Arkansas congressman's staff helps man break VA gridlock on disability claim

WASHINGTON -- When you're trying to get help from the federal government and you're hitting a brick wall, Shannon Teague says, it helps to have a congressman in your corner.

The Searcy resident discovered the difference a Capitol Hill ally can make after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs lost track of his application for disability benefits.

Teague was injured while on duty. Eventually, he lost his civilian job because of his disability.

He turned to the VA for help and started the paperwork process.

"It took us several months to get everything together. We had gotten over 4,000 pages of documentation from every doctor he'd been to, every diagnosis," Teague's wife, Shelly Teague, recalled.

He submitted his claim in August.

In December, after months of waiting, the VA ruled on one of Teague's five claims but didn't address the other four.

The Teagues called the VA seeking answers, but they said they came up empty.

Eventually, they learned that the paperwork had been misplaced. They said they were told to resubmit it.

"Every time we called the 1-800 number, it was a different story," Shelly Teague said. "They kept saying they would hurry the process, hurry the process. Well, nothing ever got done and it just sat on the back burner."

"We were actually on the verge of losing our home and our car and getting our water and gas shut off," the veteran recalled.

"The bank was fixing to come and repossess my car," Shelly Teague said. "It was such a horrible struggle."

On April 19, they posted a request for help on U.S. Rep. French Hill's website.

Fifteen minutes later, they'd received a response from David Carnahan, a disabled veteran who serves on the Little Rock Republican's staff.

After Carnahan got involved, Teague said, his claim quickly moved to the front burner.

On April 25, the VA classified Teague as 60 percent disabled.

On May 8, after Carnahan called the VA again, Teague was finally told he would be receiving a check for $8,607.85 in back pay, plus disability payments moving forward.

"It was a quick turnaround," Shelly Teague said.

He's now receiving $1,300 each month.

In a written statement, VA spokesman Jessica Jacobsen said the agency had been at fault.

"VA strives to provide Veterans with the benefits they have earned in the most timely fashion possible. When that doesn't happen, we accept responsibility and fix the problem as soon as we can, which is precisely what happened here," she said.

Carnahan said he was glad to help resolve the problem.

"This is what we do. Every day. Day in and day out," he said.

Hill said he was pleased to be of service.

"We are proud to do it and honored to do it," he said. "I believe our veterans are the best citizens that we have. ... They're due prompt and careful and expeditious attention to their requests."

Carnahan, who served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps and 14 years in the U.S. Army, is one of three vets on Hill's staff who work on constituent services.

"Richard [Maxwell] and Tom [McNabb] are both combat-wounded veterans. Tom was a combat medic. Richard's got a Purple Heart," he said.

"We've all had our fair share of times fighting the VA, and it gives us a unique perspective on what other veterans are going through and how they have to struggle ... to get what they deserve," he said.

Working for Hill, he said, "puts us in a position to hold them accountable and make them do their job."

Shannon Teague recently was back at the VA center in Searcy, getting help. He's collecting more documentation.

And he's appealing for the disability rating to be raised, arguing that his injuries are greater than the VA has acknowledged.

"It's just a long battle," he said. "We're going to fight and fight and fight until we get where we deserve."

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