Many service members understand the frustration of being wrongfully denied disability compensation from the Veterans Administration. In my experience I have observed veterans who became frustrated with the process and ultimately gave up. This is most unfortunate. If you have suffered an injury or illness due to your military service, you should be compensated under federal law. However, the failure of many service members to understand the VA system can cause self-inflicted problems.

I recommend the following five best ways to present persuasive disability evidence as an effective strategy:

1. Recognize your mission and ensure that everything you submit helps further your mission.
2. Tie your evidence to your military service.
3. Use the power of narrative to paint a compelling picture.
4. Understand the role of the VA claims examiner.
5. Use overwhelming firepower by finding multiple sources to support each of your claims.

Recognize Your Mission

Preparing for a VA case is like preparing for a military mission. The most junior soldiers have simple tasks in preparing for a mission, usually checking that they have all assigned equipment and that their weapons are functional and their vehicles are operational. At the strategic level, there is immense planning that occurs before military operations are conducted. The logistical and personnel challenges to move an army into a theater of operations is immense. Yet the individual soldier does not have to be concerned with all of that; he just focuses on his role to accomplish the mission. The military decision-making process starts with Step 1: Receive the Mission.

Now if you are a veteran applying for VA disability, your mission is to achieve the highest disability rating that your case warrants. You are not expected to know what disability percentages your disabilities warrant when first applying for VA disability. Instead, you should focus on applying for disability for every illness or injury that you are currently suffering from that was caused or aggravated during your time in service.

Tie Evidence to Your Military Service

The most persuasive disability evidence is that which is clearly tied to your military service. Let’s say, for example, that you were a paratrooper, injured your knee during a jump, and had no previous history of knee pain before entering the military. However, after the jump your military medical records documented time at sick call, surgeries, physical therapy, etc. These medical records are solid evidence that your injury was service connected.

Use the Power of Narrative

Do not forget the power of narrative. Storytelling is essential to the human experience. Write your VA injury statements in a way that tells a story. For example, “I was training for the Army 10 miler team in Germany and running significant miles each week. After the race, I suffered from runners’ knee in my right knee for several weeks and went to sick call.” This short narrative paints a picture of what happened and will help the VA examiner visualize the humanity in what occurred.

Recognize the Role of the Claims Examiner

Another important doctrine when preparing for military operations is to think like the enemy. This is so central to army doctrine that one of the primary staff positions is intelligence, where the primary focus during the planning cycle is to help the commanders and staffs understand the tactics, capabilities, and vulnerabilities of the enemy forces.

An understanding of what the VA examiners do is of similar value. VA examiners look at hundreds of applications each week. They see some that are poorly worded or illogical. They can be overwhelmed with their caseload. Many of them are patriotic, hard working Americans that take their role very seriously. Most of them do not have a significant science or medical background. Thus, if your disability is unusual, you will want to ensure you frame your medical evidence in a way that you think a layperson will understand.   

Use Overwhelming Firepower And Present Multiple Sources to Support Each Claim

Overwhelming firepower is a key component of many military operations. In the field artillery, we focus on massing indirect fire at critical points to destroy, neutralize, or suppress the enemy. The most effective modern military attacks include direct fire, indirect fire, close air support, naval gunfire, and whatever other weapons are available.

You can use a similar strategy to ensure that your evidence supports your disability claim. For example, suppose you are claiming PTSD. You should gather medical evidence from a treating physician to prove you have been injured and the extent to which that injury impacts your life. You could support this medical evidence with affidavits of knowledge from family or coworkers that testify to their observations of the impact your PTSD has on you. You can further support your claim by having your treating physician fill out a VA survey regarding your PTSD. Now, instead of a single piece of evidence regarding your disability claim, you have five data sources that all show  you should be given a high disability rating percentage.

In Conclusion:  The Road to Success

Keep these “5 Best Ways to Present Persuasive Disability Evidence” in mind as you work with the VA claims process, and you will give yourself the best chance of success. If you feel you are in beyond your depth and need some help, reach out! There are many organizations that volunteer to help veterans with VA cases.

Military Law Attorney Paul E. Tennison has over fourteen years of military experience, including time spent as a commissioned officer in Korea, Germany, and Poland. Paul understands the struggles that service members and veterans face when dealing with the VA. He has been personally involved in many cases where the VA ignored relevant evidence at the regional office level, and those are issues that Paul focuses on in VA appeals where he provides significant value to veterans. If you have been dealing with a difficult VA case, contact Paul at Cole Law Group in Nashville 615-490-6020 to learn how he can help you.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administers disability compensation that veterans have for illnesses or injuries which were caused by, or have been made worse during, active military service. The compensation may include financial support and other benefits such as health care.  Click here for more information on eligibility requirements for VA disability.

