Important to document VA claims

By: MIKE SHUSTER - For the North County Times | Thursday, January 19, 2006 9:14 PM PST ∞

What is the difference between a quality Veterans Affairs claim and one that is denied?

A good claim by VA standards has three requirements:

1.) Service medical records documenting a disease or injury that occurred while in service. To obtain your records go to www.va.gov and submit an SF180 and order your service medical records and personnel records.

2.) Competent medical information documenting a veteran's "current" suffering. Itís amazing how many veterans file for what I refer to as nondisabilities, such as, agent orange exposure ---- there is no claim for exposure, you need to have one of the presumed diseases from it.

Asbestosis exposure is not a disability. It is a lung disease that is a disability. This is a serious claim for WWII Navy and Korea vets.

Pain alone is not a claimable disease without a particular diagnosis. Medical diagnosis must be made by a medical professional, not by a girlfriend or wife, unless they are doctors.

3.) The third element is often the hardest, and that is a "nexus" between the condition in the service you suffered and your present disability. Example: The one-time knee injury in the service ---- five or more years ago ---- may have been "acute & transitory" but not the current "chronic and re-occurring" knee condition you suffer now.

Only a qualified professional, after reviewing the veteran's medical records from the service and his current disability, will be able to make a medical opinion. This would qualify as the "nexus" statement the veteran would need to secure a service connected disability.

Continuity of symptoms is necessary if the veteran has been out longer than a year. Get your medical information, service medical records and nexus opinion/statement before filing. A regular claim, with proper paperwork, can take nine months to a year to be approved in San Diego, where an appeal could take two to five years to complete.

Veterans need to become familiar with researching their own claims, using such references as the MERCK manual, Medical Dictionary or www.webmd.com. If the veteran doesnít know what knee he hurt in the service, his or her advocate wonít either.

As the advocate, I often will use lay statements from service members, family members, buddies and ex-spouses to verify years of pain and suffering of a disability to help verify the doctor's opinion.

Once I had a veteran denied a knee injury because the VA could not locate his records. We proved his case with a picture he sent home from Vietnam with his leg in a cast. The VA granted his claim with the picture, doctorís opinion and family statements to verify his condition.

Remember the most difficult argument with the VA is often whether the condition is because of the service. Even if a veteran gets a zero rating, in California itís still free college for your children.

A veteran can find qualified service officers at all VA regional offices. Even though service officers work in VA buildings, they donít work for the VA. Itís OK to ask what a service officerís experience is and if he is VA.

Mike Schuster is a county veterans service representative. He can be reached at (760) 643-2049 or by e-mail: mgs@cts.com.