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How To File A Disability Claim With Va

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What Is The Typical Va Compensation For Hearing Loss Or Other Ear Conditions

How to File a VA Disability Claim on VA.gov

Tinnitus VA Rating

Tinnitus is either rated at 10 percent ornothing. There is no unilateral or bilateral factor for your Tinnitus VArating.

Menieres Disease VA Rating

Veterans will receive a 100 percent rating ifyour Menieres disease includes vertigo and cerebellar gait more than once aweek.

Veterans will receive a 60 percent rating ifyour Menieres disease includes vertigo and cerebellar gait one to four timesper month and a 30 percent rating for less severe symptoms, which occur lessthan one time per month.

Inner Ear Disorders VA Rating

Inner ear disorders are very common inveterans, and these disorders can lead to nausea, dizziness, balance issues,vertigo, cerebellar gait, and even vomiting in severe cases.

Depending on the severity of your symptoms, theVA rates inner ear disorders at either 10 percent or 30 percent.

Loss of Ears VA Rating

Veterans will receive a 30 percent VA ratingfor the loss of one ear.

Veterans will receive a bilateral factor and aVA rating of 50 percent for the loss of both ears.

Eardrum VA Rating

Veterans will receive a 0 percent VA rating forperforated eardrum.

Total Hearing Loss VA Rating

Veterans with total hearing loss in both ears are eligible for Special Monthly Compensation.

What Is A Va

Should the VA deny or underrate your VA disability claim, the decision can be appealed. At this stage in the process, there is no better advocate to have than an attorney focused solely on VA disability appeals. They have helped hundreds, if not thousands, of other veterans with their claims and they use that experience and insight to make the best possible case for a successful appeal result.

VA attorneys can help you file your appeal and walk you through the appeals process. A lawyer can prepare a strategy to assemble the evidence and legal arguments necessary to meet your goals. More often than not, a denial or underrating was caused by a fixable error in the original claim process, sometimes missing evidence.

VA attorneys can also help connect you with experts who can help bolster your claim. In some cases, an independent medical exam, or IME, can help provide specific evidence to support your claim. IME physicians often have lengthy and impressive histories that alone could sway the VAs opinion in the favor of their report.

Unlike VSOs, VA-accredited attorneys and agents may charge you a fee for their representation in appealing or requesting additional review of an adverse VA decision. These fees are usually paid at the conclusion of your case, paid directly to the VA out of the awarded disability payments.

Va Supplemental Claim Effective Dates And Va Ramp

While AMA was signed in the summer of 2017, it didnt go into effect until early 2019. On April 1st, 2018, a temporary law called the Rapid Appeals Modernization Act allowed veterans to enter the AMA program before its start date. The RAMP VA disability compensation program allowed individuals to opt-in to supplemental claims or HLRs. When AMA began in February of 2019, RAMP was discontinued and all eligible veterans were offered the opportunity to switch into the new AMA system which allows all veterans to take advantage of the quicker appeal lanes.

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C& p Exam For Depression Tips

1. Know whats in your medical records!

2. Review your Disability Benefit Questionnaire

3. Review the eCFR, Title 38, Schedule 4 for DEPRESSION and other mental health symptoms and ratings

4. Do NOT have your best day

5. Be uncomfortably vulnerable

6. Know your true story coldand potential in-service stressors that caused or made your DEPRESSION and/or other mental health conditions worse.

What Is Va Disability Compensation

How to File a VA Disability Claim for Anxiety

VA disability compensation is paid to veterans who are determined to be disabled. To receive disability compensation from the VA, the veteran’s disability must be service connected. This means the disability either developed or was aggravated during active military service. To learn more about VA disability compensation review the following:

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Who Is Eligible To File A Va Cue

Typically, any time a VA Regional Office responds to a veterans disability claim the decision can be subject to a CUE request. If a veteran has enough evidence to prove that a mistake was made in the case, they are eligible to file a CUE. There is also no time limit for filing a VA CUE request. Even if a decision was made decades ago, if it was never appealed the veteran could challenge it today without consequence. However, the effective date will be the day the appeal claim is made, not the date of the original decision as with other appeal tactics such as HLR or supplemental claims.

An individual can file and re-file their CUE request as many times as they want if challenging a VA rating decision. There is no limit against rating decisions. However, if the veteran is attempting to appeal a BVA decision, all CUEs must be filed simultaneously and there is no opportunity for a second chance. An improper motion at the Board level will be dismissed with prejudice, preventing the veteran from filing again and barring any further efforts to prove the Board made a mistake.

A veteran is also barred from filing a VA CUE request if the decision was appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims or if a BVA decision is still new enough that it could be sent to the CAVC. Appealing to the CAVC is sometimes viewed as a better option because CUEs can be difficult to prove.

