Disability Pay Disparity
BY FREDDYGROVES

Smile when you go into the Veteran s Affairs office to put in a disability claim, and take a legal advocate with you. The size of your disability check could depend on it.

Ajust-released study examined why there is such a disparity in the amount of disability money veterans get from state to state. The Institute for Defense Analysis took a year and a half to "conduct a scientific study of the major influences on compensation payments" and came up with some surprising, and disheartening, results.

One reason for the state-tostate disparity was the discretion the raters had in determining how much to pay veterans. A bigger reason for that (in two-thirds of cases) was inadequate training of the disability raters. (Which is why I say to smile when you go in. Be friendly. Get on the rater's good side.)

Additionally, the VA standards were considered poor, giving too much leeway to regional VA offices in determining how much to award.

Some specifics from the study:

. If you live in New Mexico, you'll likely get almost double what you'd get in Ohio.

. If you get help from an advocacy or legal group, your check will be bigger.

. If you're a Vietnam veteran, you'll likely receive more money.

. For Gulf War veterans, the amounts are significantly smaller.

. If you claim post-traumatic stress disorder, you'll get a bigger disability check.

Here are the top and bottom four states on the list, with the average veteran disability award per state.

Highest: New Mexico, $12,395; Maine, $11,734; Oklahoma, $11,643; Arkansas, $11,412.

Lowest: Ohio, $7,556; Indiana, $7,573; Maryland, $7,654; Delaware, $7,679.

Best bet: Get legal advice before you file.

Write to Freddy Groves in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475, or send e-mail to columnreply@gmail.com.

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.