The Veteran's PTSD Handbook: How to File and Collect on Claims for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

by John D. Roche

Overview

From the author of The Veteran's Survival Guide, The Veteran's PTSD Handbook addresses the obstacles that veterans face when filing for benefits related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One of the greatest obstacles, John Roche writes, is establishing a connection between a veteran's service and PTSD. Because both combat stressors and noncombat stressors can cause PTSD and because of the difficulties in diagnosing the condition, filing a successful claim for benefits based on PTSD is difficult. In the same accessible, self-help style used in The Veteran's Survival Guide, Roche offers detailed instructions on how to prepare a well-grounded claim for veterans' benefits relating to PTSD. He also discusses the four years he spent helping one veteran establish a "service connection" for his PTSD claim with Veterans Affairs. This book will be required reading for any veteran or veteran's dependent who wishes to obtain his or her well-earned benefits and for those officials of veterans' service organizations who assist veterans with their claims.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597970648
Publisher:	Potomac Books
Publication date:	07/01/2007
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Maj. John D. Roche, USAF (Ret.), served as a bomber pilot, had combat duty in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and held a variety of administrative assignments. Subsequently, he worked for sixteen years as a claims adjudicator specialist for the Veterans Administration and as a veterans’ service officer for Pinellas County, Florida, where he was a tireless advocate for veterans and their families. Roche enjoyed one of the highest rates of wins on appeal in the state. This book is based on his experience as a successful practitioner, many years of independent research, and personal consultations with some 80,000 veterans, widows, and dependents. Roche is also the author of The Veteran’s Survival Guide, Second Edition (Potomac Books, 2006) and The Veteran’s PTSD Handbook (Potomac Books, 2007). He lives in Palm Harbor, Florida.

Table of Contents

Preface     xi
Acknowledgments     xvii
List of Abbreviations     xix
Introduction     xxiii
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder     1
What Is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?     1
VA Marketing of PTSD Information     4
Understanding PTSD     4
How Does PTSD Develop?     5
How Is PTSD Assessed?     5
How Common Is PTSD?     6
Who Is Most Likely to Develop PTSD?     6
What Are the Consequences Associated with PTSD?     6
How is PTSD Treated?     7
Let's See What's on the Other Side of the Coin     8
Complexities in Diagnosing PTSD     8
Sex-Related Trauma     9
Coexisting Psychiatric Disorders     9
Some Fundamental Facts about PTSD     9
Secondary Service-connected Disorders     10
What Have We Learned?     11
Two Little Words     13
Congressman Lane Evens Musters Support for Vets     13
The VA Flow Chart     14
Title 38 U.S. Code     15
Federal Register Final Notice 06-18-99     15
VA Manual M21-1     16
Changing the Meaning to 32 CFR[section]578.11&12     18
What Have We Learned?     19
Sgt. David Raz's Five-Year Struggle     21
2001     22
2002     36
2003     55
2004     67
2005     83
What Have We Learned?     83
Rules They Must Follow-Know Them!     85
Disability Claims Processing     85
How a PTSD Claim Is Decided     90
Title 38 U.S. Code: Veterans Benefits     90
What to Do If the VA Sends You a Rejection Letter     95
38 Code of Federal Regulations     96
VA Manual M21-1     100
What Have We Learned?     111
Down to Basics     115
History of the Veteran's Administration     115
Nine Types of Claim Actions     117
A Documented Claim Is a Must     119
No Record Equals No Claim     120
How the VA Rates an Injury or Disease     121
Testimonial Evidence Is a Must     121
The First Weak Link: Adjudication     121
Willful Misconduct: Benefits Denied     122
Presumption of Soundness: A Key Issue     122
Chronic Diseases     123
Tropical Diseases      125
Combat-Related Injuries and Diseases     126
What Have We Learned?     127
Elements of a PTSD Claim     129
Components of Your PTSD Claim     130
Developing a Winning Claim     136
What Have We Learned?     138
Compensation and Pension Examinations     141
VA Health Administration     141
Contradicting VA Hoopla     142
Using Part-time and Fee-Based Physicians     142
Veterans Healthcare Reform Act of 1996     143
Compensation and Pension Examination     144
The Protocol for C&P Examinations     145
AMIE C&P Examination Program     146
AMIE's PTSD Protocol Examination     147
Completeness of Reports     156
Scope of the Examination     156
Severity of Disability     157
Review of the Claim Folder     157
Taking the Examination     158
Don't Make Assumptions-The VA Is Not Always Right     159
What Have We Learned?     159
Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability     163
TDIU Issues and the Court     164
The Most Common Reasons TDIU Claims Are Denied     165
Basic Eligibility for TDIU Benefits     166
Proving a Claim for TDIU Benefits     169
Applying for TDIU Benefits     174
What Have We Learned?     181
PTSD Court Cases     183
Prove Your Case and File Your Claim or You Will Be Forced to Defend It on Appeal     183
The Court at Work Protecting PTSD Claims     185
The Appeal Process     187
"They Did It Before and They Will Do It Again"     187
Allen v. Principi: Alcohol Abuse Secondary to PTSD     188
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims     191
Flayter v. Principi: Substance Abuse     191
Yancey v. Principi: Noncombat PTSD in a Combat Zone     193
Doran v. Brown: Noncombat Disability-A Lightning Bolt from Zeus     198
Patton v. West: Sexual Assault     200
Zarycki v. Brown: In Combat-Wrong MOS     205
What Have We Learned?     214
Glossary     217
Index     223
About the Author     231

Editorial Reviews

“This is truly the best and most helpful book on the subject that I have come across in my three decades of helping veterans. Author John D. Roche has taken all his personal experience of having worked for the VA and for veterans in Florida and put it into . . . easy-to-follow language. BEST DAMN BOOK ON VA CLAIMS EVER WRITTEN!”—Military Writer’s Society of America

Military Writer’s Society of America

“I’ve been filing disability claims with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for thirteen years, and I wish this book had been available when I first started. John Roche goes beyond just regurgitating federal regulations and gives the reader a step-by-step guide to establishing a well-grounded claim.”—Vicki Foley, veterans disability claims consultant

Vicki Foley

“Any collection strong in military resources – and many general-interest lending library – needs The Veteran’s PTSD Handbook. . . . Essential reading."—Midwest Book Review

Midwest Book Review

“Brutally honest about VA reluctance to approve claims.”—Reference & Research Book News

Reference & Research Book News

Brutally honest about VA reluctance to approve claims.”

“This is truly the best and most helpful book on the subject that I have come across in my three decades of helping veterans. Author John D. Roche has taken all his personal experience of having worked for the VA and for veterans in Florida and put it into . . . easy-to-follow language. BEST DAMN BOOK ON VA CLAIMS EVER WRITTEN!”

“I’ve been filing disability claims with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for thirteen years, and I wish this book had been available when I first started. John Roche goes beyond just regurgitating federal regulations and gives the reader a step-by-step guide to establishing a well-grounded claim.”

“….any collection strong in military resources – and many general-interest lending library – needs The Veteran’s PTSD Handbook….Essential reading."

From the Publisher