Opinion Drew Early, Esq.

Jim, In reference to VA's proposed rewrite of the Comp and Pension regulations, I just met with a veteran who is the perfect example of why the VA proposal to greatly restrict the formats for claims and appeals is so very flawed !his particular veteran was severely injured in an auto accident on active duty "he was found #ine of $uty and medically retired on the %asis of her crippling physical injuries, to include significant closed head trauma with accompanying neurological issues "he has a copy of her complete &'( page Army )edical *valuation +oard, including an extensive neuropsychiatric evaluation In good faith, she ma,es a VA claim for !+I +ear in mind, she is significantly impaired and it is reflected %y her mental capacity "he has a scheduled C-P exam, misses it as she called the exam num%er and heard that .!C is a #oc,heed )artin su%sidiary//she assumes she should not go to the C-P exam %ecause she is sure #oc,heed )artin has no %usiness in VA psychiatric evaluations "o, an honest mista,e on the part of an impaired veteran who is fran,ly paranoid 0ow is she to get the filings done1 0ow is she to get online and fill out a form1 2ho is supposed to %e assisting her1 "he is viewed as an impediment %y the local VA and they have discounted her claim as 3uic,ly and easily as possi%le, %y a simple denial, rather than reviewing the record !his lady doesn't need a denial4 she needs assistance and support 5et, the 6ation's second largest Ca%inet Agency is unresponsive to her special needs "o much for the 7solicitude shown for a than,ful 6ation's veterans7 In my view, VA has it %ac,wards//they should %e wor,ing harder at %eing more accessi%le and responsive to the veteran community, rather than tailoring the claims and appeals process to ma,e it easier for the VA 8"8

$rew *arly, *s3 Veterans #aw Attorney Atlanta, 9A

Hello Drew, !han,s for allowing us to join you as you try to help the veteran involved in this sad example of what VA sees as service to veterans It's unfortunate that this isn't just another isolated incident VA would li,e you to %elieve that this sort of thing is a rare occurrence #i,e you, I see similar a%surdities every day !he fact is that this is the way VA conducts %usiness on a day to day %asis Any veteran who missteps around the somewhat complex rules will receive the harshest punishment VA can hand out !here is never any such thing as the higher authority

often touted %enefit of the dou%t unless and until the claim is appealed to a

38 U.S. Code 5107 - Claimant responsi ility! ene"it o" t#e do$ t %a& Claimant 'esponsi ility.( E)*ept as ot#erwise pro+ided y law, a *laimant #as t#e responsi ility to present and s$pport a *laim "or ene"its $nder laws administered y t#e Se*retary. % & ,ene"it o" t#e Do$ t.( -#e Se*retary s#all *onsider all in"ormation and lay and medi*al e+iden*e o" re*ord in a *ase e"ore t#e Se*retary wit# respe*t to ene"its $nder laws administered y t#e Se*retary. .#en t#ere is an appro)imate alan*e o" positi+e and ne/ati+e e+iden*e re/ardin/ any iss$e material to t#e determination o" a matter, t#e Se*retary s#all /i+e t#e ene"it o" t#e do$ t to t#e *laimant. VA proposes to ma,e the process ever more restrictive %y adding more forms to the mix I don't dou%t they'll succeed VA pretty much does what VA wants to do

#i,e a petulant : year old, they have little regard for any damage they may inflict so long as they get their way On another note, I'll point out to our VA2atchdog readers that the attorneys expressing dis%elief in the VA system today are veterans

$rew is a veteran 2est Point graduate and served as an air%orne troop until he retired $oug is a veteran 6avy su%mariner with expertise in nuclear technology
*ach of these veterans returned to civilian life and made a choice to go to law school so they could represent you .#o do yo$ want representin/ yo$ w#en yo$r attle wit# 01 es*alates to t#e appeal le+el2 2ill you choose a well meaning volunteer who you can share some %eers with or would you rather have a professional a pro li,e all the lawyers who post their %ona fides at the VA2atchdog1 3im Stri*4land