As reported in multiple news outlets, the Veterans’ Administration will be shifting to a paperless disability claim process in hopes of reducing its backlog of claims.
In the article, which you can find on Shreveport Times, testimony at a Congressional hearing stated that “compensation and benefit claims pending at VA, as of Jan. 23, totaled 852,127 and 65 percent of them — 557,460 — had been filed by veterans more than 125 days ago, which means they are in “backlog” status.”
The VA processed about a million claims in 2011, but an additional 1.3 million new claims were filed. Some of the new claims were initial applications, but many are from disabled vets seeking an upgrade to current disability ratings.
The surge is tied to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and also to court decisions and to VA policy changes that made hundreds of thousands of Vietnam War veterans eligible for compensation for diseases linked to possible wartime exposure to herbicides.
VA Disability claims are often complex and time consuming. And as the article points out, Vets may have to wait a long time to get the benefits they earned while protecting our freedoms. You do not have to fight the VA alone, and hopefully this new paperless claims system is implemented quickly and allows you to get the benefits you deserve and need sooner.
This post was created by Greater New Orleans SSDI attorney and long-term disability lawyer Loyd J. Bourgeois on Louisiana Disability Law and is for educational purposes only. The social security disability or long-term disability information provided here is no substitute for speaking with or seeking assistance from a Louisiana lawyer familiar with social security disability claims or long-term disability claims.
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