Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Groundbreaking Court Decision, PTSD Mitigating Circumstance

Full Article at: A Groundbreaking Court Decision for Vets With PTSD
Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:02am EDT

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- "A groundbreaking verdict for accused
Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was decided in Canyon
City, Oregon on October 19 when former soldier Jesse Bratcher, on trial for
murder, was found guilty by reason of insanity. It was the first trial in the
U.S. where a Veteran's PTSD was successfully considered to mitigate the
circumstances of a crime.

Dr. William Brown and Dr. Robert Stanulis from The Bunker Project, who work on
Veteran defense cases throughout Oregon and Washington, provided research and
testimony for Bratcher's attorney who argued that his PTSD and the influence
of the Military Total Institution shaped his actions in the killing of Jose
Ceja Medina. Bratcher believed his girlfriend had been raped by the man he
shot to death. Bratcher is VA rated as 100% disabled due to PTSD he developed
while deployed in Iraq. Bratcher was a model citizen before joining the Army,
with no criminal or juvenile history.

Bratcher strictly adhered to the rules of engagement in Iraq, twice refusing
to fire on civilians. There, he witnessed the death of a friend from an IED
explosion, which commanders reported drastically changed Bratcher's mental
state.

Dr. Brown is a Vietnam Veteran and college professor who dedicates time to
assisting defense cases of Veterans. He teaches Criminology at Western Oregon
University.

"This is a significant decision, for Jesse and for Vets around the country,
who were law abiding citizens before they went to war and who have been
accused of crimes since returning home," said NVF President Shad Meshad, who
consulted with Project Bunker on the case. "The military and the VA have not
done enough to diagnose soldiers and Veterans with PTSD and provide them with
needed counseling and support to ease their readjustment to civilian life."

VA Seeking Outside Contractor for Claim Development

Full Article at: Contractor to help VA with GI Bill claims

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 28, 2009 14:26:24 EDT

"The Veterans Affairs Department is ready to admit it cannot process GI Bill benefits claims without help, announcing Wednesday that it is seeking an outside contractor to do some preliminary data collection and enrollment certification.

VA’s undersecretary for benefits, Patrick Dunne, said in a statement that a contractor “will assist VA in delivering education benefits to our veterans as quickly as possible.”

The formal solicitation for temporary contract support was issued Oct. 21 but not announced until Oct. 28.

A VA statement said the contractor will be involved in “claims-processing tasks,” but that VA personnel will make final claims decisions and generate payments.

Key tasks to be handled by contractors include validating student enrollment and providing recommendations on whether to pay, the statement said.

“All work will be reviewed and authorized by VA personnel,” the statement said. “VA will provide training on security and claims processing procedures. The contract personnel will assist in handling the least complex cases, which allows for rapid implementation of this initiative.”

Veteran David Best Finally Wins his Disability Claim on Appeal

Full Article at: Veteran David Best finally wins his appeal

28 OCT 2009 • by Lisa Sorg, lsorg (at) indyweek (dot) com

"About a month ago, Vietnam veteran David Best arrived at his Fayetteville home to find a large brown envelope in his mailbox. "I knew it was from Washington," he said. "It's the only big brown envelope that comes in the mail."

As Best opened it, the former Army soldier said to himself, "Lord, let it be the right decision."

For nearly 13 years, Best had battled the Veterans Administration over disability benefits for a service-related injury. During that time, the VA regional office in Winston-Salem denied his claims eight times—until September.

Best scanned the paperwork and found his answer on the last two pages.

He called his attorney, Craig Kabatchnick, director of the Veterans Law Program at N.C. Central University, which represents former soldiers in claims and appeals for free.

"We won," Best told Kabatchnick. "We won everything."

Veteran Awarded $4.3M for Spinal Surgery Error

Full Article at: Court House News

(CN) - "A federal judge in Los Angeles awarded a veteran more than $4.34 million after doctors botched a surgery and failed to correct their mistake, leaving the 66-year-old permanently confined to a bed and wheelchair.
Alvin Johnson underwent spinal surgery in October 2005 at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in West Los Angeles to correct a ruptured disc. Antonio DeSalles and Donald Shields, who performed the surgery, injected a material called Surgifoam, which absorbs blood and other fluids, into the cavity created when the ruptured disc was removed.
Though the surgeons claimed to have removed the excess Surgifoam, U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess said the evidence indicated otherwise.
The foam was apparently "left in a partially enclosed area, absorbed sufficient materials that it expanded, and pressed against the spinal cord," Feess wrote.
The doctors allegedly left Johnson alone after the surgery, and didn't notify his daughter until two and half hours after the operation, according to the ruling.
"By that time, Mr. Johnson was in a frantic state because he had no feeling from his neck down and was experiencing near complete paralysis," Feess wrote.
Another doctor ordered an MRI, which showed that the spinal cord was still compressed.
Johnson's expert witness, Dr. Bruce Van Damm, stated that had the doctors taken steps to correct their error, they could have prevented permanent damage.
But the doctors did nothing, Feess said.
As a result, Johnson, who is now 70, has limited control and movement of his arms and legs. He is confined to a bed or wheelchair, requires a catheter and diapers, and has to depend on others for all daily activities, including bathing, hygiene, eating and mobility.
The judge ordered the government to pay Johnson more than $4.34 million for past and future medical expenses."

Neuroplasticity, What it is and What it Means for Veterans

Neuroplasticity, What it is and What it Means for Veterans

On radio Fora [Australian Radio National Program] has a webcast on neuroplasticity by Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and popular author Norman Doidge.

His website and about his book
This book has been out for over a year and received some high acclaims and awards.

What veterans suffering from PTSD, TBI or loss of limbs may find of interest is the fact that the brain is much more adaptable that may of us were taught. Also that we can, through certain activities, influence our own brains adapability or plasticity.

Virtually every day there is a news article stating the benefits that a certain group of disabled veterans benefited from surfing, fishing, snow sking, etc. What all the things have in common is that those veterans are utilizing their ability to influence their own brain's neuroplasticity to adapt and deal with their disability.

So, which activity is best for you, well that is something that you will need to find for yourself. If you engage this journey as a quest with great rewards at the end, then perhaps even the quest can be of benefit rather than a road that must be traveled, which it is.

One of the items he talks about is the neuro benefits of just daily walking, which in his opinion is just as beneficial for the brain as it is for the heart.

So as a first step, get out of doors and do something. then build from there.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/foraradio/

"Once conventional wisdom told us that the human brain was machine like, fixed, hard wired and unchanging. But new research tells another quite different story. Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and popular author Norman Doidge outlines the idea of brain plasticity. It seems that the brain is much more able to adapt, change and grow than has been previously thought, even for mature aged people."