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Did you serve in the military? theSITREP is your trusted source for information about the benefits you have earned and deserve. Join theSITREP, as we discuss VA Disability, VA Pensions, VA Health Care, VA Home Loans, benefits for dependents, and benefits offered by other agencies and departments, such as military retirement, social security benefits and more.
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[PAUL] Hello and welcome to another episode of the SITREP. I am Marine Corps veteran Paul Corbett. Today we are going to do a huge podcast about VA disability, but before we dive in, do me a favor and hit that like button and subscribe, which helps The SITREP in its mission of connecting veterans with the benefits they have earned and deserve. Today we are joined by none other than Mike Figlioli. Mike is an Army veteran and serves as the Director of National Veteran Services for the VFW. Mike, thanks for flying into the podcast. [MIKE] Paul, thank you. A pleasure to be here. Looking forward to the conversation. [PAUL] So Mike, let's jump right into it, shall we? What is VA Disability? [MIKE]Well, in a nutshell, VA Disability means you were injured or incurred a sickness or disease or other issue while you're on duty in the service and that is claimable for benefits before the government, most particularly the Department of Veterans Affairs. [PAUL] And so, you know, for a veteran that's out there that may have been considering applying for VA Disability, what, generally speaking, is the easiest process for them to do that? [MIKE] Number of ways to do it, I would suggest nobody goes this route alone. It's got a lot of complexities and a lot of issues that people may not be familiar with. Granted, there are people that have experience of, you know, handling government agencies, government forms. There are a lot of accredited VA agents out there like the VFW, DAV, American Legion, who have trained staff. They're available to help you put that packet together, submit the evidence, and get it in front of an adjudicator in the VA to make - have them make a decision to see what your entitlement for benefits is. How do you find them? You know, you can do a Google search. You can deal with the NASDVA, the National Association of State Department of Veterans Affairs or NACVSO, National Association of County VSOs. A lot of them are cross-accredited, meaning they can work under the umbrella of the organization like VFW, DAV, American Legion on our behalf and present those claims before the VA. So there's lots of help out there. Don't be duped into thinking that you've got to pay somebody for this. All this is free. [PAUL] So it - to get help with putting in a claim, you should not be getting charged for that. [MIKE] No, you should never have to pay for a claim. There is free help. We are accredited and trained by the VA. VA has standards, guidelines, penalties, fines and imprisonment at the federal level should you misrepresent yourself or should you take funds illegally from a veteran. A lot of people think that because we are veterans service organizations, we may lack training, we may lack experience. That's totally untrue. Sometimes they feel if they go with a lawyer or with some of these people that you'll see on TV that advertise to help you with your benefits, they may get a better result. What you're probably going to get is a difficult to understand contract and money coming out of your pocket, paying people out of your retroactive payment for filing paperwork that we are available and can assist you with for free and no reason to join the organization either. We would love to have you. We want to have you, but never pay for claims help. [PAUL] There may be a time, because some people may feel comfortable submitting their own claim and handling all that kind of stuff. [MIKE] Yeah. [PAUL] Is there a time though where maybe a veteran would really strongly want to consider either using a veteran service officer or maybe even using an attorney to deal with the claim? [MIKE] Yeah, thanks, Paul. You know, the complexities of a VA claim are there, you know, it's federal law and medicine, you know, we call it the confluence of medical school and law school where it kind of comes together. Have you been denied? Sure, maybe you don't understand what that denial means. Maybe you need to find a way to submit additional evidence. Maybe you forgot to submit something with your packet. That's what that VA accredited representative is there for. Or even an attorney. And yes, an attorney can collect fees within reason. There are rules about attorney fees, but they are also accredited and vetted before the VA and also subject to the training requirements that VA puts forth for people that present claims to the VA. But if you have a question about a claim, don't understand why it was denied, don't understand the letter you got from VA, then yes, I would suggest you reach out to an accredited representative. Or if you don't want to go that route then, yes, a qualified attorney who is recognized before the VA and help - get help with submitting that claim. On that same note, there's a VA website, VA.gov - OGC Accreditation where you can look up individuals and law firms to see if they are legally allowed to represent claims before the VA and recognized as trained advocates. [PAUL] And we will definitely have a link below so that people can reference that. So Mike, I hear this every once in a while. Does a veteran need to be a combat veteran in order to use VA benefits or get disability or any of that kind of stuff? [MIKE] Really good question, because that goes right along with the myth of I'm taking something away from somebody else. You do not. If you are under contract to the United States government, the Department of Defense, and you were injured on duty, then you may file a claim to be made whole. That's the law of the land. The law of the land does not discern between combat veteran and veteran that wasn't deployed. You don't get to choose where you go all the time. And just because you may not have been in injured a combat operation doesn't mean it's any less qualifying service for the VA. You may file a claim. Also, you don't necessarily have to have been on duty at the time. You could have been on leave. Maybe you're at Blue Hills and you break your knee skiing on an accident, but you're on active duty. Possibility that that is service connectable. So, there's some nuances to it, but no, it's not limited strictly to combat. [PAUL] So Mike, if I'm a veteran out there, and I'm receiving some type of stipend or compensation from the VA, whether it's, like, disability, GI Bill, whatever, the money that I'm receiving is it tax-free? [MIKE] It is. I think a lot of times people don't understand that it is tax-free. Veterans benefit at the federal level are not taxable. [PAUL] And to expand on that, the money that a veteran is receiving, or in some cases it might be a family member is receiving from the VA, does the VA dictate as to how that money can be used, like, I can only use it for housing, or I can only use it for medical costs? [MIKE] No, again, another really good question and another myth. VA disability is meant to replace lost wages due to illness, injury, or disease incurred in service. So it's your money, you can use it for whatever you want. It's not like a clothing allowance in the Army where we all went out and bought beer and snow tires instead of uniforms, right? You can use it for any way you want to. [PAUL] So let's get down to the brass tacks of VA Disability. What does service connection actually mean? [MIKE] Service connection means that injury, that illness, that disease that I spoke about earlier, that was incurred in service, you have a current diagnosis, you have the condition, and then you have a medical opinion that links all those three together, that says that was incurred or caused by your service. But it also means that VA will recognize that disability and treat that disability, disease, or illness at their expense. And therefore, kind of like, okay, the government broke you, the government is now trying to make you whole. It is connected to your service. [PAUL] Especially with the recent PACT Act, presumptive condition has been thrown around a lot, and I've run into quite a few veterans and even a couple of VSOs who are a little bit confused as to what that actually means and to what benefit it provides - or what benefit it provides - for an individual who's trying to prove service connection. So could you expand a little bit on what presumptive condition actually is? [MIKE] Sure, thank you. Presumptive means it is presumed to have been caused by your service. VA concedes the fact that your service caused this illness or injury. Let me give you a perfect example. Agent Orange, Vietnam veteran, boots on the ground in Vietnam, develops prostate cancer. It is presumed that he was exposed to Agent Orange. Doesn't matter where he was in Vietnam, doesn't matter what his duties were in Vietnam, if he stepped one toe in Vietnam in that time period and develops one of those conditions that are in the CFR that are considered presumptive, meaning VA concedes it was presumed caused by your service, and you're presumed to be exposed, then they will grant that benefit. It's probably the easiest of the service-connected claims to get because it's already presumed. You have the illness, you have the injury, you have the circumstance, and you have the nexus that says it was caused by your service in that place, in that time and under those conditions. [PAUL] So for a veteran that's out there that's interested in submitting a claim, they might not have everything put together. They might have to do a little bit of research. They might have to get some files from doctors and specialists that they've been working with. Intent to File. Intent to File is something that they can utilize as they're submitting their application. Can you explain what Intent to File is and how to use it to their benefit? [MIKE] Several years ago, the VA came up with the Intent to File regulation. Before that, you used to be able to maybe pick up a cocktail napkin and write on that napkin, I intend to submit a claim to the VA, sign it, date it, and send it in. And that would let the VA know that you intended to file a claim for benefits. And