I’ve Submitted A Claim Now What

You or your VSO has submitted your claim. After it is received at your local VA Regional Office, a claim is established in the VA computer system. The paperwork you sent in is scanned to see which types of benefits you are seeking, and end products are established. The DEERS database is checked to verify your dates of military service. An end product is VA-speak for type of claim, and allows your individual claims to be tracked. One end product may contain multiple parts: a claim for disability compensation may include claims for three different disabilities.

General Stages of the Process for Disability Compensation Claims

Following are the general stages of the process for disability compensation claims. Other types of claims such as education and loan guaranty have different steps and are usually simpler and easier to process. The VA made many automated improvements to the education process and as a result, was able to shift employees from processing education claims to disability claims to reduce the backlog.

Once your claim is established, it will be sent to triage where it will be reviewed and assigned to a lane for completion. The VA sends claims with one or two issues to the express lane. There are also different lanes for specialized issues and standard claims.

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Proving Your Service Connection For Erectile Dysfunction

Lets be honest, most veterans do not suffer from a deformity problem. When you file your claim for erectile dysfunction, explain what your symptoms. The ED mentioned earlier will have to be a secondary condition. To understand how secondary conditions work, check out this post here on a more in-depth understanding. VA raters often wont address secondary conditions or medication side effects unless you give them a specific explanation for why they should consider anything other than direct service connection.

Dont give up hope on claiming your ED claim as SMC! You have to make sure you have documentation to back up your ED claim.

Tired of fighting the VA and ready to learn how to file a winning VA claim? This is the fastest way to do so. See you on the inside!

Are you STUCK, FRUSTRATED and UNDERRATED?

You are not alone! We are Veterans helping Veterans!Become an Elite Member and work with our Veteran Coaches to get the rating you deserve!

Talk To A Nationwide Va Disability Benefits Lawyer

How to Submit a VA Disability Claim

An experienced attorney can help guide you through the application process. The nationwide VA disability benefits attorneys at Gerling Law Disability Attorneys have over five decades of experience handling thousands of injury and disability claims. We are here to answer all your questions about how to apply for VA disability benefits. Remember, Go with Experience. Go with Gerling ®.

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Category : The Veteran Or Vso Relies Too Heavily On Medical Evidence

I see this a lot in Sleep Apnea claims typically, you will see the Veteran or his VSO provide an abundance of medical evidence of diagnosis, sleep studies, treatment plans, prescriptions for use of CPAP, etc. This category of Veteran or VSO often does not include lay evidence that shows how the condition is impacting his daily life activities.

What To Bring In To The Vso

If you are going to use a VSO to file the claim, there is certain paperwork you need to take in with you. This includes:

  • DD214
  • Divorce Certificates or Dates
  • Previous Marriage Certificates or dates and names
  • Birth Certificates of any dependent children
  • Service Treatment Records

Veterans will need more paperwork to file for a pension:

  • Proof of ALL income
  • Proof of any unreimbursed medical expenses
  • Information on any other assets
  • Proof of any other HOUSEHOLD income

The appointment will go smoothly and the claim should be filed relatively quickly if the Veteran brings in all of the required paperwork. Notice that we say filed relatively quickly. As of this writing the VA Benefits Administration is currently over 200,000 cases behind and working quickly to catch up. However, expect that your case will not necessarily take precedence over everyone else in the system. Have patience. The VA will work the case as they can.

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Veterans Buddy Statement And Lay Statement Tips

  • Ask your closest friends, family, and fellow service members to write statements.
  • Ask these people to include accounts of what you were like before and after your disability started.
  • For mental disorders, ask that buddy statements include both how they see your disability impacting your life and how it impacts your relationship with them.
  • For physical disorders, buddy statements should include descriptions of the way your disability keeps you from doing things you used to do.
  • If you are seeking individual unemployability, ask your former employer to write a buddy statement discussing how your condition impacted your ability to work. Even a jerk ex-boss might help out and write one of these letters if you ask him/her the right way.
  • Ask your service buddies to write statements discussing the incident during which your disability began. These can help to corroborate your service connection.
  • Make sure you submit your buddy statements with your original claim. If you miss that deadline, you can submit them with an appeal.
  • Keep the buddy statements short and simple, and include contact information for the people writing them.
  • Ask that the people writing these statements for you include a closing statement certifying that their statements are true and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief.
  • Let your statement writers use their own words. Spoon feeding them things to include can come across as disingenuous.
  • Our Va Disability Lawyers Can Help With The Burden Of Proof The Va Puts On You

    How To Apply For Your VA Disability Claim

    Many disabled veterans aresurprised when they first apply for VA benefits and the VA throws up its hands and says its all up to you. Yet, despite the many forms and records the military maintains about service members, the VA requires the disabled vet seeking compensation to submit service and medical records in a claim or to tell the VA where to find them.

