On October 28, 2026, the VA’s Office of the Inspector General published a report that reviewed the VA’s Caregiver Support Program. The purpose of this program is to give educational support and monetary support to caregivers of disabled veterans.
The VA’s Inspector General’s report examined the failure of the VA to provide the caregiver support and the length of time people spend appealing the decisions not to give caregiver support. They found that decision reviews took more than 400 days to complete. The report found that “these wait times were not publicly reported, limiting the information veterans and caregivers need to make appeals decisions and possibly delaying benefits.”
In medical negligence lawsuits against the VA where the veteran is disabled by the medical malpractice, National Trial Law seeks future medical damages, including monetary compensation for caregivers, when it is caused by the medical negligence. Our firm’s results show that getting lifetime benefits can be helpful to veterans who are injured by medical malpractice.
This report also highlights the very big difference between benefit programs run by the VA and a medical malpractice judgment. A benefits program depends on the VA’s budget (set by Congress), its regulations, the current presidential administration’s priorities, and other resource restrictions. For example, the VA just cut 18 regional networks and consolidated them into five.
In contrast, when a judge awards the cost of future caregiver assistance, that money goes to the family. Congress cannot re-review the award and change the assistance program. Delays or backlogs in the VA’s system no longer determine whether a caregiver will get paid or whether the veteran will get care in any month.
This difference is particularly important in Federal Tort Claims Act cases that National Trial Law handles. The Government often argues that the veteran doesn’t need future damages because the VA will provide the care for free. Setting aside the morality of forcing a veteran to go back to caregivers that caused their injury in the first place, these delays in getting care highlight the need for a robust court system to make sure veterans get compensation for their injuries.