then create a file, and then they would send you the forms. But it didn't preserve that date. If you submitted that on January - that cocktail napkin on January 1st, and you didn't get all your evidence and your packet together until June 1st of that year, you've just lost those six months. If you had the ITF in place, the Intent to File, it preserves that effective date, and you have one year from the date that is accepted by VA to get your claim complete and get it submitted, get it adjudicated, and it will go back to that effective date that has been reserved for you. So that way it preserves benefits, it gives you a good amount of time to get your evidence together. Do you need to go out and get a release information for private medical evidence? Do you need to go to a VA facility and maybe ask them for copies? You know, there's some rules about that. VA is responsible to get federal evidence. So if you've been to a VAMC, if you've been to a CBOC and sought treatment, you just need to alert VA to the fact that you've had treatment at those facilities. VA must go find that evidence on their own. Now, if you have treatment on - let's - I'll use the term economy since we were all soldiers once and kind of in the military, you fill out a form and VA will send that form to that medical provider and tell them, Paul Corbett has submitted a claim for disability, and we are requesting the records related to that disability that's been claimed. But now that ITF is in place, it will go back to that date. So if it takes you 11 months and 28 days, it will still go back to that first date that that intent to file is received by VA. [PAUL] Can a veteran submit additional claims when they already have a claim that's being adjudicated? Or will it cause them problems? Should they just wait until their claim has been adjudicated and then submit more of them? Or what's the deal? [MIKE] No, good question. We get that all the time from our clients as well. Always best to submit everything up front all at once. One shot, one kill. Get everything into the VA, let them adjudicate it because you're going to have to go through exams, and then it has to go to a VSR, then it has to go to an RVSR to have that adjudicated. Could be missing evidence. You could have other evidence that needs to be submitted. So a lot of times when you've got multiple claims, it prolongs the decision process because of the sequence in which they were submitted. So I submitted for a respiratory issue. Now I had to go for an exam for that. But while I'm waiting for that exam, now I decide to submit an issue for my back. Well now, again, we have to get an exam done for that to ascertain the level of disability. Now VA has adjudicated the respiratory issue, but now we have an open EP code for the second claim that's been put in there. Not always is VA going to get that first one out the door. Sometimes they'll hold them back and do them kind of in stages. If you submit three claims, you might get two and then get two more. They'll defer the other two issues while the other two have been adjudicated, waiting for those issues to be developed. So I always recommend submit whatever you have up front as completely as possible. And if it's a long list of issues, that's fine. When I was a young DSO, this was before OIF - in OIF, when I first got accredited in 2008 - a claim was 8 to 10 issues, and a 10 issue claim was really big. That was, you know, multiple volumes and a lot of work. Now with the advent of marketing from VA and letting people know with the availability of benefits and services, you can see claims that are 20, 25, 30 issues. So it's not... [PAUL] Wow. [MIKE] ...a big problem to submit a laundry list of issues to the VA. They're going to get through them. And everything that's been submitted has to be addressed, acknowledged by the VA. So I suggest try to do it all up front and avoid delayed and follow-on claims. Again, talk to your advocate, talk to your representative for the best course of action, but that's my personal opinion. [PAUL] With regard to VA Disability, what is an appeal? [MIKE] An appeal. Luckily, you know, we've got a lot of good training on that. Most VSOs do. You, as a veteran, are appealing the decision that the VA made because you may disagree with the effective date. You may disagree with the percentage. If it's a denial, you may disagree outright with that denial. So, you need - you're hoping in your appeal to grant service connection, to grant an earlier effective date, to grant a higher percentage of disability. So, therefore, in your estimation, you're thinking that VA made an error when they adjudicated that claim. Now, everything in the VA is appealable. So, it's a lengthy process. The old days, it used to be called legacy appeals under the former process, but now we have AMA, the Appeals Modernization Act, which has been implemented to get appeals out the door quicker. Back in my day, an appeal could sit at the VA for months, and then you don't agree with what that decision review officer decided, now you want to kick it all the way to the Board of Veterans' Appeals. It could sit there for five, six, seven years before they ever got to it because