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VA to add Option for Email Notification on Veterans Disability Claims Progress

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee's Oversight and Investigations Panel, sponsored HR 2383, which would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to utilize email to give notification to claimants their claim has been received and is being processed. Although the VA would be authorized to use email for progress reports, Rep. Johnson has no plans to force email as the only means of updating claimants.

Using email in such a way would likely speed up the claims process. Nothing in the bill, however, would mandate email as the only medium of delivering progress reports. Rep. Johnson is a big proponent of using technology to combat many of the claims problems currently plaguing the VA.

The VA has almost 900,000 veteran disability claims pending. Of those pending, more than half have been pending for more than 125 days.

Some veterans groups take issue with the use of email given the age of most veterans making disability claims. Their concerns focused on not only many not having access to email, but many not reading a full email or missing attached documents. They are worried many veterans will miss vital information or "inadvertently waive rights" to which they are entitled.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.