• 11
  • January
    2012

With many veterans returning home to Louisville and other parts of Kentucky from Afghanistan and Iraq, these individuals may be getting ready to apply for Veteran's disability benefits and Social Security Disability benefits. However, there is already a huge backlog of applications for disability benefits, and some veterans who need benefits now to pay for medical treatment could end up waiting months before receiving the compensation that they need and deserve.

A spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars said that it is not uncommon for veterans to wait about six months before their applications are processed and compensation amounts are approved. If a claim is denied and needs to be appealed, the disabled veteran could end up waiting another two years before receiving benefits.

But when veterans need compensation now to cover medical expenses or treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, waiting this long for benefits could put veterans in serious financial trouble.

One veteran who applied for benefits in May said that he and his wife were worried that it could take a year before he received disability benefits. At the time, the veteran was suffering from cancer of the larynx and esophageal cancer, both life-threatening illnesses. The man and his wife knew that he would qualify for benefits, but while waiting for compensation to be approved, they began struggling to pay their living expenses.

Representatives from the U.S. House Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies said that the agencies are addressing the issue regarding the lengthy process to obtain disability benefits so that they can find better ways to expedite claims and to improve the overall application and approval processes.

Veterans returning home to Kentucky who need disability benefits may want to consider working with an attorney who can make sure that one's application is filed correctly so that they can receive the benefits they are eligible for in a timely manner. The spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars commented that many claims are initially denied because of missing paperwork, forcing veterans to spend months, or years, appealing the denied claims.

Source: Dayton Daily News, "Veteran' wait for benefits is lengthy," Mary McCarty, Jan. 8, 2012