By THOMAS BRENNAN – Daily News StaffÂ
Twenty-one years and counting. Combined, three local veterans have waited over two decades for compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the clock is still ticking.
âI blame the wait on employment,â said Katherine Washington-Williams, the state commander of the National Association of Black Veterans Inc. â(The Department of Veterans Affairs) needs to hire more people. They have too many records to process and not enough people to process them. By changing the way they do things we can put a dent in the VA backlog.â
Currently there are over 700,000 veterans nationally waiting for the disability claims to be processed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The average wait time for a claim to be processed is 260 days â a number that has doubled since 2008, according to the VA. Many local veterans have waited three, four and five times the average wait time and have still heard nothing.
âBe patient and persevere,â said Washington-Williams, 50, of Fayetteville. âDonât give up and please do not remove your claim. Hang in there and keep fighting for what you are owed. As long as you have breath in your body, keep on fighting.â
But after 10 years of waiting for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder to be service connected, Antonio Scott, 47, of Jacksonville has contemplated giving up.
âSometimes the VA is confusing,â said Scott, a Marine veteran. âThey have so many components and itâs like going through a maze. When you try to talk to people you wait forever and nobody gives you answers and if they do answer you, theyâre generic.â
Scott said he has written, called and emailed the Department of Veterans Affairs but said he never hears back.
âItâs truly difficult and it tests your resolve,â Scott said. âYou donât even know if theyâve received your stuff because they donât call you back. If they just made it so you had a case worker who was in charge of your file and you had the ability to call, email or write to that person â things would be much easier. But you speak to a different person every time and they never have answers.â
Despite his decade long wait, he said the VA does deserve some kudos.
âThe medical and education benefits are amazing and easy to use,â Scott said. âBut the claims process is the most confusing and discouraging thing I have ever done in my life.â
Herbert E. Brisbane, a Marine veteran has also nearly given up during his six-year wait on the VA to service connect his prostate cancer which doctors say was directly caused by Agent Orange exposure during Vietnam.
âThe denied my claim six years ago,â said Brisbane, 60, of Jacksonville. âI waited five years to go in front of an appeals judge. That happened last May and Iâve been waiting ever since for an answer. Who knows when Iâll get it.â
When the process started years ago, Brisbane had very derogatory thoughts towards the VA but after a trip to the Winston Salem office where he saw the stacks of records, his thoughts changed.
âMy hatâs off to them,â Brisbane said. âThey work hard but they are just overwhelmed. The records are stacked to the ceiling. I know how hard they work but I just wish theyâd get to my claim already. Itâs been long enough.â
After years of struggling, Brisbane offers one bit of advice to active duty service members about to make the transition.
âMake sure youâve got accurate records from the time you joined until youâre ready to get out,â Brisbane said. âEverything that occurred thatâs health related needs to be documented so when you try to claim things at your discharge, everything is supported. You have to cover your bases because the VA isnât looking out for you. You need to look out for yourself.â
It is not just veterans who struggle with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Many widows are often left fighting for disability compensation after their spouses die from service connected disabilities.
One widow, Shirley Carter, 67, of Jacksonville began filing for her late husbandâs disability compensation five years ago.
âItâs like pulling teeth to get them to acknowledge he was exposed to Agent Orange during Vietnam,â said Carter about her husband who was a Marine aviator responsible for reconnaissance missions. âHe had liver and colon cancer caused by the chemicals he was exposed to. My husband served honorably and itâs about getting closure for my three sons and I.â
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When you understand that they cap the payout to 30% of the claims, it’s not so hard to understand the run around. Your putting stress on the 30% cap. Beside’s the skim off the top goes to upper management bonus’s and the rest is siphoned off into back channel off book (for the lack of a better term) black ops support…..
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