The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1922-03-15
Vets CLAIMS MUST
BE IN BY AUG. 9Th

%A@
The law under which the u. S. Vet
erans' Bureau operates is very apt to
appear to be rather technical to the
average person and the likelihood of
overlooking certain benefits is highly
probable under the circumstances. 1t
is the desire of the bureau that all
persons formerly identified with the
military or naval forces of the United
States during the late war, have a
knowledge of what they are entitled
to, enc what | mutations are in force
with reference to its application. A
very ir-nDrtant provision of the law
is to th2 eff 1t hat all those suffer
ing from injury or disease contracted
in or aggravated by their connection
with the service, have only until Aug
ust 8, 1922, to file a claim with the
government. AS the law now stands, I
no applications will be received after
that date.
The principal feature to be empha-
sized is the filing of the claim before
that date. If the claimant, at the
time of filing the application, does
not suffer a disability sufficient to
be compensate under the law, but
has a disability incurred in or aggra-
waited by his military or naval service,
he is furnished a certificate of injury
by the director, which entities him to
compensation, disqualification, or vo-
cational training, if in the future his
service disability develops so as to
be of a compensate degree. Every
person receiving notice of disability
of a degree less than 10 per cent
should request a certificate of injury
from the representatives of the bu-
reau.
The section of the act applicable
to the situation above discussed is as
follows:
mo compensation shall be payable
for death or disability which does not
occur prior to or within one year
after discharge or resignation from
the service, except that where, after
a medical examination made pursuant
to regulations, a certificate has been
obtained from the director at the time
Of discharge or resignation from the
1 coryica m, x1i+b,p ono - +bo-oofAo.
OF within one year after the passage
Of this amendatory act, whichever is
the later, to the effect that the in
Jured person at the time of his dis
charge or resignation was suffering
from injury likely to result in death
or disability, compensation shall be
payable for death or disability when
ever occurring, proximately resulting
from such injury"
A recent case illustrates how much
disabled men and their families may
lose by failing to take advantage of
this provision. In this case a soldier
was discharged from the service with
an advanced case of tuberculosis. Two
years after his discharge he died as
a result of this disease, but had failed
to apply for either a certificate of
injury or for compensation. No in
jury or claim was even made or filed
with the Veterans Bureau until three
and one-half years after the soldiers
discharge, when his relatives filed a
claim for insurance. The Bureau i'm
mediately set out to procure evidence
necessary to bring the case to a final
adjudication and information then re-
ceived, both through official channels
and otherwise, established the fact
that the soldier was permanently and
totally disabled from the date of his
discharge from the army.
Installments of insurance which had
accrued from the date of the soldiers
discharge to the date of his death were
D paid, and installments thereafter were
paid to the designated beneficiaries
but the soldier had lost treatment, in.
Guiding hospital service, and had alsC
n lost payments of compensation whicl
n might have been made to him ovel
a period of two years because of hi
failure to make application to the Blu
reau.
1t is quite possible that after tn
lapse of several years, a disabilit,
contracted in or aggravated by con
~nection with the service cannot b
20 proven as such. For that reason tn
n only way to be certain is to file tn
claim now.