everything's in docket date. So, under the AMA, there's three lanes. There's Direct to the Board of Veterans' Appeals where all that evidence would go directly before a law judge, and he would make a determination as to the evidence of record. Then there's the Higher Level Review which is similar to the decision review officer process which I spoke about. Again, a new set of eyes looking at the current evidence of record. No decision is - a decision is rendered, but it's not made with any regard to the previous decision. And then there's the Supplemental Claim. Here we go. Not all the evidence was submitted at a time. You have other additional evidence that may have an outcome on that case, and then you'll submit that to the Supplemental Claim win. [PAUL] How is it that VA adjudicates or even decides whether or not someone's going to receive disability for their claim? [MIKE] So, VA has a rating board, RVSRs, or Rating Veteran Service Representative. They're very experienced in the claims and evidence process. They look at all the evidence of record and is there a current diagnosis? Is there a medical opinion that is adequate to support service connection? And does that medical nexus say that that illness, injury, or disease was incurred during service? Top to bottom review of all the evidence of record. Now, there's also two parts to the regulation. There's 38 CFR, Part 3 and there's 38 CFR, Part 4 in the Code of Federal Regulation. Part 3 determines the steps to adjudicate a claim, but Part 4 is the rating schedule itself, where it's broken down into body systems. They assign diagnostic codes for every disability that's been submitted. And then there's criteria in Part 4 with those diagnostic codes that says whatever the evidence may show and then a corresponding disability percentage. [PAUL] Yeah, I had to kind of explain that to, there's a Vietnam veteran that I'd met, and he was submitting under the PACT Act, a claim for hypertension. And I was, like, "All right, so some of the things that you need to be thinking about, like, maybe keep a journal with your BP in it... [MIKE] Right. [PAUL] ...every day and all that kind of stuff. Because whoever's gonna be looking at this wants to see that you - even though you're taking medication, you got the diagnosis and everything else, still, it's elevated for long periods of time and all that. And it's important to be able to provide that kind of evidence to the person that's adjudicating your claim." [MIKE] Give you another example of that. When we meet with veterans, maybe they have TBI or migraines, we often encourage them to keep a headache log. What time do they occur? How long do they last? Are they prostrating? What's the occurrence? What's the duration? Submit that with that claim and that, you know, that rater will look at that criteria and then say, "Okay, yes, you know, this is under these circumstances, it happens six times a week. He has to go lay down in a dark room." According to the CFR, Part 4, that's at least a 20% rating. [PAUL] Yeah, because the CFR is that specific. [MIKE] It is. [PAUL] It's, like, the difference between, "Okay, if it happens one to three times a week, you got 10%. If it happens five times a week, now you got 50%." [MIKE] Just remember, keep this in your back pocket. The law says that if the evidence is 50 -50, which is called equipoise, the law says that all reasonable doubt must be in favor of the veteran. So if the adjudicator looks at it and says, well, I can go either way on this, there's enough evidence to say it was caused by service, but there's enough evidence to say maybe it wasn't, the law says it's gonna be found in favor of the veteran, 3.102, reasonable doubt. [PAUL] If a veteran is missing evidence for their claim, what is the best course of action that he or she should follow in order to provide what they need to get a thumbs up from the rater? [MIKE] If you're missing evidence, and you think it has weight or bearing on your claim, you're working with an advocate, you're working with an attorney, get that evidence to them, and they will submit it for you to the VA directly. Fastest way to do it. If you're on your own, there's a number of ways. You can fax it to the intake center in Janesville or you can mail it, snail mail, to the intake center in Janesville, and it will be coded and associated with your folder and then catch up, and an RVSR will eventually get it and make a decision. But again, complex issues, suggest you really have an advocate in your corner to help you with that. They've got the tools and technology to submit things directly to VA, right into VBMS, the Veterans Benefits Management System, where a VA will see it right away. And that, you don't have to worry about snail mail getting stuck up against the wall behind a truck, and they missed the evidence. Now, VA has lots of deadlines. You know, it's a year for this, it's 60 days for that, 30 days for this. And if you miss any of those steps in the process, then you risk them making a decision, them being VA, and having that claim closed out. And now you've got to make - file an appeal because you disagree because evidence wasn't considered or evidence that may have had