Posted on Oct 8, 2016
MAJ Jimmy M.
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SFC(P) Richard Warren
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Sir, I actually work for VBA, so I can honestly say yes.

At the bare minimum you need to complete the VA Form 526EZ and send it in to you local VA regional office. Once that is done they will communicate with you and send out letters communicating anything else they need.

When filling out the the portion telling them what disabilities you want looked at you can simply indicate the condition and say "increase" (if already service connected), "new", "secondary" (if caused by an existing or new service connected condition), "Gulf War" (if connected to any presumptive disorders under 38 CFR 3.317), or "Agent Orange" (if it falls under the herbicide presumptive in 38 CFR 3.307 & 3.309).

I hope this helps a little, Sir.
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SFC(P) Richard Warren
SFC(P) Richard Warren
8 y
Also, I realize that my grammar and spelling in my response are terrible. I was attempting to respond by phone (Just so everybody knows)
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SFC(P) Richard Warren
SFC(P) Richard Warren
8 y
One last thing,
Any Dr can do the assessment for you ahead of time if you take in the proper DBQ for the disability(ies) you want (re)assessed. The DBQs can normally be found online, though some are restricted to VA only use (ie: TBI-initial and PTSD-initial).
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PFC Bruce Flaherty
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Get an advocate. DAV, MOPH, VFW. They know the ins and outs of the system. I used the Military Order of the Purple Heart. You don't need to be a member. Good Luck.
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LTC Gregory Davis
LTC Gregory Davis
8 y
I definitely agree! Any of the service organizations are a lot of help. I used the American Legion
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GySgt Retired
GySgt (Join to see)
8 y
I used the DAV great organization well worth your time. Made up of Vets who have been where you are. https://www.dav.org/
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SFC Alex Kennedy
SFC Alex Kennedy
8 y
How do I find an advocate in Baguio, Philippines?
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PO2 Weaver Brian
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Being in New Zealand, I can imagine it is very difficult to find anyone to assist you with this. First, take a good hard look at title 38 US Code of Federal Regulations. You can find it on the internet. This is the law by which the VA determines your disability percentage. Once you find the particular disability you want re-assessed for increase, read very carefully. If you think you can justify an increase according to the regulation(s), by all means file a VA form 21-526 for an increase in your disability percentage. The VA has a wide variety of disability benefits questionnaire forms. These are tailored to particular types of disabilities, and can be filled out by any doctor, anywhere. For example, VA form 21-0960M-6 is for foot conditions. These can be downloaded from the VA website here: http://www.va.gov/vaforms/Default.asp?CurrentPage=4&orderby=. You can scroll through the list of 21-960x forms starting on page 4 until you find the one that best fits your disability. When you write your claim, you must justify any claimed increase, and your doctor(s) must agree. But if title 38 says your particular disability is limited to a certain percentage, and you are already at that percentage, don't waste your time with it. Title 38 is the law, and if it says that 30% is the maximum, there is no recourse. That is it. That is all. I recommend you study title 38 very hard before you go any further with this.
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