Dealing with the VA

[jvbailey3]

I have noticed in the past that several members are or were active duty military. I have a couple of questions about dealing with the VA. When I was in the USAF, I had surgery done on my knee and my miniscus carteldge was removed. The VA filed me as less than 10% disabled. While I do get to go to the VA clinics and they have done a follow up surgery, I am needing surgery again. The surgeon even says my cartiledge is gone and I should be on disability.

 

Unfortunately for me, the nearest hospital is New Orleans. After Katrina, the hospital was damaged beyond repair. They are currently using Tulane Univ. training hospital but are limited on the number of days they have access to the surgery.

 

Presently, I have basically additional floating bones in my knee area that keep floating into the joint area and creating a rather electifying experience. I am on the list for surgery to remove the particals as I am "too young" for replacement, but have not been scheduled. And truthfully, not sure when it will happen.

 

My questions are: 1. How do I get the VA to upgrade, my disability - I have tried being reevaluated, but they just touch my scar and say nothing has changed. 2. How do I get the VA to move me up on their schedule, I have been waiting since Halloween and jonesing to ride my bike.

 

TIA

 

Joe

[Monty]

Talk to the local D.A.V. They provide lots of help when dealing with the VA. They can usually get quite a bit done for you.

[etcswjoe]

Talk to the local D.A.V. They provide lots of help when dealing with the VA. They can usually get quite a bit done for you.

 

I have been using the VA for the last five years and if you want to get things expedited the D.A.V or similar service orginization such as the VFW are your best friends. You can ask for the upgrade yourself by stopping by eligibility but it will not be a fast process.

 

Wish you the best.

[jvbailey3]

Thanks for the advice. Will have to try contact the DAV to see if they can help me. Almost 30 years of failure on my part.

 

[KarlS]

I had to go through the Marine Corp league years (1974) ago to get things straightened up. You do not have to go to a VA hospital to have your surgeries done once they set your disability.

[bongobobny]

Yes, you need to contact a Veteran's Advocate thru the DAV, the American Legion, or the VFW. They are our friends and will go to bat for you and get you the best they can asw far as disibility benefits, and will also do what they can for further surgery you need. You can contact the VA directly to schedule surgery.

 

Disability claims can take upwards of a year to finally settle, but if awarded you are paid from the date of initial claim. When I filed for disability from Type 2 diabeties from exposure to agent orange I was finally given 50% disability and received a check for over $10,000 back compensation...

[kj5ix]

Talk to the local D.A.V. They provide lots of help when dealing with the VA. They can usually get quite a bit done for you.

Ditto: It took me 40 years to get into the system right, and only then after I talked with the DAV

[KiteSquid]

You can also try the American Legion.

[6pak]

If all else fails, do what I did when my patience ran out. Call your local congressman. My paperwork was done by the DAV, and they pushed it all the way to the VA, where it sat on a desk for months. Called Jack Kingstons office, 3 days later I get a phone call from VA, to tell me they were hand carrying my paperwork thru. 2 weeks later the checks started.

[jvbailey3]

Thanks for all the support and ideas. Will try get that started. Just got a call from my VA ortho surgery rep - still no date for surgery, so she made me a new appointment for the next available clinic - June 14th. Good thing this only became a problem at Halloween last year.

 

[rentalguy1]

The DAV, VFW, and all the other service organizations are a joke. If I had relied on them, I would still be at 30%, just like I was for over a decade. Instead, I learned how to do the stuff for myself, and got it taken care of. Check out http://www.hadit.com You'll get the answers you need there.

[Gray Ghost]

It isn't so much the organizations, as it is the people working for those organizations that make the difference. The DAV rep at Ft Knox was excellent in working for me, whereas the one here is Atlanta is useless. Actually the VA caseworker I had here in Atlanta went out of his way to get my upgrade done when the DAV rep was sitting on his keister. Congress critters can be helpful at times, depends on how active he/she wants to be. When DFAS was giving me problems restarting my retirement pay after a recall, my congressman stepped in after three months of non-payment. His assistance resulted in my pay starting after only six months of non-payment.

 

I would try a service rep, but don't be afraid to follow that up by calling the VA directly about the case at some point to ensure that the service rep is actually doing the job.