Insider's Guide for Military Veterans Seeking Disability Compensation

If you are/were a US soldier, airman, marine or seaman and are/were on active duty, or in the reserves or national guard and visited a doctor, hospital, health clinic or any medical facility for any reason, then you need to read this guide; it could literally be worth thousands of dollars to you throughout your life time! Read On.

What do you mean by "Insider?"

By using the word "insider," I am referring to information that is not common knowledge about the Veterans Administration claim process. For the last 23 years, since I left the United States Air Force, I have been actively seeking how to increase my compensation rating for my military service-connected disability and later, other disabilities. After all this time, learning a little here a little there, I have finally cracked the nut and am willing to share my knowledge with you--absolutely free of charge! The only thing I ask, is that you pass this knowledge on to the soldier, airman, marine or seaman who served along side of you. Maybe they had-your-back at some point in your life and now you can finally repay them, or maybe you want to pay-it-forward to a random recipient and reap a harvest of blessings in return. Maybe you've been like me, and have eaten from the self-serve line more often than not, and after some deep soul-searching have decided to help someone else for a change. If so, Read On.

What's your story?

You may be asking, "how are qualified to write such an important article like this?" Well, I'll tell you. Throughout my post military life I have been fortunate enough, or you might say blessed to be in the right place at the right time, asking the right questions to the right person. I personally don't believe in coincidences, so I will unabashedly give all the credit to my Lord and Savior-Jesus Christ, my inspiration and my redeemer. Don't worry, I won't get preachy on ya, just gotta give credit where credit's due, and after all, this is my story. Moving on...

When I first got out of the service, and the nexus that started me on my journey, I had an earache that hurt to no end, so I drove 30 miles or so to the local veteran's hospital. Don't know why I went there instead of the local hospital, which was 5 minutes away, but there I was, waiting with my number in hand for 3-4 hours to see a foreign accented doc (if you are a foriegn accented doctor--no offence intended,) when out of the blue one of the process clerks-for want of a better name-asked me if I was a disabled vet. I probably said something like "well, I'm not in a wheelchair or nothin', if that's what you mean!" Nonplussed, he went on to tell me how it would behoove me to file a claim for any-read that, every-health issue(s) I had while in-service. At the time I couldn't remember anything so life-altering that would qualify me for a disability but, undeterred, he asked me what I was at the clinic for, so I told him and he said "well there you go." I said, somewhat dumbfounded, "you mean for an earache I can file a VA claim?" He proceeded to explain that I probably would only get a 0 % rating at the time, but should it worsen as I got older, I could always file for an increase.

Besides that, I could get free or nearly free medical care for the rest of my life, to which I replied "where do I sign?" He instructed me on how to go about acquiring my military medical records (follow this link for instructions: www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/medical.html ) and then acquiring and filing a veterans disability compensation claim (online fillable, VA Form 21-526 here: www.va.gov/vaforms/form_detail.asp ) That was 1985, and to date, because of a few strategically placed VA employees and vets (my guiding angels,) I am a now at 50%, and looking to go up to 80% within the next year. You can see the rates for yourself here: ( www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits/va-compensation-tables )

Insider Secrets for a Lifetime of Income!

Tip #1 Now for the real reason you've been reading this article. I don't want to lay a lot of heavy info that would bore to tears a casual reader. There are several books available that can do that-handle the heavy that is, while not necessarily boring you to tears. No, what I aim to do is present you with a few gems that took me decades to learn, but will take a lifetime to perfect. The first and foremost, in terms of importance, is what qualifies as a well grounded claim in the eyes of the Veterans Administration? What is the magic formula to loosen the purse strings of probably the stingiest of all government agencies? The answer is simply this, in three steps: To submit what the VA calls a "well grounded claim" you must have evidence of a medical condition that either started while you were in the military, or a preexisting condition that was aggravated by your stint in the military. Either way you'll have to comb through your military medical records to see exactly what qualifies as prime evidence for your claim. You can also use hospital or clinical records from private-nonmilitary sources, but you'll need to request them separately from each source.

