At the Veterans’ Pavilion, we help veterans get the disability benefits they’re due. We believe American veterans have the best VA system in the world. However, at the adjudication level, the system is set up to provide promotions and bonuses based on the denial of your claims by any means necessary. Craig Kabatchnick, the former Senior Appellate Attorney for the VA’s Office of General Counsel from 1990 to 1995, best described the VA Adjudication process in an article called “THE VA IS WAITING FOR US TO DIE.”

The VA’s Adjudication

On November 22, 2006, Mr. Harold Daye, a veteran I had been helping for seven years, won a favorable court decision in Daye v. Nicholson 20 Vet App. 512 (2006). The relevant facts and laws are set out in detail in the court’s decision. Briefly, Daye was a Korean War Vet who returned home “shell-shocked” (now knows as PTSD). Unbelievably, his PTSD claim was denied by the VA. The Federal Court wrote “‘Back to the Future’ may be a concept suitable for movies and theme parks but it cannot serve as basis for denying the claim of Veterans.” In 2010, an aging veteran  died while the VA Adjudicator spent 3 years looking for records they knew had burned in a 1973 fire at the military’s records hall in St. Louis, MO.

The Veterans’ Pavilion handles about 3,000 VA cases and 100 Federal Court cases each year. I do pay a personal price for this work. On August 28, 2009, The Office of the VA’s Inspector General, Criminal Investigation Division, sent two agents armed with guns to inform me that I was in violation of VA laws. However, they refused to cite what law I’d violated. Senator Richard Burr inquired on my behalf about this harassment and he was ultimately told that no wrong-doings were found and the mystery charges against me were dropped.

Because my service-connected disabilities have worsened, I am planning my semi-retirement at the end this year. The work of the Veterans Pavilion will continue with my son, Thomas Breeze, supporting this fight. For nearly a decade, he has worked veteran claims and our legacy of fighting on behalf of veterans will continue. It’s our honor.

Semper Fi,

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