Conducting Veteran Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Exams: Establishing a Nexus Between Mental Health and Death

Forms of financial compensation have been paid to the beneficiaries of deceased service members since the Revolutionary War. In its current version, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax-free monetary benefit paid to eligible survivors of veterans whose death resulted from a service-related disability. Mental health professionals are called upon to provide medico-legal opinions in DIC claims involving questions of whether a veteran’s service-connected mental illness contributed substantially to their death. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) does not currently employ training programs, competency standards, or best practice recommendations for these specialized evaluations. This article seeks to fill this gap and provide a resource for mental health professionals providing medical opinions in DIC claims.     

Cutoff Scores for the Morel Emotional Numbing Test for PTSD: Considerations for Use in VA Mental Health Examinations

The use of cutoff scores on symptom validity measures has been applied to determine the authenticity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs compensation and pension examinations. This approach is controversial due to variations in the interpretation and application of cutoff scores from symptom validity testing. In response to the proposal that the cutoff score on the Morel Emotional Numbing Test for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (MENT) be increased, the diagnostic accuracy of the standard cutting score for identifying simulated symptoms of PTSD was compared to the proposed alternate cutoff score. The results of decision matrix tables (true positive, true negative, false positive, and false negative) comparing the sensitivity and specificity and deriving confidence intervals for the standard cutoff score and proposed alternate cutoff score are presented. In addition, analyses using binomial probability theory to determine whether the outcome of increasing the cutoff score on the MENT meets reasonable standards for types I and II errors are presented.     

国家赔偿之精神损害赔偿制度研究

精神损害赔偿制度作为国家赔偿制度的重要组成部分,其完善程度直接影响该制度的实际运行效果。修订后的国家赔偿法,对精神损害赔偿的规定较为原则,缺乏配套精神损害赔偿的法律制度,国家精神损害赔偿制度在适用中面临诸多困境,亟需予以完善。     

Intimate Partner Violence as a Risk Factor for Mental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

This article reviews literature on the prevalence of mental health problems among women with a history of intimate partner violence. The weighted mean prevalence of mental health problems among battered women was 47.6% in 18 studies of depression, 17.9% in 13 studies of suicidality, 63.8% in 11 studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 18.5% in 10 studies of alcohol abuse, and 8.9% in four studies of drug abuse. These were typically inconsistent across studies. Weighted mean odds ratios representing associations of these problems with violence ranged from 3.55 to 5.62, and were typically consistent across studies. Variability was accounted for by differences in sampling frames. Dose-response relationships of violence to depression and PTSD were observed. Although research has not addressed many criteria for causal inferences, the existing research is consistent with the hypothesis that intimate partner violence increases risk for mental health problems. The appropriate way to conceptualize these problems deserves careful attention.     

法医学视角下精神损伤的认定与赔偿问题

我国精神损伤的研究起步较晚,目前尚无成文法规,而相关法律规定又比较原则,因此,在精神损伤的鉴定与赔偿中有关评定方法、赔偿原则、赔偿标准以及因果关系的考证等问题上,长期存在着理解不一致,适用法律不统一的现象,这势必影响到司法公正和司法价值目标的实现。本文试图通过法医学理论对精神损伤的研究和探讨,阐明精神损伤在鉴定中的相关问题以及精神损伤赔偿中因果关系的考证与伪装性精神损伤的识别,以期为审判实践有关精神损伤的认定与赔偿提供借鉴与参考,从而实现其向法律精神回归的最终目的。     

精神损害赔偿制度的划时代变革——《德国民法典》抚慰金条款的调整及其意义与启示

一、抚慰金条款的新调整依照《德国民法典》原第847条第1款(该条属于侵权行为法)的规定,在侵害身体、健康以及剥夺自由的情形下,受害人也可由于非财产损害而请求合理的金钱赔偿。这里所说的请求合理的金钱赔偿,即抚慰金请求权。这是《德国民法典》从颁布时起就明确规定的抚慰金     

Loss Due to Death and its Association with Mental Disorders in Juvenile Detainees

This study investigated the prevalence of loss due to death and its association with mental disorders in a random sample of 898 newly detained adolescents in Chicago, Illinois. Nearly 90% of youth experienced the loss of an important person; most had also experienced a “high‐risk” loss (e.g., loss due to violence, sudden loss). Minority youth were at particular risk. Youth with any loss or multiple losses were more likely to have mood disorders and ADHD/behavioral disorders, respectively, than youth who had no such losses. Interventions focusing on modifiable protective factors following loss may increase positive outcomes in this vulnerable population.     

损害赔偿最高原则之理论与实践探析

一、损害赔偿的责任概述民事责任是一种独立的法律责任。在民法理论上,损害赔偿是民事责任的方式之一,依损害赔偿的方法为标准,民事责任可分为金钱赔偿与恢复原状。自古罗马法以来,赔偿损失一直就是承担民事责任的重要方式。甚至在西方一些国家,赔偿损失已是近乎唯一的承担民事     

A Practical Guide to the Transfer of Trusteeships * By Richard Williams, Arabella Saker and Toby Graham

Earlier this month saw the publication of the widely anticipatedand much welcomed ‘Practical Guide to the Transfer ofTrusteeships’, produced under the stewardship of STEPand edited by the triumvirate of Richard Williams, Toby Grahamand Arabella Saker. The book has a spectacularly wide remit in addressing not onlymatters of English Law, but also the jurisdictions of the Bahamas,Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man,Singapore and Jersey. In     

论物的损坏与精神损害赔偿的关联--一种功能主义的诠释

在“物”具有情感寄托功能和人身象征功能的基础上 ,精神损害赔偿机制仅仅适用于人身权受侵害的情形显然不当 ,为了保持民法制度功能的协调 ,为了实现民法最大化保护人之利益的功能 ,民法应当在物的损坏与精神损害赔偿之间建立关联。不过 ,出于法律确定性的需要 ,此处的“物”应当是所有权的客体 ,而且其具备的上述两个功能应当得到生活世界公众的普遍认可     

论我国律师的执业赔偿责任

在对国外律师执业赔偿责任考察的基础上,对我国律师执业赔偿责任的性质、构成要件、免责条件及实践操作作了比较全面的探讨,以推动这项制度在我国的逐步完善.     

The Insanity Exemption to Other than Honorable Discharge for the Purpose of Claiming Benefits: The Role of the Mental Health Examiner

Former service-members are barred from veteran benefits if their character of discharge is other-than-honorable due to willful and persistent misconduct. One exception is if it is determined that the service-member was legally insane at the time of the behaviors resulting in discharge. Offering an expert opinion on a mental state years or decades in the past is complicated. Yet, cases involving such opinions are assigned to veterans affairs-based mental health professionals without additional training or resources. This article fills this gap by discussing the unique legal statutes that define insanity for the purpose of benefit eligibility. In addition, it shares available resources and highlights themes resulting from having opined in such cases and having reviewed 30 Board of Veterans Appeals decisions involving claimed insanity.     

扎实开展主题教育实践活动 提升司法行政队伍素质和工作水平

这次会议的主要任务是,认真学习贯彻党的十七大和十七届三中、四中、五中全会精神,坚持以邓小平理论和＂三个代表＂重要思想为指导,深入贯彻落实科学发展观,认真学习贯彻全国＂两会＂精神和全国政法工作会议精神,按照