Veterans Benefits

During or after retirement, if you were injured while on active duty, many of you have applied or will apply for veterans benefits. Well, let's hope that your story turns out better than mine. I filed for five injuries received on active duty. My first claim was filed in Angeles City, P.I., in 2007, with the help of the VFW rep. He listed his office number as the point of contact (there weren't that many cellphones then). My number was NOT on the form as a point of contact. I mention this fact as it comes directly into play later.  After numerous calls to their office in Manila, most of which were not answered, we were finally told in 2009 that my claim was closed. When we asked why, they told us that it was because they had to tried many times to contact ME, and I did not reply. Now you know why I mentioned thaat my number was not listed on the claim. The VFW rep told them that his number was used, and not mine, and that NO ONE had ever called him about my claim. They still refused to recognize the claim, and said I had no choice, they said, but to refile again. We fought with them for two more years, but finally had to refile a new claim in 2011. They had already wasted four years. I'm only getting started here, so if you have any interest in the process of filing, pay attention and don't make the same mistakes I did. In 2011, I finally got a letter from Manila saying that all my claims had been denied. As we were looking through the papers they sent, and their reasons for denial, something became apparent. I looked at the documents used for evidence to support their decision, and I noticed that it did not mention my military medical records at all. When I questioned them about this, they said they had made a request for my records, and they got nothing back, so the denial was almost automatic. I followed their procedure, and wrote a "Request for Reconsideration", based on the fact that my whole evidence of injuries was in my medical records, and they did not use it in their decision. I then found out an amazing thing. They could not obtain my records. Why? Because they had been lost! They were not, and to this day, are still not in the archives, or anywhere else. They have never been located. My full twenty years of medical records vanished. In 2012, I received another denial letter from them, but they STILL did not list my medical records. I then had to, following their procedures, write a "Letter of Disagreement". I stated the obvious; that they had made their decision without the used of my medical records as support. In 2013, I got still another (3rd) letter of denial. So I took the only step allowed me to continue my claim. I filed a letter requesting that the claim be reviewed by the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). My claim, along with all the supporting papers, was sent to the BVA, and put on the docket to await it's turn. After THREE AND  A  HALF  YEARS!, my claim was reviewed. Now here is the sad part. After already waiting since 2007 for benefits, (now it's 2016) the BVA decided to send my claim BACK TO  MANILA for further evidence! That was their judgement! It was sent back to the one place that had already messed it up numerous times, and wasted years doing nothing. We had just taken a giant step backwards in time. I was told that the Manila office had been told to "try and obtain" any further evidence. We had already called every base I had been stationed at, checked every records section, checked the archives numerous time, including physical searches, and nothing. Now they were telling me that we had to do it all over again!  What do they expect to happen? My records will miraculously reappear?
Since they have come back to Manila in 2016, I have recieived only one phone call from them, and that was forced upon them by my getting the VA Omsbudsman involved. So, here I sit, TEN YEARS  LATER! Not a damn thing has been determined. Just yesterday (Oct 13 2017), with the help again of the Omsbudsman putting pressure on them, I received a call. I am now being told that a request for records was sent out in Aug 2017. It is supposed to be replied to within thirty days. Well, they told me that NO ONE replied at all! So now they tell me that they will continue to send out a new request every thirty days until they have an offical reply. Who knows how long this could go on! What a freaking mess!
I have been told before by other servicemen and women who have filed VA claims that it will take forever. I never believed, tho, that it would take this long! I have heard may stories of claims taking three years, others five years, and still others up to ten years. But I never thought it would happen to me. I have been told that it seems the VA has every method established to take the max amount of time, hoping that some vets will just drop their claims, thereby saving the government money. Do I personally believe that? I'm sure starting to!