On the morning of March 4, 2002, Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt Slabinski led a reconnaissance team toward a 10,000-foot, snow-covered mountain. Enemy fire hit their helicopter, throwing one teammate onto the mountain, and the pilots crash-landed in the valley. Slabinski gathered his five remaining team members to try to rescue their teammate. While under fire from three directions, he and another teammate cleared one enemy bunker before machine gun fire started from another just 20 meters away.

After several teammates were wounded or killed, Slabinski moved the team to a safer spot and called in air strikes nearby. When mortar fire pushed them farther down the mountain, he gallantly carried a severely wounded teammate through deep snow. For over 14 hours, he cared for the wounded and kept fighting until his team was rescued.

On May 24, 2018, President Donald Trump presented Slabinski with the Medal of Honor for his courage and leadership on the mountain that day.

Read Britt K. Slabinski's full story at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society below.

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Your spouse’s VA disability payments stop, but you may qualify for support of your own

When a veteran passes away, the VA ends their monthly disability payments. These payments do not go to the surviving spouse. Survivor benefits are different, and you need to apply for them. Here are three options to consider when you are ready.

DIC is a tax-free monthly payment for eligible survivors. You may qualify if your spouse:

Usually, that period means at least 10 continuous years before death, at least 5 years from discharge, or at least 1 year if the person was a former prisoner of war. A TDIU rating can also count if it was only for service-connected conditions.

The VA will also ask about your marriage. Usually, you need to have been married for at least a year, have had a child together, and have lived together until your spouse passed away. Living apart does not always disqualify you, especially if the separation was because of your spouse’s misconduct or for your safety.

This monthly benefit supports surviving spouses and children who have limited income. Unlike DIC, your spouse’s death does not have to be connected to their service.

In general, your spouse must have received a discharge other than dishonorable and met one of these service requirements:

Your income and net worth must also fall below limits the VA sets each year, though some medical expenses may lower the income the VA counts.

If your spouse had a claim or appeal in progress, you may be able to see it through.

Set aside a folder for your paperwork. You don’t need to fill anything out yet. These documents will help when you’re ready to complete VA Form 21P-534EZ, the application for DIC, Survivors Pension, and accrued benefits:

You only need to fill out one form for DIC and Survivors Pension, because applying for one also counts as applying for the other. If possible, file within a year of your spouse’s death. You can still apply later, but benefits might only start from when you file.

If you’re facing challenges with your claim and need assistance, reach out for a free case evaluation, and we’ll take a look.

Yes, it may still be possible, even if your spouse never filed a VA claim or was denied benefits. In this nine-minute video, Hill & Ponton attorneys explain how to show that your spouse had a medical condition related to military service and that it was linked to their death. They also explain what to do when the death certificate doesn’t tell the whole story.

You’ll also learn how the 10-year rule works, how DIC differs from accrued benefits, and why it’s worth filing as early as you can.

The Omnipod is a tubeless, wearable insulin pump sold in three versions: the Omnipod 5, the Omnipod DASH, and the original Omnipod Eros. Each “Pod” is a single-use, disposable unit that adheres directly to the skin, holds a reservoir of rapid-acting insulin, and delivers it subcutaneously through a small, soft cannula that is automatically inserted upon activation. A Pod is worn continuously for up to 72 hours, then discarded and replaced.

In 2026, Insulet initiated two separate voluntary Medical Device Corrections after discovering that Pods were leaving its manufacturing line with damaged insulin-delivery tubing. The first covered certain Omnipod 5 Pods, and the second expanded to Omnipod 5, DASH, and Eros Pods.

Both were ultimately classified by the FDA as Class I recalls, the agency’s most serious designation, reserved for situations in which use of the product may cause serious injury or death. In the aggregate, the two actions cover more than 8.2 million Pods. Damaged tubing can cause Pods to under-deliver insulin, sometimes without triggering an alarm, which can lead to dangerously high blood sugar and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Act now. You may qualify if you were using an Omnipod 5, DASH, or Eros Pod and were treated in an emergency room or admitted to the hospital for DKA on or after July 1, 2024.

Contact us today at (855) 494-1298 to learn more about your options or to begin your claim.