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Abes Baumann PACT Act Updates: Proposed Changes for Constrictive Bronchiolitis

abesbaumann on September 26, 2024

What is the PACT Act?

The PACT Act is the largest expansion of veteran benefits and care in VA history, expanding the rights of millions of toxic-exposed veterans and their survivors to receive VA disability benefits.

The Latest

Veterans with constrictive bronchiolitis (CB) may soon be able to get benefits more easily. (CB is one of the conditions that, per the PACT Act, is presumed to be linked to military service.) The VA recently proposed changes that would remove barriers to veterans with CB that are applying for benefits.

Why the VA is Proposing These Changes

Some veterans have had trouble getting their benefits approved by the VA because CB lacks its own diagnostic code in the VA disability claims systems (no code = “Zero” disability rating, which means a veteran is not awarded disability compensation), and CB is hard to diagnose without invasive tests.

What this Means for You

The VA is looking to add a diagnostic code for CB and to also allow additional medical tests to help veterans get an accurate disability rating.

While these changes are not yet finalized, the VA’s proposal is a significant step forward.

More on CB

This chronic respiratory condition affects the bronchioles, the smallest airways in your lungs. With CB, these airways become inflamed, damaged and then scarred due to inhalation of toxic substances, such as burn pits, or from infections.

Getting Help

If you’re a veteran or a caregiver for one, we know it can be overwhelming to track and manage all of the aspects related to healthcare. From forms to processes to deadlines, the administrative portion alone is confusing and time-consuming.

For PACT Act questions and other assistance, contact Abes Baumann at 1-800-344-3090 or visit https://abesbaumann.com/ and click “Talk with an attorney now.”

Read here for more information on VA disability compensation related to exposure to burn pits and other environmental hazards during military service.

Abes Baumann Celebrates Jim Burn: The Best Lawyers in America® Recognition

abesbaumann on August 20, 2024

Abes Baumann is proud to announce that Jim Burn has been recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®, a benchmark for legal integrity and distinction. This prestigious honor is a testament to Burn’s exceptional expertise and advocacy, and his unwavering commitment to serving clients with the highest standards of legal representation.

The Best Lawyers in America showcases the most distinguished attorneys across various practice areas in the United States. Those recognized, representing less than six percent of attorneys across the country, were selected from among 116,000 vetted nominees.

Burn, who practices Veterans, Workers’ Compensation and Social Security law, has always sought to serve his community in a variety of ways, including as mayor of the Borough of Millvale and as an Allegheny County Council Member.

“We are incredibly proud to have Jim as part of our team,” said partner Thomas Baumann. “His inclusion in The Best Lawyers of America underscores his deep understanding of these complex areas of law and his commitment to achieving positive outcomes for our clients.”

Doug Williams and Thomas Baumann were also recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, with Baumann named the Best Lawyers 2025 Workers’ Compensation “Lawyer of the Year” in Pittsburgh, receiving the highest votes from his peers.

The rankings are meticulously compiled based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes client feedback, peer reviews, industry leader interviews and detailed analysis of law firm data.

Abes Baumann Celebrates Latest Legal Recognition

abesbaumann on June 26, 2024

Abes Baumann is proud to announce its most recent awards, underscoring the firm’s expertise in workers’ compensation and veterans law and formally recognizing its attorneys for tirelessly and passionately advocating for clients’ rights.

“We are incredibly honored to be acknowledged with these prestigious awards,” said partner Thomas Baumann. “It is a testament to our commitment to our clients, who have made sacrifices and faced tremendous challenges while serving our country and in the workplace.”

Thomas Baumann: 2024 Milton D. Rosenberg Award, Pennsylvania Association of Justice
Thomas Baumann: Honorary Lawyer of the Year – Workers’ Compensation, Best Lawyers (most votes in Western Pennsylvania)

Abes Baumann attorneys Thomas Baumann, James Burn, and Douglas Williams were also selected to the 2024 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list, which honors attorneys who exhibit excellence in the practice of law. Based on nominations, independent research, and peer evaluations, this is an exclusive list that recognizes just 5% of attorneys across Pennsylvania.