bearing on that claim, may not have been considered. So, really suggest you go out and get an advocate. [PAUL] If a veteran is receiving VA Disability and unfortunately passes away, will their VA disability be passed on to their spouse? [MIKE] A couple things with that one. If the veteran has an active claim at time of death, there is a substitution law where a spouse or family member can be substituted in that veteran's stead within a year of that veteran's death. And then if there's any award of benefits, then they'll be paid to that family member. If a veteran dies because of service-connected injury or illness that is recognized by a VA, it won't be quite the 100% rate, but then they would be eligible for death and indemnity compensation, also known as DIC. And it's not - it's about half of what the 100% single rate is. It's about $1,600 or $1,700, which is tax-free. And that would also be paid to the spouse or qualifying next of kin. [PAUL] What is a Nexus Letter? [MIKE] Nexus Letter - medical opinion. You have made a claim. You say it was caused by service. You go see a medical provider, whether it's private or VA - or VA exam. Those qualified individuals have to write a medical opinion that says your - again, we'll use the knee example - your knee injury was incurred during service. Provides that link, that bridge, that link between that diagnosis, that disability, that injury, illness, and your claim saying, "Hey, this happened to me while I was serving in the field, in the field artillery during operations." And then the doctor will say, "Yes," obviously, based on some criteria - "I do agree that Paul Corbett's left knee injury was caused by service." So it's basically a link between your application and the submitted medical evidence. [PAUL] Can a veteran reapply for a disability if they've been denied? And beyond that, if they have appealed something from in the past, and they were denied with the appeal, could they still reapply for disability for the same disability? [MIKE] Hey, great question. Hey, let's talk about PACT Act, right? The newest thing. [PAUL] Yeah. [MIKE] Absolutely. If you were denied any of those presumptive disabilities, for sure, that are now approved by the PACT Act, yes, reapply. You'll get that grant. You can reapply. Same thing goes for previous claims. Your claim was denied. Fine. Now you've come across evidence that may support that claim. You can refile that claim with that new evidence. Now some catches, because the denial happened, as long as that claim is continuous with that supplemental information, it'll stay open. It'll go back to the effective date. Now if you were denied, and it's been a while, it's been a year or two, but now you found new evidence to support that claim, and you prevail, sometimes it can go back to the effective date, but a lot of times it will be from the date of the new filing. So again, see your VA accredited representative for further counseling and assistance if that happens to be your case. But yes, it is possible. And the second part was? [PAUL] With regard to an appeal. Like, if I appeal something, if something goes to BVA... [MIKE] Right. [PAUL] ...and BVA is like, "Eh, nope, sorry. Not enough evidence to support the claim," and you're denied. Can you still submit a claim for disability with regard to the denial? [MIKE] You can. Same thing as before, in the previous comments we just had, you come across new evidence that might support that appeal at the BVA. Again, you file that supplemental claim. New and relevant evidence is the term. So the old information has been considered, cannot be reconsidered, but now I found something else that's going to put this over the top. You would file a supplemental claim, even at the board, that would be taken into consideration and a new decision would be made. So it's possible there, too. So that's the hook, the new evidence component. [MIKE] Right. Remember new and relevant. A lot of times a veteran will come in and give you everything that they've already given the VA five or six times. Well, VA's already looked at that, it's already been considered. And if that case is already older than a year, and you didn't have any continuous action on it, now that can't be considered anymore. Unless there was a clear and unmistakable error on the VA's part, which is also in regulation. There's a CUE, sometimes called a Q, VA failed to follow the steps properly. Then it could go back and be reopened. But generally if it's been closed for 366 days or longer, that old evidence can't be considered. You need to have new and relevant evidence. [PAUL] With regard to the statement and support, what kind of advice would you give to a veteran, what they should be considering? What kind of stuff they should look at, including in order to paint a better picture, I suppose, for the rater? [MIKE] Good question. In fact, I think I had to use that in my own claim. Know where you were, know the circumstances. You don't have to be pinpointed date and time. You know, people's memory fades. But if you have enough general information that they can go back in your record and say, okay, yeah, I wasn't in the s- you were in the service at this time, it did say