Jim,
I just read your explanation of how claims work. Ok I'm impatient. Its been a year. The fact I might not have a claim didn't encourage me much. But I know what happened and nothing can change that, it is what it is. I just don't know how to prove without a doubt, what I experienced after all the years. I am getting SSDI got that first try so I'm really not hurting for funds, I get by. I'm retired unable to work.
All my health issues are inline with AO exposure. I just don't know what evidence is. I called VA today after getting your E-mail and asked for an update. I was told I was not in ratings, the woman told me she was writing a request to the RO for the current status of my claim. she asked how I'd like the response and I said by mail (paper trail) I had also written a FOIA 1974 request for my case file a month ago. She note'd that along with this request, this is supposed to take about five days, since I want a written response it would take alittle longer. Now that I read AtoZ, I'm probably headed to the back of the line again. (slow learning curve) :) Thanks for the pointers,
Reply:
You're among the many veterans who don't understand the system that is our VA disability claims services. Many of us go into the process believing that as we had honorable military service and we recall the events that have caused negative effects on our lives today, VA will help us.
Then we discover that the process is adversarial. Although filing a claim is simple, proving it with evidence acceptable to VA may not be. We're often shocked to learn that our memories of events count for nothing. If there isn't a record of something, preferably a medical record, then we have a serious problem. Although we know an event happened to us, how do we prove it?
Then there is the issue of Agent Orange. You told me "my health issues are inline with AO exposure". I don't know just what this means but I have a feeling that you are one who may think that exposure to herbicide is the answer to all the ailments you have today.
VA won't agree with that. To receive compensation for exposure to dioxin the veteran must first prove the exposure. For the Vietnam veteran who has a record of boots on the ground service, that's easy. For all others you must jump through some hoops to prove you had the exposure. Then you must have a condition that VA recognizes as "presumptive" to having exposure to agent orange. If your condition isn't on the list, you must have evidence (a nexus letter, for example) that will support your allegation that your condition is caused by exposure to AO.
There are no benefits available for "exposure to agent orange". There are conditions like prostate cancer or heart disease or diabetes that may be caused or aggravated by the agent orange and those are eligible for benefits.
I advise all veterans to take the time to learn how the system works. When we have a good base of knowledge to use in our claims, we're much more likely to prevail. You can read how to file claims, what evidence you will need and much more on my site at https://www.vawatchdog.org/