Thomas Baumann: Selected to Super Lawyers: 2005-2024

James Burn: Selected to Super Lawyers: 2024

Douglas Williams: Selected to Super Lawyers: 2013-2022, 2024; Selected to Rising Stars: 2005-2007

VA Adds New Conditions to Presumptive List, Including Male Breast Cancer

abesbaumann on June 18, 2024

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently announced it is adding three new types of cancer to the list of presumed service-connected disabilities due to military environmental exposure under the PACT Act.

The following types of cancer are now included in the list of presumptive diseases:

Male breast cancer
Urethral cancer
Cancer of the paraurethral glands

Presumptive service connection means the VA automatically assumes service connection for the disease and provides benefits to eligible veterans who have submitted claims with evidence of a diagnosis. It also allows veterans applying for benefits to skip paperwork establishing their condition as a result of military service, which can significantly reduce wait times during the benefits process.

Last month the VA granted its one millionth claim related to the PACT Act, and over that time frame has paid out more than $5.75 billion to veterans.

Read here for more information on these latest additions to the VA’s presumptive conditions list.

Hurt at work? Doug Williams explains why you should call an attorney.

abesbaumann on March 20, 2024

The workers’ compensation process can feel overwhelming. But you don’t have to manage it on your own. If you have been hurt at work, make sure you have someone on your side who will help advocate for you.

Doug Williams, an Abes Baumann partner with more than 25 years of experience in workers’ compensation, helps ensure injured workers receive the benefits they are entitled to.

TRANSCRIPT:

Frequently people call us and they’re not sure whether they need an attorney or not.

If a case is in litigation and it’s before a worker’s compensation judge, the insurance carrier is always going to have an experienced attorney that is representing the insurance carrier. So that’s one good reason to have an attorney.

You want someone that has the same base of knowledge or hopefully even a greater base of knowledge than does the attorney representing the insurance carrier.

Also the Worker’s Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Act,
and the regulations that the Bureau of Workers Compensation has published.

Interpreting those acts are complicated.

If you print them out,
they come out to about 365 pages. it’s very, very difficult for a layperson to navigate that system and the complexities associated with it without an attorney.

New Year, New Priority: Your Veterans Benefit Claims

abesbaumann on January 30, 2024

ATTORNEY JIM BURN REMINDS YOU TO PRIORITIZE YOUR VETERANS BENEFIT CLAIMS THIS YEAR

Life is busy, and we often put things on the back burner. However, it’s never too late to refocus and prioritize yourself.

If you or a family member have thought about filing claims for service-connected disabilities – benefits our nation’s veterans are entitled to – now is a great time to reset and start the process.

Hello, My name is Jim Burn.

I’m a veteran attorney here at Abes Baumann, and I represent veterans Service Connected disabilities, making sure they get the benefits that they are entitled to for their honorable service to our country.

Today we’re standing in Millville Borough, where I live. I’ve lived here since 1972.

I had the honor to serve my borough. I served as mayor of Millville here for 12 years.

To this day, it’s been 30 years now. I am invited by the VFW Post 118, an American Legion, which is right across the street, invited to this doughboy on Memorial Day to say a few words about the sacrifices veterans have made so that we can all live in a blanket of freedom.

Those who served honorably, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice names on this placard and names on placards, and folks who rest eternally now in this nation and across the world.

Being a veteran attorney is not a job. Being a veteran attorney is a calling, a calling brings me here today at the beginning of 2024 to speak with all of
you about your New Year’s resolutions.

By the time we get to this late in January, many folks have forgotten their resolutions that they even made it.

And I’m sure many of you who have served and have talked about your claims or thought about filing claims, perhaps made a resolution to reach out, pick up the phone and speak to somebody who does veterans law about your claim, about about what their next best steps may be.

We are that firm. I am that person. Don’t break that resolution.

Pick up the phone and call us about your veteran claim. There’s no obligation. You have nothing to lose.

I guarantee we will give you some insight that you may not have had before you picked up that phone.

As we get into 2024, you’re probably seeing some articles or some flash news items or advertisements about perhaps some deadlines coming up with respect to PACT ACT and claims, please call us and we can talk about that with you as well.

Make a resolution. Now. Give us a call. We’ll talk through it.

Thank you for your honorable service to our country.