One Disabled Veteran's Experience with PTSD

Occasionally, I run across stories from disabled people on the internet that I share with the readers of this blog. The reason is simple: most of my disabled clients do not realize that there are thousands of other people just like them...experiencing the horrible effect of some illness or injury that keeps them from working too.

If you suffer from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), have a family member that does, or just want to understand how PTSD impacts someone, I encourage you to visit this blog post: Female Vet With PTSD. After 9 years in the regular Army, this soldier relates her experiences with symptoms and the reactions of others. She talks about how the VA does not believe everything she told them in her claim for service-connected compensation. Perhaps the most difficult thing that she relates - and it is something I hear from female veterans a lot - her husband (also in the Army) simply was not supportive and did not understand.

Sometimes, it is important just to understand that your symptoms are not strange. In fact, they are often common. You just don't know that because you are the only person you know with a particular condition.

If you or someone you know suffers from PTSD, I urge you to find a support group. Call you local VAMC or even ask at the local Legion or VFW post. I am sure you know someone who has PTSD too....they are just afraid to talk about it to others, because, like you, they feel that they are alone.

If your claim for service-connected VA Disability compensation was denied, call Veterans Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260 for a free consultation. Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved.

Navy researcher may have found key to Gulf War Syndrome

USA Today reported on May 12, 2011 that a Navy researcher studying the dust inhaled by veterans of Irag, Kuwait, and Afghanistan may have found the cause for the many symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome.

Kelly Kennedy, reported:

"From my research and that of others, I really think this may be the smoking gun," says Navy Capt. Mark Lyles, chair of medical sciences and biotechnology at the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. "It fits everything — symptoms, timing, everything."

Lyles and other researchers found that dust particles — up to 1,000 of which can sit on the head of a pin — gathered in Iraq and Kuwait contain 37 metals, including aluminum, lead, manganese, strontium and tin. The metals have been linked to neurological disorders, cancer, respiratory ailments, depression and heart disease, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Researchers believe the metals occur both naturally and as a byproduct of pollution.

The Department of Defense has not accepted the dust as the cause of the symptoms found in Gulf War Syndrome. It found the dust is "not noticeably different from samples collected in the Sahara Desert and desert regions in the U.S. and China."

SOURCE: USA Today online edition, May 12, 2011.

For assistance with your Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call VA Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Female Vets Get PTSD Too

With more and more females being exposed to combat operations, the incidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for women in the military is bound to increase. When added to PTSD resulting from things like sexual assault, this is likely something the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will have to address in its medical system in the future.

LestweforgetPTSDSupport.com is a good resource for Vets and their families as they deal with PTSD and the impact it has. They have a good page on "Women in Combat and PTSD" which I encourage everyone to read.
If you know a Veteran who has had their service-connected compensation claim denied, call Florida VA Disability Attorney John Tucker at (866) 282-5260 for a free consultation. Our firm represents veterans and their families across the United States in appeals to the Board of Veterans Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved.

How Do You Apply for Social Security Disability?

To apply for Social Security Disability, you simply have to go to Social Security's website. The Online Social Security Disability Application is very easy to complete and submit.

9 tips for applying for Social Security Disability benefits


Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your claim for disability benefits, call Florida Social Security Disability attorney John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Social Security Disability - How Many Credits Do You Need to Be Covered for Disability?

Social Security Disability is a disability insurance program run by the Social Security Administration. If you become disabled before retirement age, you may qualify for a monthly benefit if you have reported earnings to the IRS and paid taxes. Each quarter of each year you work earns you a credit if you make enough money (read this to see how much money is needed to earn a quarter credit). Depending on your age, you have to have earned a certain number of credits to be insured. The rules for how much work you need to qualify for disability benefits are as follows:

Before age 24--You may qualify if you have 6 credits earned in the 3-year period ending when your disability starts.

Age 24 to 31--You may qualify if you have credit for working half the time between age 21 and the time you become disabled. For example, if you become disabled at age 27, you would need credit for 3 years of work (12 credits) out of the past 6 years (between ages 21 and 27).

Age 31 or older--In general, you need to have the number of work credits shown in the chart below. Unless you are blind, you must have earned at least 20 of the credits in the 10 years immediately before you became disabled.

AGE YOU BECOME DISABLED ---------- NUMBER OF CREDITS YOU NEED

31 through 42	20
44	22
46	24
48	26
50	28
52	30
54	32
56	34
58	36
60	38
62 or older	40

Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Florida Social Security Disability claim, Florida SSI Disability claim, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

9 Tips for Applying for Social Security Disability Benenfits