Claims - US Army

I'll start this off by saying that I don't work in a claims office. I work in the State Judge Advocate's Office, so we deal with claim packets on a regular basis. I am also a disabled vet, so I deal with my own VA claim at least once a week. Finally, I have Tricare Reserve Select, so I have to deal with claims with them quite a bit.

In this post, I'll cover the claims my office processes, and I'll address the other two types in a future post.

What I deal with most often are tort claims for vehicle accidents. A Soldier will get into an accident in a government vehicle, and the person who is hit will want to be reimbursed. Processing of these claims is governed by AR 27-40, Litigation.

What we do is put together the packet to establish the claim. The Soldier who caused the accident will need to put together a number of documents. First, we need a scope of employment statement. This is a document that basically says the Soldier was doing his job when the accident took place; this form must be signed off by the Soldier's supervisor. Next, we need the Soldier to fill out an SF 91, which is a Standard Form describing the circumstances of the accident and signed off on by the Soldier and his Supervisor. We also need a copy of some kind of paperwork that establishes the Soldier's status: was he on Title 32 orders? Title 10? Drill status? Finally, a copy of the accident's police report and any photos of the damaged vehicles should be included with the packet.

When we receive the documentation, we'll forward it on to the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Claims Office to support the claim.

IT IS STILL THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT TO PROPERLY SUBMIT A CLAIM. I cannot stress this point enough. Most of the time, it is in the individual's interest to contact their insurance company, and to have the insurance company contact either my office or the Fort Dix Claims Office. IF A CLAIM IS NOT PROPERLY FILED, IT WILL NOT BE PAID.

Thanks for reading. In the future, I'll write a post about personal property claims IAW AR 27-20, Claims, and it's related DA PAM.

Brian Darling

First post

I'm creating this blog as a way to spread some of the knowledge I've picked up as an Army paralegal through 2 deployments and a year of working in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, New Jersey Army National Guard.

You might ask yourself what exactly an Army paralegal does. Well, that changes from day to day...

In the Military Justice field, I've put together Article 15 packets, drafted separation documents for Active Duty and Enlisted Soldiers, and drafted General Officer Memoranda of Reprimand.

For Legal Assistance, we draft wills, powers of attorney, voluntary acknowledgements of paternity, and prepare tax returns. We also regularly notarize routine documents for soldiers at no fee. We help soldiers draft rebuttals to the findings and recommendations of investigations, and to Financial liability investigations of property loss.

In Afghanistan, I worked as a rule of law paralegal, funding projects to help establish the rule of law in the country. These included building courthouses, providing judges with case management materials, and other projects using commander's emergency response program funds.

During the course of this blog, I'd like to put together brief articles on some of the topics above, as well as some of the things I've learned while obtaining my civilian paralegal certificate from Brookdale Community College.

I'd also like to spread some information about resources available to Soldiers, to include free tax assistance and pro bono attorney referrals. I'd also like to discuss some incentives available to Soldiers, past and future, like the Student Loan Repayment Program.

Finally, as I am a disabled vet, I'd like to help other disabled vets with filing claims and filing for education benefits.

I hope you find the information I post in the future interesting and useful. I'll try to keep my posts from being too dry.

Thanks for reading!

Brian Darling