Additional Claims

[Ranmic]

Hopefully this is not a silly question but if so please entertain me.  I have an SCD rating of 10% as of this moment and when I filed the claim and was awarded it I had done it all on my own with no help or guidance.  I didn't know that I could file a claim for my knees causing me issues or carpal tunnel (call it ignorance on my part) but after talking to a gentleman last week at work that helps guide Vets on their claims he said now that I have a 10% SCD it will be difficult to get anything else as I should have claimed all of my ailments in the beginning.  Claiming everything at once makes since but I obviously didn't know that.  Now comes my question.  So is it or will it be worth trying to move forward with a claim for the two conditions I just mentioned?  Lastly for whatever reason the VA last time the looked could not find my medical record, so what do I need to do to prove I have these issues?

Thank you for any guidance you can provide.

[GBArmy]

First of all tell your "friend" at work he should probably resort to reading Hadit instead of giving out advise to veterans. He is so wrong I would not act on any recommendations he made. Of course you can file for any disability you feel was caused by your service time. Anytime. Makes no difference how many you include or doesn't include if they are justifiable. Logic does tell us if there are multiple problems, it should take longer just because each potential disability has to be thoroughly evaluated. But you can and SHOULD file as these problems come up.

[GBArmy]

Now Ranmic, as to your two disabilities you want to file for, we need info. When where you in, how long since discharge, what was your MOS, what are your reasons for connecting your time in the service to knee and hand problems? You should redact your name, ssn and anything else regarding your personal info and send it in another post; keep using this thread so you problems don't get lost. Do you remember going on sick call and/or receiving any treatments for these medical issues? Maybe we can help.

[seminoles]

Your "friend" has no idea what he is talking about, my first claim was for two things, both were granted low balled of course but granted 10 years after I was discharged.  That was in 2006, since then I have added additional sc issues and two of them as recent as 2018.  I am 100% PT when I was first granted SC in 2006 it was for 20%.  I filed for not only increase but also new issues.  I am adding that I had in service treatment records for everything that I claimed as well as current diagnoses and ongoing treatment for my sc claims being current issues for me as well as any current sc condition having worsened.  Many people claim all sorts of things but I had been out over 20 years when I was awarded by last few sc and one of them was a 60% rating by itself. 

Edited September 15, 2019 by seminoles

[GeekySquid]

Listen to GBArmy the man who told you that BS is out to lunch on Vets Claims.

To be fair, there are lots of myths out there about claims and in fact properly preparing claims can be daunting. The VA seems to like it that way despite Congress specifically making the VA system (RO and BVA) non-adversarial processes.

Since you still really don't know much about the process (that is not an insult, it is a whole career to keep up with VA changes and processes) I suggest you do research here.

I also suggest joining Veterans Law Blog if you can afford the membership, and at a minimum look at their "shop" for the Claims Field Manual, How to write a claim manual, and 5 Star evidence manual. They also offer an "all our products" option that includes a 50% discount on site membership if you can afford it.

I would also consider the NVLSP basic training manual.

If you cannot afford those, then researching here can give you a solid foundation and people do respond with their opinions, experiences, successes and failures if you ask nice

Good Luck

[paulstrgn]

As GB and seminoles state above your friend does not know what he is talking about. Like seminoles my first claim did not have everything I should have claimed. SInce then I have filed for several disabilities since then, Some have been secondary to the original disability and some were just some I had never filed for. 

Ranmic I would suggest going through your medical file and marking anything that may be considered a disability. After you have done this look at what you marked and decide if they could be considered a disability, use Google if in doubt and see what medical websites say.

Just keep filing and never give up.

[seminoles]

1 minute ago, paulstrgn said:

As GB and seminoles state above your friend does not know what he is talking about. Like seminoles my first claim did not have everything I should have claimed. SInce then I have filed for several disabilities since then, Some have been secondary to the original disability and some were just some I had never filed for. 

Ranmic I would suggest going through your medical file and marking anything that may be considered a disability. After you have done this look at what you marked and decide if they could be considered a disability, use Google if in doubt and see what medical websites say.

Just keep filing and never give up.

YES,  getting  my medical records and being able to prove I was seen for some of those conditions is what won me some of those ratings.  I don't think the raters at the RO would have caught them, I had a rater call me about my shoulder and ASK where in my  medical records I was seen because he couldn't find it?   Some don't look too hard