VA Offices Under Scrutiny for Mishandling Claims
Last week, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) official reported that VA employees had improperly adjusted dates on veterans benefits claims, according to The Washington Times.
The VA inspector general learned that managers at the Philadelphia VA office had used an internal memo as justification for putting the current date on older claims, the newspaper added.
This isnt the only VA office to have mishandled claims. In a congressional hearing held this week, a federal investigator indicated that the Oakland VA office may have failed to process thousands of claims properly, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The hearing was held by the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and included the panelist, Rustyann Brown, a whistleblower from the Oakland VA.
[Brown] said that many veterans died by the time employees addressed their claims, The Washington Post wrote about her testimony.
The VA has had problems with health care, too. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned last May amid a growing scandal over delayed patient care at VA facilities, according to The New York Times.
A few weeks before Shinseki resigned, CNN.com reported that approximately 40 U.S. veterans had died while waiting for appointments at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system.
The news service interviewed a former VA doctor who said that the Phoenix VA had been using two sets of waiting lists to hide delays in health care appointments.
Has the VA Denied Your Claim for Disability Benefits?
Contact Vets National Advocates. We can show you how to navigate the complex VA appeals process.
Our highly trained advocates can help you meet all of the VAs filing deadlines. One of our advocates can even help you explain your claim to the Board of Veterans Appeals if necessary.
Were ready to fight for you. But you have to take action and contact us for a FREE evaluation.
Call 877.777.4021 today to talk to one of our disability advocates, or fill out our Denied Claims Rapid Response Form.
