Hello Jim,
I am currently rated and service connected with ankles, hip and back injuries while doing my job as a paratrooper. I currently am being treated for my knees. What is your suggestion on the best way for me to proceed to attain connection?
Reply:
You seem to have significant leg injuries from your days as a paratrooper. Every veteran who has such injuries, caused or aggravated by our service, should seek the benefits he or she has earned. The law tells us that we are entitled to disability compensation for any service connected injury that has a disabling effect on our activities of daily living. If your knees are painful and you have difficulty walking or with the range of motion to your knees, you are likely eligible for a disability rating.
Filing for the correct benefit isn't hard to do. You should apply for that benefit much as you applied for the benefits for your ankle, hip and back conditions. Filing for an additional benefit or seeking a raise to an existing benefit is simple and doesn't take much time. You can do this for yourself with no problems.
All you need to do is to write a brief letter to VA and tell them what the benefits are that you believe you deserve. When writing to VA, less is more. Keeping the letter brief and to the point is important. In the case of your knees, write to your VA regional office and tell them that your knees are injured. Briefly describe the degree of injury and the physical limitations that such an injury imposes on you. If you have any civilian medical records, get copies and enclose those with the claim letter. Mail the letter using certified mail and you'll have started the process.
It really is that easy.
You can learn more about how VA rates knee conditions by clicking here
http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/regs/38CFR/BOOKC/PART4/S4_71a.DOC
Scroll to 4.71a-28 and see "The Knee and Leg". Once there you can read the way that VA evaluates many knee injuries and the ratings that may be assigned. Match your physical limitations with those that you see there and tell VA exactly what problems your knees cause.
You may also want to read some of the guides I've developed for you.
To learn how to file for a benefit, click here
http://www.vawatchdog.org/how-to-file-a-claim.html
To learn how to seek an increase to an existing benefit, click here
http://www.vawatchdog.org/how-to-increase-an-existing-benefit--.html
To learn how to write an effective letter to your VA regional office, click here
http://www.vawatchdog.org/Letter_Templates.html
You may plan on the adjudication process to take one to two years. If you're initially denied the rating you believe you've earned, you'll have to appeal and that can take another one to two years to process. It is more likely than not that VA will deny your first request for the benefits you seek. The appeals process is just another part of the overall disability claims system. VA routinely denies about 70% of all claims it receives. We know that about 70% of those denied claims are granted on an appeal.
VA continues to be far behind and even though they're touting how they're catching up, most advocates believe that they're just juggling numbers with little real progress being made. The backlog is a reality that isn't going away any time soon.
If you are as patient as a saint and show the tenacity of a junkyard dog, you'll eventually win your claim.