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Veterans Law Blog strategy vs eBenefits

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glashutte

Question

I studied Veterans Law Blog and he recommends mailing in your claim and organizing the documents like so (see attached). However, is this the old school way to do it?

The only way to do this on eBenefits is to type everything out and attach it as a file in supporting documents. And it would be a lot of files

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478616090_ScreenShot2019-06-24at10_48_44PM.thumb.png.6e48dd3b2ffda2bf5ca51b26ce6e8268.png

Edited by glashutte
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1 minute ago, glashutte said:

By one document do you mean one Statement in Support Form? Or do you mean a very organized and concise PDF file that supports all conditions claimed?

The answer to both is yes.

On the official form after you state see the attached file as I phrased it previously, add in I have uploaded 348 exhibits and listed them all in my typed document.

2 minutes ago, glashutte said:

I am claiming about 10 separate conditions that were diagnosed in-service.

Okay, this is a decision you have to make and I am not questioning you. Just think about these things

First off are you within in a year of your discharge? If so your Effective Date will be the day after you left service.

Second, 10 items is a lot. Set your expectations that this is a complex claim and will take a great deal of time to process, attend all the C&P exams, and make the decisions.

Some vets choose the most harmful items (those they believe will get the highest ratings) and pare down their initial claim to those items. If you are beyond the one year period after service this might be to your advantage. If not, then your ED for the lesser ratings would only be a few months/year after your initial ratings.

It is up to you to decide WHICH way will work best for you.

7 minutes ago, glashutte said:

The top it is just titled Medical Record and it is literally everything medical during my years of service.

 

7 minutes ago, glashutte said:

I retrieved it about a year ago by visiting some website and downloading it through this program called 'Blue Button'? 

That website is likely MyHealtheVet

https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/user-login?redirect=/mhv-portal-web/contact-mhv

check if that is the site you used. If the Services have created their own portals for medical records I don't know about it, but they could have and could use the Blue Button on them too.

8 minutes ago, glashutte said:

it is literally everything medical during my years of service.

are you sure about that?

Things may have changed, and this may only apply to Vets who just got out of the service, but Blue Button on the VA site has always been ONLY for VA treatment records. If for new veterans the VA is automatically importing their STR's into Blue Button that is new information and very advantageous for the newer Vets.

The VA normally orders ALL your military records when you file the claim. So this possibly new thing will make things faster, but seems odd that there was NO announcement about it.

11 minutes ago, glashutte said:

My plan was to highlight parts of the 1000 page medical record and then guide the VA like  Hearing Loss diagnosed (page 54). 

Ahhhh That is a NO.

If you have a PC versus a MAC, with Windows 8 or above you have a built in Print to PDF function. MACs can do the same and so can Ubuntu and all Linux distros, you will have to figure those out on your own.

In a PC, open that thousand page document. Find the page you want, or pages, and PRINT TO PDF.

Making those pages a separate document.

Name it like you will name your Exhibits. in other words the file name will be Exhibit 88 Hearing Test Dated 8 Aug 2018.

When you upload these files that is the file name the VA will see in the VBMS and it should correlate exactly to your exhibit list and all your inline references. you don't want the rater to have to figure out which doc has what in it, that is a recipe for denial.

--------------------

Do me a favor, open that file and go to a page you think is from your service records, do it for several pages you believe to be STR's.

they should have a footer on them that says something like

Copy made from VARMC, St Louis from a record in VA's Possession.

If they have that then you have your STR's.

I would still order a C-file to compare them too, but you will have demonstrated yet another change in the VA process under AMA.

