Being injured in the line of duty can be a harrowing experience. Military personnel, especially those deployed throughout the world’s trouble spots or in the battlefronts, understand it as their patriotic duty to serve. However, that can be cold comfort to one who is bleeding on the ground, or one who survives the experience, but not quite the physical and psychological effects of it. For those injured, or for families who must endure the death of a loved one, the least they need after the ordeal is to have to worry about disability benefits due them—compensation intended to help them move on with their lives.
“Since establishing the goal in 2010 of processing all disability claims within 125 days at a 98-percent accuracy level, VA developed and is implementing a plan that transforms the decades-old, manual paper claim approach into a state-of-the-art electronic process that leverages digital data transfer and automated calculators to reduce processing time and input errors.
VA has also increased the productivity of its claims processing workforce through enhanced training, streamlined business processes and other initiatives such as mandating overtime and prioritizing the oldest claims, allowing VA’s 56 regional benefits offices to exceed monthly production records four times in fiscal year 2013.”
Additionally, the VA has managed to cut down waiting time to 119 days. Many hard-working veterans disability lawyers, such as Jan Dils Attorneys-at-Law and others, have been consistently fighting for the rights of those who have returned from America’s wars. While the enhanced processing time for claims has been a welcome change, it’s not altogether reassuring for many veterans suffering from various medical conditions for which they need immediate help or compensation.
Many veterans who have come home after a period of time in the frontlines, are found to suffer from any one of the various war-associated ailments, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), fibromyalgia, traumatic brain injuries, and injuries from toxic chemical exposures.
In situations where time is of the essence and medical help is needed sooner than later, consulting with an experienced veterans disability lawyer should give you a better chance at getting your claim to move along at the amount you’ll need to take care of yourself or your family reasonably. The process itself is a long and complicated one requiring proof of disability or injury that was caused, or aggravated by the individual’s military service. This means that medical documents and other forms of proof will be required for each disability being claimed.
The review process will take time and will require constant follow-ups. The requirements, the travel, and the waiting, can be too much for anyone, even for the uninjured. Veterans in need of help for disability benefits will make it less distressing for themselves if they consult with a skilled and knowledgeable attorney who has worked for veterans’ welfare in the past and who can explain the process to them in the clearest and honest way possible.
(Source: VA Disability Claims Backlog Drops by 44 Percent, April 1, 2014)
