Few Injured, Ill Troops Get Disability Pay

[soup]

Aug 2, 3:53 AM EDT

Few Injured, Ill Troops Get Disability Pay

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly one-third of the National Guard and Reserve troops returning from war with illnesses or injuries are forced to wait more than four months to learn whether they'll be compensated under the military's disability system.

That's only one problem in a compensation system that can be as unforgiving as the battlefield. Fewer than one in 10 applicants receives the long-term disability payments they request.
>snip<

The majority, 56.1 percent, were given a one-time, lump-sum payment in 2003. Seventeen percent received nothing because they either were declared fit for duty or determined to suffer injuries unrelated to their service or due to negligence.

An additional 17.1 percent received temporary disability payments that can be reviewed within five years. And just 9.8 percent won long-term disability pay that lasts for life.
>full article:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RETURNING_FROM_WAR_COMPENSATION?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. As i read this, I get a mental picture

of Shrub kicking a legless veteran begging at the White House door, then laughing as he gets in a limo with his Haliburton buddies.....

[saigon68]

6. That is the Correct Picture

That is why most vets I know, won't support the AWOL CHIMPANZEE or THE DRAFT DODGING CHENEY OF WOLFOWITZ in this CLUSTER-FUCK.

The only ones who do----- are the SWIFT BOAT MERCENARIES paid BIG BUCKS by special corporate interests to trash JOHN KERRY.

They are disgusting slime-balls!!!!!

[luaneryder]

2. This is going to become even worse

Believe it or not four months for a decision is a short time for gov't work. I only waited for two months for mine when I got out only because I had copied my entire medical record while I was still active duty. These records have a tendenancy to disappear and I wish I could warn everyone to do what I did. Most wait more than four months only to hear they did not fill out the 26 page long document correctly or that more evidence is needed. Making the process as tedious as possible is the gov't way to discourage applicants.

[izzie]

3. From retired service people I get odd things on this,

Some that should have it to me do not get it and some that look like fakes get it. I guess I do not understand how it works.

[whistle]

4. As I read this, I suddenly felt very ill....

...:puke:

I have several military internet friends that I have emailed this to and I also know one of the returning military persons from Florida referenced in the article. Thanks for the link. Our local Orlando paper, The Slantinel Star, did not print this story today. I'm at least relieved to see that it was the St Pete Times that had this story. DU is my link to the truth. Sometimes I get the chilling feeling that here in Florida we need a Radio Free America to bring us the news from the outside world which we can't easily get here.

[mom cat]

5. Cheat the crips. Go Bush Go!

"You can't be retired on pain claims alone," said Dennis Brower, legal adviser to the Army Disability Agency. "Pain is unmeasurable. It's subjective."

Having become "disabled" myself and having dealt with the slime balls at Workman's Comp, I am more than familiar with the scams on these insurance types. They tell you that your main problem doesn't exist, or was not work related, or is really not that serious etc :puke:
A friend of mine had a fall at work where she hit her head on a marble floor. The only thing that workman's comp would pay for was her broken nose. They denied her well documented claim of traumatic brain injury and neurological damage. They bullied and badgered her into accepting a lump sum of $8000. She will never be able to work again.
This same corporate mentality is being used against the people who have put their lives on the line and had them shattered. Shame, Shame on Bush! :wtf: :cry:

[Moderator]

7. Duplicate topic in Late Breaking News, please discuss here, thanks

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=721617