ILO

 

Our Mission

The Installation Legal Office is available to all Soldiers, dependents, and retirees. Services include the preparation of wills, powers of attorney and translation of documents. The office also offers advice in a wide range of legal areas including landlord/tenant, military administrative, family law, and consumer law. To set up an appointment call (787) 707-5155.

We also have information papers, resources, and helpful links available below for your reference prior to setting up an appointment.

 Ethics frequently asked questions
General Power of Attorney information
Financial Liability Investigations of Property Loss (FLIPLs)
Garnishments & Involuntary Allotments
Service Members Civil Relief Act
Separation under the Qualitative Management Program (QMP)
Spousal Support Requirements under AR 608-99
Compassionate Reassignments
FORT BUCHANAN TAX ASSISTANCE CENTER IS NOT OPEN FOR THE  PREPARATION OF FEDERAL TAX RETURN.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has available its IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs that offer free tax help for taxpayers who qualify.  
For the Vita locator site where customers can find information of other VITA Tax Centers operating in Puerto Rico click here:
This site is updated regularly, so it’s important to use the link to access the latest information.

Claims Division

Our Mission

The Claims Office's Mission: pursuant to Army Regulation 27-20, is to process, investigate, adjudicate, and negotiate the settlement of non-contractual claims on behalf of and against the Army filed at Fort Buchanan. As shown below, these types of claims include personnel claims, tort claims, affirmative claims, and Article 139 Claims. We provide professional resolution of claims filed against the United States government and assert claims on behalf of the United States government against responsible parties. Although our office cannot advise anyone in filing a claim against the government, we can provide you with the necessary forms.

The Claims The Claims Division adjudicates personal claims for property damage incident to service filed   by Soldiers. We also receive, investigate, and adjudicate all claims filed against the United States Army in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Additionally, we assert claims on behalf of the United States against third parties responsible for damages and expenses incurred by the Federal Government. We may be contacted via e-mail at: Claims Division

If you have any questions regarding a potential claim, feel free to contact us at (787) 707-5155.

General Information:

Congress has passed laws governing payment to you for losses as a result of your military service. Not all losses resulting from Army service are reimbursable. For example, a loss that is partly your fault is not reimbursable. Army judge advocates around the world process claims under the supervision of the HYPERLINK: US Army Claims Service home page. Army Regulation (AR) 27‐ 20 covers the basic claims procedures.

You May Have A Claim Against the Government if:

Missing property is stolen from government quarters, from private quarters located outside the United States, or from an authorized storage place. Warehouses, offices, hospitals, baggage holding areas, and unit supply rooms are examples of authorized storage places.
Property in government quarters or storage is damaged or destroyed by fire, flood, hurricane, theft, vandalism, or other unusual occurrences. Hail damage to an automobile parked on post and damage caused to property in the barracks when a water pipe breaks are examples of unusual occurrences.
Property, including privately owned vehicles, is lost, damaged, or destroyed while transported or stored under government orders.
Property is lost, damaged, or destroyed as a direct result of enemy action, riots directed against Americans overseas, soldiers giving first aid in a public disaster, and soldiers saving human lives or government property.
Property is lost or damaged due to wrongful or negligent acts of Army agents.

 

The Claims Division processes three broad categories of claims:

 
1. Tort Claims ‐ Claims against the U.S. for personal injury, death, or property damage caused by the negligence of military personnel acting in the scope of employment or occurring incident to the noncombat operations of the armed services. These include claims under the Military Claims Act, the Federal Tort Claims Act, the National Guard Claims Act, the Foreign Claims Act, and a number of other claims statutes.
Documents required to support a traffic accident claim are:
Two (2) repair estimates, one of which must be in Mitchell type computer generated format.
Police accident report, government accident report (SF 91), or statement of GOV driver attesting to our liability.
Pictures of damages. Vehicle registration and claimant’s driver’s license.
All auto repair estimates must include a deduction over auto parts to be replaced; if they do not, a 10%‐20% will be deducted from parts estimate by Claims Attorney.
A settlement cannot exceed the vehicle’s appraised value as per Blue Book or other reasonable valuation method. Ordinarily, parts that are routinely replaced (tires, shock absorbers, etc.) will be depreciated IAW the Depreciation Guide.
It is generally faster for a claimant in a car accident claim to file a claim with his/her insurance company and just claim reimbursement of deductable from us. The Point of Contact (POC) for claims over $50,000 is Mr. Walter Parker at the U.S. Army Claims Service, Fort Meade, MD at (301) 677‐9457.
2. Personnel Claims Act (PCA) ‐ Claims against the U.S. filed by soldiers, DA civilians, and other military personnel for loss and damage of personal property occurring incident to service.
These include claims for damage to household goods during a PCS move. For damage of household goods (HHG) claim, Plan A should be filed through the Defense Personal Property System (DPS) (The DPS Help Desk can be reached by phone at 1-800-462-2176 (select option 5). Plan B would be to file with the Fort Buchanan Claims Office. We can only process PCA claims for Army personnel or DoD Civilians in Puerto Rico.
Each branch of service processes its own PCA claims. Regardless of the route chosen to claim damaged HHG, a claimant MUST provide notice of damaged or missing items within 75 days of delivery. This may be accomplished by listing the items at the DPS website or by timely mailing/faxing/e‐mailing DD Forms 1840 and 1840R to the concerned Transportation Service Provider (TSP). The TSP is the carrier that has contracted the move with the DoD and which name appears in the General Bill of Lading (GBL). Normally, the packing and delivery carriers are just subcontractors of the TSP.
However, we assist all Service Members as much as possible with their claim; it is critical that claimants file completed DD Form 1840R or give notice of lost/damaged items on DPS website within 75 days of delivery of HHG.Soldiers and DoD Civilians can also file with us service‐connected property claims unrelatedto HHG, such as a coconut falling on POV parked at duty station (on or off post) or on‐post government quarters.

Depreciation Guide is applied to all items claimed on PCA claims.

3. Affirmative Claims ‐ The mission of the Affirmative Claims Branch is to assert claims against third parties to recover the cost of:
The loss, damage to, or destruction of Army property
Medical costs associated with the treatment of soldiers, retirees, and their respective family members who – as a result of negligence, products liability, medical malpractice or other tortious acts – were injured and subsequently treated at a military Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) or at a civilian hospital that was reimbursed for its costs by DOD’s TRICARE Management Activity. These are known as “Medical Affirmative Claims” (MAC)
Command Claims Services and Area Claims Offices collect medical and property‐related affirmative claims under the MAC program. The program is supervised by the Commander, USARCS, on behalf of TJAG, who has been delegated the responsibility under 10 U.S.C. § 1095, 10 U.S.C. § 1095b, and the Federal Medical Care Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2651‐2653.
Note that responsibility for collecting health insurance and Medicare supplemental has been delegated to MEDCOM and regional medical commands in foreign countries, which execute the Army MAC program.
If you receive medical care paid for by TRICARE, please remember that federal regulations require beneficiaries to cooperate in any investigation by providing information requested by affirmative claims personnel to enable them to recover the cost of care from the negligent party, their insurance company and/or yours. So please cooperate fully with the affirmative claims team as they investigate the facts surrounding the claim and the costs to the government associated with it. You’re not just helping them—you’re helping yourself, your family members, and the entire Army family.
 

For more information, visit US Army Claims Service home page

* Household Goods Claims
* Claim for loss of or damage to personal property incident to service DD 1842
* List of property and claims analysis chart DD 1844