The A to Z Guide to VA Disability Benefits
JimStrickland912
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Champva
Click http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/champva/champva.asp
Claims, How To File
At any point after a veteran has completed military service and he or she believes that military service has caused an injury or illness (called a "condition" by the VA) or that a preexisting condition was aggravated by military service, the veteran may file an application for disability compensation.
But
your task isn't complete. If you aren't confident you can do all that,
you should seek a representative. Even if you do ask a representative
such as a VSO to help you, the VSO will want you to be involved in your
own claim. You may be told that, "This isn't a spectator sport!" Your
VSO will do a much better job for you if you're actively helping to
gather evidence an getting good copies of evidence to the VSO for
review.
Also read; http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfOCT07/nf101607-1.htm
Communication
I am of the opinion that there is but a single acceptable way to communicate with your Department of Veterans Affairs.
The certified letter with return receipt requested is the safest way to ensure that your message is promptly delivered.
Other methods have significant down sides.
While it may seem quicker to fax in a message, all too often the fax machine on the other end is broken, out of paper, low on toner or there may be a paper jam. You may receive a confirmation that the data was sent but that confirmation can't assure you that there's anything readable at the VARO.
The toll free number provided by VA is the same number across the nation. That's because it doesn't connect you to your regional office but instead routes your call to a "call center". The call centers are notorious for delivering misinformation to veterans who call in. It's rumored (probably factual) that once you've dialed in and are speaking to a person at the call center, they have 3 minutes to answer your questions and get you off the phone.
The call center does not have access to your folder. They have a computer screen that gives them some scant information about your case but the screen is complex and might not be updated and accurate.
The IRIS email system works reasonably well if you wish to ask a general question about benefits or to have a form mailed to you.
While there is no perfect way to ensure that your document will be safely delivered into the hands of the individual that needs it, the certified letter seems the best option. The return receipt tells you that it was delivered to the RO and if you're well organized about keeping your records, that will be what you need in the future should a document go missing.
Compensation
Click http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/index.htm
Compensation Rate Tables
Click http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/
Veterans Day Parade, Beaufort, SC 2007
Click http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/champva/champva.asp
Veterans Day Parade, Beaufort, SC 2007
Claims, How To File
At any point after a veteran has completed military service and he or she believes that military service has caused an injury or illness (called a "condition" by the VA) or that a preexisting condition was aggravated by military service, the veteran may file an application for disability compensation.
There
are no time limits or restrictions except in a few very limited
circumstances. As a rule, the veteran may seek disability compensation
for any condition they reasonably believe was caused or aggravated by
their service at any time.
The
initial filing of a claim for disability benefits is simple. The
veteran may file the appropriate forms himself or he may seek
representation and assistance from an accredited Veterans Service
Officer who will likely work for a Veterans Service Organization. At
this stage of the process, the veteran is not allowed to pay anyone to
represent them. In practice, this means that a veteran who wants to
have someone representative him or her will likely use the services of
a VSO, as very few attornies work on preparing initial claims.
More
about representation follows later. For the purposes of this chapter,
we will assume that veterans who read on are interested in filing the
claim for themselves.
Prior to filing your claim you should consider some of the basic elements that are required to obtain an award of benefits.
(1)
You must be eligible. In other words, you must have served and possess
a discharge that is other than dishonorable. If your discharge is other
than honorable but not dishonorable, there may be restrictions on the
type of benefits you may receive.
(2)
You must have an current injury or illness (condition) that can be
attributed to your service. This means that you should have a fairly
clear diagnosis in a medical record prepared by a qualified health care
provider, preferrably a physician. The more precisely defined the
condition is in the record, the better it is for your application for
benefits.
(3)
You must have evidence to support your claim. The strongest evidence is
that of an event that is recorded in a Service Medical Record (SMR) and
a detailed description of the cause of the injury or illness leading to
the condition, as well as how it was treated and any residual effects
of the event. If the condition is related to a non-combat related
event, documentation of the accident or incident that caused a
condition (such as a broken bone), documentation of an admission to a
military or other hospital, a record of treatment and follow-up care.
Not everthing is required for every claim, but the more supporting
evidence, the better chance of an award.
(4)
Your medical evidence must be clear enought to prove to VA that your
current condition is connected to the in-service event - this is called
"service connection" or "nexus." Without a service connection, all the
evdence in the world of a current medical condition and an event in
service will not result in an award of benefits.
