Special Series - Understanding the VA Claims Process -
Part 3 of 3 - Selecting Your Representative
“You have to do it yourself, no one else will do it for you. You must work out your own salvation.” Charles E. Popplestone
04.04.08
If you believe that your military service has caused you a disability that has had a negative impact on your life, you may want to file with the Veterans Benefits Administration to receive a monetary benefit; disability compensation.
To address your thoughts to an organization as large as the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) may be intimidating. You've heard all the propaganda and rumors and stories from your peers and you believe the system is complex and unfriendly. Maybe you've been advised that you need representation for the task ahead or you won't stand a chance of winning any benefits.
You might even think that you're required to have a representative.
As with most things in our lives, the truth lies somewhere between all the tall tales you hear and the practical side of how the system really works. It's true that facing off with the VA can be frustrating. The laws that govern how the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) processes an application for benefits can be as complex as any other law that governs our lives. Like most giant bureaucracies, the VBA isn't very responsive to your personal wants and wishes and it moves only at its own pace. The VBA won't do it your way, whatever happens only happens by their rules.
On the other hand, a veteran who is patient and willing to do some work for themselves will usually do just fine handling their own claim. The basic rules and concepts are as simple as can be. Winning a claim only requires that a veteran present evidence of other than dishonorable military service, evidence of a condition caused or aggravated by that service and evidence that the claimed condition is causing a measurable degree of disability. All evidence must be absolute and presented in a format that is acceptable to the VBA.
If a veteran chooses the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) method, he or she must be prepared to learn how the game is played. The explosive growth of the information superhighway, the Internet, has made that easier than ever before. With a modern home computer, high speed (broadband) access to the Internet, a printer and a scanner, you're well equipped to teach yourself how to file your claim.
In this regard the VBA has gone above and beyond what they might be required to do and put almost everything they have on a web site for you to access at no cost.
All the data you need starts here:
From this portal you can link over to benefits: http://www.vba.va.gov/ or health care information: http://www.va.gov/health/
Do you need a form? Click here: http://www.va.gov/vaforms/
You've heard about the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) and you want to know more, so the DVA has simplified that by providing you with this link: http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/
If you want to save some paper, DVA makes it easy to apply for your benefits on-line by clicking here: http://www.va.gov/onlineapps.htm
As long as you're in the DIY mode, you may want to use the same guide as the VBA staff is using today. The VBA makes that available to you by clicking this link: http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/M21_1MR.html
Maybe you've been scheduled for a Compensation and Pension (C&P) examination at your Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC). You want to understand more about what the examiner will look for when assessing your disability. The VBA makes that information available to you if you click here: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/exams/index.htm
You've discovered that TITLE 38 is that section of law that addresses Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief and you want to know more of the details.
That's easy, click here: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/
and you have a wealth of information available to use.
Whatever you may need to validate your claim is readily available for you. It will take work, learning some new skills and organization. You'll also have to be patient. Today's VBA is a year or two behind in processing your claims and falling further behind each day.
If all that has overwhelmed you, if you aren't confident with that computer or if you aren't able to devote the time to learn all this new stuff, you'll need some help.
The veteran who needs a hand with filing for a DVA benefit will most often seek out a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) who is affiliated with a Veterans Service Organization. These individuals may be called National Service Officers(NSO) or, if they're employed by the state or county you reside in, their title may be that of a County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO).
Your Service Officer may be a volunteer who works with a local chapter of their Veterans Service Organization or they may be a full time salaried employee of that organization or your county or state.
You aren't allowed to use an attorney or any other representative who will charge you a fee to submit your initial application for benefits. The law has recently changed to allow you to use a lawyer on an appeal of a denial but until then, you must choose a VSO or DIY.
No matter who you select to represent you, the initial process is much the same everywhere. The veteran will meet with the representative to discuss whatever condition it is the veteran believes will justify an award of disability compensation.
The veteran must sign a Power of Attorney (POA) that will allow the representative to address the VBA on behalf of the veteran, retrieve and review otherwise confidential records and similar activities. At this point the Service Officer will assist the veteran with completing any required forms and then submit them to the VBA.
In some locales, the local VSO, the representative that may have an office in a VA health facility, will turn all that paper over to another VSO who has an office at the Veterans Administration Regional Office (VARO). In some states, the CVSO is required to do only the initial piece of work and then that claim is handed off to a VSO at the VARO.
