Posted on May 7, 2019
How do I prove to VA that I was exposed to burn pits in deployments?
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How do I prove to VA that I was exposed to burn pits in deployments?
Posted in these groups: 
Burn Pits
Compensation
VA ClaimVeterans Claims Examiner
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Burn Pits Compensation VA ClaimVeterans Claims Examiner Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 11
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There is a burn pit registry; that is where it starts.
HOWEVER -
Burn pit exposure is not a presumptive nor is it an identified contributing factor to any Service Connected issues at this time. I say that as a man that lived right next to a big one in Mosul for 11 months.
What you should do is get diagnosed, then work the service connection via before and after medical exams with the time of exposure in between. I think that if you take a strictly burn pit angle, you will be frustrated in your claim. Take it as a general degradation of your health with exposure to (burn pit, environmental hazards, etc) while in Iraq or what have you. Your odds of getting a fair rating on the first throw are pretty good if your service medical records are in order.
Feel free to contact me directly if you want to go deeper in the weeds.
HOWEVER -
Burn pit exposure is not a presumptive nor is it an identified contributing factor to any Service Connected issues at this time. I say that as a man that lived right next to a big one in Mosul for 11 months.
What you should do is get diagnosed, then work the service connection via before and after medical exams with the time of exposure in between. I think that if you take a strictly burn pit angle, you will be frustrated in your claim. Take it as a general degradation of your health with exposure to (burn pit, environmental hazards, etc) while in Iraq or what have you. Your odds of getting a fair rating on the first throw are pretty good if your service medical records are in order.
Feel free to contact me directly if you want to go deeper in the weeds.
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1SG (Join to see)
PFC Jeffrey Herrington - Not too much time off needed unless you need to go on a treasure hunt for your service records. Preparing a claim if you have your stuff together is an hour maybe. Couple of stints at appointments for your C&P exam(s). That part depends on how many issues you have.
That's about it, unless you get into the appeals lane.
That's about it, unless you get into the appeals lane.
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CSM Darieus ZaGara
Hey my friend the answer you received is solid. I am checking in because of your statement, I am not proud. You served your country proudly. You need to ensure your health is sound and take care of what is not. You should be proud! Never feel bad about getting what you deserve. Remember your health is directly tied to the welfare of your Family. Thank you for your service, and get to the VA. SPC Manny Managuit
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Sgt Joe LoParo
You can get what the VA refers to as letters of Support. We call em buddy letters. And you can have anyone that was there with you or knows of you being there to write letters of support stating those facts. But first Top is right on the mark. show there's been a degradation of health and then connect the nexus to it.
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http://www.vetadvocates.org
When we did my whole total perm disability thing, we started with a vet group, it just got WAY too complicated, though they were all good people, and really tried...trust me, this group, NOVA, I've sent it in here, as have others, COUNTLESS times, now, they're the top of the VA-disability food chain for organized professional groups in the US, they also involve ALL the major vet groups, call them, use their search engine, our guy did 3 yrs active, he also did 35-40 yrs of VA disability law, he even got pro-bono freebie help for him to help us from a major law group near us and him he knew partners at...give their guys whatever consult fee they'd want, ours was $500 bucks, the best money we ever spent...the man knew more about VA-disability law than God, in that, we most definitely lucked out, promise...he's one of the reasons my wife and I were taught, as I esp. was, that there's a very real reason God invented attorneys, honest...you can also try law school vet law clinics, our guy was involved in one we also tried, they just don't always take all cases...trust me, as I'd said, you want help, proper help, the RIGHT KIND of help, NOVA are the right guys, believe me, very much been there, done that (BTDT), you wanna yak more, I'm here, just ask, no rush, whenever you want, honest... as I'd said, trust Ben on this one, on Luke, Yoda knows all, sees all, promise, OK?
When we did my whole total perm disability thing, we started with a vet group, it just got WAY too complicated, though they were all good people, and really tried...trust me, this group, NOVA, I've sent it in here, as have others, COUNTLESS times, now, they're the top of the VA-disability food chain for organized professional groups in the US, they also involve ALL the major vet groups, call them, use their search engine, our guy did 3 yrs active, he also did 35-40 yrs of VA disability law, he even got pro-bono freebie help for him to help us from a major law group near us and him he knew partners at...give their guys whatever consult fee they'd want, ours was $500 bucks, the best money we ever spent...the man knew more about VA-disability law than God, in that, we most definitely lucked out, promise...he's one of the reasons my wife and I were taught, as I esp. was, that there's a very real reason God invented attorneys, honest...you can also try law school vet law clinics, our guy was involved in one we also tried, they just don't always take all cases...trust me, as I'd said, you want help, proper help, the RIGHT KIND of help, NOVA are the right guys, believe me, very much been there, done that (BTDT), you wanna yak more, I'm here, just ask, no rush, whenever you want, honest... as I'd said, trust Ben on this one, on Luke, Yoda knows all, sees all, promise, OK?
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MSG Robert Conrad
Gulf War presumption applies to all Veterans that served in the first GW, and OIF iterations. It does not apply to Afghansitan. Service connection applies to two groups of illnesses: Undiagnosed illnesses ie wide spread muscle pain as an example, and the second is diagnosed, but medically unexplained illnesses, ie a neuropathy with no known spine condition. It will probably take a lot of reading to help you understand the nuances, but esentially you will be service connected when the VA examiner says something like: The Veteran has a respiratory disorder, but the symptoms do not fit any medical diagnosis, or the Veteran has Fibromyalgia like disease, but not actually fibromyalgia. This has been in effect for several years.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
I follow, much appreciated, I'd heard of it, certainly, though that obv hadn't occurred to me at all, I'd course...
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If you had orders to a site and received an NCO evaluation or anything showing you were assigned to that area of operation. You can have a commander to senior NCO write a letter detailing your expose time frame.
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