I Have My Original Str's

[glider222]

Before I send my original STR's off to Numan, GA, I am looking for opinions of how any of you experienced Veterans would go about copying and weeding out junk? Also, should I include my civilian treatment records such as MRI's, EMG's and surgery reports?

When I out processed I kept my original 201 file and med/dental records because I did not trust anyone and I am a Rebel. No one from my command has asked for them andd I have been medically retired since 2001.

[Andyman73]

When I was getting out, I made a complete copy of my SMRs for my self and for the VA. I handed them directly to a VA rep from the Philly VARO. So I know they have all the same records that I do. But that doesn't help me, tho.

[msattler]

Well update, My Reopen claim closed on Friday afternoon decision letter sent as of today no changes on Ebenefits not even under Historical claims still shows orginal claim so now just waiting for the denial letter to arrive.

[Vync]

When I was getting out, I made a complete copy of my SMRs for my self and for the VA. I handed them directly to a VA rep from the Philly VARO. So I know they have all the same records that I do. But that doesn't help me, tho.

Please keep in mind that even if you gave the VA a copy of your full SMR's, that does not necessarily mean they have it. I even had a letter in there from my state rep indicating a copy of my medical records was collected. VA After I requested a copy of my C-file, I went page by page, front and back, and found that they were missing some records, so I provided them with what they needed. I also found records from another veteran mixed into mine, but I worked with the RO and returned them. If they did that to the other guy, they could sure do that to me too! In the end, I was able to submit the missing records which eventually helped me win a claim.

[msattler]

Please keep in mind that even if you gave the VA a copy of your full SMR's, that does not necessarily mean they have it. I even had a letter in there from my state rep indicating a copy of my medical records was collected. VA After I requested a copy of my C-file, I went page by page, front and back, and found that they were missing some records, so I provided them with what they needed. I also found records from another veteran mixed into mine, but I worked with the RO and returned them. If they did that to the other guy, they could sure do that to me too! In the end, I was able to submit the missing records which eventually helped me win a claim.

Something happened to me like that with the NPRC I had requested my service records and when the disc came in it was someones elses, I called them and they sent the correct ones and I also got a call from the supervisor saying they were very sorry for the mix up.How do you get a copy of the c-file?

[rootbeer22]

glider222:

The members here have all given you great advice....records equal evidence and evidence is always "king" when it comes to deciding a claim and few would dispute that. One issue is to ensure that you send in copies of both sides of all and each civilian or military service medical records that you have. If you send one sided copies there's a better chance that there will be a mistake in the digitizing process in which only one side of a record would be digitized and you may lose some documentation in your C-File? I would recommend that you hold on to your originals and send copies exclusively. Frankly, if there's a problem in the future with VBA needing an original for some reason then you can at least deal with it later because you have the original. Over the years at military medical treatment facilities and due to the constant movement of service members and their families for station moves, I'm sure a lot medical records have been copied and recopied many times over. So sending in copies for your claim is more that acceptable and I'm sure the VBA would prefer the originals if possible--but I would not send originals? But after one leaves the services, the quality of reading and interpreting those records is very important also because they may be your only source of evidence for a particular injury during the service. Consequently, many vets have been denied service connections over the years because, just one piece of paper was missing from their service medical records that reported their injuries for a specific visit or time period to be treated.

Also, make sure that you send in the "clearest and cleanest" copies possible because they are going to be digitized and need to be readable and more importantly--searchable. So, when you do make copies of the originals, find a copy machine that you can make sure the resolution for the copies is of a very high quality. There's a new system called VBMS that VBA uses now that becomes a Vet's electronic and segregated claim file. Certainly, I would try to never send the originals to the VA if possible but make sure that the copies that you send are really good ones as I stated earlier. My understanding that if you have a record in the system that is difficult to read or search for a rater that it is placed in a "general location" of VBMS that may or may not be checked and considered by a rater. Let's face it...they are very busy and under a time crunch so you want to make it as easy as possible that they have access to your medical records. Frankly, it's best not so send duplicates but if you are not sure to send something that's in the file or not, I would think that it's best to "default" by just sending the information again so that it's actually contained within your VBMS anyway.

As other Vets have said, the older system for processing and digitizing service medical records (smrs) at the Regional Offices level was not very reliable but it was a good start towards records digitization which is much more efficient now than the past. As a result, Vets were finding some of their records missing and even found other Vets records mixed in with theirs which obviously could hurt the outcome of some claims results? But, it appears that the VBMA system is getting better with each passing month which ultimately helps to speed up everyone's claims processing. Anyway...goodluck and godspeed...Rootbeer22

Edited August 5, 2015 by rootbeer22