Caring. Effective. Efficient.

» Michael E. Kilcoyne

Case Review: 17-0304, Burgess v. Shulkin (Federal appellate court commands professional work product)

What is the Deep Issue in the Case? Very generally stated, the VA has a duty to notify the veteran of the elements of his claim for service connection and the evidence that might prove those elements. 38 USC 5103(a). The VA repeatedly denied service… Read More
March 9th, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
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Categories: Veterans Law Updates
Tags: attorney ethics, Disabled American Veteran (DAV), due process violation, Hartford CT VARO, James R. Drysdale, Judge Coral W. Pietsch, Maxwell D. Kinman, Michael E. Kilcoyne

PRECEDENTIAL CAVC CASE ALERT: Foreman v. Shulkin (14-3463)(VA PTSD Effective Date)

What is the Deep Issue in the Case?  The general effective date rule says that the later of the date entitlement arose and the date of the claim for benefits is the effective date for a VA PTSD claim.  38 C.F.R. §3.400.  When a liberalizing rule… Read More
February 1st, 2018
Contributor: Chris Attig
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Categories: Veterans Law Updates
Tags: 38 CFR 3.114, 38 CFR 3.304(f), 38 CFR 3.400, Chief Judge Robert N. Davis, dissent, effective date, Judge Coral W. Pietsch, Judge Margaret Bartley, liberalizing rule, Michael E. Kilcoyne, Nathan P. Kirschner, pro-se, ptsd, Waco TX VARO

Recent Cases

Client Win: Cause No. 19-8187 May v. Wilkie (TDIU denial not supported by adequate reasons and bases)
This case involves the application of a duplicitous legal standard by the BVA to a veteran’s TDIU appeal, in what is called a “reasons and bases” error by the Board of Veterans Appeals. While it favored a VA C&P medical opinion… Read More
Client Win: 19-6722, Ford v. Wilkie (TBI & Migraine Ratings)
This case involves several issues but centered around two: the veteran’s entitlement to increased TBI (Traumatic-Brain-Injury) and migraine ratings.  ISSUE ON APPEAL TO THE CAVC (TBI & Migraine Ratings). The veteran in this case was in a c… Read More
Client Win: 19-5619, Fernandez v. Wilkie (PTSD rating higher than 50-percent)
ISSUE ON APPEAL TO THE CAVC: PTSD rating higher than 50-percent. The veteran appealed to the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) seeking a PTSD rating higher than 50-percent. The VA had performed a VA C&P examination and opinion in January 2019. Rely… Read More

See More Appellate Results

Taking Point! Blog

Dec
2
We the People.
December 2nd, 2020
Dear Veteran, We the People, the 79.8 million of us, voted that temporary economic stability should not come at the expense of Black, Hispanic, frontline workers, the immuno-compromised, and elderly lives. We demanded that the unity of our country m… Read More
Oct
20
Calling Out to End Racism
October 20th, 2020
Racist Ideas, Attitudes, and Behavior On March 1, 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it proposed disciplinary action against three Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) attorneys and two judges who had repeatedly sent racist… Read More
Sep
1
The Black Hero.
September 1st, 2020
By: Yalitza Ledgister, writing for “The Bridge” One day my son came home from school and, pointing to his brown arms, asked, “Mom, why can’t I have white skin?”  After the initial shock and parent-fail slap wore off, I… Read More
Jul
24
The Bridge: Battling Racism Insensitivity Discrimination &Gentrification (through) Education.
July 24th, 2020
Even as protestors march across bridges across the nation, from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Golden Gate, history teaches us that America is resistant to acknowledging the persistent racism that plagues this country and even worse, resistant to do… Read More

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