Capt Contaminate - sorry, one more comment on the medical records - on this site I found an article by a "nurse, vet, claims rater" and she states:
"I understand that some veterans cannot afford to pay for copies of their private medical records. However, if at all possible, include copies of relevant medical records with your claim. It really does speed the process. We have to give the doctor or hospital 60 days to respond to our request before sending a second request. They have 30 days after that. If they don't respond, we do no more because it is ultimately the responsibility of the veteran to provide relevant private records.
- Relevant is the key. I go through every piece of paper sent in support of the claim. If for instance, you are claiming knee problems, your psychiatry records, gynecologists records, billing/insurance statements, etc are not needed and just slow my ability to decide the claim. More is not better, relevant is."
So, I guess I am still confused - maybe I should go and talk to the Federal VA public contact people and ask them as well?