I
suggest that you consider another set of requirements before you file a
claim for yourself. You should be well organized and prepared to deal
with the requirements of a lot of paperwork, copying of files and
searching for evidence. It helps if you are familiar with the way to
conduct a search for records on the Internet, use a word processor, own
or have access to a scanner and copier and you're confident that you
have the patience to deal with details. The VA process, even at its
best, is slow, prone to error, and requires constant attention. A
veteran who can organize his or her information and keep good records
of interactions with VA during the claims process is much better
positioned to be successful.
If you believe that you meet these requirements, you should proceed to apply for your deserved benefits.
You
should file your claim as soon as possible after you decide that you
are eligible to apply for benefits. This is because the date of filing
(when the claim form is received by VA) establishes the start date of
your award. You do not need to wait to file your claim until you have
gathered all the supporting evidence. You'll have plenty of time to
submit your evidence after you file. Waiting until you gather every
last piece of evidence only costs you money because VA will only pay
you from the date of the claim, no matter when the condition began.
You
may file an informal or a formal claim. An informal claim may be as
simple as a brief letter to the VA stating you wish to file a claim.
The VA will accept that and then ask you to complete the VA Form 21-526
to formalize your claim. If you are reading this, there is really no
reason to file an informal claim because eventually you have to
complete the formal claim form anyways. Also, there are often disputes
over informal claims and you risk VA later not recognizing your claim.
The
much preferred method to file a claim is to complete a VA Form 21-526.
The link will take you to the 23 page form on the VA web site. This is
a PDF document and that requires that you have the free PDF reader
installed on your computer. That PDF reader is available by clicking
here.
As
of this writing, the Form 21-526 on the VA site is "fillable". This
means that you may complete the form by using your computer to type
information into the required places. After you've done that and
finished the form, you may print it out for mailing to the VA Regional
Office that will serve you. If you aren't comfortable doing that, you
may print out copies to complete in ink and mail to VA.
If
your computer refuses to cooperate with you, you may go to any VA
facility such as a regional office, VA medical center or clinic and
they will provide you with one. You may also call 1-800-827-1000 to ask
that a form be mailed to you.
Before
you begin, carefully read through the instructions. While the form
isn't difficult to complete, understanding what will be required before
you begin will save you time and frustration.
Once
you've completed and signed the form, it's time to mail it in. The VA
doesn't want all those instructions so you may keep those for your
records. Be sure you keep a good copy of the completed form for
yourself.
It
should be mailed to the VA Regional Office (VARO) in the state where
you live (or the closest VARO if you live in a state with more than
one) using Certified Mail with Return Receipt requested. I strongly
recommend that this is the only way that you should ever send documents
such as forms and evidence to the VARO. I do not recommend using a fax
machine, any sort of email or even hand delivery. Certified mail will
provide you with signed evidence of delivery just in case a document
goes missing.
Once
you've mailed off your 21-526 application and you have the receipt
proving delivery in hand, you should begin in earnest to gather the
evidence you'll need to support your claim. VA will eventually notify
you that they have received your application and over the next few
weeks and months you will receive letters that will remind you to
submit any and all evidence possible.
It's
worth noting that the letters you'll receive will often be repetitive
and they'll make you wonder if VA has received anything you've sent in
already. Not to worry, the letters are computer generated and are part
of the requirement that VA has to assist you in developing your claim.
You should keep everything you receive from VA in case you run into a
problem about whether or when something was or was not sent to you. If
you get into the habit of putting everything you send to and recieve
from VA in a file in by date, you will have no trouble finding whatever
information you may need in the future. If you've used certified mail
and return receipts, you should save each one of the certified receipts
and return receipts with the documents that they go with. Also, if you
have the receipts, VA received your documents and they'll get around to
them in turn.
If
you do not receive any letter from VA in about two months, you may want
to send another copy of your claim and a copy of the certified mail and
return receipts, along with a cover letter explaining to VA that you
sent in the form before, but have not received any acknowledgement.
This will usually prompt a response.
You
are probably going to receive a notice or a call about a compensation
and pension exam. Even if it's short notice and it may be inconvenient
for you, you should make every effort to get to the exam as soon as
possible. If you just can't make it on the date scheduled, notify VA at
your earliest convenience. If you don't show up for an exam or if
you're extremely late for a scheduled exam, the VA may default to a
denial of your benefits and you then have a real issue to confront.
Now
you wait. You may wait six months to a year before any progress is
made. During this time it's important that all you do is wait. Don't
call the VA to ask why it's taking so long, don't write angry letters
to your Senator or Congressman. Any action you take now, other than
submitting supporting evidence, is likely to slow your claim down. The
VA is estimated by various sources to be a year or more behind in the
processing of some 400,000 to 800,000 claims. Yours is in line with
those and if you have done your job well with your application and
evidence, your claim will eventually have its turn to be rated.
