Anyone have any experience working with or for the VA?

[kegasu]

Does anyone have any experience working with or for the VA? I need some help. I left the Navy back in 2007 and started going to school. In 2010 I started to have some issues with my knee and was told that I need to have reconstructive surgery ASAP. FYI Yes, this was from a service connected injury that was well documented. Anyway, I started a claim with the VA so that I could get this surgery taken care of. Now, after almost 2 years, anytime I call the VA asking for a status update they tell me that my case is still in the developmental phase. They go on to tell me that this phase is normally about 140 days long and is followed by the decision phase which last about 90 days. Needless to say, I’m well beyond that. Now, I’m heading off to an unpaid internship where I’ll be working for the next 9 months and my knee is killing me. I don’t have insurance right now and am just at the end of my rope. Anyone that might have a suggestion, please help! O, btw, I have written my congressman trying to see what they can do, to no avail so far.

Kegasu

 

[Deflator]

Wasn't a service man myself, but my dad was in the Navy in Vietnam. He signed up with the VA, and had a bit of a runaround himself to get benefits. He doesn't have any major health problems or any particular problem, he just wanted to start associating with the VA as a supplement to the insurance he already has.

When he first went in, he was interviewed by a nurse or doctor or whatever, and was told "No problem, you'll be good to go for coverage, come back in X amount of time for your initial checkup."

Then like a week later he gets a phone call from someone saying he's not eligible. So he goes to a few people there and asks them why, and they say he wasn't ever in a war zone, so he doesn't qualify for anything. But, he was...so he had to show them proof he had the correct ribbon or service medal or whatever. I might be off on some kind of detail here, but that's how I remembered it. After that he was good to go.

They were ready to tell him he wasn't eligible and didn't even want to say why until he prodded. Sounds like they simply didn't want any more people in the area going there or something.

 

[kegasu]

This is a copy of the letter I sent to my congressman:
Honorable Mr. ,
I had the distinct privilege to have proudly and honorably served our wonderful country, in the world's greatest Navy. I enlisted in 1994 at which time I wasn't even a legal adult at the age of 17. Over the course of the next 13 years my family and I were asked to make many sacrifices. We did this, asking for nothing in return, but because we believed that it was right thing to do. During my time in the service I was injured in the line of duty.

Now that I am asking for help from the Veterans Administration, I am beginning to doubt the sacrifices my family and I willingly made were truly worth it. I submitted a claim for disability compensation back in November, 2010. As of today, May 15, 2012, my claim is still in the "Evidence Gathering" stage. Whenever I call the VA center I'm told that the average wait time is about 265 days. My claim is well beyond that estimated time frame, and I have even decided to withdraw some of the issues that I had on my initial claim, in hopes that it would help speed the process along.

I understand that the VA is overwhelmed and they are doing their best. I am asking that something be done to help myself and my fellow veterans streamline this process. Whenever we were asked to leave out loved ones, or to lay our lives on the line, we never responded "let me evaluate what you're asking me to do for the next 2 years. " Rather we responded with honor, dignity, and proudly, "YES SIR!"

Now, I firmly believe that a person should not present an issue without a possible solution. Granted, the solution may or may not be a viable one, but thought should go into the issue. I feel that if the VA is truly overworked, and they need more help filling claims, then by all means, HIRE MORE PEOPLE! I'm sure that given the current economy the VA could surly find qualified people to fill these much needed positions.

In closing, I want to thank you for representing myself, our community, as well as our great state of XXX. I am sure that you will find a way to help all of us that have served, because it's the right thing to do.

Very Respectfully,

 

[kirbanmanaburn]

IMHO don't remove anything from your claim. Ever. They probably count on the long wait time to amount to attrition both among #s of claims they have to handle (i.e. people will find other sources of care and withdraw their claim altogether) or complexity (i.e. people will do what you did and shorten their claims).

Somewhere, somehow, you have recourse. There is law (I guarantee it), both Federal and at the state level, governing the maximum amount of time the VA can delay a pending claim for a service-related injury. Additionally, there may be a statute of limitations on how long you can claim compensation for such an injury after you left service, and that deadline may pass while you're waiting (in fact, this may be a tactic the VA uses 'by accident' to mitigate some claims).

An attorney could answer these questions. Doesn't sound like you have the resources to hire one right now. Consider contacting a non-profit group that provides assistance to people in your position. The only one I know by name is the Wounded Warrior Project, and I have no idea if they retain legal services attorneys, but they can very likely direct you to an organization that does.

