You can't do it for him

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Jim Strickland is a nationally known advocate for veterans and a member of the Stateside Legal Advisory Board. This column appears with his permission. Jim's opinions are his own.

NOTE: Letters in my Q&A columns are reprinted just as they come to me. Spelling and grammar are left as is and only small corrections are made to improve readability, ensure anonymity or delete expletives that may offend some readers. This is not legal advice. You should always seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified in Veterans' law before you make any decisions about your own benefits.

Jim,

My son in law served 8 years active duty in the Army as a communication specialist, with one year tour in 1995 in Iraq. He filed for compensation shortly after he was discharged in 2006. has SMC’s indicating treatment and ongoing problems with Pes Planus, Lumbar strain,bilateral shoulder pain, bilateral patellofemoral Syndrom,hand problems and hearing loss.

He received, 10% lumbar strain,10%tinnitus, 0 % for Pes planus, 0% for bilateral hearing loss and denied on everything else. So he's at 20% overall.I understand through the Watchdog how to file for increases on what he a SC for and he is having flair ups with his back and feet,, and hearing is much worse, in fact he is having increased problems with his denied claims also. All items originated on active duty and were documented in his SMC’s.

Here's the problem, he toughs it out and does not follow up with the Dr’s weather civilian or VA.My daughter, His wife is about to have a conniption fit and she’s on me for help all the time. I know how to help BUT what can we do to improve his chances on increasing his SC conditions with this lack of new evidence. I mean he takes pain meds and has gone to his civilian DR about some of the problems but then just army’s on. Any help would be appreciated.

Reply:

The problem is pretty simple to see. If he doesn't want to participate in his claims or his health care, there isn't much that can be done. You can't do it for him.

I know it's frustrating. I deal with a lot of spouses and parents as they try to help their veteran. The story is always the same. If the veteran isn't interested, that ends the game.

I wish I had better news for you. He'll come around when he realizes that he must do a better job to take care of his health and that with increased benefits he could have more money in his pocket.