Bravo. You are hitting the nail on the head. So many of us are, or were, in the same boat. I’m sure we all heard: “suck it up and move out!” “Rub some dirt on it and get back in formation!” Often discouraged from going to sick call. HUAH! DRIVE ON! It all builds the most effective fighting force ever known. Unfortunately, the VA acts like this doesn’t occur. They don’t have the same mentality towards us as veterans. If you served your country, and were injured during your service, YOU DESERVE treatment and compensation. You aren’t “taking money out of anyone’s pocket.” (I.e. you aren’t shortchanging another vet.)
It took me 23 years to build up the courage and just filed yesterday. Now we wait and continue to build my evidence. We need to make sure we are educating every veteran we run across.
This is something I’ve heard from many veterans. Unfortunately, the mental battle just to take the first step in filing is probably one of the hardest steps to take. But I agree, as long as we keep helping and informing other veterans then I believe we can help a lot of people! Thanks for sharing
Good luck brother! It took me 15 years to file. I spent over 12 years in the bottom of a bottle after my incident. It took meeting my wife and years of her pushing me before I finally asked for help. I have now been denied three times for my mental health even with 3 VA docs diagnosing me, one independent medical opinion, multiple personal and buddy statements, and I even won a higher level review! I’m still fighting for what my family deserves and I’m not going to quit!
Thank you for sharing!..Combat Craig and VA claims Academy are great!! I find that having all of your records and pointing to the connections and connecting the dots in your VA lay statements is helpful.
I’m here to help veterans cause you all have helped me out so much through wisdom and other types of advice. I wish more people shared their experiences and so this is what I’m trying to do. Hopefully it helps. Thanks -Troy
I wish you success in your filings. Whether you know it or not you have a gift for communicating. I hope you sort out your claims and gain some solace in receiving the VA benefits you are entitled. A concise video with very useful information. Thanks
Thank you for sharing your experience. Subjects like these are never easy to discuss. I am currently awaiting for my decision as well. I also filed a claim for 9 different conditions as well. Unfortunately for me, all my medical records are on paper, since there was no internet or electronic files when I served. I thought they were going slowly, because I am old and they are hoping I forget. I wish you luck in your journey.
Thank you for your feedback! I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through a rough time with the process but I’ve known several older vets that had that similar issue. They’ve all had success in their claims filings regardless of timeliness. Unfortunately the timeliness varies widely and it is difficult to gauge the timeframes on these things but I’m sure you will get what you deserve as long as you have all the data to back up your claims. I’ll do a video on records needed for claims soon and how to solidify your chances of getting the rating you deserve. Best of luck to you too!
I retired in 2017 after 30 years...got 7 service connected 0% ratings...best advice I could give is to get into the rating book and look at the criteria, because I was naive enough to think the c&p folks would be on my side and if it was in my record it would be enough...it wasn't, do the research like I didn't
I filed initially in 2017, 2018 I was approved for some issues and denied some. I appealed in 2018. (legacy claim). I finally got a virtual hearing in November 2020, which I was told was sooner than normal because of Covid. (don't understand that). After the hearing, for three more years my claim said "waiting to be sent to a Law Judge.... In November 2023 my appeal status changed to " a judge is reviewing your claim". Now it's December 2023 and in my case details , ISSUES tab, shows approved: Closed, !!! but in the status tab, is still showing " A judge is reviewing your claim". Now I'm just waiting for the letter to be sent to my house after everything is finalized. Unable to access anything online. So it's been 2 months short of 6 years in the appeals process....hopefully over very soon. Good luck to all, have patience.
I hope you have luck. I know this process can be tough and even tougher for some. So hopefully these videos help out even a fraction. Thank you for sharing! I’m sure this will help alot of veterans reading your experience.
I was outfor 21years before filing..I had 4 claims won 3 ...all P/T...i was really happy, but the raters low balled the hell.outifme compared to the averages and i had really good evidence...After 8 years and changes in my S.C conditions i finally decided to file for increase....my records and tests are really strong again C%Ps went very well..i hope for a better rater this time...But ill be appreciatuve requardless...Just be honest let the evidence speak for you, dont fall for the BDQ reasherch hog wash ,if they think your being dishoest theyll know and trap you..
