Figured it would be helpful to share this info.
- In June 2018, I retained the services of a disability attorney and applied for SSDI. He requested and received "all" my medical records from the VA and elsewhere. SSDI denied. Appeal was denied. Now we go before the judge for it in December.
SSA based their denial decision based partly on my VA C&P exam from early 2016. But, I had another C&P done in early 2018 and the results of that triggered me to apply for SSDI---BUT THAT EXAM WASN'T INCLUDED IN WHAT SSA USED TO BASE THEIR DENIAL ON! So basically, I was denied SSDI because of old information.
Now, I've learned that there're different "levels" of VA records accessibility. The veteran has the least visibility of their own records. A VSO has a bit more visibility. But, I've found that the regional VSO office has even MORE visibility! So, I just go straight to them. Ebenefits is a joke, local VSO is slow and restricted, so I just go straight to the regional folks. They can literally pull up my entire record with a couple mouse clicks. I asked "why doesn't every member have this level of access to THEIR OWN RECORD on ebenefits?" No answer. I asked "Why doesn't the local VSO have this access?" No answer. But I digress, the regional person was able to do a FOIA request on my behalf since I'm a VFW member and take care of that. I asked her "Why wasn't this CRUCIAL information included when my attorney requested my VA record?" She didn't know. However, I've been told by a VA person that "all your medical records are VA property" and that when requesting your entire VA medical record from a local VA hospital it doesn't mean you'll get THE ENTIRE RECORD. This person said that some information is kept at a regional VA center (like for ratings decisions) and you'd have to do a FOIA with the regional center as well and the local VA to get THE ACTUAL ENTIRE RECORD. How the hell would one know to do that?! I don't know how accurate that info is, but it wouldn't surprise me.
It amazes me the BS games one has to play to get thru this VA system. I find it amazingly difficult to find ANYONE who really has a good handle on how to address these issues. You have to dig, scratch, beg, and flirt to get shit done I found.
Tips -
1) Allow yourself plenty of time for either you or your attorney to get your records. PLENTY of time (like months)
2) Go thru your records with your attorney once they have them to ENSURE they have EVERYTHING they need.
3) In general, I've found the VSO reps that I've worked with to be borderline unhelpful. I'm usually treated like an idiot and their processes are 20th century slow. The most useful piece of information I've received from a VSO rep is the number to their regional rep (who has far greater record access). Additionally, based on going thru the MEB/PEB/TDRL/PDRL/VA C&P exams/SSDI, and thanks to months of research on PEB FORUM, I'm comfortable saying I know MUCH more than my local VSO reps about the VA claims/ratings processes. That all said, I don't blame them, I blame the system.
- In June 2018, I retained the services of a disability attorney and applied for SSDI. He requested and received "all" my medical records from the VA and elsewhere. SSDI denied. Appeal was denied. Now we go before the judge for it in December.
SSA based their denial decision based partly on my VA C&P exam from early 2016. But, I had another C&P done in early 2018 and the results of that triggered me to apply for SSDI---BUT THAT EXAM WASN'T INCLUDED IN WHAT SSA USED TO BASE THEIR DENIAL ON! So basically, I was denied SSDI because of old information.
Now, I've learned that there're different "levels" of VA records accessibility. The veteran has the least visibility of their own records. A VSO has a bit more visibility. But, I've found that the regional VSO office has even MORE visibility! So, I just go straight to them. Ebenefits is a joke, local VSO is slow and restricted, so I just go straight to the regional folks. They can literally pull up my entire record with a couple mouse clicks. I asked "why doesn't every member have this level of access to THEIR OWN RECORD on ebenefits?" No answer. I asked "Why doesn't the local VSO have this access?" No answer. But I digress, the regional person was able to do a FOIA request on my behalf since I'm a VFW member and take care of that. I asked her "Why wasn't this CRUCIAL information included when my attorney requested my VA record?" She didn't know. However, I've been told by a VA person that "all your medical records are VA property" and that when requesting your entire VA medical record from a local VA hospital it doesn't mean you'll get THE ENTIRE RECORD. This person said that some information is kept at a regional VA center (like for ratings decisions) and you'd have to do a FOIA with the regional center as well and the local VA to get THE ACTUAL ENTIRE RECORD. How the hell would one know to do that?! I don't know how accurate that info is, but it wouldn't surprise me.
It amazes me the BS games one has to play to get thru this VA system. I find it amazingly difficult to find ANYONE who really has a good handle on how to address these issues. You have to dig, scratch, beg, and flirt to get shit done I found.
Tips -
1) Allow yourself plenty of time for either you or your attorney to get your records. PLENTY of time (like months)
2) Go thru your records with your attorney once they have them to ENSURE they have EVERYTHING they need.
3) In general, I've found the VSO reps that I've worked with to be borderline unhelpful. I'm usually treated like an idiot and their processes are 20th century slow. The most useful piece of information I've received from a VSO rep is the number to their regional rep (who has far greater record access). Additionally, based on going thru the MEB/PEB/TDRL/PDRL/VA C&P exams/SSDI, and thanks to months of research on PEB FORUM, I'm comfortable saying I know MUCH more than my local VSO reps about the VA claims/ratings processes. That all said, I don't blame them, I blame the system.
