National Association of Department Service Officers - NADSO

Travel Reimbursement via VA Health and Benefits Mobile App Eligible Veterans can now submit and track “mileage-only” travel cl...

https://lnkd.in/p/g_WJiekj

https://lnkd.in/p/g_WJiekj

Saunders v. Wilkie settled that pain alone can be a disability. It didn't settle whether VA pays for it.
The Federal Circuit's 2018 decision held that pain meets the disability requirement under
38 U.S.C. § 1110 if it causes functional impairment. Not a diagnosis. What you can no longer do, not just that you hurt.
That's the half everyone cites. Here's the half that gets skipped: VA's rating schedule has no listing for chronic pain. Raters assign a rating by analogy under 38 CFR § 4.20, matching the pain to a comparable listed condition. Whatever code they pick drives the percentage. That choice is reviewable, and it's a common place a decision goes sideways, sometimes landing at 0 percent even after service connection is granted.
For veterans already service connected for a joint, 38 CFR § 4.59 sets a floor. An actually painful joint gets at least the minimum compensable rating, even when range of motion measures out fine on paper.

#veteranslaw #vadisability #chronicpain | Bradley W. Hennings Saunders v. Wilkie settled that pain alone can be a disability. It didn't settle whether VA pays for it. The Federal Circuit's 2018 decision held that pain meets the disability requirement under 38 U.S.C. § 1110 if it causes functional impairment. Not a diagnosis. What you can no longer do, not jus...

Memorial: Dean Casey was remembered at our VA&R Commission meeting’s memorial observance on August 26, 2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14osJiMtak3/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.vaoig.gov/reports/review/review-assignment-noncompensable-musculoskeletal-joint-disabilities

Review of Assignment of Noncompensable Musculoskeletal Joint Disabilities The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review to determine whether VBA claims processors correctly assigned noncompensable evaluations for service-connected musculoskeletal joint disabilities—the most common service-connected disabilities among veterans.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection that is transmitted by sand flies and caused by multiple leishmania species, with different species capable of causing cutaneous, visceral, or mucosal forms of the disease.

Health care providers—AboutFace can help your patients understand PTSD and learn from other Veterans who have had similar experiences.

Discover ways you can use AboutFace with your patients: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/aboutface/resources-for-professionals/

Potentially Useful to encourage claimants to get care. It is remarkable how many want to claim PTSD but are reluctant to get treatment.

The PTSD Treatment Decision Aid helps Veterans learn about and compare effective treatments.

Get answers to questions you may have like, “Will I have to talk about my trauma? How long will I be in treatment?”

Explore information for Veterans with PTSD: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/decisionaid/for-veterans/