Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Obtaining and Using
Documents to Support Your Claim [VA and SSA]
We are going to post a series of tips here to help Blue Water
Veterans with their claims. The more information the Veteran can get for
himself, the greater the control over his claim. That applies to those who are
filing their own claims and to those using the services of a Veterans Service
Officer.
It is important that all of your records be available to the Department of
Veterans Affairs [DVA or VA], or the Social Security Administration [SSA] when
you are filing a claim with either body. Even if you are working with a Veterans
Service Officer, you should have copies of all the documents that are being
submitted. Such documents include, but are not limited to:
1.
Your complete medical records
2.
Your complete service record
3.
Your ship’s deck logs
We will tell you where to obtain these records, and why they are
important.
First, however, here are some steps to take in the process of obtaining official
documents or copies of official documents. Please note that these steps are
common sense steps to help you stay organized throughout the process of your
claim, and to make things easier for whoever is processing your claim. You never
know when someone is grateful for you making it easy for them may be the
difference in how he approaches the decision making process. If your case is
close, it might make the difference. Also note that some of these steps may cost
you a few dollars at a time, some more so, but in the long run may be worth much
more in return.
Whatever official documents or certified copies of such you obtain, the first
thing you should do is arrange a safe, fireproof location to store them.
Stop in at your local Staples, or office supply store, and get a couple of
self-inking stamps made up. One should have your name, and address. A second
should have your Name and VA Claim number. A third one is for Social Security
and it should have your Name and Social Security number. Maximum cost for this
should be under $30.
Next, either make or have 2 sets of copies made of all the official documents
and certified copies. If you own a multipurpose printer [printer, copier,
scanner, fax], you are in very good shape. The price of these has come down and
their quality has gone up. Even if you have only a regular printer you can save
a lot of time and aggravation. Count the number of copies you need to have made.
Count out an equal number of blank pages and run them through the printer,
placing your Name, Address, and VA Claim Number in the center of the page. [For
copies for Social Security, use your Social Security number rather than your VA
Claim Number.] Also, place the following words near your personal information:
“Page ____ of _____ pages.” When the copying is done, you should serially number
all those pages to help you, and anyone else working with the set of documents
keep them in order. It also helps if one gets mislaid. You would then know which
one must be replaced and can send it to whoever lost it. That is why you need to
keep a second, working copy of your documents. Create separate file folders for
them.
On the front of those pages, after they are printed, use your self-inking stamps
to mark your name and VA Claim Number [or name and Social Security Number for
SSA Applications], somewhere on the page where it does not interfere with what
is on the page. Usually there is room at the bottom for this info. Stamp it on
each and every page.
To the documents:
1. Medical Records:
Make sure that all your physicians, specialists and other health care workers
[including hospitals…tell them to send a copy of all your records from your
hospitalization to your family physician] send copies of any and all lab
reports, and records of your visits and treatment plans, plus any prescribing
information to your family physician. If you do this studiously, and you should
insist upon it, then all of your pertinent medical records will be in one place:
in the office of your family physician. When it comes time to gather all your
current medical records, you only need to go to one place to obtain copies. Most
physicians, when told it is for the VA or the SSA will cut you a break and
either not charge you, or reduce the charge for copying. Most specialist do send
a letter to your family physician and include copies of all test results and
x-rays.
Make sure if you change physicians, you get a copy of all your medical records
from the physician you are leaving and take them to the new physician and allow
them to copy for their records. That gives them the records, and you then have a
copy for all your records up to that date.
2. Your complete Personnel Record:
Most of the time, the VA and the SSA deal only with your DD-214 [Page 4 of the
Navy Personnel File]. This usually has all the pertinent information, unless you
served in more than one duty station or aboard more than one ship. It generally
will only have your last duty station or ship and whatever personnel information
to be recorded that was generated during that stay. This is important to
understand especially if you were a Reservist, as well. Some reservists had
several ActDuTra [active duty for training] periods before going on active duty,
and may have had more after they came home from their two, three, or four year
hitch on Active Duty. In such cases, this information may not show up on your
DD-214.
Additionally, if you were TAD anywhere, having the rest of your personnel file
should prove that, and that might be exactly the proof you need to prove “feet
on the ground”, or a specific exposure.
To request your records, you should go to the following website:
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/index.html
This site will allow you to go to the National Archives and Records
Administration [NARA] application for Military Personnel Records. Follow the
directions carefully. This process in the past has taken over a year before the
records arrived, so start now and be patient.
3. Your ship’s Deck Log:
If your personnel record does not show proof of you being “foot on the ground”
or in a place where you were exposed to Agent Orange, your ship’s Deck Log might
very well be able to do so. Also, it would be additional documentary evidence in
support of your claim as your Personnel Record will show you stationed aboard
during a period the Deck Log makes reference to a working party ashore, or some
such.
For most Blue Water Vietnam Veterans, ships Deck Logs are to be found at the
Modern Military Branch of the National Archives, located just off the Washington
Beltway in College Park, Maryland. It is a fascinating facility to visit, and
you are encouraged to do so. If you do, go early and get your request in as soon
as you get there, as it takes a while to pull the physical records from the
archives. Logs
from 1941 through those that are 30 years old or older are in the Modern Military
Branch, National Archives, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park MD 20740-6001
[telephone (301) 837-3510]. Be prepared for heavy security, and when you sign in
you must answer some questions on a computer, sign some pledges dealing with the
handling of documents, and get a photo ID good for one year. Repeat visits are
somewhat easier to accomplish.
