1st Time Claim Filing Tips, And/Or Suggestions; For Filing A Service Connection, VA Compensation/Benefits Claim !
Beginning, 1st suggested step:
If you are planning on filing a 1st time claim for service connection benefits/Compensation:
Suggestions are as follows:
If you have not been seen for any reasons, at a VA Hospital, or VA Medical Clinic anywhere, and you have not put in for a VA Medical ID Card, and you have not been included in the VA Health Care System; it is most important that you get your, VA Medical ID Card, So that you can be included in the VA Health Care Systems !
Go to your nearest VA Hospital: after arriving, go to admission, and apply for your VA Medical ID Card. After applying for your Medical ID Card, apply at the same place , then, ask to get as soon as possible, a doctor appointment, for whatever health condition that you are planning on filling your VA Claim for benefits .
Note: All a Veteran need is to have proof of any kind of honorable, or under any kind of honorable condition discharge,from any US Military Services, to get a VA Medical ID Card ! After you have done the above, see claim tips !
Suggested Claim tips ! If you have been seen, or treated at any VA Medical Facility, for your stated service connected medical and/or mental health conditions and/ or problems, or disabilities, etc.; go to any VA Hospital, then go to the, Medical Records Department, request copies of any and all of your VA Medical Records. At any VA Hospital, Medical Records Department, first time you can get copies free .
Your VA Medical Records, are of utmost important, with in, being very helpful, and/or greatly beneficial in helping you to show supportive medical documents, about you and/or your condition, in which will help to substantiate your VA Claim for Benefits/ and/or compensation !
Listed below are some suggestions and/or claim tips that you may find very helpful, when filing your 1st time claim for benefits. The suggestions, and/or claim tips that are listed below, does not necessary have to be used in the order listed, nor do you necessarily need to use all of the tips, and it is up to you, if you decide not to use any of the tips . You be the judge, on your decision, to use all of the tips, or some of the tips when putting in your claim, you may find using the tips helpful!
Claim tips/suggestions, for 1st service connection claim !
After you have retrieved copies of your VA Medical Records, go through your records, and find any and all, the places in your medical records, that concur, refer or reflect, to your service connection claim for compensation, and/or benefit ! After you have found in your records, medical documents, pertaining to your claim: Then you highlight the places that are in your records,pertaining to the, treatment, therapy, medical comments, medical consultations, medical future recommendations, any temporary or permanent – disabilities or incapacitations, etc., as well as medication prescribed for your stated service connection medical conditions, and/or problems !
Special Note: You might find it very helpful and beneficial, that after you have highlighted copies of the aforementioned of your VA Medical Records, to attach copies, and send/or carry the copies along with the filing of your 1st time VA Claim Document ! Doing that, it can possibly help speed up your claim, as well as, it might help you get a higher/or fairer compensation percentage rating, and/or the benefit that you are seeking to get .
Note: If you have filed your VA Claim before you have pulled your medical records, you might find it very beneficial to pull your medical record, highlight them, and mail/or carry the records in to your Regional VA Office ! Also attach your narrative story > see tell your story menu selection, on this web site for suggestions, and/or tips.
Special Note: You might find it very beneficial, that any time you mail any thing, to the VA and/or any Governmental Agency, by mailing whatever you are mailing, sending it Certified Priority Mail and get your certification slip, keep the slip, put it up in a safe place, because this will show proof that you mailed, whatever you sent, to whoever you sent it to, as well as to validate the date you sent the mail ! Never, send multiple copies of anything you are sending to the VA stapled together . At the top of each page, put date, your full name, full social security number, and if you have a VA File Number, also put the file number up top . If you are sending or caring multiple copies, put the page numbers up top.
Example: page 1 of 6 pages, page 2 of 6 pages, page 3 of 6 pages, continue until all pages are accounted for .
Claim tips/suggestions, for 1st service connection claim .
Never send any of your original copies of documents, and/or any original materials to the VA . Send duplicates/photo copies, that you have copied/reproduced from your originals . File everything you carry, send, or receive from the VA, that is very important, just in case you need your files for future use for the VA, other purposes/use .
File your VA Benefit Claim, right away, or at any time, even if you don’t have any copies of nothing, after you have filed your claim, you can always get what you need as your claim proceed along in the VA Benefit System ! Don’t hesitate, don’t procrastinate, because the longer it takes you to file your claim, the longer it will take you to get what you are trying to get ! Don’t quit, Keep on pushing, Never give up ! Good Luck ! Best Wishes ! Thank You For Serving ! Please see web site, and select your choices, for help !