r/VAClaims

I’m currently at 90%. I filed for TDIU today in hopes of being paid at the 100% rate because, genuinely, I’m struggling to survive financially and my disabilities have made maintaining consistent employment extremely difficult.

I know that by filing TDIU I’ve technically “poked the bear,” and that part definitely has me nervous.

After filing TDIU, I saw that the VA requested VA Form 21-4192 from my former employer.

Here’s where I’m stressing:

When I worked there, I never really opened up about how badly my disabilities were affecting me. I tried to show up, work hard, and push through everything. They probably considered me a good employee.

But behind the scenes, I was dealing with migraines/headaches, pain, having to stop working at times, difficulty maintaining my energy and productivity, and generally pushing myself much harder than they probably realized just to function.

So now I’m worried they’ll get the form and simply write:

“He was a good worker. No major issues.”

…and the VA will look at that and think, “Then why is he claiming he can’t maintain substantially gainful employment?”

At the same time, reaching out to my former employer and suddenly explaining how severe everything actually was feels weird. I don’t want it to look like I’m coaching them on what to write or asking them to exaggerate anything. I just wish I had been more honest about what I was dealing with while I worked there.

For anyone who has gone through TDIU:

Would you contact the former employer and explain the situation, or just leave it alone and let them answer based on what they personally observed?

And has anyone had an employer basically say you were a “good employee” on the 21-4192 and still been approved for TDIU?

I’m not trying to game the system or get anyone to say something that isn’t true. I’m genuinely struggling, and TDIU seemed like the most viable path forward. I just don’t want the fact that I spent years trying to hide how much I was struggling to end up being used against me now.

I have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome which is a gulf war presumptive condition. The claim was held up for a while because an “error was being corrected”. The error was that I was about to be denied for not having CFS but it got pulled back to be corrected saying I do have CFS. They scheduled a neuro DBQ for me where the dr said “they’re trying to say you don’t have CFS but it’s obvous that you do so I’m correcting the record now and you should be good.” When the final review came and a nurse practitioner asked me about 4 questions she then reversed the doctors decision and denied me again. My lawyer said that was a strong case for an appeal because she can’t do that and they have been dragging their feet with the appeal
Since then. Anyone have any experience with something like this happen. Sorry this was written poorly. I’m a marine. Not a math surgeon.

I just met with a VSO for the first time ever because I essentially don’t have copies of any records other than my DD-214. I contacted the National Archives a while back and they were able to get me about a third of my service records (of course it was nothing of significance) and no medical records whatsoever. I was advised to meet with a VSO and just got out of our meeting. He told me the National Archives is where the VA gets all the records from as well, and that once in a blue moon, they simply don’t have them. He advised me to at least submit a claim for the tinnitus I have, and that possibility when the VA requests records from the National Archives, more records might show up. I’m doing my best to hold my rage in. I don’t blame the VA because I know it’s not their fault. The VSO told me that it’s possible that the clerk I turned my records into twenty four years ago just never sent them off. He said this happens sometimes. I’m devastated and fuming. I kick myself in the butt every day for not making copies of my records, but there’s nothing I can do about that now. Just curious if anyone has ever encountered this or even heard of it happening.

Quick one guys, I sent my tax returns for the last few years to give some sort of evidence that I worked at these places. I sent in 7 different jobs in the past 4 years, just the tax returns. Am I dumb for doing that? Will that help show that I worked places if they are still trying to verify employment stuff? Will that suffice or did I mess up? Should I do more? Trying to be proactive since the companies are ignoring the VA. Thank you all

I'll start by saying I immediately emailed my VSO the way the exam was conducted and waiting on a response.

Yesterday I had my first exam with LSGS, going over a TBI DBQ. This was my third exam for this. My first exam last year was a five minute conversation on the phone and the examiner said that concludes the exam. A month later I received a denial of TBI and Migraines.

I got 2 more buddy statements from another witness to the incident and the soldier who had to watch over me the last few days of the training event.

Submitted supplemental claim, denied again. Got with my VSO and we found that the VA didn't actually send my diagnosis of TBI and Migraines to the examiner. Submitted HLR and the VA came back with DTA Error with favorable evidence for both.

My second exam was at the end of May this year and that examiner txt me from his personal cell at 7am saying he was double booked for my appointment time and I would need to reschedule or come in earlier to not get a delay. He said the whole process only takes 10-15 minutes. I changed my schedule and went to his office 3 hours before my original appointment time. I waited in the lobby for 10 minutes and he came in the door late apologizing and thanking me for being flexible. Their system was down so he said he would write down all the notes in a word doc and submit them later when the system was back up. He was right, I was in the exam room for no more than 10 minutes. He then followed me out got back in his car and sped off.( I have a personal statement prepared and saved the text conversation and sent the docs to my VSO). A few weeks ago the VA denied it saying that the results had conflicting data and needed to schedule me a new exam.

