According to a press release from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), because of an initiative launched in April to expedite disability claims decisions for those who have awaited a year or longer, more than 65,000 claims nationwide have been eliminated from the backlog.
According to the VA, 97 percent of all claims two years or older have been eliminated. “Over the past two months, VA has been dedicated to providing earned benefits to the Veterans who have waited for the longest. I’m proud of our employees, who have been working long hours on this effort,” Erica P. Worthington, the Montgomery Regional Office Acting Director in Alabama told WSFA-TV. “We’re now focusing on eliminating the claims that are more than one year old. We’ve made great progress, but know much works remains to be done to eliminate the backlog in 2015.”
The VA announced in April that it was approving overtime for claim processors in 56 offices to reduce backlogs. The VA said that initiative has resulted in the lowest number of claims in its backlogs since August 2011.
We applaud the VA for its proactive initiative. We would also like to remind veterans that in addition to VA benefits, they might qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. For most veterans, the fact that he or she collects VA benefits will not affect SSDI payments. However, certain types of benefits and income level requirements can play a role in how much compensation a beneficiary receives.
Because the SSDI process can be confusing, especially for veterans, we suggest contacting a Tulsa Social Security Disability attorney. We offer free evaluations of your case, and you may reach us by phone at (918) 265-1404. Contact us today.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security Disability attorneys
Troutman Touts: The VA uses a structured percentage system to determine if someone is disabled, meaning a veteran can be partially disabled.