From there, the file is given into the VBA at the VARO and only after it's adjudicated will anyone know just what's happened to it. The notification will come in the mail as an award letter or a denial letter.
I contend that your chances of winning your award are decided long before your application ever gets to the VBA rater...that individual who is the ultimate decision maker on your case. If your first application is focused, complete and doesn't have any gaps, you're much more likely to be satisfied with your award.
Knowing that, who you choose to act on your behalf is one of the more important decisions you'll ever make. Not unlike choosing a heart surgeon or a plumber, if you pick the guy who graduated at the bottom of the class, you may regret it for a long time to come.
Unfortunately, Veterans Service Officers aren't as well regulated as plumbers and heart surgeons. There are no national standards, no licenses, no single sets of certifications that are required to show competence. The only real requirement on the books is a certification by the VBA. That requirement is mostly a rubber-stamp sort of process and doesn't offer any assurances of competence or experience.
There aren't any governing bodies that track the outcomes of a particular set of representatives so we can't accurately determine who is most likely to do a good job for us.
Knowing all that, how can you possibly choose a representative that you can trust?
First, do your homework. The sad fact is that most veterans will take a lot of time researching where to purchase a car or they may spend hours buried in technical manuals before they'll buy a new computer. Then they'll freely hand over their lives and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of potential benefits awards to the first stranger they meet.
“Shop around” is rule number 1. If you'll go to Sears, Best Buy and a local, home-town merchant to compare the values of a new washer-dryer combo, why wouldn't you do at least that much thinking before you sign a POA over to someone?
You can find a list of organizations that can represent you by clicking here: http://www1.va.gov/vso/ and here: http://www.va.gov/statedva.htm
Once you've contacted those organizations that appeal to you, interview them. As you go about the interview process, pay attention to the details that will make a difference to you a year down the road.
Were they receptive to a fixed appointment time? Were they on time and prepared to meet you? Did they welcome your spouse to join the meeting as a partner?
Were the surroundings of the offices professional and well organized? Were you given the time to and encouraged to ask questions? Were you afforded privacy so that you felt comfortable enough that you could speak of confidential matters?
Did you have a steady stream of interruptions and was the phone ringing off the hook? Did the representative seem to pay close attention to you or were they in a hurry to move ahead? Did the representative appear professional in dress and demeanor?
Were you offered or pressured to pay a fee for a membership to join the organization or given some sort of promotional material with a membership application?
If you aren't able to answer all of the above and feel good about the answers, you should avoid that organization. It isn't likely to get any better and it may get a lot worse. This is your life and you have every right to be demanding.
When you feel like you may have found a representative that you trust, ask some pointed questions.
I've developed the questions here from the emails I receive with complaints or comments about the shortcomings of VSO's who are representing veterans. The most common complaint is about a lack of communication. If you have a question or if you need some assurance that your case is at the VARO and will be worked on, nothing will be more frustrating to you than when your VSO won't call or email you.
Don't be afraid to ask;
How are you certified or otherwise credentialed? How much experience do you have with this kind of work? Are you to be the “point man” in handling my claim or will you assign it elsewhere? What happens if my benefits are denied? Will you handle the appeal or do you pass it up a ladder to another layer in your organization?
Who do you report to? If I have trouble reaching you (maybe you're on vacation) who do I call and what can I expect?
Will there be someone in your office every day of the week during normal business hours? How long will it take for you to return my telephone call if I have a question?
How prompt are you at replying to your emails? If I need copies made or documents scanned, may I bring them to your office to accomplish that? Is there a notary in your office should that task be required?
If you can't get these questions answered to your satisfaction, it's time to exit and move to the next one on your list.
Finally, ask their opinion on how well your benefits application may be received at the VARO. Ask for a realistic opinion on a time line. If they aren't willing to be open and honest with you, you're in the wrong place.
Just because you aren't paying out of pocket for these services doesn't mean they're free. You have a right to demand excellence from a representative. In one way or another, you've paid the price and earned the right to have a high quality of representation for the challenge ahead.
Your dealings with BVA will take time and present many challenges along the way. Knowing that you're represented by an experienced professional, one who truly cares about and respects you will be worth the time and effort you put into your selection.