Yesterday (virtual appointment this time), the doctor with LSGS spoke to an AI voice recording service almost the entire time of the 1.5 hour exam. He audibly documented any interaction he was doing. Ex: opening veterans document 12B, copying data from doc 12b to new form, computer analyze document 42C and extract relevant data to current TBI claim notes. I didn't speak for the first 20 minutes except to state my full name, which the doctor then said because my computer can hear you I am going to repeat everything you say to record it. Then he asked me a yes or no question to the 10 facets of TBI. Do you experience memory loss, emotional distress, disorientation, headaches, etc. finally after all of those another 20 minutes of silence and then he says that concludes the exam thank you.

I responded, sir I have not even explained a single symptom to you and only answered yes or no questions. He repeats what I said and then says waiting on the computer to respond, follows up with this exam is only the initial and symptom explanation/discussions are not required only a yes or no to the questions provided, further exams will be scheduled based on the provided answers.

Is this normal? None of my other exams have gone like this. It felt very robotic and as I stated i barely spoke the entire exam length. We never had a discussion. I thought when you answer yes to certain questions it basically adds new dbqs that are associated and further lengthens the exam time. I'm not sure why a specialist was needed for this since it was entirely administrative, a nurse could have gone through those questions if that's really how an initial TBI exam is to be conducted. My exam in May although was rushed, the doctor would still ask clarifying questions, how long do your migraines last, how many times a week, but requested i just give him short details.

This whole process has been very discomforting and I'm not sure what is going on with the VA.

I keep seeing a certain type of VA content where every improvement is treated like a conspiracy, every bad decision is proof the entire system is broken, and any disagreement gets framed as “you must be defending the administration.”

That’s what I jokingly call Doug Collins Medically Unexplained Illness: a condition where people become incapable of acknowledging a positive result because the name Doug Collins is attached to it.

To be clear: VA absolutely makes errors. Veterans should appeal bad decisions, request higher-level review when appropriate, submit evidence, and hold the agency accountable. Nobody is saying otherwise. A denial is not automatically correct just because VA issued it.
But “VA makes mistakes” and “every decision is garbage, every rater is incompetent, and the entire backlog is fake” are two completely different claims.

The backlog is not some made-up number. It means claims pending more than 125 days. VA reported that the disability backlog fell below 100,000 in February 2026 for the first time since 2020, and it was below 75,000 for more than a month by early June. VA also reported an average compensation decision time of 78.6 days at the end of May. Those results do not mean every claim is perfect. They do mean people are working hard and a lot of decisions are getting out the door.

The real conversation should be: How do we improve accuracy while improving timeliness? How do veterans identify legitimate errors? How do we teach people to read a rating decision, understand why VA decided what it decided, and use the appeal options correctly?
Instead, some influencers build an audience by keeping people angry. “The VA is always screwing you” gets clicks. Fear sells consultations. Outrage sells memberships. Weaponizing followers against every employee, every leader, or every positive data point does not help the veteran waiting on a claim.

You can criticize VA. You can criticize Doug Collins. You can criticize the administration. That is fair game. But if you refuse to acknowledge any improvement, you are not educating people you are feeding them a narrative.
I’m speaking in my personal capacity: good work is being done. Errors still happen. Both things can be true at the same time.

The VA denied my toxic burn pit claim for asthma. The letter acknowledges my exposure but states no direct evidence exists to link my condition to military service. Isn’t asthma supposed to be presumptive? It also denied my diagnosis of sleep apnea secondary to asthma and the exposures. I am new to all of this; any advice?

I filed for my eyes. It was in my records. I sent in my tests, etc. I filed the claim last week and they already got a rating lol

I know I’m denied lol

Hello!

I am an Army National Guard soldier currently deployed to CENTCOM. My contract ends within the next 6 months, making me eligible to file a BDD claim.

Throughout my career I have suffered from migraines and anxiety/PTSD symptoms.

My question is would it be smart to file the BDD claim while still deployed (pretty good availability for online/phone exams) or should I wait until I get home and file a standard claim then?

I apologize if this is a stupid question. Thank you!

Has anyone had a problem with examiners refusing to do the exam without your C-File? I drove 2 hours just to be told I cant be seen because they dont have my file

Hi everyone, I completed my exams with LSGS by June 30th and still none of exams have been uploaded, last confirmation from the VA is that someone was working on it but no documents, I hate this

I’ll try and keep it short and to the point here-

A few years ago I told my girlfriend I was planning to kill myself. She called 911 and sent them to my house, and when the cops showed up, I had evidence of self-harm. The lead cop said that since I was a danger, he would either have to arrest me or take me to a local behavioral health center. I chose the health center.

Upon looking over my IMO’s from my PTSD disability claim through a FOIA request, it seems that visit has been entered into evidence and reviewed as proof of my symptoms. The examiner notated the event in extreme detail found only on the police report.

This did help me substantiate my claim, so I’m not mad about it, but how did the VA get these records? I never submitted it as evidence, nor have I discussed that visit with my PCP or anyone really.