These are the smooth copied Deck Logs hand written by a revolving set of
Officers on board the ship, copied weekly from the rough daily log. They are
official documents and are signed by the ship’s Captain and countersigned by the
XO.
You may not need an entire period, but just certain dates. If you have a Cruise
Book, that can sometimes help you pin point the dates.
The cheapest route to take is to just get copies made of specific dates. These
are on oversized [10x15 inch] paper [the Navy went to 8 ½ x 11 log books after
we all got out!], so special copiers are set up to deal with the size. But the
copiers are sometimes balky.
We copied one month’s worth of log entries, about 50 over-sized pages as most
entries ran over onto the back of the page. Because we had waited so long for
the box to come up with the log entries, and then the copier we were using was
constantly changing the settings, we decided to contract the NARA staff to copy
and ship me the rest. It came to about $230 for an additional eight months.
Here is what is contained in the deck logs according to Navy Regulations:
·
Absentees
·
Accidents [material]
·
Accidents/Injuries [personnel]
·
Actions [combat]
·
Appearances of Sea/Atmosphere/Unusual Objects
·
Arrests/Suspensions
·
Arrival/Departure of Commanding Officer
·
Bearings [navigational]
·
Cable/Anchor Chain Strain
·
Collisions/Groundings
·
Courts-Martial/Captain's Masts
·
Deaths
·
Honors/Ceremonies/Visits
·
Incidents at Sea
·
Inspections
·
Meteorological Phenomena
·
Movement Orders
·
Movements [getting underway; course, speed changes; mooring,
anchoring]
·
Passengers
·
Prisoners [crew members captured by hostile forces]
·
Propulsion Plant Status changes
·
Receipts and Transfers [of Crew Members]
·
Ship's Behavior [under different weather/sea conditions]
·
Sightings [other ships; landfall; dangers to navigation]
·
Soundings [depth of water]
·
Speed Changes
·
Tactical Formation
·
Time of Evolutions/Exercises/Other Services Performed
This information can prove invaluable in supporting your claim. If
you cannot go to this incredible facility you can probably call and get a
researcher to collect the data for you, but that might be more expensive.
The facility is on its own campus, has good parking, and beautiful grounds.
Inside in addition to the records and archives are a small book-gift shop, a
small snack shop, and a large, well appointed cafeteria. Security is very tight,
and you are not allowed to take anything onto the floors with you. There are
rental lockers in the basement for handbags, coats, pens, pads, and other
research tools. There is plenty of scratch paper and pencils around on the
research floors. The check-in process takes about 40-60 minutes before you even
get to the research floor.
Note: any Deck logs that are less
than 30 years of age
are in the custody of the Ships History Deck Logs Section, Naval Historical
Center, Building 57, 805 Kidder Breese Street SE, Washington Navy Yard, DC
20374-5060. All inquiries concerning research access to logs that are less than
30 years old should be sent to the Ships History Deck Logs Section.
Logs that are less than 30 years old are held in either paper or microfiche
form, stored in the Washington National Records Center, 4205 Suitland Road,
Suitland MD 20746. Logs from 1979 through February 1993 are on microfiche in the
Ships History Deck Logs Section. Logs from 1990 through 1993 are partly on
microfiche in the Deck Logs Section, partly on paper at the Records Center. All
logs from March 1993 are on paper and stored at the Records Center. The logs
that are classified must be sent to the proper authorities for declassification
review before they can be researched or copied.
One other thing: If for some reason the above
does not contain specific enough information to satisfy either the VA, or SSA,
or both, and your claim involves combat action, you may need one other resource:
The Navy Historical Society mentioned above also stores all ships’/units’ action
reports, which were required after every engagement. That might be another
source for validation of your claim, as it is usually more specific than the
deck logs.
There you have it. IF you are doing your own claim [probably online] via VONAPP
or on the Social Security website, you will be required to provide verification
of your claim. The above documents are, in most cases, all you will need. We
packed ours up into several small boxes [about a ream of paper in each] and
shipped them to the VA with our claim number on the outside of the boxes. We
also shipped them return receipt requested. That proved they got to where they
were intended, and showed us the date when they arrived.
If you are ill and can no longer work, you should apply for Social Security
Disability in addition to your VA claim. It too can be a long and ugly process,
but in the end, if you go to a hearing, things will work out. You must have an
attorney for the appeal to Social Security and the attorney is paid from your
lump sum if you win, up to a maximum of $5,400. Our appeal took almost 18 months
from initial rejection to the hearing. Nevertheless, when that lump sum comes
in, it is a huge load off your mind, as is the monthly income.
VA claims, at least to date, are not permitted to use attorneys to argue the
claim before the Board. So there should be no fee for any VA claim, though
Congress may change that at any moment.
The SSA almost automatically denies about ¾ of all claims up front [ours was
denied before we even finished submitting our paperwork!] forcing the engagement
of an attorney and the paying of a fee out of your lump sum. If you lose your
appeal with Social Security, there is nothing owed to the attorney. In other
words, the SSA is using private attorneys that you must hire to cut down on
fraudulent claims, and forcing the claimant to pay for it. Something is very
wrong with that.
Good luck, endure, and keep the faith.
VN Vets
Copyright © 2007: VNVets
Blog;
All Rights Reserved.
Posted
by Novus Livy at
17:28
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