This is the fourth post in a series: “5 Reasons the VA is screwing up your claim and how you have the power to fix it.”
REASON #4: YOU WASTE ENERGY ARGUING WITH THE VA.
It’s a damn shame that the VA doesn’t take better care of Veterans. But it’s also a fact of life.
I tried arguing with them. I tried reason, I tried emotion. I tried arguing efficiency, morality and national pride.
None of it matters.
The VA does what it wants to do, when the VA wants to do it. The only reliable predictor is that the VA will do what is in the bureaucratic best interest of the person you are talking to. Remember Jeff Miller – the Senator from Florida who railed against the VA?
Well, as it turns out, an argument could be made that his only interest all along was landing a fat-cat lobbying job making million dollars supporting the very Agency he pretended to dislike.
From raters in the regional office to judges on the Court, the hallmark of the VA system is the self-interest of the “decider” of the moment.
Sounds like a pretty dismal outlook?
It really isn’t. There’s power in the truth, and when you realize that the VA doesn’t care about veterans, you gain power.
Here’s the power I gained. I decided that no longer would I argue WITH the VA.
I would argue TO the VA.
Let me show you how this works.
The C-File of one Cold War era Veteran included a decision granting service connection for a knee replacement. Still, the Veteran appealed. He believed (correctly) that he was entitled to an Earlier Effective Date.
The C-file was over 1,000 pages long. Over 100 pages – 10% of his C-File – were letters to anyone and everyone at the VA, asking, demanding, and begging for a conversation so he could explain his position.
Unsurprisingly, the VA didn’t call or communicate with him. They simply denied his appeal and sent a Statement of the Case.
Were they being jerks? Maybe. Probably.
In this case, though, there was a very real reason the VA denied his appeal.
The Veteran needed only to make a straightforward argument showing why he was entitled to the Earlier Effective Date. He was an intelligent man; I have no doubt he could have made the argument.
Why did he waste so much time and energy trying to force a conversation to explain his position?
Why do any of us waste our time calling the VA to ask for a status? We know what the answer will be.
Wouldn’t it be easier to spend our time and energy building a concise, persuasive, and well documented argument in support of our position?
If the VA is only going to talk to you one time every 8 years, make that 1 conversation count.
Spend your time preparing a more persuasive and effective argument so that when you finally get the meeting with the VA DRO, you can persuade him or her with as few words and evidence as practicable.
I shared a link to a video the other day called “Get to the Point.” That remains the single best resource on the internet for veterans looking to improve their writing and advocacy.
Here are other things you can do.
Learn the “magic words” to include in a private medical opinion.
Learn how to add 5-Star evidence – lay and medical – to your claim.
Learn how to paint a picture of the frequency, chronicity and severity of your disability in a C&P exam.
Those are just a few ways to get a “quick start” on arguing TO – not with – the VA.
The Veterans Law Blog® is loaded with other tips, tactics and strategies.
The #1 tip to keep at the forefront of your mind – as you prepare an argument in your claim or appeal, put 10 more time into making an argument TO the VA than you do arguing WITH the VA.
