This article is not about High-G RSI, rather how you might be able to assemble a fully developed case using available journals, peer-reviewed papers, and related research on the matter. You will not see the phrase “High-G RSI” in any of these publications; rather, you will read about “spinal damage” or “cervical and lumbar damage.” Before proceeding, the usual caveat: we’re not lawyers here, but we do have plenty of doctors at hand, several of them with medical research on what we’ve come to call “High-G RSI.” Onward…
Nearly all of what follows in this paper references figure 1., below. The figure is a wonderful example of what I would term a successful (one of the very few so far) claim for service connection of the Veteran’s claim for back pain he attributed to his military service in a high-G performance aircraft (HPA). ----------------- 
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Before I launch into unpacking figure 1, I acknowledge you may have previously filed a claim with the VA. However, if it was before January 2017—the passage of the AMA Act that overhauled claims and the filing process, or it was after that date, we will spend some time on details you may be familiar with but perhaps forgot. Otherwise, if you are new to claim filing, then all of this information will be new or still new to you. Onward…
At the blue box marked “A,” the VBA announces in standard verbiage what if finds (or does not) for the claim. The key words in this passage are what many of us filing both cancer and High-G RSI claims want to read, “Service Connection for…” The quantity of your award will be discussed later; however, that information does not appear in this block.
At the yellow dashed line box marked “B,” the VBA documents the examiner’s decision with a direct citation to the binding passage(s) in 38CFR CH. 1. In this case, the binding passages are § 3.303 & § 3.304. To those of you not familiar with 38CFR Ch.1, those two paragraphs deal directly with service connection and direct service connection. If you are unfamiliar with direct service connection, click on the “Aviator Cancer” button, “Service Connection,” then on ‘What Is Direct Service Connection?”
Next is the green dashed box marked with a “C.” This text is important as it informs you as to the examiner’s sense of your claim, its disposition, relevant comments, and the examiner’s sense of the evidence you provided. Examine the text in this passage. It says something that is likely too rare in a fully developed claim: the use of medical vetted information from a credible source that is material, probative, and relevant. Don’t know what those three words mean in a claim? Read the article “What Is Direct Service Connection?” It’s not apparent how the claims examiner came to cite the NIH information and the source document is not identified. However, that does not mean that the examinee did not share the NIH data with the examiner during the course of the examination. However, if the Veteran spoke up to the examiner and shared the NIH data, it was shrewd and ultimately helpful to the eventual adjudication of the claim.
Every box on this decision page is important, and the red solid line text box marked “D” is no exception. This box establishes the “effectivity date.” Because I lack insight into the rest of the claim details, I’m not in a position to comment as to the appropriateness of the effectivity date that appears in this box on this claim. However, the computation of effectivity is a big deal, especially in claims that date back years from when a condition is alleged to appear or begin. The VA default is as it is shown here: the date of the Veteran’s exam becomes the effectivity date. If you do not concur with this date, then you would file an appeal that contests the effectivity date. But you better bring evidence to substantiate your position in your appeal that the examiner got it wrong.
The purple box marked “E” encloses the all-important disability award percentage. If you do not understand VA disability compensation math, do some online searching + reading on this. I don’t have the space to fully unpack VA disability rating math; however, I doubt that this Veteran sees the full 20% of this rating in his/her overall disability rating. Again, I cannot comment on what the final percentage for this particular service connection is.
The text at the bottom of the page is a synopsis of the above information.
This claim decision is an example of what a well-studied Vet did and it paid off. I submit that in order to identify any credible medical authority data to a VBA Claims Examiner calls for a lot of preparation before you enter the examination room. Next, I perceive that for many High-G RSI sufferers, your best shot at service connection with a reasonable disability rating may be using similar tactics as this Veteran. However, the NIH did not/does not produce the only useful medical data you may opt to work from to prove up your claim. To locate a vetted list of potential High-G RSI resources, see the bibliography under the “High-G RSI” button, then click on “High-G RSI White Paper,” then “Bibliography.”
To wrap this up, we don’t teach you how to fill in every information block on your VA Form 21-526EZ. However, the best advice we can give and probably the only advice we should give to is to write as thought you are attempting to convince a skeptic. Assume the skeptic knows nothing and needs to be walked through every point of your case reasoning. Go well. |
