Claim Resources

[sgmdae]

First of all my VSO guided me in the correct direction, that was excellent

Now on my last visit, he was very unorgainized and didn't help with the complete packet that VA needed

My question, is it best to use the VSO as a stepping stone, does it reflect on the claim, rating and success

This is my claim should I take ownership, and submit on my own.

He seems to be quick, to stuff what I have in envelope, instead of reading and recommending a good direction to go

For example, he checked no other information is provide, when I have tons coming in and wanted me to sent it that way

[retiredat44]

Rhe ones I have spoken to and have helped me were very good...

Not sure how many people had any bad experiences if at all. I know they are very overworked in my area..

The VSO does not keep copies of information submitted to VA. Many Veterans mistakenly believe that they do. Most VSO's do not follow up. Call back if you call them or generally do more than superficially help a Veteran with their claim. They also are guilty of playing high handed and thinking that they know everything needed when in fact they are poorly trained.

[vmo]

In my county in Ohio---the County Vet.Service Officer (office) keeps a copy of everything submitted to the VA on my behalf. They maintain an office file on each vet's claim for many years. These copies maintained by the county office have saved many vets time and again. Granted, this takes up a lot of office space to maintain such a large and growing filing storage system. However, it is considered a "service" to our Vets. Case in point: A widow had filed a DIC claim pertaining to her husbands death from cancer. He suffered radiation exposure at Camp Desert Rock at atom bomb test "Plumbob"(I believe) and one other. This is where the GI's dug fox holes-trenches in the desert and our government then set off a nuclear explosion on their own troops---the result later is they dropped like flys 30-40 years later from cancer. VARO Cleveland then sent her complete-concise claim to VA Central Office Wash,DC for opinion/ruling. They lost everything, every thing. Thankfully, the County Veterans Officer-office had a complete copy of every item submitted and return letters from the VARO. This all transpired over a number of years. The end result was the widow received a nice fat (real fat) DIC check. Their are some very good county VSO's and offices out there---and unfortunately some bad ones.+

[fanaticbooks]

Rhe ones I have spoken to and have helped me were very good...

Not sure how many people had any bad experiences if at all. I know they are very overworked in my area..

There are good, bad and indifferent VSO's. One thing to remember, they are ALL overworked.

There are only so many hours available to a VSO to go through medical records, figure the disabilities, and then write up a claim.

The one most knowledgeable and with the best understanding is the claimant. If the claimant has the time and ability, I feel it is in that person's best interest to do all the research into the correct VA rating (not necessarily percentage, just title) and the medical proofs along with possible nexus and buddy letters.

By organizing and assembling them into a cohesive report, a lot of pertinent information can be provided that an overworked VSO could miss.

Being your own advocate sometimes is the best way to go if you can't find a VSO qualified. A VSO however can be useful if the claimant has done all the grunt work and then has the VSO be the liaison between the VA and the claimant.

The last is basically what we did for my hubby's claim and it worked well. Less than two weeks after submitting the last of the organized documentation to the VSO (for our NOD), a decision had been made. The VSO we utilized did very little other than to let their negotiator know it could be submitted immediately to the VA. He had just submitted what I had done. When the decision from the VA came to us, the submissions were acknowledged in their listing of pertinent records used for decisions.

Actually, that is one of the main reasons I created my website. I wanted others to have that ability to submit a well done claim. Maybe it would help the overworked personnel of both the VSOs and the VA if less time is spent on hunting for info and more on confirming and deciding. It can be a win win situation for everyone.

fanaticbooks

(just a a little note, the decision was actually only 4 days after submitting to the negotiator, but it took a couple of weeks to get the decision letter.)

[allan]

[Do they inform you when they get your medical records

I really need to see them, to see what they have, and what is missing]

sqmdae,

What kind of medical records?

If you mean Service Medical Records(SMR's? You need to request them from the National Archives in St Louis, MO. There is a form to fill out.

Military Medical and Health Records

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-...ds/medical.html

If you mean medical treatment records at the VAMC? You need to fill out the form & request those records from the treating VAMC.

If you mean private treatment records outside the VA & military? Than you need to contact those clinics & hospitals that treated you.

If you havn't requested a complete copy of your C-file, you need to do that also.

DO NOT count on your service rep to do this for you. If you havn't done it. Do it now.

Edited August 2, 2009 by allan

[Berta]

Fantasticbooks, that is EXCELLENT advise-

I dont think I would ever use a POA rep again.

My POA dumped me when I made waves about how they handled my claim.It was the best thing that could have happened to me.

With almost one million claims in the backlog- a vet should start on one day one to gather their evidence.If they have private med recs (or an IMO) that supports the claim, they should send copies of them in with a 21- 4138 right away.And if they might well need a buddy statement- that can take time to get so that too should be a prime goal to work on.

We had a member here who only made one post and said he had been denied for decades and VA denied him again saying he had sent no evidence as proof of any service nexus for anything he claimed.

That told me he probably didn't really have any evidence or was reluctant to try to obtain some.

We know our claims better then anyone else.

My POAs didnt even know (to include their former director) that the VCAA letter I got was clearly deficient and prejudicial to my claim.

I overcame this VCAA error ,as the BVA said, with probative evidence.

But what if I had no idea of what the VCAA letter should have said?

I would have gotten remand due to VCAA violation adding even more time to my claim-which could have been awarded much sooner then it was.( the rep never presented my IMOs to the DRO yet told me he would)They then disappeared from the files and the RO never mentioned them for 4 years.

I made sure I sent them to the BVA too along with copies of other probative evidence the VA never mentioned.

[jsdwd]

The VSO does not keep copies of information submitted to VA. Many Veterans mistakenly believe that they do. Most VSO's do not follow up. Call back if you call them or generally do more than superficially help a Veteran with their claim. They also are guilty of playing high handed and thinking that they know everything needed when in fact they are poorly trained.

My experience has been mixed. The VSO that first assisted me did her job and was an advocate. She left and the person who took over the claim has not been that helpful. He is very over-worked as my state (and I suspect most states) have cut way back on social services and in an office that had three reps he now works alone with the receptionist. He is more of an advocate for the VA than for me, constantly telling me to treat them nicely (I don't need his etiquette advice), etc.

So I guess I have opted to leave my VSO out of the loop and, for now, go it alone. If my DRO process is not satisfactory, I'll probably get a lawyer before going to the BVA.

From the responses to this item, I think we can see that there is a lot of variation from place to place and person to person, and that will most likely continue to be the case.

Ultimately it is your claim and you are the person that needs to be sure that it is done properly. There is a lot of information available on the web. Jim Stickland's Knol is excellent: http://knol.google.com/k/jim-strickland/a-...zs/2?locale=en#

The self-help guide available at the hadit.com site is very good also.

38 CFR (Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations) is the law that governs. It is worth reading it. Get a plan together and post it here and get reaction to it. Stick with the facts and not the attitudes because, no matter how justified the attitudes, they don't get you far. It will be the facts, the language, the preparation and presentation of your claim that will matter.