AMCOM legal personnel continue legacy of claims excellence

Photo By Traci Boutwell | Maj. Gen. Doug Gabram, commander of the Aviation and Missile Command, presents awards from the Army Judge Advocate General to Army claims personnel at Redstone Arsenal’s Office of the Staff Judge Advocate claims office, from left, Medical Affirmative Claims Technician Audrey Hall, Chief Claims Attorney Timothy Chism and Claims Paralegal Gary Miles. The office handles claims against the Army in in 29 northern Alabama counties.  

REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, UNITED STATES

11.29.2017

Story by Kari Hawkins  

U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command

Three Aviation and Missile Command legal employees have been recognized for their efforts in representing the U.S. Government in claims cases involving Army property in a 29-county area in north Alabama.

The legal employees – Chief Claims Attorney Timothy Chism, Claims Paralegal Gary Miles and Medical Affirmative Claims Technician Audrey Hall – were recognized for their work during fiscal year 2016 by the Army Judge Advocate General.

The three AMCOM employees, who represent the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at Redstone Arsenal and throughout the northern Alabama area, received the Army Judge Advocate General’s Excellence in Claims Award for providing the highest level of claims support to a military community and a Certificate of Recognition for providing two decades of excellent claims support and for facilitating the transition to centralized personnel claims processing.

“These awards are given to the best claims offices in the Army. We are proud of the work we do in this office,” Chism said. “We’ve earned this award and we are glad for the recognition.

“This is the third award we’ve received in four years. We’re not a major installation like Fort Bragg (North Carolina) or Fort Campbell (Kentucky). But we are as good or better at our work than any other claims office in the Army.”

In presenting the awards to the legal employees, AMCOM commander Maj. Gen. Doug Gabram thanked them for the long-term service they have provided to the U.S. Government, the Army and to its employees and families throughout the entire North Alabama region.

“You just don’t represent AMCOM. You represent Redstone Arsenal and the Army and the U.S. Government. Your portfolio and reach are so broad,” Gabram said. “What you do protects the interests of the U.S. Government, the Army and the taxpayer.”

Gabram praised the teamwork of the office, pointing out their ability to have a significant impact even with a small staff.

“The relationships that you develop with people as you help them and represent our Army are what will carry you through life,” he said. “The work that you do as a team makes a difference for AMCOM and the Army, and the employees of this organization.”

In fiscal year 2016, the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, located in Building 3439 on Honest John Road, worked 257 recovery claims, 81 tort claims and 22 personnel claims.

Recovery claims recoup the medical costs of an accident involving the Army or Army personnel from private insurance companies when the accident is the fault of a non-government party. Tort claims are filed against the Army by a private individual. Personnel claims are filed by government employees when their private property has been damaged by the government due to their work.

“The Army Claims Service works to ensure that each Staff Judge Advocate office operates on the same standards,” Chism said. “When we applied for these awards, we had to provide information that showed we were meeting all the standards. We are among about 20 Army legal claims offices that are meeting a certain standard of excellence.”

The fiscal year 2016 awards will be the last awarded based largely on personnel claims, Chism said, because personnel claims have now been centralized at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

The 29-county area managed by Redstone’s Office of the Staff Judge Advocate includes Birmingham, Anniston and Tuscaloosa.

“This large geographical area requires a lot of travel to distant counties to investigate claims made against Army units, such as the Army National Guard or Army recruiting offices,” Chism said.

Some of the more interesting claims that came out of the fiscal year 2016 claims process included 50 inquiries associated with blasting activity from the demilitarization of obsolete munitions at Redstone Arsenal. Of those inquiries, the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate successfully adjudicated 25 blast damage claims against the Army.

In addition, the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate gained a dismissal from the Federal court of two $20 million wrongful death lawsuits because the deaths were proven to have occurred outside the line of duty or Army responsibility. The office also collected more than $43,000 from an auto insurance company for a 2015 traffic incident on Redstone that destroyed government property.

The office coordinated extensive investigations and negotiations involving household goods shipments that were contaminated by mold and mildew. Because of such efforts, the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate was able to negotiate with the shipping companies to remediate the damage and resolve the damage claims.

The office’s Medical Affirmative Claims Division has established itself as the regional authority for TRICARE recovery as it is the sole point of contact for Army TRICARE medical liens in northern Alabama. The office reviewed more than $1.1 million in medical affirmative claims and recovered for the government more than $491,000 from private insurance companies to cover TRICARE costs, which is a $60,000 increase over fiscal year 2015 actions.

Employees representing Redstone’s Office of the Staff Judge Advocate have extensive experience with the military and in the legal field. Chism, who has served as the claims chief for seven years, retired from the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 2011 with 31 years of active and Reserve service.

Miles retired as a sergeant first class paralegal specialist in 2002 after 24 years of activity duty, including serving as the chief paralegal noncommissioned officer for Army Claims Service Europe. He has 15 years of service as a civilian paralegal for Army, including three years in the Redstone office.

Hall has served 10 years with Redstone’s Fox Army Health Center, with the past five years working with the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate under a memorandum of understanding between the Army Judge Advocate General and the Army Medical Command.

• Date Taken: 11.29.2017
• Date Posted: 11.29.2017 14:11
• Story ID: 256796
• Location: REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, US
• Hometown: REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, US