Conditions

Panel Application; section 1155 directs the Secretary to establish in the rating schedule “ten grades of disability” for evaluating the severity of such conditions, the Secretary has provided less than ten levels of disability for most of the conditions listed in the schedule. See generally 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.71a – 4.150 (1992). Therefore, the schedular ratings established by the Secretary for compensation purposes may not in all cases provide a sufficiently comprehensive basis for determining when a measured worsening of a particular veteran’s condition in service constitutes an “increase in disability” for purposes of establishing service connection through aggravation under section 1153. This would seem to be so where the next higher rating is more than one decile greater. Furthermore, the rating-schedule provisions may not in all cases provide the most accurate or most logical basis for determining whether there has been an “increase in disability” during service. For example, with respect to organic mental disorders and psychoneurotic disorders, the rating schedule provides for disability ratings based on a finding that the condition causes “total”, “severe”, “considerable”, “definite”, or “mild” social and industrial impairment. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.132, Diagnostic Codes 9300-9411 (1992);

[ad_1] Panel Application; section 1155 directs the Secretary to establish in the rating schedule “ten grades of disability” for…

3 years ago

(1) is in writing; (2) indicates an intent to apply for veterans’ benefits; and (3) identifies the particular benefits sought.” Shea v. Wilkie, 926 F.3d 1362, 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (internal quotation marks omitted). A “[v]eteran need not refer explicitly to the name of an illness, injury, or condition” on his claim form. Sellers v. Wilkie, 965 F.3d 1328, 1335 (Fed.Cir. 2020). A high level of generality will suffice, so long as the “benefit sought . . . can also be found indirectly through examination of evidence to which those documents themselves point when sympathetically read.” Shea, 926 F.3d at 1368 (internal quotation marks omitted).; Had Mr. Germany’s mental health records been before the RO in the first instance in evaluating his Claim, that might have been sufficient to qualify as an informal claim. See id. at 1370. In Shea, we held that the VA erred by not construing the veteran’s claim to cover psychiatric conditions referenced in her medical records but not explicitly listed on her claim form. Id; 2 In 2015, the VA implemented a rule that claims for disability benefits must be filed on a standard form and revised 38 C.F.R. § 3.155. See Standard Claims and Appeals Forms, 79 Fed. Reg. 57,660 (Sept. 25, 2014).

[ad_1] FedCir Application; 38 C.F.R. § 3.155(a); Sellers v. Wilkie, 965 F.3d 1328, 1335 (Fed.Cir. 2020); Shea v. Wilkie,…

3 years ago

Single Judge Application; the ultimate “lesson of our cases is that, while a pro se claimant’s ‘claim must identify the benefit sought,’ the identification need not be explicit in the claim-stating documents, but can also be found indirectly through examination of evidence to which those documents themselves point when sympathetically read.” Shea v. Wilkie, 926 F.3d 1362, 1368–69 (Fed. Cir. 2019). Here, the claim-stating documents pointed, when sympathetically viewed, to a history of symptoms of abdominal pain that yielded a diagnosis of gastritis. And that’s not all. The veteran’s gastritis was expressly linked to service by VA’s own medical examiner—in the context of an examination sought by the Agency as part of the development of Mr. Martinelli’s other claims.; The Secretary says the veteran is out of his depth in suggesting to the Court that melatonin use indicates sleep issues. But even if that were true, the veteran retorts, the Secretary forgets the Court’s ability to take judicial notice of facts generally known. See Tagupa v. McDonald, 27 Vet.App. 95, 100-01 (2014). Indeed, one need look no further than a basic medical dictionary to conclude that his in-service prescription was favorable, material evidence. Melatonin is “a hormone . . . implicated in the regulation of sleep, mood, puberty, and ovarian cycles. It has been tried therapeutically for a number of conditions, including insomnia and jet lag.” DORLAND’S ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL DICTIONARY 1110 (33d ed. 2020). The Board has a responsibility to explain why it rejects favorable, material evidence. Garner v. Tran, 33 Vet.App. 241, 250 (2021).;

[ad_1] Single Judge Application; the ultimate “lesson of our cases is that, while a pro se claimant’s ‘claim must…

3 years ago

Navy will reevaluate discharge upgrade applications for sailors, Marines with PTSD, TBI, other conditions

[ad_1] The Navy is reevaluating discharge upgrade applications of sailors and Marines who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic…

3 years ago

See How The Army Airborne Rangers Train For All Conditions, All Over The World

[ad_1] A little while back I wrote an article for the Veterans Site about the Spartan Brigade, a new Airborne…

3 years ago

New Presumptive Conditions for Gulf war vets : Veterans

[ad_1] I submitted my claim last night for allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. Sinusitis was in my service records and…

3 years ago

VA to start processing Vietnam vets’ claims for conditions newly linked to Agent Orange poisoning

[ad_1] Veterans Affairs officials on Thursday announced they will immediately begin processing disability claims for three new illnesses linked to…

3 years ago

Montana high court cancels parole conditions in stolen valor case

[ad_1] GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A former judge improperly punished two men who lied about their military service in…

3 years ago

DOD Officials Describe Conditions in Indo-Pacific > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Defense Department News

[ad_1] The Indo-Pacific has always been a region of superlatives, but the terms have changed over the past decades. Now…

3 years ago