As an attorney, I’ve been representing veterans seeking disability benefits since 1998. My clients want me to do two things: win their case and get it done as quickly as possible. I’ve probably seen everything there is to be seen at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and have—hopefully— learned how to avoid the mistakes that prevent a veteran from winning their case or which cause a claim to be delayed.
Here are 10 common mistakes and tips on how to avoid them.
1. Failing to Make Sure the VA Has the Evidence It Needs
On one level, VA claims are pretty simple. There are usually just a few pieces of evidence that must be submitted to win a case. For example, winning a claim for service connection usually requires a current diagnosis in writing from a doctor, evidence of an injury or symptoms in service, and a doctor’s opinion linking the current problems to the in-service symptoms or injury.
While the VA is supposed to help a veteran get this evidence under the duty to assist, it is ultimately the veteran’s responsible to make sure the evidence is there. When it’s not, the VA is usually required to deny the claim.
How to avoid this problem: When seeking benefits from the VA, meet with your lawyer and understand what evidence is required, and then make it your responsibility to get what’s missing.
2. Not Giving the VA Requested Information
The VA system is supposed to be “non-adversarial.” This means that the VA is supposed to help veterans win their claims, not fight them. As part of this responsibility, the VA will often ask a veteran for specific forms to be completed, for a release, or for a particular document.
If a veteran doesn’t respond or provide the requested documents or information, the VA can, and will, deny a claim. It may feel like the VA is asking for information or evidence they don’t need, but every veteran should understand that failure to respond can delay a case or cause a denial.
How to avoid this problem: Make sure the VA has an updated address for you on file. Carefully read letters the VA sends you and do your best to provide the VA with what they are asking for, or at least respond to the inquiry.
3. Not Telling the VA That They Already Have the Information They Are Seeking
VA will often send generic letters asking for information or evidence (see #2). Sometimes, however, they already have the evidence or information they are asking for, or the records can’t be obtained. A long delay can result when VA seeks records it already has, or which don’t exist.
How to avoid the problem: The VA might write to you asking for records from a doctor you saw 30 years ago. If you already know that the records were destroyed, don’t complete a form to allow VA to ask for the records, instead, just tell VA that you already tried to get the records and that they can’t be obtained.
4. Throwing Everything Against the Wall to See What Sticks
When I first start working with a veteran, often they show me a decision denying several dozen different claims. When I ask them about many of the claims, they say that they don’t know why the claim was made, because they have no reason to believe the condition is related to service, but someone told them to claim benefits for everything that’s wrong with them.
Doing this can lead the VA to waste a lot of time deciding claims that even you don’t think are good claims. This prevents the VA from focusing on the claims that are legitimate. It can also make you seem untrustworthy, like the boy who cried wolf.
How to avoid this problem: Choose the claims you want to make with care and focus on seeking the benefits you know you should win.
5. Asking for a Benefit without Being Clear
The VA can’t read your mind and will usually process a claim for exactly what you request in writing. So, if you aren’t clear about which benefit you are seeking, the VA can get confused and decide a claim for something other than what you want.
For example, if you are seeking benefits for a nerve problem that originates in your back and affects your left leg, the VA might get confused if you make a claim for a knee problem, thinking that you are trying to get benefits for arthritis, not a nerve problem.
How to avoid this problem: Make your claims clear; if you don’t know what is causing the problem, don’t take a guess, just describe everything as clearly as possible. A lawyer can help you express what it is that you want in a way that the VA will understand.
6. Resubmitting Evidence Repeatedly
The VA maintains a “claims file” that contains all your records, such as claims, decisions, service records, medical records, etc. The file is put together in date order and if you send in records to VA, it will be added to the file. I see many cases in which the same records are submitted to VA over and over. This is probably because the veteran believes that the documents are very important to the case.
A problem arises when the same documents are submitted more than once because they all just get added to the file, and the file can become very large. A very large file with multiple duplicate records is a file that a VA employee is less likely to want to look at closely and one that a VA employee might even avoid. This can lead to sloppy work on the part of the VA and long delays.
How to avoid this problem: I recommend to all my clients that they keep a binder with copies of everything they’ve submitted to the VA. You can refer to your binder and, if you’ve already submitted documents, you can let the VA know when you submitted them, rather than submitting them again.
7. Skipping VA Examinations
The VA is supposed to help you win your case and to gather evidence. In many situations this means the VA will send you for an examination, or maybe multiple examinations. It can be tempting to skip the examinations, especially if you think that the VA already has enough evidence to grant your claim. You should understand that in some cases, the VA is required to deny your claim if you skip an examination without good cause.
How to avoid this problem: Attend all examinations that the VA schedules or requests for you.
8. Contradicting Yourself
The VA often has to decide if they believe a veteran’s account of what happened in or after service, because service records don’t provide information, or medical records cannot be located. If a veteran provides two accounts of what happened that contradict each other, this provides a reason that the VA can use to say that a veteran is not credible.
For example, in an original claim, a veteran might assert that they injured their knee jumping off a tank in service in 1993. Two years later, at an examination, the veteran might instead say that the knee was injured in 1995 during a march carrying a heavy rucksack. It’s possible that there were two injuries, but more likely the passage of so much time can mean that a veteran can’t really remember the details, so they instead just do their best to remember. Regardless, in this situation, the VA may well conclude that a veteran isn’t telling the truth.
How to avoid this problem: When providing an account of anything, never take a guess at what happened, and instead just say as much as you are sure about. Often, all the details aren’t even important, and you can say “I remember that my knee starting to become painful sometime in service during the 1990s.” It’s always better to say, “I don’t know.” if that’s the truth.
9. Fighting a Case on Principle
I always ask my clients what their goal is when they are seeking benefits. It helps me guide a veteran to take the steps they need to get what they are seeking. Sometimes a client will tell me, “I don’t want the monetary benefits, I just want the government to acknowledge that my injury is their fault,” or “I know I’m already getting the maximum benefit, and winning my case won’t result in any money, but it’s just the principle,” or something similar.
Veterans should understand that the VA system is set up to provide compensation to veterans; it’s not set up to acknowledge the military’s fault or otherwise provide recognition. So, veterans who aren’t interested in the benefits themselves can be very disappointed when the system doesn’t provide them with the acknowledgement or satisfaction they desire.
How to avoid this problem: When you make a claim, make sure you know what you want to get out of the process. Speak to your lawyer to go over whether the VA can even provide you with results you want.
10. Using “Common Sense”
It may be apparent to you or me that you should win your case when you had a back injury documented in your service records and 40 years later you have arthritis. However, the VA doesn’t use common sense to award benefits. Its laws and regulations require veterans to provide medical opinions from doctors explaining how a condition present now is related to the in-service injury with a full rationale and citation to medical authorities. The VA is not allowed to grant your claim without the required opinion, even if it seems clear to anyone that the conditions must be related.
How to avoid this problem: Always know what the law requires and discuss with your lawyer how to document what you need, even if you think the VA should rely on common sense.
Daniel Krasnegor leads Goodman Allen Donnelly’s VA Disability Lawyers group. With experience at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, the VA General Counsel’s office, and in private practice, Dan and the firm’s veterans benefits team have represented thousands of clients before federal courts and the VA. A founding member of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association and a frequent lecturer on veterans’ benefits law, Dan combines deep legal knowledge with a strong commitment to service.