Also, consider contacting your local newspaper. When you do, come prepared with a folder full of all the documents that prove that your injury was sustained in service, and that prove you have indeed been waiting for a response from the VA for as long as you claim. Don't turn them over immediately, but talk to the reporter and tell them you need their help. If the reporter is a decent person, they'll make a phonecall to the local VA office and say that they haven't decided to write a story yet, but that if you don't get the care you deserve soon, they may have to do so.

 

[Nicedreamsbt]

i am in the army right now in a WTU and have been dealing with the MEB process which also deals with the VA at the same time now. And i some of the guys have had to deal with lawyers and I am pretty sure they do it for a very low cost when dealing with the VA and MEB stuff you should really try and at least talk to one. Make sure they deal with the VA and MEB stuff reg.


O ya WWP rocks btw ! SO many freaking programs that they offer us right now in the WTU. They are always taking us on trips and paying for stuff. Red cross also they just paid for our german fishing license.

 

[PeteyPablo]

Go to a VA hospital in a less populated area. Here in upstate NY the wait time is minimal. 2 months wait for my eye surgery.

 

[hoppy96pgtbs]

You need to talk to the Patient Advocate Kegasu. Here is a link.

http://www.patientadvocate.va.gov/

They are responsible for getting things like this taken care of in an "expedited" fashion. I have dealt with the PA several times, while on active duty, and they get shit handled very quickly.

It's basically like filing a complaint. Follow up with this and let me know how things go.

Did you ever file a claim with the VA when you got out of the Navy? That is something that every single person that served should do. File a claim, WITH EVERY SINGLE THING that is wrong with you, that was not a problem before your time with the armed forces. It is your right for serving your country.

If you had an ingrown toenail while deployed, you CAN claim that. Knee problems, skin problems, sleep problems, mental health etc etc. If you have any more questions feel free to send me a PM. I just went through this process, and Retired from the Air Force in March 2012, it is a different system now for the troops. They get there VA "rating" at the same time as their rating from their respective service branch. I was one of the last people in the old system, where I get my Air Force rating, then months later, get my VA rating. It's % based, so if your rating is 30%, you will get 30% of base pay etc etc.

You also need to open a Ebenefits account with the VA. It's pretty easy to do and you can keep track of everything there.
https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal

Hope you can get everything worked out. Plz pm me with any questions.

 

[JimJohnson]

VA is no different then any other insurance company. They deny the first few claims in hopes someone else pays out.

Going to another VA wont help, they will send you back to your PC typically unless you have a referral, or it is an out of state accident.

The site that Hoppy linked will also help.

Best of luck man.

 

[kirbanmanaburn]

VA is no different then any other insurance company. They deny the first few claims in hopes someone else pays out.

We're agreeing way too much lately. Gonna need an election 2012 thread to remedy that. Or maybe one about nuclear energy.

 

[kegasu]

Thanks guys. I'll keep on trying and I'll keep you informed if anything seems to work. Thanks again.

 

[JimJohnson]

VA is no different then any other insurance company. They deny the first few claims in hopes someone else pays out.

We're agreeing way too much lately. Gonna need an election 2012 thread to remedy that. Or maybe one about nuclear energy.

Not sure, what is your stance on the election and Nuclear energy? =p

Not Obama and Nuclear energy is over priced specially since they have to burn it if they do not use it.

 

[twizzops]

VA is no different then any other insurance company. They deny the first few claims in hopes someone else pays out.

We're agreeing way too much lately. Gonna need an election 2012 thread to remedy that. Or maybe one about nuclear energy.

Not sure, what is your stance on the election and Nuclear energy? =p

Not Obama and Nuclear energy is over priced specially since they have to burn it if they do not use it.

The problem with Nuclear energy is that government makes it way to impossible to get a permit to build one. The first nuclear power plant is currently being built in the last 30 years. Think about that for a second...30 years. Can you imagine the technology changes that have happened over that time frame?

http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/09/news/economy/nuclear_reactors/index.htm

My only dealing with the VA have been to get VA funding for home purchases. That is fairly easy and no help to you. I was lucky enough to not get an injury during my 4 years.

With all of the horror stories that I hear, I only hope that our health care system doesn't become like the VA.

 

[hawthorne]

You can thank Three-Mile Island for that. If that hadn't of happened, nuclear would be our number 1 power plant resource right now. If I didn't know better, I might look at the coal and petroleum companies for what happened, but, that would just be conspiracy theorist of me..

