Thousands of California Veterans Disability Benefits Claims Ignored by the VA

by Staff Blogger | March 2nd, 2015

Getting veterans disability benefits can be extremely difficult, but thousands of former service members are now frustrated after an investigation discovered the Department of Veterans Affairs simply ignored their claims—in some cases, for decades. Reports from the Washington Free Beacon indicate that a recent CBS investigation determined a total of 13,841 claims for veterans disability benefits filed at the VA’s Oakland, California, office were simply placed into a filing cabinet and ignored. At least five VA employees have come forward saying the actions were not a mistake and that they were instructed to “hide the claims” rather than process them. In one of those cases, a veteran was owed $36,000 in benefits. This isn’t the first case of claims being ignored or forgotten though. Investigations indicate as many as six other VA offices located in large cities have had similar issues with claims being discarded, lost, or ignored. The VA says it’s working to reduce incidences of mismanaged claims by implementing an electronic filing system that will help eliminate the need to use the postal service to file a claim and the proper documentation of said claim; however, the system is still flawed, which is why you should consider speaking with a legal representative if your claim for benefits has been lost or denied. The California personal injury attorneys with Berg Injury Lawyers can help answer any legal questions you may have regarding the process of filing a veterans disability claim. Simply call us today at (800) 400-2374 to get started on your case.