Man proves to VA he isn't dead

HOUSTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A Texas man said weeks of trying to convince the Department of Veterans Affairs that he still lives ended only after he told them he was talking to the media.

John Paul Scott, 39, of Houston, who has received disability benefits from the VA since he was injured while serving with the Army during the Gulf War, said he called the office for weeks to check on the status of his disability claim and was told July 12 that he was listed as deceased in the computer system, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.

Scott said he visited the Houston VA Regional Office and was told his status in the computer was corrected once he filled out some forms. However, his disability benefits remained at zero and he received a letter a few days later saying the VA still believed he had died in April and wanted his family to repay $2,002 he received in benefits since the "death."

Scott said the problem was only truly corrected and his benefits restored after a Texas Veterans Commission advocate informed the VA of his upcoming interview with the Chronicle.

"They were afraid of what was going to be reported in the article and at least by correcting it, they could minimize the damage," Scott said. "That's all it was. They jumped into damage control."

A VA official said the organization takes such incidents "very seriously" and "immediate action" was taken to correct it.