Jan 16, 3:37 PM EST


Wait for disability appeal process over for vets

By KEVIN MAURER
Associated Press Writer


WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) -- A board mandated by Congress to review disability ratings of wounded veterans is finally accepting applications after months of delays.

Congress created the Physical Disability Board of Review after investigations found inconsistencies in how the military assigns ratings. The board has been delayed since its creation in 2007. It wasn't until June 2008 - months after the panel was to begin operating - that the Defense Department formally announced its creation.

"Even at this late date, it is still good news to hear that the board is finally taking applications," Vanessa Williamson, the policy director at New York-based Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said Friday. "But unless they are doing active outreach to troops and veterans, those with wrongly decided claims will not even know that recourse is available."

The board posted its application on a Defense Department Web site last week after it was approved by the federal Office of Management and Budget. Vic Donovan, the board's legal adviser, said Friday the board has 7 applications under review and another dozen on the way. It is unclear how long it will take to review applications because the board is still establishing its procedures, Donovan said.

"The form was just a critical piece. But even if we had it earlier, we still couldn't do anything until everything was in place," he said. "It is a very fluid situation. We are building infrastructure for a large number of cases."

Congress created the Physical Disability Board of Review after investigations found inconsistencies in how the military assigns ratings.

A wounded soldier's disability rating is based on the severity and long-term impact of a veteran's injury. A rating above 30 percent means a service member gets a monthly retirement check and care at military hospitals. Those rated below 30 percent get severance payments that are taxed. While they continue to get health care, it is provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs instead of the military. Their families, once covered by military health insurance, no longer receive government-provided health care.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Mike Parker, an advocate for wounded soldiers, said the delay is a minor issue compared to other problems. Parker said the military often doesn't rate a veteran's most disabling condition and isn't using the Department of Veterans Affairs rating system.

"The Defense Department has stated the PDBR can continue to rate service members with Defense Department and service created criteria that results in lower disability ratings," he said. "The problems that caused artificially low and illegal Defense Department disability ratings in the past will continue under the PDBR."


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END of Associated Press Release