If you believe you are eligible for Veterans Affairs disability, the first step is to gather any supporting documentation for your claim. You will need evidence such as military records related to the injury or illness at issue, your medical treatment records, and your DD214 or other separation documents. Fill out your claim form completely and include all the relevant evidence. Today, you have several options for how you can file a claim:

1. You can file online at https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/.
2. Mail the claim form in.
3. Apply in person.
4. Consult with a trained professional.

After filing the claim, you do not need to take any further action unless you receive follow up communication from the VA. According to the VA’s website 111.5 days is the average number of days it took the VA to complete disability-related claims in April 2019.

The Disability Decision Letter

The VA’s disability decision letter is organized in a format that has four major sections: 1) an introduction, 2) a decision, 3) a listing of evidence considered, and 4) reasons for the decision. When examining the decision letter you receive, the first thing you should do is read the letter to determine if there have been any mistakes made either by you in not including all relevant information, or by the VA in overlooking something that was included. For example, are the records correct in the introduction section that show the time you served in the military?  Or, what was the date you filed your original claim?

When reading the decision section, note the reasons the VA claims for their decision. Here the letter will describe if each claimed disability was granted, and if granted, the percentage awarded from 10% to 100% in increments of 10, or if the claimed disability was denied. The decision section is short, and only gives one sentence for each claimed disability.

When examining the evidence section, think long and hard about whether you have in your possession or believe other documents might exist that could help your case. Helpful evidentiary documents include your service treatment records, your VA screenings completed by a company contracted by the VA, VA forms that may apply (such as VA Form 21-series in support of filing for certain types of disabilities), your private medical records, X-rays, records of injury or illness while on active duty (such as reports from treatment at a troop medical center), physical profile information, or other military medical records.

The VA can only decide your disability claim based on the evidence they find and you find. Thus, if you were injured during a parachute jump in 2005, yet there is no record of this injury listed in the evidence section, then the VA has no way of knowing that such injury is service connected and will thus deny the disability claim(s) that were related to that parachute incident.

Reasons for Decision

The Reasons for Decision section is the longest portion of the letter from the VA. When reading that section, look for the regulations (CFR) that support the actions the VA takes. For example, the letter might have a section stating, “When an intent to file is properly submitted, and a substantially complete application for disability compensation and related compensation benefits is received within one year of the intent to file, the claim is considered filed as of the date we received the intent to file (38 CFR 3.400).” Thus, to understand where that provision comes from, you could read 38 CFR 3.400 which should state something similar to what is claimed in the letter. Read your evaluation percentages and determine if you agree with the findings of the VA. When the VA grants a disability rating, they explain the percentage granted and state what that finding is based on. They will then cite to the portion of the CFR that describes the criteria for that % of disability evaluation. They may state that a higher rating is not warranted because the evidence did not show that you had more serious symptoms.

A common reason many VA disability claims are denied is because the VA determines the injury is not service connected. They may use language such as, “No evidence shows this injury occurred while on active duty, and the post separation file is silent for those type of complains as well.” For the VA to award disability, you must show a nexus, or link between your claimed issue and an event, injury, or disease which occurred while in the service. Your treatment records during your time in service or within a year of completing the service should show a complaint, treatment, or diagnosis related to the disability for which you are applying. Importantly, even if your claim is denied, the VA will include favorable findings identified in this decision. These favorable findings could show that you do in fact have a diagnosis for the injury or illness for which you applied.

Systematic Approach for Appeal

Overall, the VA disability benefits decision letter may be difficult for many or most veterans to understand. However, by taking a systematic approach and breaking down the information that is provided in each section, you can better understand why the decisions were made the way they were in your letter and what you could do to best succeed on your appeal. As a military officer myself, I analogize this process to the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP). During MDMP, one of the most important steps is mission analysis. This is where the team reads the mission that the higher headquarters has established, and they begin to dissect all the parts of the operation within the scope of their roles. Treat reading the VA letter as mission analysis. Find out if there is anything that should be included in your application that has not already been included. Find out if the VA made a mistake by overlooking an important piece of evidence. Perhaps you need to go to a civilian or VA doctor to be treated and can include this next visit in your appeal. If you disagree with the VA’s decision, consult with a close friend or an attorney experienced in VA disability appeals and brainstorm your plan of attack. Just as many military operations were not successful until numerous hours of planning before the attack, so too your VA disability appeal may require some strategic thinking before filing the appeal. This process begins by reading and understanding your VA disability claim decision letter.