What's New
Update for Sleep Apnea.
Follow the link to learn how to correctly file a claim for service-connected sleep apnea if you also have service-connected PTSD.
Current News
VA-RAC Meeting
The next VA-RAC meeting September 29, 2015.
For more information on the meeting read our news link.
The NGWRC is funded by donations
We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and your donations are tax deductible. Your cash donations go directly to helping veterans. Our staff volunteer their time and there is no one at the NGWRC that is paid. Our paperwork is on file with the state of Kansas.
Donations of $25 gets you a one year membership.
The NGWRC reserves the right to refuse donations from any groups or persons.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you do not find a question close to your, please email us and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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- How do I appeal a claim for disability that the VA recently denied?
- Where can I find the form my doctors can fill out for me claim?
- The VA denied my claim without considering my private medical records. Why didn't they get those?
- Who is ... ?
- What is ... ?
- When is ... ?
How do I appeal a claim for disability that the VA recently denied?
- If your claim is denied at the VBA Regional Office (the place were a newclaims for benefits is first adjudictated) you should file a Notice of Disagreement (NOD). You have one year from the date of the decision to file your notice of disagreement, and you may attach documents supporting your position to the NOD when you file it. The VA prefers that you use a specific form, located at http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/ forms/VBA-21-0958-ARE.pdf. This form can help categorize the precise nature of your disagreement, so that the person reviewing the decision can focus on only the relevant evidence instead of reviewing your entire file (in many cases, a veteran is not refuting the entire decision, but only certain parts of it).
- If you don't have anyone helping you with your claim, you may find it helpful to have a veterans service representive help you. Their help comes at no charge to you. If your claim is unusually complex, you may consider having a claims agent or a veterans attorney help you. They cannot charge you up front, but they may take a percentage of your back-benefits when and if the claim is granted.
- Once the process begins, your case goes through several steps, and you will have at least one more opportunity to submit new evidence before a decision is made, but after the VA has sent you a statement of case, which explains their rationale for the decision you are appealing.
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Where can I find ... ?
- This is the answer to the question.Disability Benefits Questionnaires(DBQs) are medical examination forms used to capture essential information for evaluating disability compensation and/or pension claims. These forms are on the VA website. One can search for them by name. We will add them to this site as the VA does change their site agound the links to it get broken all of the time.
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The VA denied my claim without considering my private medical records. Why didn't they get those?
- First, if you do not provide copies of private medical records that support your claim, you must make sure they are in your file before it comes up for review (and before any deadline the VA gives you to submit additional evidence). You may give the VA permissional to ask for those records by using form VA form 21-4142.
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Sometimes the VA cannot obtain the records, even when you give them permission, because the doctor or instution holding the records demands that the VA pay a fee for them. The VA will not pay this fee. When that happens, you should get the records yourself and send them to the VA. In many cases, if you go to the office in person and explain that you are a sick or disabled veteran who needs these records in order to obtain benefits, they will waive their fee and give you the records for free. However, you should always make an extra copy for yourself before you submit them to the VA, as with all documents related to your claim.
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