My college doesn’t just thank me for my military service. They give me the credit I deserve.
APPLY Offering Associate, Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. Contact Columbia College’s local representative Jennie Dahlby at jdahlby@ccis.edu or call (253) 861-6564 GoForGreater.org/SPS
Lena Atkinson ’14
12
|
VETERANS LIFE |
J U N E 2 014
Vets can power through the VA claims process By Thom Stoddert There are many, many issues with the claims process in the Veterans Benefit Administration (VA) that may or may not make sense to the average claimant when attempting to file a claim for benefits. Understanding a few regulations can assure successful decisions for benefits. A few examples, the first with a slight twist: Documented medical records showed that a Vietnam veteran had collapsed one day in the front yard. He refused all medical treatment from his wife and EMTs. The next day he collapsed again and was taken to the local hospital unconscious. The brain scans showed a brain tumor so advanced that he had hours to days to live. In fact, he passed away three days later. His widow living in Tacoma was left destitute as he was her only means of support which was only VA disability payments. Disability compensation from the VA will end when the veteran dies. The widow filed a claim for the VA’s Dependent’s Indemnity Compensation (DIC) based on “cause of death.” She believed her husband’s brain tumor was caused by Agent Orange. Unfortunately, by law, she was correctly denied benefits. No research by government or other entity has indicated any link between exposure to Agent Orange and brain cancers. However, a VA employee suspected that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was the real culprit, not Agent Orange. The veteran had been in treatment for many years for PTSD and had a well-established history of symptoms, especially anger related issues toward all authority. The VA employee, a PTSD counselor, knew that brain cancer does not develop overnight and that there must have been some signs and symptoms weeks and maybe months prior to his death. The train of thought became that the veteran did have cancer symptoms, but because of his anger towards people-in-power, he hid his symptoms. PTSD was the real link to the vet’s military service, not Agent Orange.
The focus of all claims for benefits must be the identification of the correct link to military service from the current chronic condition. Assumptions, guessing, or even what appears to be a logical conclusions, won’t make it. If there is no link, there is no basis for a claim for benefits. The VA had documentation of treatment for PTSD. His widow was encouraged to get statements from her husband’s physicians that his cancer was a prolonged condition and that his symptoms existed long before he died. Next, she was provided another statement from the PTSD counselors recording that the vet had an anger problem and it would be normal behavior for him to reject treatment. The widow won the case showing that PTSD kept her husband from seeking the needed help in time to save or prolong his life. She did have a successful claim with the VA because she had the correct evidence. There are several lessons learned here. She was successful the second time because she had the appropriate link from the veteran’s military service to the cause of death. She was also in possession of expert medical opinions and knowledgeable guidance; the experts had lined up the facts for her. On the other side of the coin: Very often veterans feel the VA has cheated them out of deserved benefits or believe a congressional inquiry will strengthen and guarantee their efforts. In reality, claimants that registered a complaint with a local senator or congressperson did have their claims significantly slowed by getting a politician involved — it added another layer of time-consuming work. It works like this at the VA: The first stage is the development of evidence; second stage is the decision process; and lastly the notification of the award or decision to the vet. If a politician is involved the process, it instead goes this way: the claim file is pulled out of circulation at any stage and researched for an answer to be given to the politician’s office. When the
congressional team communicates back to the senator or congressperson and the veteran is responded to, then and only then, is the file is put back in line, delayed. Nobody else can work on the veteran’s claim if the congressional team has the file; they have priority, but no special authority. In greater than 95 percent of the congressional inquiries, the veteran would have been better served by not starting a complaint. The lesson learned here: be informed and understand the guidelines to access VA benefits. Get the support you need from the many local veterans service organizations such as the American Legion or Veteran of Foreign Wars. Their help is always free, no strings attached. Flip the coin back again. To get help and information directly is to set up an appointment to review your claims file (C-file) with a knowledgeable person at the local Regional Office in Seattle. While there, take notes and ask questions; if possible take a representative of a service organization with you. Caution: Where not to get help or information: At a reunion, a vet made assurances to two VA employees over and over that he was automatically entitled to a rating of 100 percent for PTSD, just because he had a Combat Infantry Badge, the equivalent to the Navy’s Combat Action Ribbon. His buddy had told him so and therefore it was correct. Most service officers will check with friends and colleagues to get the right information. There are many knowledgeable people at VA affairs and unfortunately, too few experts on VA laws/procedures. For additional information in understanding VA law and procedure, research them on line at www.vba. va.gov. Specific inquiries can be made by going to the VA’s online help service at www.iris.custhelp.com. In fact the VA puts almost everything online that a veteran needs. Never forget the Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs in Olympia, call 360-725-2200 or 1-800-5620132.