    Many initial veterans disability claims are denied because they do not contain enough information for the VA. It is not unusual for a vet to cite disability due to a leg condition or back pain, but not understand that the VA requires a specific diagnosis backed by medical records, and service records that explain when and how the injury occurred. Most vets simply do not have the necessary information.

    George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers can help. Our attorneys understand what the VA requires of a veterans disability claim and how to efficiently obtain evidence to prove eligibility for benefits. George Sink Sr. himself is a disabled Vietnam veteranwho had to fight for VA benefits, and other lawyers at the firm are also military veterans.

    Well work to get you the VA benefitsyou are entitledto with as little burden on you as possible. Our aim is to get ALL of the disability benefits you have earned into your hands as FAST as possible. Contact George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers to get started today.

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    What Do I Need To File A Successful Claim

    One of the main reasons veterans have their claim rejected is that they file without preparing correctly.

    If you are injured or diseased, its essential to obtain all the medical records possible to report to the VA. This includes your medical records before service, but ESPECIALLY any taken during service. This is important since the VA will look to find the event that serves as the catalyst for your disability. They will compare your records before and during service as well before they make a decision.

    This makes it very important that you gather as much evidence as possible. The VA will be looking specifically for proof of a physical or mental disability. They will look to determine if what you are dealing with makes you less able to do the regular tasks in life. The NUMBER ONE REASON WHY CLAIMS ARE DENIED IS LACK OF MEDICAL EVIDENCE!

    Dont let this be you! There are simple solutions to this problem. Including going to your current doctor and getting a medical connection or visiting our medical team to get those letters filled out correctly.

    This evidence should be presented in the following documents:

  • Service treatment records
  • Medical evidence related to illness or injury (including X-rays, doctors reports and medical test results
  • The VA will require all these documents to be submitted or that they are given permission to access them.

    Now that you have that ready lets discuss

    When You Start Your Disability Application Online It Notifies Us Automatically Of Your Intent To File

    If you start filling out a claim form online for disability benefits, this will reserve a potential start date for your benefits. You dont need to call us or submit a separate intent to file form.

    Note: This automatic intent to file only applies to online disability applications. It doesnt apply to online pension or DIC applications.

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    Submit Your Claim By Mail

    The Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented centralized mail processing for compensation claims. Veterans should send correspondence pertaining to compensation claims to the locations listed on the centralized mailing addresses web page. If you have records that support your claim, you should send them with your claim. If you want us to request records for you, you must tell us the name and address of the person, company or agency that has these records, the approximate time frame covered by them, and the condition for which you were treated. If you received treatment from a non-VA health care provider you must complete VA Form 21-4142, Authorization and Consent to Release Information to the Department of Veterans Affairs . We will use this form to request non-VA health records.

    Va Disability Claims: How To File

    How to file a VA Disability Claim for Depression, Aggression, or other Mental Disorders

    Going through the process of filing a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs is notoriously difficult, especially when you go at it alone. I was fortunate enough to have some great guidance when I filed my VA paperwork during the retirement process.

    Here are some basic steps to help you understand how to file your VA disability claim a little easier.

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    Examples Of Unsuccessful Cues

    There are also plenty of denied CUE requests in which the situation does not meet the requirements set for case reviewal, such as:

    • A deferred rating with no final decision from the VA
    • A proposed rating with no final decision from the VA
    • A case lost because the VA failed to help the veteran obtain documents

    The VA can and will dismiss a motion for CUE if the request does not meet established VA standards or is too broad.

    The Vas Decision On Your Claim

    Once the VA makes a decision regarding your claim, they will send it to you in the U.S. mail. It can take 7 to 10 days for your packet to arrive. The VA will not call you and tell you their decision

    Be advised, as of January 2021, the average number of days it takes to complete disability-related claims is 154 days.

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    Verify If Any Other Forms Are Needed

    In some cases, a disabled veteran may be required to turn in additional documentation to support a VA disability claim. For example, youll need to complete an additional form in order to claim a dependent or to apply for Aid and Attendance compensation.

    Other cases that require additional forms include being a member of the National Guard or Reserves, or claiming individual unemployability, PTSD, PTSD as a result of a personal assault, Specially Adapted Housing, and Special Home Adaptation. Additional forms may be required if you claim an automobile allowance, auto adaptive-equipment grant, or if you wish to authorize the release of your medical records to the VA.

    In any of these cases, you can check the VAs website to find out and download the specific forms you need to complete and submit.

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