1. attiglawfirm.comhttp://www.attiglawfirm.com/move/va-manual-m21-1mr/?utm_source=Slideshare&utm_medium=091114&utm_content=va manual m211mr&utm_campaign=Social Media PromotionUse VA Manual M21-1MR and Score a Touchdown on Every Play.Can you imagine if, before you started a battle, you were able to get access to the enemy's plans, processes andprocedures?Give me 3 hours to study the enemy's SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) and I will wreak havoc and wear themout from behind their own lines.Using another metaphor.......do you think that ANY team that LOST the Superbowl would like to go back in time and replay the game -AFTER seeing their Opponent's playbook?VA Manual M21-1MR is the VAs "Playbook".Every action that a VA claims examiner, rating specialist, DRO -any VA employee - takes in a VA claim is in VA Manual M21-1MR.It is broken down into 11 parts:Part 1: VA Claimant's Rights and Responsibilities.Part 2: This has been replaced by t he VA Benefits AssistanceService Procedures Manual, M27-1.Part 3: General Claims Process, including the following topics:Claims Processing Improvement ModelInitial Screening and Determining Veterans StatusGeneral Development and Dependency Issues

2. General Rating ProcessGeneral Authorization Issues and Claimant NotificationsSpecial Authorization IssuesPart 4: Compensation, DIC, and Death Compensation BenefitsPart 5: Pension and Parents' Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)Part 6: Chapter 18 BenefitsPart 7: Burial BenefitsPart 8: Accrued BenefitsPart 9: Ancillary and Special BenefitsPart 10: Matching ProgramsPart 11: Formerly, the VA Frauduciary Program . This was rescinded on November 19, 2013 and replaced by the VAFrauduciary Manual.How do you use VA Manual M21-1MR to your advantage?#1: Get a copy of your VA C-File.The C-File is the most important document in your VA Claim . I don't know how any Veteran fighting a long battle withthe VA can possibly win without knowing what is - and what is not - in the C-File.#2: Figure out why the VA Keeps Screwing Up Your Claim .#3: Once you know what PART of your claim is the problem, go to the section of the VA Manual M21-1MR thatpertains to the particular problem you are having.#4: Use the VAs own Standard Procedures in VA Manual M21-1MR to fix the problem.Where do you find the VA Manual M21-1MR? For now, you have to get it chapter by chapter on the VA website.I am working with a Web Coder to see if we can't build a more accessible version of the VA Manual M21-1MR for 3. Veterans.We've built a version for attorneys to use: it's an annual subscription that costs $200 per year. That's too expensivefor nearly every Veteran. So I'm working with this same company to provide an option that allows Veterans tosubscribe on a monthly basis for as long as they need it during their claim.Let's take a look at an example of how to use VA Manual M21-1MR.Here's a hypothetical:You are a Veteran with asbestosis.(Asbestosis is a condition that results from inhaling the fibers of which asbestos is made. It can cause many types ofcancer, lung diseases like emphysema, vascular problems, and much more.)You claim service connection of asbestosis and emphysema as a result of your exposure to asbestos on the USSColumbus during the Korean War. The VA - for years and years - denies your claim for service connection and youdon't understand why.After you get a copy of your C-File from the VA, you discover a note in your C-File (where it came from is anyone'sguess) that says that you were exposed to asbestos AFTER your military service while you worked as a contractor atthe Naval Shipyards in DC.Problem is, you never worked at that Naval Shipyard.Let's solve the Problem using the enemy's playbook!Go to VA Manual M21-1MR and put a nail in the coffin of VA excuses for denying your claim. Here is a small snippetof what the VA needs to "develop" your asbestos claim...using the above facts, see if you can figure out what to doafter reading the snippet below 4. Solve the Problem: Turn this list from VA Manual M21-1MR into a checklist of thingsto prove.You don't have to DISprove anything in a VA Claim, but if you can, consider doing that.It gets really hard for the VA to raise the mercury level in the VA ClaimsEvidence Thermometer high enough to deny your claim if your file has 5-StarEvidence that disproves everything the VA is trying to "prove".Think about that for a little bit.This may not be the best course in every case - we don't want to send the VAa haystack of evidence and then tell them to find the needle.We are trying to show them - in the most clear terms possible - the needle.Using the above snippet from VA Manual M21-1MR, you can:Get proof of your exposure to asbestos while in the Navy - though this manualsays that they are looking for service records, you are NOT bound by YOURservice records. Know another veteran that ser.Get proof - through Sworn Declarations or other 5-star evidence - that youwere not exposed to asbestos before or after service.Get proof - through a competent medical examiner - that your asbestos was at least as likely as not related to yourmilitary service on the USS . 5. Chris Attig, an Accredited Veterans Benefits attorney and Founder of the Attig Law Firm, PLLC is responsible for thecontent of the site. The principal office of Attig Law Firm, PLLC, is located in Dallas, Texas. Chris Attig is NOTCertified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. - Please view our website disclaimer.2007-2013 Attig Law Firm, PLLCLawyer Website Design by The Modern Firm