The
only time I recommend that you ask VA to speed up your claim is if you
are truly critically ill or your doctors do not believe you will
outlive a long wait. In that case, VA may prioritize your claim for
processing after you've notified them. The notification of your desire
to have your claim prioritized should be sent as a brief letter via
certified mail and should include a statement from a physician as to
the seriousness of your condition.
If
it sounds simple to file a claim for disability compensation benefits,
it's because it is. Winning your claim after you've filed is another
matter entirely. If you do this part of the process well, you've just
markedly increased your chances of a good result.
Also read; http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfOCT07/nf101607-1.htm
Vietnam ... Private First Class Russell
R. Widdifield of 3rd Platoon, Company M, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine
Regiment, takes a break during a ground movement 25 miles north of An
Hoa, North Vietnam.
Combined Ratings
The VA disability system is somewhat unique in assigning percentages of disability. A condition may be seen to be 10% disabling or 100% disabling depending on a variety of factors.
The system recognizes that to have many minor disabling conditions isn't the same as to have a single disabling condition that has a serious impact on the veterans life.
For example, a veteran who is rated at 10% for tinnitus, 10% for a deviated nasal septum, 10% for rhinitis, 10% for urinary frequency, 10% for scars and 10% for an amputated toe isn't as disabled as a veteran who has Restrictive Lung Disease rated at 60%.
This is where the Combined Ratings Table comes in to play.
Briefly, the CRT begins with the more serious (higher rated) disability and combines the next highest rated condition, working down the list and recalculating the number each time.
The veteran with 6, 10% ratings would have an overall rating of 50% rather than 60%.
The table takes some practice...try it for yourself.
The VA disability system is somewhat unique in assigning percentages of disability. A condition may be seen to be 10% disabling or 100% disabling depending on a variety of factors.
The system recognizes that to have many minor disabling conditions isn't the same as to have a single disabling condition that has a serious impact on the veterans life.
For example, a veteran who is rated at 10% for tinnitus, 10% for a deviated nasal septum, 10% for rhinitis, 10% for urinary frequency, 10% for scars and 10% for an amputated toe isn't as disabled as a veteran who has Restrictive Lung Disease rated at 60%.
This is where the Combined Ratings Table comes in to play.
Briefly, the CRT begins with the more serious (higher rated) disability and combines the next highest rated condition, working down the list and recalculating the number each time.
The veteran with 6, 10% ratings would have an overall rating of 50% rather than 60%.
The table takes some practice...try it for yourself.
Buffalo Soldiers MC & Chaplain of Patriot Guard Riders, GA State Chapter
take a break from ride and honor guard duties
at a funeral October 19 2009, Savannah GA
take a break from ride and honor guard duties
at a funeral October 19 2009, Savannah GA
I am of the opinion that there is but a single acceptable way to communicate with your Department of Veterans Affairs.
The certified letter with return receipt requested is the safest way to ensure that your message is promptly delivered.
Other methods have significant down sides.
While it may seem quicker to fax in a message, all too often the fax machine on the other end is broken, out of paper, low on toner or there may be a paper jam. You may receive a confirmation that the data was sent but that confirmation can't assure you that there's anything readable at the VARO.
The toll free number provided by VA is the same number across the nation. That's because it doesn't connect you to your regional office but instead routes your call to a "call center". The call centers are notorious for delivering misinformation to veterans who call in. It's rumored (probably factual) that once you've dialed in and are speaking to a person at the call center, they have 3 minutes to answer your questions and get you off the phone.
The call center does not have access to your folder. They have a computer screen that gives them some scant information about your case but the screen is complex and might not be updated and accurate.
The IRIS email system works reasonably well if you wish to ask a general question about benefits or to have a form mailed to you.
While there is no perfect way to ensure that your document will be safely delivered into the hands of the individual that needs it, the certified letter seems the best option. The return receipt tells you that it was delivered to the RO and if you're well organized about keeping your records, that will be what you need in the future should a document go missing.
Compensation
Click http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/index.htm
Compensation Rate Tables
Click http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/
Veterans Day Parade, Beaufort, SC 2007
CRSC provides tax-free monthly payments to eligible retired veterans with combat-related injuries. With CRSC you can receive an amount equal to or less than your length of service retirement pay and your VA disability compensation, if the injury is combat-related.