Next, are you still suffering from a condition you had while in the military? If so, this is the second requirement for a well-grounded claim. You'll need to call or write each doctor or hospital you have visited since you've ended your service to find out their particular method for getting a copy of your records. It's usually a matter of them mailing you a "release of medical information" form of some sort and you returning it signed so they can mail your records to you.

The last and possibly the most crucial element of a well-grounded-claim, is called the "nexus" or "evidence of symptomatology," which basically means, can you show evidence, much like a bread crumb trail, leading from your military health issue connecting it to your present condition. In other words, have you seen any kind of doctor since your exit from the military, for the same health issue you are currently experiencing. You'll need to get a copy of these records also. Now, if you have a "chronic" health condition (as stated in your military records) this chain of evidence may not be necessary.

Tip #2 You will want to become very familiar with Title 38 of the CFR, Parts 3 & 4, for your particular issue(s) relevant to what you are claiming. (You can find it online here: ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx If the link doesn't work, goto www.archives.gov, look for Federal Regestry link on the left, click on Electronic CFR, search for Title 38, then Part 3-4) Here you'll find data for each and every health condition and, amazingly enough, exactly what evidence is required, for example, to be rated at 50% for Sinusitis. Simply amazing!

Tip #3 Try to get a letter from your doctor stating that your present condition is, more likely than not, directly related to the health issue you had while in the military. If a doctors letter is golden, then a VA doctors letter is platinum! Getting a signed letter from your doctor will go a long way toward winning your claim. If your doc won't give you a letter, change doctors until you find one that will.

Tip #4 Try to get letters from your buddies that served with you and knew about your situation, or about the environment you worked in. For example, if your claim is for hearing loss, have a buddy describe how your job required you to work around mortar fire. Don't forget to get letters from your family as well, stating, for example, how it is to live around you with your present condition.

Tip #5 Before filing, you'll want to search the "Board of Veterans' Appeals Decisions" for the conditions you want to file for. (Find it here: www.index.va.gov/search/va/bva.html ) This works especially well for secondary issues IE. put in the search box: :"Chronic Otitis Media secondary Tinnitus." This search query will bring up all appellate decisions where you are looking for secondary conditions (explained in tip #6) related to Otitis Media (ear infections.) You might have to weed through several decisions before finding the specifics you are looking for because, lets say the appeal was for several claims, one being Tinnitus secondary to Sinusitis, and Chronic Otitis Media is listed in a separate claim within the same appeal.

Tip #6 Secondary conditions are those which are caused by your service-connected condition. Yes you can get paid for those too, but only if subtracted from your initial service-connected condition. For example, you have service-connected Sinusitis for a 30% rating, and you're claiming secondary Sleep Apnea for a rating of 50%. Your combined rating, should you win, would be 30% - 50% = 20% plus 30% for Sinusitis equals 50%, which is the most you could be rated for the secondary condition. Whereas if Sleep Apnea was directly service-connected , you would be be at 50% Sleep Apnea, added to service connected Sinusitis of 30% for a total of 80% combined. I don't mean to confuse you here, but just because you're rated at 80%, you may only be paid at 70%, due to a secret formula the VA has for combined ratings.

Tip #7 This is the last tip I have for you today, seven being my favorite number, is for a book you must order or check out from your local library. The book is called "The Veteran's Survival Guide: How to File and Collect on VA Claims." ISBN #1-59797-0514, by John D. Roche. (you can order one here: www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597970514 ) No I am not the author, but I wish I was. If only I had this book 20 years ago, I would have gladly paid 10 times what he's asking for it. You'll want to read it over and over again, it is that dense with information. Some of the tips here are from this book, but that is only the tip of the iceberg (pun intended.) Buy it! Better yet read it, and buy one for a friend.

I hope this guide has been helpful. If it becomes a popular article, I will consider writing an update sometime in the future. Until then, at ease soldier, you are dismissed (to get to work on your claim that is.)