Hello Jim,

On my medical sheet the examiner found that I have neck problems, back in 2003 and I have not had any more problems until 2011 when I had to go back to work doing manual labor. I file a claim for disability compensation but they stated that since it was not an ongoing issue it did not qualify for compensation. I thought that if something was documented in your records and even if it did not present a problem until later that it still should be service connected.

Reply:

That isn't correct. The first problem is that you haven't presented (to me at least) a medical diagnosis. To say, "neck problems" is not a medical diagnosis. Do you have herniated cervical disks, crushed nerve roots, cancer...?

You must be very specific and you must have a specific recorded diagnosis by a medical professional.

Then you say you had a problem in 2003 and no problems again until 2011. To a reasonable person that indicates that you may have had a muscle strain or similar in 2003. The VA would call that an acute and/or temporary condition that isn't a permanent disability. Just having a sore neck, knee, hip or whatever in 2003 doesn't guarantee anything for the future unless it's documented as an ongoing problem.

Finally...that you're experiencing some sort of problem with your neck because you're doing manual labor in 2011 sends a strong message that the problem lies with the current manual labor. Since the problem seems to be caused by your current work, it's not going to be service connected.

I wish I had better news. But it doesn't appear to me that you have a well grounded veterans disability benefits claim.