Question:

Hi Jim, A disability showed up on my husband's list of disabilities as "not service connected", even though he never filed a claim for it. We think it was put there by a VSR about a decade ago, when a completely different claim was filed, but we don't know for sure. He was never notified that the disability was added to his record as "not service connected". He had no notice to contest it. 10 years later my husband is considering a claim for the disability. How is that handled? Is it an appeal, even though he never filed a claim for it?

Jim's Reply:

Many years ago VA would comb through files and look for anything that had any potential as a claim and they would mark it as not service connected. My own record from 1970 says my dandruff (helmet rash in basic) was not service connected. If your veteran thinks he should file a claim, he should go ahead and ignore the earlier notation. if it has any relevance, VA will let him know soon enough.