The VA or a VA contractor will reach out to you directly with a prescheduled date and time for your Comp & Pen appointment*.* You will receive your appointment date and time in the mail or someone will contact you with the scheduled date and time of your exams. Please note that we do not receive notice of when these exams are scheduled. If you need transportation to your appointment, please reach out to us as SOON as your appointment is scheduled.
IMPORTANT: You must attend these Comp & Pen Exams to pursue your claims and receive an accurate rating for your condition. If you cannot attend the exam on the prescheduled date, you must reach out to the VA contractor directly to reschedule your appointment. As your representative, we cannot assist with arranging, rescheduling, or canceling any Comp & Pen appointments. This MUST be done by the veteran and the facility directly.
Your exam will be scheduled by one of the following contracted facilities, so keep an eye out in the mail and expect to receive a phone call from one of the following facilities to inform you of your scheduled exam date, time, and location:
If you need transportation to your appointment, please reach out to us as SOON as your appointment is scheduled. Please note that we do not receive notice of when these exams are scheduled. You will receive your appointment date and time in the mail or someone will contact you with the scheduled date and time of your exams.
<aside> 💡 Comp & Pen Exam Resources
</aside>
Once your Comp & Pen Exam is scheduled, you should plan to arrive a few minutes early. The advice we offer clients differs depending on the specific claims and goals, but generally here's what we recommend:
1. Talk about how your condition is related to service - we will help you with this part before your exam, and we put together a statement with you to provide the VA with our position as to how your condition is related to your service, but the examiner may ask you questions about your time in service, other conditions your current claim may be related to, and your overall medical history.
2. Bring a copy of your statement - the examiner will have access to all evidence we have submitted to support your case, but you should bring a copy of your statement to refer to remain consistent with the evidence in your file or correct something if necessary.
3. Don't Guess - if you're not sure how to answer a question or you don't understand what the examiner is asking, don't guess the answer. Always ask them to clarify the question so you fully understand what is being asked. If you're not sure, it's okay to tell them you don't know!
4. Discuss Your Symptoms - the examiner will talk to you about your current symptoms. It's important that you don't sugar coat anything or try to down play your symptoms to the examiner. It can be difficult to admit if you're struggling, but minimizing your symptoms will make it extremely difficult for the VA to assign the correct rating evaluation based on the examiner's report.
5. Discuss Your Pain Level - some exams for orthopedic claims may involve the examiner asking you to bend or extend your joints. Make sure you tell the examiner AS SOON AS you begin to experience pain. This is EXTREMELY important when it comes to your rating, because the VA should consider where you start to experience pain as part of your "functional loss" - a factor that plays a large role in determining your rating evaluation.
6. Disclose any Medications - If you are prescribed any medications for your condition, be sure to tell the examiner the name and dosage of each medication and how often you take each. This is extremely important, because medication may mask some of your symptoms, or the use of medications may be used to evaluate the severity of your condition and how much it impacts your ability to work.
Please visit this link for more information on what to expect at your Comp & Pen Exam.
After your exam is complete, be sure to complete a Post Comp & Pen Exam Exit Survey as soon as possible to memorialize your experience. This can be EXTREMELY important if the report is inaccurate for any reason, and it helps to put together a statement right away while everything is fresh in your mind. Just like your initial statement we helped you put together, we will take your responses and put together a statement for you to esign so we can use this as evidence if we need to appeal in the future.
Click here to complete the Post Comp & Pen Exit Survey when you leave your exam.
Once all of your Comp & Pen Exams have been completed, the results will be uploaded to your file and the VA will review the evidence and issue a decision. This may take a few weeks to a few months to complete, depending on the complexity of your case.