In a perfect world, you would receive your veteran’s benefits and not need an attorney, but unfortunately this doesn’t always happen. Many veterans who fought in recent wars are disabled and entitled to benefits.
An article published by Harvard University Professor Linda J. Bilmes entitled “The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan: How Wartime Spending Decisions Will Cancel Out the Peace Dividend” provides interesting statistics about veterans applying for benefits and the costs involved. The article states that “approximately 2.5 million service men and women served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn and/or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, resulting in 6,658 fatalities as of March 2013.” In 2008, the professor and her colleague Joseph E.Stiglitz predicted that 43% of new veterans would apply for disability benefits by 2012. However, their estimate fell short. Today, one out of every two veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has applied for permanent disability benefits. The disabilities they suffer from include:
- Anxiety, depression and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Failed attempted suicides resulting in lifetime care
- Seizures
- Risks for dementia and chronic disease
- Joint and back disorders
- Central nervous system disorders
- Endocrine system disorders
- Respiratory disorders
- Digestive disorders
- Skin disorders
- Hearing disorders
With increasing numbers of veterans applying for benefits, the struggle to receive benefits becomes even more challenging.
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— Alfred Daye
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— Harry Johnson
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— Luther Henderson
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— Michele DeZayas
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— Michele DeZayas