I used to work with a retired Nuclear Engineer. He told me that ever since Three-Mile Island, American nuclear plants have to be built to 10000% safety protocols. Add in the costs of that, the costs of permits, and the generally negative attitude towards it as an energy source, despite it being cleaner energy than coal, and you begin to see why there hasn't been a new plant in 30 years. One of the things my friend said though was that the Japanese had the tech to build plants at up to 5 times safety protocol, and do it for about 1/5th the cost of an American plant. That has probably changed since the earthquake stuff last year, but still, the tech is out there, if we could just make use of it.

Brownouts and blackouts would be a thing of the past. The grid would be able to support current numbers. and a whole lot more.

 

[PeteyPablo]

1000% off topic, but on topic with nuclear energy. I work as an engineer and we do a lot of nuclear work (things that go to nuclear reactors, not the fuel itself) and the biggest struggle is the placement of nuclear power plants in a municipality. Try to find an area where homeowners would allow for a nuclear power plant. Good luck. As a land owner myself, I would vote NO every time to a nuke plant near my property.

 

[kirbanmanaburn]

Massive derail! See what happens when JJ and I aren't positioned at opposite ends of the spectrum? Nothing good, that's for sure.

When nuke plants do get built, they're always subject to massive cost overruns. Those overruns aren't the result of paranoia or regulation. They're the result of the inefficiency that ALWAYS arises when private industry meets government subsidy. Why does an 800 million dollar nuke plant project wind up costing 4.5 billion (typical)?

For the same reason every farmer in the Midwest plants corn and soybeans -- no matter how bad they screw it up, the gov't is going to pay them. And yes, you are hearing this coming from an avowed socialist. Government subsidies often mess things up very, very badly.

If you look at China's construction of nuke plants, it's largely on-schedule and under budget. Why? Because it's a tightly controlled, single party process. In America, we'd allow separate contractors to bid on every aspect of construction, they'd all collect subsidies, and they'd all claim overages to the greatest possible degree allowed by the law. And then the pipes that company A built would turn out not to be compatible with the bolts that company B built.

Anyway, I dispute very much the notion that nuke plants are a clean or efficient source of energy -- they do produce radiation, radiation is subject to linear-no-threshold model when it comes to health effects, and the reason we can't detect the corresponding increase in cancer rates and other issues that radiation almost certainly causes is that there's no baseline to compare it to, there are too many other atmospheric toxins to isolate it, and it's on a 10-20 year tape delay. It's not efficient for a number of reasons, but why don't we just go with the reason du jour? -- vulnerability to heat:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-26/heat-sends-u-s-nuclear-power-production-to-9-year-low.html

 

[chewie2536]

Your best bet is not to go to your congressman or any other official. Your best course of action is to contact your local VFW or DAV and they will be able to get your case to a National rep that will work your case through the steps and get it together faster. Luckily my neighbor ran the local Va office and when it got bogged down he took it upon himself to send it to the VFW and got it through. And remember if they decide you are entitked to monthly compensation for your disability, it is retroactive back to the day you filed the first claim.

 

[JimJohnson]

Your best bet is not to go to your congressman or any other official. Your best course of action is to contact your local VFW or DAV and they will be able to get your case to a National rep that will work your case through the steps and get it together faster. Luckily my neighbor ran the local Va office and when it got bogged down he took it upon himself to send it to the VFW and got it through. And remember if they decide you are entitked to monthly compensation for your disability, it is retroactive back to the day you filed the first claim.

So since I made a sick call back in 2000 for bad knees I can get disability since! score!

 

[Crippie]

Did you go for your evaluation yet? Took me about 1.5 yrs to get a disability rating, then another 6 months just to see a doctor..in Jacksonville Fla just a FYI...

 

[kegasu]

Did you go for your evaluation yet? Took me about 1.5 yrs to get a disability rating, then another 6 months just to see a doctor..in Jacksonville Fla just a FYI...

I saw the Dr back in January 2011. I am being told that they have all of the evidence, and it just need to be reviewed before it goes to the decisions phase. /shrug

 

[hoppy96pgtbs]

Did you ever file a claim for disability? Or did you just go to the dr for knee problems? There is a huge difference. When you file a claim you have to fill out several forms, then you will see several different doctors in regards to each problem that you filed claim for. If this is what you did, you will get back paid from the date that you filed.

I can show you the steps that are taken to get everything taken care of. Little bit of copy/paste should help you understand what they mean when they say they are working on whichever step. Evidence,review, preparation etc etc.