it occurred in this time and this place, there's supporting evidence for that, that's fine. Couple mistakes that happen with these buddy statements, as we also call them. People tend to diagnose. So Paul Corbett puts in a claim for sleep apnea. You ask your roommate or your spouse to write a support statement. A lot of times, Paul snores all night, he keeps me awake, he has sleep apnea. Well unless he - it happens - unless you're the individual - unless you're a qualified individual as a medical professional to write that statement, then it could be submitted. But if you're an administrative assistant in XYZ Corporation and you make that statement, VA is not going to submit that - consider that because you're not qualified to make that diagnosis. [PAUL] That makes sense. What is the five-year rule? [MIKE] VA will go back and look at certain disabilities because there is a possibility of improvement. And then they'll look at the treatment record and see if you have progressed or improved. Usually after the second time they do that, between five and ten years, then that disability, if there has been no improvement, will be labeled as static and there'll be no future examinations. But after three to five years, VA may call you in for a re-examination. [PAUL] What is the 20 -year rule? [MIKE] Great question. This is one of the things we teach in class to our new service officers. So there's two parts to that, and I'll start with the 10-year rule because it kind of leads to the 20-year rule. If you were service-connected for an illness or injury for 10 consecutive years, VA can never sever service connection. If you were at a certain percentage and service-connected for 20 consecutive years, VA can never reduce that percentage. Kind of simple. 10-year rule, 20-year rule. Now, be mindful. If you've applied for an increase in that same disability in the meantime, in that 10 or 20 years, the clock restarts. It doesn't go back to the original rating. It will go to the date of the new decision. So just keep that in mind because sometimes people, you know, they get close to a - first off, don't think about it because they don't really know it. Then they're at about 18 years, and they file for an increase and, you know, the possibility that in the next 20 years it could be relooked at and could be subject to reduction under certain criteria. [PAUL] So Mike, what are three different tips that you can offer to the audience, to veterans who are applying for VA Disability? What should they be considering? [MIKE] Well, a lot goes into a VA claim. There are a lot of steps, a lot of paperwork, a lot of regulation, but some of the common things that we run into, people automatically assume because it occurred in service that they should be compensated for it. That's kind of off-base. VA looks at something called Continuity of Symptomatology. So if you injured your knee 20 years ago, and now you're filing a claim 20 years later, but there's no corresponding treatment in those 20 years for that knee, more than likely VA is gonna deny that claim because they're gonna say it wasn't incurred or caused by service. You've gone all these 20 years without complaining about it, you haven't sought treatment for it, and now all of a sudden you're looking at it 20 years later. Kind of like you have to have a current diagnosis. Now those - Continuity of Symptomatology and a Current Diagnosis, those things go hand in hand. Incomplete evidence is another one. So that's why when I mentioned earlier, VA is responsible for federal records. Let them get them. They will get your STRs that are in the archive. They will get the evidence that they need that has been given to you at treatment facilities like VAMCs, VA hospitals, or VA contract facilities. And the other thing is expectation management. A lot of times we get complaints from clients because they think that they filed a claim on Tuesday, by Friday they should have a decision. And it's our job to manage that client's expectations. First of all, it's gonna be received by VA. Then it has to be established. Then they're gonna send you a letter that says they've received it. Then they're gonna ask you for additional evidence. Even if you already gave them all the evidence you have, and it's a complete packet, they're gonna ask it anyway. It's a form letter. That's what they send out. You know, it's boilerplate. Don't get frustrated. VA will get to that decision. But understand, it's not gonna happen overnight. Another thing, understand that when you do seek the help of an accredited representative or an attorney, you know, we have more than one client. So customer relations is an important thing. Building that trust, building that bond between each other is very important because some of these things are very private, and they're very intricate. But they'll get back to you as soon as they can. So just be mindful that they have a workload, too. They are not volunteers. And I think people make that mistake quite often. Everybody on my staff is professionally-trained. I have people at 20 military bases throughout the country. I have 63 people overall, and I have the other 30 or 35 at the Board of Veterans Appeals or in