I’m going to talk about how I think Veterans should read VA Decisions, specifically decisions they don’t like. This is the third video in a series I’m making about VA Decisions. I don’t think you need to watch them all, but if there’s something in here that’s confusing, then maybe go check out the earlier videos.
This may seem like a weird thing to talk about, but the best way to start fixing a bad decision from the VA is to understand exactly what the VA said, and also what the VA didn’t say. That way, you can find errors and use them to your advantage as you continue to fight your claim. Now I know bad VA decisions can be very frustrating, but you have to get past your frustration and read the decision as objectively as possible. I recommend a pretty straightforward process to do that.
The first step is just to read the decision. And if that decision makes you mad, put it down and walk away. Give it at a few hours or a day or so, but give yourself time to calm down. Then, once you’re calm, read it again. And if it makes you mad again, put it down and walk away. Repeat this process until you can read the whole decision calmly and carefully, from start to finish.
Next, start making notes of whether the VA included everything they were supposed to. Write down whether each of those things was in the notice letter or the decision and what page it was on. This is where my earlier videos could come in handy, so if you don’t know what I’m talking about, go check those out.
Once you’ve done that, go back to the Rating Decision. First, look under the heading titled Decision and double-check that the VA listed every disability that you thought they were going to give you a decision on. By the way, later, you should go through your own files and make sure you can point to the specific document that proves you raised that raised each of those issues to the VA.
Next, skip the Evidence section for now and go to the Reasons for Decision section. We’ll come back to the Evidence section but stay with me. Here is where good notes are going to help you a lot. Go through each disability in the Reasons for Decision section. For those disabilities where the VA says you are not service-connected, write out the steps for what you have to prove to establish service connection for that specific disability.
Next, for every disability, Make a note of the specific things the VA looks for at each % level of disability rating. These are the things you have to prove to establish a specific rating. For those disabilities where the VA rates you too low, they should have done a good part of this for you in the decision, at least for AMA decisions, because they should describe what you need to prove for the next higher level of rating. But don’t stop there, look up the regulation, check the VA’s work, and also look at ratings higher than just the next one up.
Once you’ve made notes of everything you have to prove, and remember you have the obligation to prove your claim, then you go back to the Evidence section and make sure every piece of evidence you need to prove is listed somewhere in that evidence section. If something is not in the Evidence section of the decision, now you have a task. Go get that evidence, and file a supplemental claim. Or you may have to get the VA to fulfill their duty to assist. Or maybe the evidence was submitted and the VA missed it. Also, even if the evidence is there, think about whether that evidence as strong as it could be? You may need to get more and better evidence.
Once you’ve got the evidence sorted out, then turn to the law and start asking whether the VA applied the law correctly to the evidence in your claim. Now, the answer to that question can get very complicated, very quickly, depending on your claim. It’s more than I can get into here.
If this all gets to be too much, bring in some help. You don’t have to try and hire me, there are lots of attorneys and veteran service organizations out there who will help you. Make sure they are accredited by the VA, you trust them, and can work with them, because you’ll probably be working with them for a while.
This was a basic overview, there are other evidence problems and law problems that may pop up when you read your decision. Effective dates is one that immediately comes to mind but it is by no means the only one. Anyway, at a minimum, if you can carefully read a decision, you should know whether you need to add evidence to your claim, or whether you need to argue the VA got the law wrong. And it could very well be both.
So I hope you found this helpful. If you want me to help you with your VA claim, you can reach out to me through the contact information on my website.