The providers at the VA that I have had experience with are good people who really took the job to help vets. Many of them could be making better money somewhere else and at times I feel for them because they're trying to help, but their hands are often tied for treatment options. The bean counters and bureaucrats, however, feel that it's their job to save the government money by denying or minimizing claims from us whining, crybaby vets who are trying to put one over on Uncle Sam. My dealings with the VA have led me to wonder; At what point does it make sense that a veteran should need a lawyer to fight against the government agency that is there to help veterans?

For those who have never had to deal with the VA and it's rules, I'll give an example. I've been fighting them since '06 (which is nothing compared to the fights that others have had) over a spine injury. In March of 2011 I received a letter from the VA that stated that they were going to make a determination on my appeal because I had not responded to their request to provide releases from my doctors. I responded (registered mail) to their letter that I had not received their request and gave them the doctors names, addresses, and gave the doctors permission to release my information. I also told them that I was (at the time) experiencing pain in my back and had been on sick leave from work since February, but hoped to be back at work by late April or early May. Now, for those who don't know, the VA will only use lost time from work, as a determining factor for comp, from the previous year. I was out of work February, March, April, and May of 2011. When was the next contact from the VA? Last September (2012). After waiting over a full year, when the 4 months away from work no longer counted, the VA sent me release forms that needed to be filled out so they could get my records from my physicians. Their letter stated that their original request for my records (that they claim I didn't respond to) was returned as undeliverable (not refused, return to sender, or any other such term) and there was a note (from someone in the VA) that the letter had been sent to the wrong address. So, they were going to make a determination on my appeal because I had not responded to a letter that they knew I never received and waited, intentionally, over a year, to contact me, so as to be able to minimize my claim and keep my 4 months in a bed from working in my favor. They play this game all the time to screw vets out of benefits. Maybe I should have sneaked into the country or just stopped working and gone on the public dole, the government can't seem to give those people enough.