Work in Process, not Work in Progress 4/13/17 and 4/18/17

Work in Process is how the Veteran Administration titles the steps a compensation claim goes through.  The Claims Process has 8 distinct steps of measuring the status of a claim:
1) Claim Received
2) Under Review
3) Gathering of Evidence
4) Review of Evidence
5) Preparation for Decision
6) Pending Decision Approval
7) Preparation for Notification
8) Complete
        The frustrating part of tracking a claim is that anywhere along the route the claim can be sent back, usually, and frequently, to the Gathering of Evidence phase, in which more evidence may be requested from the veteran, or any one of the medical facilities involved in the presentation of the claim, or to one of its own departments.
        More frustrating is the knowledge that 75% of initial claims are denied. There are many vocal veterans, and  veterans' groups, who assert that the mantra of the VA is "Deny, deny until you die."
       The Claims Process is notoriously slow, though attempts are being made to  speed the process up. It can take up to a year for a simple claim to  wend its way through the process, and much longer depending on how many disabilities are being claimed.
       In light of the many, many denials, there are also many, many appeals. That is not surprising because in some cases the compensation is very substantial.
      The difficulty is that these  claims are attributing the veterans' current disabilities to having been caused or aggravated by military service. The key word here is NEXUS, and the establishing thereof.
      It appears that almost every veteran who has been in combat files a claim for PTSD.  And for one who does indeed suffer from it, the rigorous evaluation process must be a nightmare of another kind.
     Numerous law firms exist specializing solely in assisting the veteran to file his/her  claim more successfully by taking advantage of their experience and their ability to provide legal representation at hearings and such.
  Service-Connected Disability Ratings range from 0% to 100%. from no financial payments to thousands of dollars for the service connected severely disabled.
    The rating for Tinnitus, if approved, is 10% for one ear or both.  The monthly payment is about $130.
   PS: As of 4/18/17, after exactly 4 months, we did beat the odds  and were granted Service Connection, at 0% and 10%.  Encouraging because statistics say 75% of initial claims are denied, even those who have sought legal help.  Even 0% is considered a plus because it opens the door for Appeals and later consideration. But this is not the goal here; we need another new claim.  If I live long enough for it to matter.  Onward and upward.