downtown DC, that have to go through CLEs and rigorous training. VA says that we have to give them 40 hours a year in a VA-approved curriculum that VA will audit. We give our staff 80 hours a year. So they're up-to-date and current. So just keep those things in mind. Have good communication with your advocate. Expect the same from them. If you have a question that you don't understand, you get a letter that you don't understand, please reach out, they'll explain it to you. [PAUL] So Mike, there's a veteran that's out there, they plan on submitting a claim, they want to, you know, use the VSO whether it's from VFW, DAV, wherever they may be. What are three tips for them to find a good one? [MIKE] Know that when you speak of our organization and the other older veterans service organizations, we are accredited before VA, we are trained, we are held to principles, we are held to standards, we are held to the law to provide that service by VA. We are subject to fines and imprisonment and penalties if we violate those laws. So make sure who you're dealing with is accredited. And as we said earlier in the broadcast, you'll put up the website for VA where you can find an accredited representative. Accredited means that you are recognized and trained by VA, and you're recognized to present claims for prosecution for benefits before the VA. Don't sign a contract. If you're offered a contract and that individual is not accredited, or they don't present to you a VA Form 2 -22, which is a Limited Power of Attorney for us to look at your VA healthcare record or your VA medical records and provide that claim, you need to run. Those people are not recognized by VA, and they're more than likely looking to rip you off for a good percentage of your fees. Now, attorneys and claim agents collect fees and there are regulations for them, that they cannot collect over a certain amount and that's fine. And a lot of times, attorneys are paid under the Equal Access to Justice Act. They're paid by VA by themselves, especially for appeals. But there are rules for attorneys as well. The initial claims, they can't charge more than 25% of the retro. So, contractual differences are, you know, ongoing payments to that individual. That should be something that makes you just want to, you know, run in the other direction. Or you get an increase from 10 to 50, and now you owe us a portion of that increase. So, confusing and misleading contracts from individuals that aren't accredited, definitely a red flag. And are they trained? I spoke about training earlier. What kind of training do they undergo? Do they have to submit a training plan to VA? Do they do it - do they train within the standards of the VA? Is it 40 hours, 38 hours? Is it any hours at all? Or is it just somebody that's, you know, got a storefront down on Boylston Street with a sign out front that says VA claims help here because they went through the process, and now they think they understand it? [PAUL] So Mike, what are, in your experience, because you've been working with claims for a long time, what are three common mistakes or three mistakes that you see veterans sometimes making when they're submitting a VA disability claim? [MIKE] A lot of times they want to go it alone. They think filling out a bunch of forms is kind of an easy thing. But because of the intricacies involved, the evidence that's required, don't do this by yourself. There is free and qualified help available. There is no reason to pay for this service. Once you file a claim, keep in touch with your advocate. VA will send you letters. Again, I said we have a caseload. We have hundreds of thousands of veterans that we represent. VFW represents 550,000 veterans across the world. But... [PAUL] Wow. [MIKE] ...and yes, we do see copies of those letters electronically. But we may not always know what's there. So if you get a letter or something you don't understand, get in touch with your representative, ask for that explanation. And secondly, don't submit things without telling your representative. This happens quite a bit. A veteran will get a letter from VA, won't consult their advocate, and then they'll submit something to VA that we don't know about. And that can sometimes cause issues because it may not be the right evidence. It may have already been part of the record. It may be something that's completely useless to the claim. So keep in touch with your VSO, keep in touch with your advocate, keep in touch with your attorney as you go through this process. They're going to guide you through that the best way. And I think one of the biggest things we hear all the time is, "I'm taking benefits from another veteran." Well, I like to say VA prints plenty of money. You are not taking anything away from another veteran, by any means. VA is going to pay Paul Corbett just like they're going to pay me, just like they're going to pay every other veteran that is service disabled. And when you apply for the first time, your service counts. Your service matters. We all served differently and in different ways in different locations. But if you occurred that injury, that illness, that disease in service, and you are now suffering from it, the government