VA is taking forever! Did my claim even get filed?

Jim,

My husband was drafted into Army during 1962-64 and did several tour of duty to Viet Nam setting up radio contact; he was stationed in Japan.

Last year he was diagnosed at Tucson VA with stage four lung cancer and never smoked. He also has Prostate cancer which was detected at the same time. We filed Agent Orange claim at VA months ago and hear nothing. When I call the Legion fellow that did paper work (and we supplied him with all health records and the document showing he was in Army) he said we should get a letter within six weeks but that has not happened and when I called the 800 number for VA claims the answering device says they are behind six months.

We also believe Bill’s military records might have been in the 70s fire.

Should we do anything or just wait?

He is on a chemo maintenance program at this time after having six chemos and suffering through it all. We assume he will be turned down and then the fight begins. We hope he is around to do what it will take?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Reply:

 

If you used an American Legion service officer, that should be your point of contact.

If you filed a claim months ago and you haven't heard anything yet, I question whether the claim was filed. VA takes forever to make a decision about a claim but they always notify the veteran within weeks by letter. The letter usually says something like, "We're working on your claim...". If you don't have that letter, you should be sure the service officer actually filed the claim for you.

The VA is some 6 to 24 months behind on most claims. There is no way to speed up a claim or to prioritize it. It's particularly important to submit the claim perfectly when that's done. If the service officer did a good job, the VA will get to your claim in the order it was received. If everything is in order, VA should notify your veteran of a C & P exam that he is required to attend.

Otherwise, there's nothing to do but wait. Attempting to track the claim and make it move faster often slows it down.

If his claim is denied, you should quickly speak with a veteran’s law attorney. Click https://www.vawatchdog.org/how-to-hire-a-veterans-law-attorney.html