Yes. The only reason they would have knowledge of a pre-existing condition is if that recruit/Servicemember claimed it as pre-exiting on the MEPS physical and it was so noted on the MEPS physical forms.
OR, if the recruit did not claim a pre-existing condition and had been insured at any time prior to accession into active military service under TRICARE (they data share these days).
(Yep. Saw that happen once to a guy who didn't claim asthma during MEPS physical, so it wasn't noted. Got sworn in and during basic training, went to hospital for "breathing issues". While in hospital bed, Docs came in and confronted him, saying his medical records from his TRICARE years showed episodes of "asthma", a diagnosis of "asthma", and him being prescribed Rx inhalers. He was discharged from military service withn a week or two after leaving hospital, and did not complete basic training). He was the child of a friend of mine. Had this kid claimed "asthma" on his MEPS physical, he would have never been accessed into service to begin with.
Now, IF that recruit with a noted MEPS pre-existing condition is found to still be acceptable for active duty military service, and, if that Servicemember completes EIGHT, FULL active duty years in military service, THEN that issue can be potentially claimed by the Servicemember as now having an injury/illnes that has been *aggravated* from those EIGHT years of active duty military service (with proper medical evidence). At that point, this injury can potentially become a compensable injury/disease for military disability retirement purposes.
The military branch that took you in knew full well you had this issue, the military branch determined (IAW their guidelines/Regulations) that you still fell within their "healthy" parameters of initial accession into military service, and, that your military service used you up for at least eight years of active duty military service, so the burden is now on that branch of service (providing that injury/disease was *agrravated* and the Servicemember has the medical "Proof" to back up his/her claim for partial or full military retirement).
Now, many times the branch of service will simply discharge you with no benefits at all (if under 20 years of service). But by law, the Servicemember is to be given a full pre-discharge physical, and by law, the branch of service is mandated to retain the Servicemember on Active Duty until a full military medical proceeding is completed - if that issue(s) is/are determined to have occured or been aggravated while on military service. The soon-to-be-ETSing Servicemember can waive this medical proceeding, but the Servicemember stands to lose more than gain more by doing so.
It's WAY more complicated than this as I just went through this nut roll of a military disability thing for actual war-time related injuries (not pre-existing), and had my 20 in already. But that's the gist of it for this specific situation.
The VA has it's own rules on this. The military has their rules, the VA has their rules, and Social Security has their own rules - and all are a bit different - and none of them will add up together in a straight line.
And each agency has lawyers out there who specialize in these areas of law.
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If you want to know the specifics on rules of law and regulations that govern the VA, you can read 38 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations). If you get that far, let me know and I can put you in touch with a law school as you'll be ready for it by the time you digest all that. You'll make a damned good lawyer for us Vets out there when you graduate, too.
V/R,
nwlivewire
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Best Posts in Thread: Military Disability from Disease
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Some people might get it quickly, others might not. It probably depends on several factors like a) what branch of service you were in b) how long it's been since you got out c) what storage facility your documents are placed at d) if the person who archived your documents placed them in the right place e) have your documents been moved to start to move them over to an electronic copy/database f) if the VA rep that is handling your case knows wtf they are doing......etc. I'm sure there are lots of reasons why some people can get their benefits in a timely manner and others have to spend years fighting the system.
As for my experience with them: When I got out they were in the process of moving over to a medical digital record system (the hospitals on base had local digital records but the databases were not connected to a military wide system...some were already on the military-wide system, such as the hospitals/clinics in Iraq, but most were not).
When I initially filed, which I did while still in the military, I had to take my paper medical records to the VA rep in the out-processing building. After the VA rep did all the paperwork it took about 1 week for the VA to send me a letter saying I had to go to the VA hospital for a medical/physical/appointment. Luckily, I only lived 2 blocks from the VA hospital in Temple, TX (even living that close they reimbursed me for travel lol which came up to around $5 plus some change). I was approved for my disability rating a month or two later. However, after I moved all my stuff to my parents house in Indiana after ETSing (because I was getting ready to go to Afghanistan for a contract and didn't want to rent a storage facility) I received a letter saying I had to come in for another check-up to get (or continue to get?) my benefits. So I drove Louisville to do the check-up again. Did the exact same check-up I did in Texas and was reimbursed for travel ($40, I think, for a round trip 3+ hours of driving this time
). It took about 5-6 months before I finally get a check from the VA, including back-pay.
How would they know you had a pre-existing condition? The only way they would really know such a thing would be if you volunteered that information when you first joined and went through all the paperwork/physicals.......this was something my recruiters specifically told me not to do.....and specifically for the reason you are speaking of here. The only people who volunteered medical information to the military were the ones that really didn't want to join and were looking for a way out of it....or the ones that were intimidated by the threats from the military that if they found out they would send you to prison for not telling them (which my recruiters also told me they would try doing but was complete BS.....unless you had a serious medical condition that would keep you from serving, but even then they would likely just kick you out without pressing any charges).
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