An increasing number of cases before the Board seem to involve the issue of constructive suspension. What is a constructive suspension?

A constructive suspension occurs when, through no fault of her own, an employee is absent from work for more than fourteen (14) days, with a loss in pay. A constructive suspension can only occur when the Agency – not the employee- initiated the absence. If the employee voluntarily initiates an absence, then there is no constructive [...]

Over the next few days, a series of blog entries will cover the “Five Ways to Establish Service-Connection” for a disease, injury or other medical condition that is used as the basis of a veteran’s claim for VA benefits. Click on the underlined text below for more information on each topic. This post – and no post on this website – is legal advice, is not meant to be legal advice, and certainly does not serve as a substitute [...]

This is the fourth installment in our series titled: “VA Benefits: How to Prove your Claim for Veterans Disability due to Service-Connected PTSD”. You can read the first installment, which generally discusses the elements of a PTSD claim to the VA, by clicking here. The second installment, determining what medical evidence is necessary to secure disability benefits for PTSD can be read by clicking here. The third installment, discussing how to prove the existence of an “in-service stressor”, can [...]

This is the third installment in our series titled: “VA Benefits: How to Prove your Claim for Veterans Disability due to Service-Connected PTSD”. You can read the first installment by clicking here. The second installment, determining what medical evidence is necessary to secure disability benefits for PTSD can be read by clicking here.

The topic covered in this installment is the second element of a VA Disability claim for PTSD: The veteran must provide credible evidence of an “in-service stressor”. [...]

This is the second installment in our series titled: “VA Benefits: How to Prove your Claim for Veterans Disability due to Service-Connected PTSD”. You can read the first installment by clicking here.

The topic covered in this installment is the medical evidence a veteran (or that veteran’s advocate, attorney or representative) needs to secure disability benefits for PTSD. As you recall from the original post, medical evidence of a current diagnosis is the first thing the Veteran needs to [...]

A November 13, 2007, CBS report found that at a significant number of our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are committing suicide.

According to the report, since 2005, a total of 6,256 Iraq veterans have killed themselves after returning home. To put that figure into perspective, the total number of US Soldiers killed in Iraq currently totals around 3,800 – 3,900.

One cause of these suicides may be untreated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a mental health [...]

The thought occurred to me that many folks that are not veterans don’t understand the process that Veterans go through to secure benefits when they have a service-connected disability. One way that I thought might help broaden the understanding of non-Veterans might be to create a Blog Diary of one veteran’s struggles to apply for and receive benefits.

After thinking about this for a while, I decided to go ahead and see if there are any veterans who are [...]

Your military health records can be ordered through the NPRC and the VA, and can be done by letter, fax, or online. To properly request your records, and to ensure you get the records you are looking for, you will need to know the two major categories of military medical records.

The first category is “outpatient records”, or the “health record”. It typically consists of your in-processing and out-processing physical exams, immunization, dental, eyewear and other medical profiles (if [...]

The Son of George Bush has asked Congressional Democrats to send him a Veterans’ spending bill to commemorate Veterans’ Day. The snippets we hear from the Oval Office sound good. His request makes it sounds like he wants to help Vets. His request seems to chide Congress for not doing enough to help Vets.

Let’s take a look behind his gamesmanship.

A Veterans spending bill is currently in Congress. It proposes to add $3.7 billion more [...]

I had mixed feelings when A-Rod showed up in the Bronx after the 2003 season. On one hand, he is arguably the best active player in the game. On the other hand, I always agreed with Dave Winfield that a team with too many superstars can’t win. After this last post-season, I have no problem saying “So long, A-Rod”.

Now that he’s gone – for good, I hope – I’m ecstatic. Yes, he added a lot [...]