 

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It doesn't say copy from VA

This is what my medical record looks like. Now that I recall, I requested my record from the hospital and it took months for them to send me this file. It is not labeled what it is called though. It has everything from dental record to pictures of my endoscopy to all doctor notes from all visits. Here's a snapshot of a few pages 

med rec.png

med record.png

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2 minutes ago, glashutte said:

It doesn't say copy from VA

This is what my medical record looks like. Now that I recall, I requested my record from the hospital and it took months for them to send me this file. It is not labeled what it is called though. It has everything from dental record to pictures of my endoscopy to all doctor notes from all visits. Here's a snapshot of a few pages 

med rec.png

med record.png

interesting... that looks exactly like an intake form for the VA....check a few more pages for that footer please

 

I am writing you another post. I will have it done soon. please read and consider it.

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37 minutes ago, glashutte said:

Yes this is my initial claim.

ya know, this whole conversation may be starting in the middle. When you asked about the VLB sample I assumed you were filing an appeal. It just didn't click when I posted that last statement to you.

First, do you have a VSO?

Second, are any of your claims for a Mental Health condition?

The reason I ask is that a VSO, particularly with a MH claim involved, will have you hand write your statement. They do this because MH conditions contain, for the most part, an assumption of being scattered, confused, disordered.

Most individuals don't hand write documents in an orderly way, particularly long documents, and this is whether they have an MH condition or not. People with MH conditions often show really bad hand writing... shaky in places, disjointed. confused, erratic. These go into the support of a MH professional seeing the degree of MH affecting the individual. Bad handwriting can help you

That document is the veterans statement of what happened to them, the nexus events, that merit compensation.

you will have to submit one to provide the nexus of the harm you have experienced.

With that in mind, and assuming you are not using a VSO, consider the following.

You don't need such a complex and organized submission as we have been discussing. The VLB doc is for an Appeal to the BVA or CAVC, not an initial claim to the VARO.

If your claim does NOT include an MH condition, then on the Statement in Support of Claim, write your claims. Bilateral Hearing Loss, Knee problem, back problem, etc ete etc each on one line.

Write diagnosed in-service as (fill in IDC code and or actual words in diagnosis) on XXX date.

After the list write a statement saying " I have attached x number of  pages to support my claim"

Then write a short paragraph about each claim. like, I was an artillery gunner with the XXX unit stationed in some sandhole in some desert, for 2 years. We used XXX rounds and fought 458 battles against insurgents. The continuous noise has damaged the hearing in both ears. I have constant ringing in both ears. I cannot sleep because of that noise. I cannot think. It makes me anxious and angry to hear this noise all the time. It causes fights with my partner/spouse/teddy bear.

Do this for each item claimed.

If you do have an MH condition, HAND WRITE THIS. don't worry about neatness too much. just barely legible helps you in many ways. Being too organized can hurt you.

Since this is your initial claim, do you know what DBQ's are? They are the questionnaires that are used during C&P exams. I suggest you get the DBQ for each item being claimed and read them. Find the exact entry in 38 USC that matches your condition and read which rating codes match the conditions you are talking about and what each percentage entails.

That can help you choose the words for your statements. DO NOT use all the same medical and legal jargon. Use synonyms a real person would use in conversation.

Please NOTE.

DO NOT LIE!!!! Tell the truth.

Remember DO NOT MINIMIZE the harms you are claiming. write about the WORST day not the best or average day.

If you say "i am handling things" or "dealing with things' you are minimizing and reducing your claim value.

DO NOT suggest a rating percentage.

At this point, being an initial claim, you do NOT need all that evidence up loaded. You need to take the form and your typed statement join them into 1 PDF.

Let the VA determine if they need additional files or medical records. You have given them the dates and the record type to look at, that is enough for the initial claim . What you don't want to do at this time is narrow the possible inferred claims the VA might identify.

 

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12 minutes ago, glashutte said:

I finally backtracked it. I got my medical records through here and through form DD2870

that makes more sense.

The VA does not yet have your full records. They will order them. You also need to order your c-file. It takes like six months so get started now.

you want to verify that it includes all the stuff you have. If it doesn't then the VA will not have gotten all your records and that will help you if you have to NOD a decision on your claim.

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