Did you wait till you were out to get your disability rating? If so, how long before you made your first claim?

I did my paperwork while I was in the process of retiring. I later upgraded sometime after. Bottom line, file your claim before you get out. It may be easier for you to do.

When doing my discharge physical after 8 years in the Navy I was put on medical hold. I was told to go home a call in each Monday. This went on for 4 months past my discharge date. I kept complaining but nothing happened. I had to call my states senator and asked him to look into what was the hold up. I got a call from the Navy on a Friday told to report Monday am for discharge. I showed they discharged me to the VA and given 30% and later upped to 70. Still confused how it happened thought I should have been at least med boarded. Still wonder if I got screwed. I've tried to get those medical documents from the VA but they say they don't have them. Has Any body else been discharged to the VA. This occurred 1986.

I filed in 2013 while I was being MEB'd out. The Army gave me 10% for a spinal cord injury I recieved in Iraq. The VA has me at 90% with 100% unemployability. And I was Awarded Social Security Disability. The sooner you file the better off you will be. Usually long line of claims in front of yours.

No, you want to file while in service; immediately after you take your ETS physical!!!!!!

Get with a VSO (various veterans organizations like VFW,etc... has them) to Filemón your behalf.

I started making sure my entire medical packet was ready to go 5 years out after I got my first TBI. I did everything I could before I got out, including going through both my retirement and VA physicals. I dropped my packet about three months before my final out. It took almost a year for them to rate me 100(+)%. Military only gave me 50%. Make sure, when you go to your physical, IF something hurts, when you move it, use it, etc, that when the doc has you go through your range of motion tests, that the second your arm, leg, body, whatever, starts to even twinge when you move, that you let the doc know. He's going to measure your range of motion, and if your pain is consistent when you hit a certain point, then that is a good indication, though not a guarantee, that you have a legitimate issue with movement for whatever part of your body is injured/damaged. Make sure you keep COMPLETE and ACCURATE records of your medical issues. I have about a dozen consistent ones - though they don't honestly bother me for the most part yet. Make sure that you also keep copies of ALL surgical proceedings you have had. The BIGGEST gotcha that gets 70% of all vets, is that they either didn't bother documenting - esp. towards the end of their careers, or they tried to act tough during their physical by saying during the ROM test "Yeah, it hurts, but it's not bad" and kept moving past the point of that first twinge of pain.

Over 30 years and

I first applied after three years and applied over the next several years until I was rated at 100%

File your disability claim while you are in. It will make it easier for us Raters at the VA to grant you disability percentages.

I have to be honest with you i am jealous that all of you had people to help you in this process. I didn't, I called and they told me what forms i needed i looked them up filled them out and sent them to the VA and it was that easy and everything was just between me and the VA. I was surprised that you all had people and firms to help you in this process i just wanted to get it over with. Once i got the 100% i was done and at that point.

Spc Jesse T. To answer your question you can file as soon as you need to as long as all your disabilities are listed and you start the process. You will only be paid from the time that you file the paperwork. So you can wait three four five years. Once you submit the paperwork and the start reviewing your claim from the day that they get it. That is your start date and they will only back pay you from that point. I filed my claim in in 2018 In February and it took them until June 2018 to start paying me and the back pay was only from February of 2018. Even though i ETS in 2016. I was given 70% at first and from there more testing and doctor visits then i got 100% from things that they did not find the first time. So make sure that you document everything and that the doctor knows about everything and i do mean everything. Lastly people please stop trying to use E.D. as a problem they will not give you a rating for that unless you are missing parts of it.