Manhattan VA Center One Of Slowest To Process Veterans' Claims

Manhattan VA Center One Of Slowest To Process Veterans' Claims
Newsday
By Martin C Evans
Posted: 04/30/2013

The New York-area center that processes veterans' disability claims is one of the slowest in the country, taking nearly four times longer than the Department of Veterans Affairs' targeted schedule, federal data show.

Veterans filing disability claims for ailments such as bomb blast brain injuries, spinal fractures, post-traumatic stress disorder or maladies related to Agent Orange exposure wait an average 480 days before the claim is processed at the department's Manhattan office.

The VA's target for handling claims is 125 days. As of April 27, 11,914 claims were pending in the New York office. Nearly three-quarters of them languished longer than 125 days.

Paul Plante said he waited nearly two years for a response.

Plante, 63, a Vietnam War vet, filed the claim with the Manhattan office when he could no longer hold a job as a painter because Type 2 diabetes left him with no feeling in his lower left leg.

But despite nearly two years of repeated inquiries, the Huntington resident got no answer until his congressman, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington), had his staff call the VA on his behalf.
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