One piece for all you folks. Pay particular attention to secondary conditions, many of your direct service connected disabilities will cause some sort of secondary condition. Also as we age things pop up and most likely will be due/from service connected disabilities so you may always need to re-file claims and/or increases and/or secondary's. DBQ's are awesome for guiding us, I like to use for notes just as Troy has depicted, also have your DR complete them, I always do this just to keep records up to date
Buddy letters, personal letters/notes (lay evidence) are good tools. I personally stay away from Nexus letters, never had to use one. The tool I used was have your doctor complete their opinion (NEXUS) piece directly onto the DBQ's, right in the remarks section is perfect. All those claims experts wanting to provide NEXUS letters for 100' s and 1,000's of dollars dont guarantee a WIN on your claim
You gotta learn to talk about your symptoms and how it effects your life. That was so hard to learn. It's hard to talk about yourself. Good luck going forward
No problem Carlos. I didn’t use a company. I used the veterans benefits Reddit page, Combat Craig, and the eCFR for all the information I needed. I’d recommend trying not to pay someone for filing because you can do all of this and not have to pay someone a lot of money. Hopefully this helps!
Wait, after you seperate from the service, i thought anything that you claim up to 1yr after is considered servoce connected? Did you not want to go get seen about those problems since you are inside the 1yr?
That is generally true, but not always. It still has to be a condition that was connected to your military service. For example if you got into motorcycle accident and lost a leg the day before you got out, you're covered. Get in a motor cycle accident the day after get out and lose a leg, You're not covered. BTW ... MS is covered for seven years after you get out.
Bravo. You are hitting the nail on the head. So many of us are, or were, in the same boat. I’m sure we all heard: “suck it up and move out!” “Rub some dirt on it and get back in formation!” Often discouraged from going to sick call. HUAH! DRIVE ON! It all builds the most effective fighting force ever known.
Unfortunately, the VA acts like this doesn’t occur. They don’t have the same mentality towards us as veterans. If you served your country, and were injured during your service, YOU DESERVE treatment and compensation. You aren’t “taking money out of anyone’s pocket.” (I.e. you aren’t shortchanging another vet.)
It took me 23 years to build up the courage and just filed yesterday. Now we wait and continue to build my evidence. We need to make sure we are educating every veteran we run across.
This is something I’ve heard from many veterans. Unfortunately, the mental battle just to take the first step in filing is probably one of the hardest steps to take. But I agree, as long as we keep helping and informing other veterans then I believe we can help a lot of people!
Thanks for sharing
It took me 20 years to file but I did I lost so much over stigma etc I won my disability claims but there’s is still more I have to file.
Good luck brother! It took me 15 years to file. I spent over 12 years in the bottom of a bottle after my incident. It took meeting my wife and years of her pushing me before I finally asked for help. I have now been denied three times for my mental health even with 3 VA docs diagnosing me, one independent medical opinion, multiple personal and buddy statements, and I even won a higher level review! I’m still fighting for what my family deserves and I’m not going to quit!
Submit as many nexus letters from as many doctors as you can. The " more likely than not" or " at least likely than not" words in their reports.
Thank you for sharing!..Combat Craig and VA claims Academy are great!! I find that having all of your records and pointing to the connections and connecting the dots in your VA lay statements is helpful.
I’m here to help veterans cause you all have helped me out so much through wisdom and other types of advice. I wish more people shared their experiences and so this is what I’m trying to do. Hopefully it helps. Thanks -Troy
Good video, takes courage to put yourself out there for all to see. 👍
I wish you success in your filings. Whether you know it or not you have a gift for communicating. I hope you sort out your claims and gain some solace in receiving the VA benefits you are entitled. A concise video with very useful information. Thanks
Thank you for sharing your experience. Subjects like these are never easy to discuss. I am currently awaiting for my decision as well. I also filed a claim for 9 different conditions as well. Unfortunately for me, all my medical records are on paper, since there was no internet or electronic files when I served. I thought they were going slowly, because I am old and they are hoping I forget. I wish you luck in your journey.
