Who can help with your VA Claim?
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Centaur Walter Cooke recently discovered that in his state, Utah, there are folks called County Veteran Service Officers (CVSO) who are specially trained to help veterans get through the red tape of the Veteran's Administration. They got him 100% disability for his Congestive Heart Failure. Here is how Google describes them:
The CVSOs are staffed by accredited veteran service officers, trained to navigate a bureaucracy nearly as complex as a military campaign. They help veterans gather the necessary paperwork to support claims, file claims and assist in appealing claims that have been denied.
These positions vary from state to state. In my state, Wyoming, we had service officers scattered regionally, and had DVOPs (Disabled Veterans Service Personnel) and LVERs ( Local Veterans Service Representatives) in the state employment offices.
The VFW, American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Disabled American Veterans and other service organizations have staff personnel as well as trained volunteers to assist veterans through the VA maze.
The VA employs people who are supposed to help with claims, but my experience with them was nothing to write home about for the most part.
If a veteran is filing for a claim for service connection, I would highly recommend that they utilize one of the service officers rather than tackling the VA on their own. Wading through VA red tape can be very frustrating and confusing, and trained personnel can cut through the bureaucratic jungle.
Vets should know that very little speed is ingrained in the VA claims system. A claim that is approved in under a year is quick for the VA, I am sad to say. Further, it has been my experience that VA medical and VA benefits don’t necessarily communicate. For instance, if a VN vet is diagnosed with prostate cancer through the VA medical system, the medical staff will seldom if ever tell the vet that prostate cancer is one of the presumptive Agent Orange diseases and is service connectable.
I know that my take on the VA benefits process is skewed negatively, but both my professional and personal experience with it has been more frustrating than it should have been. Veterans dealing with VA benefits should know that the claims process can be frustrating and long. Sad to say, but that has been what I have experienced over 10 years of working professionally with veterans, and service connected claims that I filed personally.
Bottom line: if a vet has a service related condition that is connectable, utilize the skills of a trained professional to assist in the process.