r/VAClaims

I don't understand why we as a community will tell someone who is struggling to navigtate an archiac, counter intuitive process that they should under no circumstances pay someone 20% of their backpay to make the process simpler.

If someone doesnt have the capacity to navigate govt bueracracy then why is it a negative. If you are stalled at 30% because you dont understand how to build claims to win, you dont know what information you need to develop or even how to find it then WHY is it bad to have someone else take on that load and let them earn the money they deserved for handling the process. 100% of a zero increase isnt worth more than 20% of a 70% increase.

You can have the best package put together, years of evidence secondary to SC injuries. MRIs, x-rays, physical therapy ALL being records from the VA and care done by the VA...... And then have an examiner that ignores you and blows you out the door in 10 minutes puts less likely than not or flat out lies about answers and measurements they never took or asked.

Rater just goes with it and you are screwed for life.

Went in for a C&P exam today for Neck/Cervical strain secondary to migraines and IBS secondary to anxiety. I go in for my appointment at 8:00 am. I get called back to the exam room, we sit down and she starts firing off questions related to my claims. And within a few minutes she says “okay I’m going to write all this up and send over to the VA” then proceeds to get up and walk me to the door. I was walking out by 8:04. I didn’t even get a chance to go in depth about my experiences or how much I’m affected by it. And there was no physical exam to see range of motion or pain in my neck. I walked out so dumbfounded cause it wasn’t like any other C&P I’ve done before. Has anyone experienced this and if so, what was the outcome of your claim? I don’t know what to think right now

Hello, I filed my claim back on March 31st and I have been in Evidence gathering since April 9th, but I have received no updates after my exam appointments. I was told from a few friends and coworkers that when they did theirs last year, it was 6 - 8 week process, but I am closer to 13 weeks now.

I have been connected for migraine and anxiety/depression. I was recently connected for IBS and want to file IBS secondary to my migraine and anxiety/depression.

When I go to file, I can only select one primary disability. I do not see an option to select migraine and anxiety/depression. Am I missing something?

I’m trying to figure out the hold up on pay. The last 2 claims I had close, the next day I received my back pay. This time for some reason they are sitting on it, claim closed on the 29th and it’s been a waiting game since. Has anybody else had this issue?

Just noticed I had a new pending disability claim that was previously denied in 2019 for GERD and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. However, I did not request this nor ever attempted to fight the initial denial decision. I noticed that it states “clarification response” under the latest file update. Can anyone offer insight on why this has occurred? I am currently happy with my VA disability rating and not looking at trying to “poke the bear”.

I feel like I should be panicking. But leading up to and having gone through it sloppily, I feel… numb. Yet I have concerns over the sloppiness of my answers to the questions I received. I cannot tell whether this was a “good” examiner or not. He did seem at times like he was losing patience with some of my answers, through facial irritation, but then when I was allowed to go into my MST event, his reactions seemed appropriate, at the correct times, although I suspect this may just be acting on their part. I’m having mixed feelings about this- because I messed up giving an exact date for when my sleep issues occurred, I just know that most of my symptoms started/worsened after the event many years ago. There is evidence in many of my records, but they are stretched and spaced out over years to present day. And some things I didn’t go to medical for, so I may have answered these questions in therapy. Maybe I’m overthinking this, and the burden of connecting the dots isn’t just on the examiner, it’s about the entire record, which we definitely didn’t talk about, am I wrong?

I am currently rated 50% for PTSD and during my increase appointment today, the Doctor advised she is adding depression and anxiety to my diagnosis. Does this actually help with my increase?

Hi guys,
I’m writing here on behalf of my husband. He is a Navy veteran and last year received about an 80% VA disability rating.
Two years ago, he was officially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His condition has become very difficult. Looking back, the symptoms started many years ago - probably more than 10 years ago. He always had health complaints and we knew something was wrong, but doctors couldn’t figure out the cause. I researched a lot myself, gave the doctors information about what I suspected, and finally in 2024 he received the Parkinson’s diagnosis.
We believe his Parkinson’s is connected to exposures during his Navy service and his time in Iraq, but the VA denied the Parkinson’s claim and rated it at 0%. His health is getting worse. He is exhausted, unable to do anything at home, and everyday life has become very hard for our family. I’m worried about his future care and need help getting him the benefits he deserves. I work full time but bad job and make less than 2 K monthly, and in the summer I have 3 months not paid break:-(
My husband also paid $1,500 to some AI company that claimed they could help with his VA claim, but unfortunately nothing came from it and he did not get his money back.
There are also other conditions that were denied, including hearing loss (he was a Navy pilot) and other service-related issues.
For those who have been through this: what should we do next? Should we hire a VA disability attorney, work with a VSO, file an appeal, or try another route? Any advice from veterans or families who have dealt with Parkinson’s claims would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.

Anybody gone through an exam rework with LSGS? All of my conditions need to go back through exam rework for a full and complete rationale. I’m almost at 4 weeks and apparently it’s still waiting on a provider. I requested they expedite it, but this seems crazy long for a rework. Interested to hear other veterans perspectives on rework timelines.

Just got a partial decision back after waiting almost a year.
I’m happy with what was approved, but I have a question about the effective date.
Why would the VA make the effective date the date of my C&P exam instead of the date I filed my claim? I thought a partial decision like this would come with back pay to around October when these issues were filed.
Has anyone else had this happen? Is there a reason they would use the exam date instead of the filing date? Did you have to file an HLR or appeal to get the effective date corrected?
Just trying to understand how the VA determines effective dates. Thanks in advance!

Just had a root canal and I was around some guys and I made a stupid mistake. They asked me how my tooth was doing, and I told him that the VA got me into a dentist really fast and it was taken care of and that I feel much better. I forgot one of them was a vet and he asked me “ How did you get dental work? That’s the only thing they won’t do unless you’re 100”?

I was like …. “Yeah I had some dental stuff got messed up overseas and they said it could have been because of chemicals so it’s service connected”.

From the very beginning i was not being very confidential about it. Mainly because I was talking it often because I was trying to learn about the process. Those around me knew whenever I became 50%. However, I have long since decided nobody would ever know that it reached 100. So now people ask me about it. I’m still at 50%. Can’t believe I didn’t think about the dentist thing.