Thank you for your feedback! I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through a rough time with the process but I’ve known several older vets that had that similar issue. They’ve all had success in their claims filings regardless of timeliness. Unfortunately the timeliness varies widely and it is difficult to gauge the timeframes on these things but I’m sure you will get what you deserve as long as you have all the data to back up your claims. I’ll do a video on records needed for claims soon and how to solidify your chances of getting the rating you deserve. Best of luck to you too!
I retired in 2017 after 30 years...got 7 service connected 0% ratings...best advice I could give is to get into the rating book and look at the criteria, because I was naive enough to think the c&p folks would be on my side and if it was in my record it would be enough...it wasn't, do the research like I didn't
I filed initially in 2017, 2018 I was approved for some issues and denied some. I appealed in 2018. (legacy claim). I finally got a virtual hearing in November 2020, which I was told was sooner than normal because of Covid. (don't understand that). After the hearing, for three more years my claim said "waiting to be sent to a Law Judge.... In November 2023 my appeal status changed to " a judge is reviewing your claim". Now it's December 2023 and in my case details , ISSUES tab, shows approved: Closed, !!! but in the status tab, is still showing " A judge is reviewing your claim". Now I'm just waiting for the letter to be sent to my house after everything is finalized. Unable to access anything online. So it's been 2 months short of 6 years in the appeals process....hopefully over very soon. Good luck to all, have patience.
Oh, it took me 35 years to finally submit a claim. I had extensive injuries while active duty but was hesitant to file like many here.
I hope you have luck. I know this process can be tough and even tougher for some. So hopefully these videos help out even a fraction.
Thank you for sharing! I’m sure this will help alot of veterans reading your experience.
Thank you for sharing
I was outfor 21years before filing..I had 4 claims won 3 ...all P/T...i was really happy, but the raters low balled the hell.outifme compared to the averages and i had really good evidence...After 8 years and changes in my S.C conditions i finally decided to file for increase....my records and tests are really strong again C%Ps went very well..i hope for a better rater this time...But ill be appreciatuve requardless...Just be honest let the evidence speak for you, dont fall for the BDQ reasherch hog wash ,if they think your being dishoest theyll know and trap you..
One piece for all you folks. Pay particular attention to secondary conditions, many of your direct service connected disabilities will cause some sort of secondary condition. Also as we age things pop up and most likely will be due/from service connected disabilities so you may always need to re-file claims and/or increases and/or secondary's. DBQ's are awesome for guiding us, I like to use for notes just as Troy has depicted, also have your DR complete them, I always do this just to keep records up to date
Would you recommend filing a FDC instead of a standard claim?
Buddy letters, personal letters/notes (lay evidence) are good tools. I personally stay away from Nexus letters, never had to use one. The tool I used was have your doctor complete their opinion (NEXUS) piece directly onto the DBQ's, right in the remarks section is perfect. All those claims experts wanting to provide NEXUS letters for 100' s and 1,000's of dollars dont guarantee a WIN on your claim
You gotta learn to talk about your symptoms and how it effects your life. That was so hard to learn. It's hard to talk about yourself. Good luck going forward
Thanks for the Info Troy, quick question did you work with any company to help you with your process? or did you file it on you own?
No problem Carlos. I didn’t use a company. I used the veterans benefits Reddit page, Combat Craig, and the eCFR for all the information I needed. I’d recommend trying not to pay someone for filing because you can do all of this and not have to pay someone a lot of money. Hopefully this helps!
Wait, after you seperate from the service, i thought anything that you claim up to 1yr after is considered servoce connected? Did you not want to go get seen about those problems since you are inside the 1yr?
There is no guarantee of that.
That is generally true, but not always. It still has to be a condition that was connected to your military service. For example if you got into motorcycle accident and lost a leg the day before you got out, you're covered. Get in a motor cycle accident the day after get out and lose a leg, You're not covered. BTW ... MS is covered for seven years after you get out.