St. Louis Veterans Office Botches 1/3 Of Disability Claims
By Blythe Bernhard, St. Louis Post-Dispatch | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
There are 12,373 compensation claims awaiting processing at more than 50 regional benefit offices, including one in downtown
The acting director of the
The investigation looked at more complicated benefits claims, so the overall performance of the
The investigation details some of the botched claims:
--The date of a veteran's medical exam was used to determine the beginning of benefit payments instead of the onset of migraine headaches five months earlier, resulting in an underpayment of
--A veteran was assigned a 10 percent disability for a traumatic brain injury despite symptoms that qualified for a 40 percent disability, a difference that could result in an additional
--A veteran was incorrectly granted military-related credit for blindness that was actually attributed to heart disease, resulting in an overpayment of
--A veteran with multiple sclerosis was underpaid
--A veteran was underpaid
--A veteran was not awarded a housing grant of
Dr.
According to the latest report, investigators "remain concerned" about the potential for improper payments, and will follow-up with additional inspections.
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