has an obligation to make you whole. You're not taking any benefits away from anybody else. [PAUL] So Mike, I think you can probably answer this question better than just about anybody. What services are VFW VSOs - Veteran Service Officers - able to provide to veterans and their families? [MIKE] Good question because there's a lot of them. And the obvious one is disability compensation assistance. But then we train our service officers to have knowledge about every federal benefit that they possibly can. The veteran that comes into their office may not necessarily be looking for a VA Disability claim. They may already have that, but they may need retraining and not know about V, R & E and how to go about that process. They may not know about eligibility at the NCA, the National Cemetery Administration and our national cemeteries, for pre-need availability. They may not know about education benefits. They may not know about how Medicare interacts with VA Disability or vice versa. So we train them very well and to a high standard to be able to speak to most federal programs just besides VA Disability Compensation. And I wanna add that, super proud of every one of them, every advocate that we have out there that works hard every day, overworked, underpaid, but they also know when that veteran calls or when that veteran comes in the office, that's the most important thing in that veteran's life right then. And they're prepared to handle that and take care of it. And I know factually, they will use their own experience as a veteran having gone through the process to get a result, or they will rely on their experience as a VSO and the claims that they've worked to get a result, but they will work diligently to get a result to any issue or whatever question that veteran may have. And to all of my VFW VSO Accredited Representatives that I am proud to lead, I'm equally proud of them because of the hard work and professionalism that they put in there. They come to training, they ask questions, they take those issues back to their regional offices. They talk about VFW as a whole, but they're there to help, they wanna help. And I couldn't be more proud of the 2,300 plus people that provide disability assistance under the VFW umbrella. [PAUL] So me as a veteran, if I want to work with one of these 2,300 folks underneath the umbrella, do I have to be a member of the VFW? [MIKE] You do not, absolutely not. I think we gravitate to the organizations that we are familiar with or that we are involved with. So, I'm a VFW brat, grew up in the organization with my parents from a very small age until I reached my own eligibility. So, obviously, now that I'm employed by VFW, VFW is where I want to go. But if I was not a VFW member, we're obligated to help that veteran survivor or family member just the same. And you will not be turned away because you are not a member. And we will not pressure you into joining the organization. Probably won't even ask that question. But if you're interested, we can steer you in the right direction, and tell you how to join the VFW, the auxiliary, or whatever you might be interested in. [PAUL] So for a veteran or a family member, or what have you that's out in the audience right now, and they have an interest in trying to work with one of the Veteran Service Officers at the VFW, how do they reach out? How do they connect? What do they do? [MIKE] Yeah, great question, Paul. Thank you. A number of ways to do that. You can use the World Wide Web, www.vfw.org/nvs, which stands for National Veteran Service. You can call 816-756-3390, which is our Kansas City headquarters. Or you can call my office in Washington, DC, 202-543-2239, and we can put you in touch with an accredited VFW representative. Also, we have Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram handles where you can reach out for information. And before we go, I want to add, with the PACT Act being new, and the training we've done with that, and trying to get the word out about PACT Act, we have a new website, www.pactactinfo.org, all one word. You can answer a series of questions about where you were, what kind of symptoms you might have, and within that process, it will create a referral to one of our VFW Accredited Representatives, or direct you to additional resources if perhaps you don't necessarily qualify for the PACT Act, but still want more information on filing a VA disability claim. So it's pactactinfo.org, all one word. [PAUL] Well, Mike, thank you so much. Lots of great information. Thank you for your service, not only in the military, but what you've done since you've been out of it. And thank you for flying into the podcast. I really, really appreciate it. And to everybody that's out there in the audience, look for links, phone numbers, all that kind of stuff down in the video description below. If you're looking for additional information, you could always search #theSITREP on YouTube. We've got tons of videos about everything about VA home loans, disability, anything. It's all there. If you haven't done so, hit the like button, hit the subscribe button, and as always for those who have served or are currently serving, thank you for your service.