Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When my husband was a teenager, he sustained an eye injury which required surgery but didn't lead to any ongoing vision problems at the time. When he joined the Marine Corps when he was 21, he got a medical waiver for the eye injury as required at the time.
He is now out of the Marine Corps and has been going through the VA Disability process for some documented issues from injuries he received in Afghanistan. Since he has been having problems with his eye since his last deployment (the vision in that eye is now impaired, the retina has become unattached and there are some other issues) somebody at the VA told him to go ahead and try and claim it.
However, somebody else at the VA told him that there was no point in trying to claim it (just to claim his back and knee issues, which were documented injuries) because he had a medical waiver for that eye, so anything that happened to it was not the Marine Corps' responsibility.
We don't really mind either way- we aren't trying to extort the VA or anything. We just want to know what the correct thing is, since we've got differing information from people at the VA thus far.
Should he try and claim it or isn't there any point?
Thanks for your input in advance, greatly appreciated!
They can't say no unless you ask (claim it). Regardless of the waiver, if the eye worsened due to military duties, it's a valid claim. People can claim sleep apnea (50% disability for that by the way) so I'd be comfortable saying your husband can claim his eye.
Should he try and claim it or isn't there any point?
Go on with the claim process. If denied, I would probably reapply... As much as I appreciate the Veterans Administration, sometimes they may make an error. Sometimes their rules change...
An enlistment medical waiver basically serves as a preexisting condition waiver/notice for the military and the VA.
How much it helps or hurts depends on how much information was submitted. The biggest setback is when the initial medical information contained "future" predictions of medical conditions. That is when the medical professional inserted a statement outlining progressive stages that will likely occur regardless of any outside conditions. Basically, they are saying certain things will happen on their own no matter what. The VA has the legal right to deny service connected status for any additional illness, injury that is already expected to occur.
However, only a qualified medical professional evaluating the conditional at the moment can say if it was or wasn’t related to military service. Even with a prior prediction, many medical professionals will also want to see medical documentation to support the prior prediction (seldom if ever included) before they will agree with it. So, it's just as likely to have it service connected as it is to be denied as a preexisting condition. The one thing we all do know is that it will NOT be service connected if you don't claim it. If there is anything in the military medical records related to care for the eye that was due specifically to a condition of military service, the odds of having it rated goes way up.
Bottom line is a veteran needs to claim everything especially if it's in their medical records.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
