The VA Disability Claim Process
Here is where Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series are located
I’m in the early phases of my Veteran’s Affairs Disability claim, with the physical portion starting tomorrow with an appointment to see a contracted doctor. The whole tone of their (contracted doctors) communication with me, really puts me on edge. They make it sound like their whole function is to try to discredit my medical issues and honestly that is what they are hired to do.
It honestly pisses me off that as someone who honorably served in our country’s military service, I have to prove my ailments. I mean I have a host of specialists that I see for some of these ailments. I had surgery last year to repair my knee and yet, tomorrow I will be poked, prodded, scanned, and examined under a microscope just to prove that I have ailments that are caused by my time in the military.
Take my knees for example, I have had several visits in my 10 years of service where I visited base medical for knee problems, it was documented on my exit physical, but here I am, having to now prove that my knees have real issues. In April 2020, I had surgery to try to repair the torn meniscus in my right knee. This surgery however failed as the meniscus was shredded and beyond repair. So now it is bone on bone and I get gel shots once a year to help cushion the knee and reduce the pain. But tomorrow, I have to prove all this to a doctor, who is paid to discredit my medical conditions. Shame on the VA for even going down that route. I understand that there are those that try to fake it and get money from the VA, but that should be easy enough to prove. First, if you have records from your time in the service stating that the problem exists and it is noted on your exit physical, that should be enough to prove that the problem is real and that it is caused by your time in service.
I can recall several times when we had a 70-pound or heavier pack on our backs, and carrying a 60 or more pound sea bag on the front and then transporting all that weight to a different location. I’m sorry, but the human frame is not designed to carry that kind of weight for a long period of time, but here we are moving from point A to point B over and over because, well you are in the military and you are expendable.
I guess we shall see how this goes, but I don’t have a warm fuzzy yet.
