When dealing with Veterans Affairs (VA) issues, a certain level of patience is necessary. The long wait times are to be expected during a time of great military change, heavy veteran transition and an already difficult-to-balance veteran population. It's not your job to give excuses for the VA, but you need to understand the delays in order to conquer them. As you plan an appeal, wait for a response and manage the condition causing problems in your life, consider a few ways to enhance your claim while getting a little free help along the way.
Visit Clinics As Much As You Need To
One mistake that many veterans make is assuming that the clinics are for disabled veterans only. They couldn't be more wrong with new health care programs available for eligible veterans.
Although there are a few specific conditions, most veterans with an other-dishonorable discharge can simply walk into a clinic and wait for medical assistance--the keyword being wait. There are other veterans with appointments and others with the same idea as you, but if you have an open day and nothing else to do, use this opportunity to get some help.
Complain about health issues related to your disability claim first. A VA-appointed healthcare provider an give a basic assessment and recommend treatment in the same way as any general practice doctor can. You won't be receiving surgery and you may not leave with a prescription for expensive medication, but there are many ways that a VA medical team and pharmacy can help without requiring disability documentation from you.
If the doctor has any opinions about your condition, feel free to use them on your VA claim or appeal. You can submit the medical information as evidence and may even have information in the system when your medical team records your visit. Don't assume that having a computerized entry means that the VA disability claim system sees your issue; bring it to the attention of the claims office.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Accelerate Your Evidence
When you submit current, up-to-date medical information to the claim system, what do you do next? Unfortunately, the VA may not link the information and simply grant you a disability decision on the spot. The information may show that you're suffering from symptoms, but it's hard to prove that symptoms such as pain or stiffness are true or false without a direct statement from a medical professional.
Your clinic visit may simply say that you've complained of certain symptoms, and although the healthcare provider can prescribe medication, the medication or advice will into a statement of "Yes, this veteran is suffering from this problem. Here is the evidence."
Even if the medical professional finds solid proof of a problem, you need to prove that the problem was caused by military service either by showing that you've complained in the past and have matching records from the past.
When it comes to linking proof, don't go down the paperwork path alone. A personal injury lawyer has more experience with researching injury, disability and compensation information and can work with medical professionals to develop evidence that puts your problem in more direct terms.
Contact a personal injury lawyer (like Dallas Laird) to get some guidance towards a more efficient claim. Don't hesitate to sit in the VA clinic while you do so.
