Putting off the filing of your claim
If you’re unsure if you’re eligible or waiting for your symptoms to subside, putting off a claim can cost you money every month. If you receive a decision down the road in a year or two, the benefits will be paid back to when the original claim was submitted. So get that claim submitted asap!
Sending medical records and not listing all of your symptoms
When you’re sending medical records to process your claim for disability benefits, organization is key. We’ve heard of veterans sending 300 pages of medical records to the VA to process their claim for disability benefits and then have that claim denied only to resend the same medical records and complain about the inefficiency of the VA. Type up a 2 page summary in a binder with tabs to find important events. Much easier to process right? The goal is to make things as easy for the VA to process as possible. You’re helping the VA help you.
If you have lots of symptoms, instead of trying to only name your condition, list each symptom on your claim. The VA is obligated to follow up on potential conditions that would cause each symptom that you have and if multiple conditions are diagnosed you get a disability rating for each separate condition that will combine into a single overall rating.
Failing to pursue mental health claims
Veterans may be hesitant to seek disability benefits for other mental health conditions. There are lots of mental health conditions that can come from military service like anxiety, amnesia, panic attacks, ptsd etc. Remember that mental conditions will be treated similarly to physical conditions. There are however conditions that aren’t related to military service due to the nature of the disorder like personality disorders, substance use disorders, and cognitive delays and developmental disorders. The VA rates mental health conditions are rated from a 0-100% scale based on the level of social and occupational impairment caused by the condition. For example a veteran may receive a 20% if symptoms are well controlled by a medication. Veterans with more serious symptoms who are unable to perform activities of daily living may receive a 100% disability rating.
We understand that the claims process can be confusing; if you have any questions about your claims process Gumps V.A. Comp. Services would be more than happy to help answer them. Please give us a call at (888) 854 8677 or book an appointment with an accredited agent here.