knowledge of veterans law help disabled veterans to improve and hopefully win […] The post How Veterans Law is Made. appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

I have long said that the VA Claims File is the most important document in your VA Claim. Why? In a nutshell, it is the key to winning your VA claim or appeal. The rating decisions sent out by the VA and the BVA decisions sound out by the Board are incredibly vague and unhelpful.  […] The post What is the VA Claims File? appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

So you filed a VA Obesity claim.  At some point you have seen this phrase in a VA Ratings Decision or the decision of a BVA Judge: “Your obesity is not an injury or disease for VA purposes”. As of August 26, 2021, this is no longer correct. On that date, my law firm won an appeal […] The post Can you service connect obesity? YES! appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

It is widely known that veterans particulate matter and burn pit exposure claims have been next to impossible for veterans to win on the first claim or appeal. That is about to change. If you are a veteran who served in Southwest Asia since August 2, 1990, or in certain other areas since November 2011, […] The post New Rule allows Presumptive Service Connection for Veterans particulate matter (burn pit) claims. appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

When I left the Army, I had no concept of what it meant to be transgender, nor did I know of anyone who was “out” as trans. I certainly knew nobody who was a transgender veteran. Years later,  my son told us he was a trans-man; I had to learn what that meant in a […] The post Episode 5: Accepting the Transgender Veteran. appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more

The Federal Circuit has invalidated certain parts of three supplemental claim regulations under the Appeals Modernization Act, or AMA: 38 C.F.R. §14.636(c)(1)(i), 38 C.F.R. §3.2500(b), and 38 C.F.R. §3.155. In doing so, the Federal Circuit explained how these three supplemental claim regulations cut against the very purpose and goals of the AMA appeals process Congress […] The post Federal Circuit trashes three VA supplemental claim regulations. appeared first on Veterans Law Blog ..read more