The VA has established a new standard of excellence in lowballing.  Its called “no” balling, where the Veteran has an established disability (service connected) and the VA “admits” it, and concludes it is 0 percent disabling.   If you have been “no” balled with hep C or even hearing loss (been rated by the VA as Service connected at 0 percent) then this suggests you appeal promptly.  Dont even think about not appealing, regardless of what your VSO tells you.   Don’t they count a zero percent rating as a “win” for VSO’s?

After all, now that the Veteran is service connected, can he not apply for an “increase” and start the delay process all over again?  This is job security for VSO’s and rating specialists, ensuring they never run out of Veterans to help.

I wonder if this is how the VA manages to try to show that VSO’s “win” as many cases for Veterans as do lawyers.  Im sure that lawyers are interested in counting up their winnings:  20% Fee times 0% percent retro times 10 year delay this makes my attorney fee….What?  This is VA math taken too far.  I kind of doubt lawyers would be able to obtain their law degree with “VA level math skills”.

The VA must have Superman  type X ray vision to even detect this “detectable malady” but conclude it causes the Veteran no financial loss.   How would the VA detect such a malady if, indeed, it caused the Veteran “0%” loss?   Wouldn’t this disability be “invisible”?

Better would be to require the Veteran, if indeed he posseses such a “invisible disability” to instead award benefits, and make him wear a T shirt that says:

“I have a hearing loss rated at 0% with the VA..please speak up”

or

“I have hep C rated at zero percent, so dont have sex with me”.

A VA rating at zero percent is just one step on a many step delay process.  To which, there is only one answer:

Appeal, appeal, appeal.

(Guest author Joe Average Vet is now writing for the site, too.)