Wondering if anyone here as ever filed a disabilty claim after they EAS'ed. I got off AD in Nov. 2010, but trying to get my family ready to go and getting everything else done, i didnt have time to get that squared away. I needed the special hearing test because of dramatic hearing loss and the navhosp kept putting my appts off. I know its possible to file just wondering what to expect as far as wait times for processing and all the little stuff no one mentions. thanks guys.
Disability claim after EAS.
- Thread starter runsonboost
- Start date
Call your local VA and start the process. Your going to face a hell of a time with waiting and proving you had the loss BEFORE you left the service.
You should have made the extra effort to get your appointments in before IMO. Now its going to be totally up to you to prove to them you have issues. If you don't have any proof or documentation...good luck.
You should have made the extra effort to get your appointments in before IMO. Now its going to be totally up to you to prove to them you have issues. If you don't have any proof or documentation...good luck.
i worked at the VA in comp and disability as of last year, pm me
Planter
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my cousin went through this. he filed his claim a few weeks after he got home, 6 months later, he got a check for back pay from the date of his claim being filed, and then a monthly check for the rest of his life, and he also got into VA Voc Rehab a few years later and is getting a degree.
he has a 20% disability rating. take all your medical records with you when you go, but make a copy for yourself.
dude.. it took me 2 years, 2 months to get my rating. i seperated from active duty before filing my claim but made sure i had all my medical records and everything to support my claim.
At first the process was moving right along with the claim evaluators. was going about 30 miles from home about twice a week for a while. Got a mileage check for that from the VA. After all my appointments were met (which took about 4 months) progress was slooowwww. You can follow your claim progress on the EBenefits website, or by calling the 1-800 VA number.
So 26 months later after i initially filed the claim, I was given 60%. I was awarded this last year. So like everybody else that's chimed in, i'm very familiar with the claims process. PM me any specifics you may have and good luck. I know dealing with the VA usually is very frustrating.
At first the process was moving right along with the claim evaluators. was going about 30 miles from home about twice a week for a while. Got a mileage check for that from the VA. After all my appointments were met (which took about 4 months) progress was slooowwww. You can follow your claim progress on the EBenefits website, or by calling the 1-800 VA number.
So 26 months later after i initially filed the claim, I was given 60%. I was awarded this last year. So like everybody else that's chimed in, i'm very familiar with the claims process. PM me any specifics you may have and good luck. I know dealing with the VA usually is very frustrating.
it's been about a year for me since i filed...got a phone call about 2 weeks ago informing me they had it and it was still being processed. i knew going into it that it was going to take forever.
the guy i met with initially didn't seem to give a **** about me or what i was filing for. had all my med recs with me, never asked to look at them, never asked what happened...just wrote down my specific claims and that was it. wasn't feeling super confident leaving there.
also, my medical records aren't very in depth. as an 0311 we were in the field a lot and didn't get to leave to head to the BAS for basic injuries...corpsman gave us motrin, sat out a patrol and then we were back at it. so i'm skeptical since a lot of little things weren't "documented" on base.
the guy i met with initially didn't seem to give a **** about me or what i was filing for. had all my med recs with me, never asked to look at them, never asked what happened...just wrote down my specific claims and that was it. wasn't feeling super confident leaving there.
also, my medical records aren't very in depth. as an 0311 we were in the field a lot and didn't get to leave to head to the BAS for basic injuries...corpsman gave us motrin, sat out a patrol and then we were back at it. so i'm skeptical since a lot of little things weren't "documented" on base.
Thanks for all the replies guys. I figure it will take a while to get everything processed, i have heard more than a couple horror stories from dealing with the VA.
troof.. make sure you keep copies of everything you submit to them. i cant stress that enough.
Let us know how it goes. I know all too well about the nightmares with post-EAS disability. Just a month or two after I EAS'd, the VA hospital here ran some tests on my hands due to my complaint of constant pains (which had been continually diagnosed in the Corps as flexor tendonitis and tendonitis in the wrist). The VA doctors hooked me up to some crazy machine that shocks the crap out of you and logs responsiveness or something. Anyway, they found severe carpal and cubital tunnel in both hands/arms. No matter how hard I fight, I'm unable to get them to consider this in my disability claim. They try to play the "no persistent history" card, but really is it my fault the symptoms had been there but had been ill-documented and mis-diagnosed? The answer to that question is apparently YES. And I won't even get into the 5 herniated discs in my back which they also never caught, but have led to some pretty damn inconvenient conflicts between those discs and the nerves themselves.... Yet again, insufficient documented history, although I have a long history of back spasms which were documented (and therefore I think masked any effects of the discs while I was in; doctors would look at my record and ask about my history of back stuff, and jump straight to the easy spasms diagnosis).... An MRI was never even considered when I was in. I wish it had been.
I've known other people who had zero problem with their claims though. So, to be fair, you very well may not have any issues with a claim. I wish I would have listened to everyone when I was in, when they said, "make sure you get EVERYTHING documented". All those times where I decided to tough it out because I didn't feel like missing work to go to medical, only to surely be told to "hydrate and take some Motrin", clearly came back to bite me in the ass. Nobody wants to be a Sick Call Warrior, but the system really can penalize you if you don't go constantly.
AMVETS is another good source if there is an office near you. Hope you get everything service connected if your past injuries are affecting you today. The important thing is to make copies of your med records and send in the copies. They may lose them! Didn't happen with me but I have heard. From application to rating took 5 months and I filed while I was still active duty. If you got a bonus on EAS you will have to pay that back! So your disability payments will go towards that until its paid in full. I had to go through that. Took 10 months to actually see a disability check.
I just started this process after Seperating in April 2011. I talked to my DAV and they are handling all the paperwork, so I just goto the appointments when the VA mails me. Hopefully all my claims get handled reasonably soon, but only time will tell.
the only problems i have listed in my medical record is the hearing loss, some pics of a sweet hole in my stomach/persistant heart burn and various knee problems they couldnt figure out.
As long as your records show repeated treatments for the same injury will weigh heavily on the percentage you are given for each issue you mentioned.
I was rated on TBI and behavioral related to my head injury. Had broke my hand 2 times at work but was given zero percent for that because no record of repeat treatments.
So you military guys become the sick call warrior!
as i mentioned i used to work for the VA. o win a claim its 3 simple steps:
step 1 - service connection - ie it happened, started or was made worse by your service
step 2 - the issue is current and ongoing - ie you still suffer from it
step 3 - current treatment -- ie you have a dr's visit for the service connected injury that is within a years time
also, you will never get more than 10% for pain, as pain cannot be rated. dont claim pain, claim pain with limited motion
step 1 - service connection - ie it happened, started or was made worse by your service
step 2 - the issue is current and ongoing - ie you still suffer from it
step 3 - current treatment -- ie you have a dr's visit for the service connected injury that is within a years time
also, you will never get more than 10% for pain, as pain cannot be rated. dont claim pain, claim pain with limited motion
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