The Veterans Law Office of Katrina J. Eagle

VA resumes in-person benefits services halted by the COVID-19 response. https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track

We had a wonderful time in Ohio visiting with our friends & colleagues and planning out some great new educational opportunities for CVSOs nationwide. We’re looking forward to presenting virtually at the Illinois Association of County Veterans Assistance Commissions conference this coming week.

We are so fortunate to be associated with so many great Veterans Service Officers around the country. They are truly the lifeblood of Veterans Advocacy. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2782490981995559&id=100007040538910

The most pleasure we take in what we do is when we have the opportunity to celebrate with our clients in person. This amazing Veteran fought with VA for 48 YEARS to get the benefits he deserved. Just when he was about to give up for good he was fortunate to meet with an extraordinary Veterans Advocate who picked up the ball and ran with it. That advocate, Herm Breuer, absolutely refused to give up on this Veteran and his family as so many others had in the past. As a result, almost a half century after this Vet originally filed his claim, we’re finally celebrating his full grant of benefits. It takes a village and we are so blessed to have these great people in our lives.

We had the great pleasure of visiting our dear friend Herm Breuer at his office today. Herm is the president of the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, the director of Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission and just a great guy. Plus he has the coolest eagle in the lobby!

We’re off to Ohio to see our NACVSO friends and some very special clients.

Katrina and our dear friend Brian Moyer were featured in this outstanding story by Steve Andrews. Thanks to Brian's advocacy, and Steve's reporting, Guam Veterans are getting more of the attention they deserve. https://www.wfla.com//toxic-herbicides-just-the-tip-of-c/

Great Virtual Training session today with our California CVSO friends. Jimmy even got the dog to pay attention.

If Veterans are on the fence about doing virtual hearings with a BVA Veterans Law Judge, hesitate no more! The Board's virtual hearing platform works great while everyone is able to stay safe. And, such a less stressful situation than waiting HOURS in a VARO for a video-conference hearing where screens would freeze and sound was disrupted often. We always enjoy spending QT with our clients but this is a great solution during the pandemic and later.

VA MAILING UPDATE On August 27, 2020, VBA published an updated Policy Letter 20-02 (PL 20-02) along with a Federal Register notice, both of which address date of receipt of mail for benefit entitlement purposes, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact operations in VBA regional offices. This represents a change from the prior version of PL 20-02, which allowed for use of the date of February 29, 2020, for correspondence with no postmark or date stamp by USPS. This chan...ge is effective August 27, 2020, the date of issuance of the updated PL 20-02, and is necessary to account for the length of the COVID-19 pandemic and the realities of current mail processing. Date of Receipt Guidance For the purpose of determining the date of entitlement, any correspondence addressed to VA during the designated period of this policy letter’s applicability will be considered received on the date of the postmark affixed by USPS (or other mail delivery service). In the event there is no postmark or date stamp, VA will adhere to the policies expressed in the table below to construe the date of receipt of all correspondence received from domestic zip and foreign mail codes. This represents a change from the prior version of this Policy Letter 20-02, which allowed for use of the date of February 29, 2020, for correspondence with no postmark or date stamp by USPS; this change is effective the date of issuance of this updated Policy Letter. This change is necessary to account for the length of the COVID-19 pandemic and the realities of current mail processing. Mail service during the pandemic has been uninterrupted, and due to length of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is no longer reasonable to assume that mail lacking a postmark was received prior to March 1, 2020. Most mail sent to regional offices is forwarded directly to VBA’s Claims Intake Center for scanning and processing; however, some sites are excluded from direct forwarding. At those sites, there are personnel onsite to review the mail and send it for scanning. While VA is aware of some minor delays in either forwarding the mail or in scanning mail received, in either case, treating mail as received by VA 10 calendar days prior to the date of scanning at the Claims Intake Center is sufficient to cover any current delays in mail processing. In applying this guidance, VA is attempting to give claimants the earliest and most accurate date of claim. In situations where applying this liberal guidance would be clearly erroneous, VA will provide the best estimate for the date of receipt. This approach allows VA to utilize a date of mail receipt that is more closely aligned with the actual date of receipt.

VA denies far too many Guam Veterans the benefits they deserve. We pride ourselves in proving them wrong. God Bless this deserving Veteran and his family. Our sincere gratitude to Steve Andrews for his spot-on reporting and his continuously encouraging Veterans to never give up. https://www.wfla.com//when-i-needed-help-i-didnt-get-it-v/

One of our clients in the news. https://www.wfla.com//va-admits-mistake-but-veteran-still/