Sometimes the VA really sucks but other times they can be outstanding. Several years ago I banged my knee on a trailer hitch. The knee swelled up and became extremely painful to the extent I could only walk with crutches. The VA did Xrays and after a 1 week they told me it was just a bruise and issued me some pain pills. A month goes by and I go in for a recheck, same story, no new Xrays, just go home and man up.
Another month goes by and I went to a civilian Orthopedic Surgeon. They took an Xray and the surgeon studied it very carefully for about 5 seconds and told me, "your kneecap is broken." The fracture was obvious to any casual observer including a 1/2 inch chip. The surgeon said that after all those weeks, the bone had calcified so much the only fix was surgery... that I couldn't afford.
On a different occasion the VA diagnosed I had COPD and put me on an excellent routine of meds that have basically kept me going. So, some good and some not.