Scott K Dow

Good eve, like to help my fellow comrades. I have well over a decade on this journey. This is long but read on, it just may help you. If you persevere, your odds definitely go up, at least that is my experience. What I can tell you is while we all think we are each "unique" and have a "special" situation, that is both true and false. The fact is that we are indeed all unique, have individual service and circumstances and disabilities, but the fact is also that we are all in this unfortunate situation proves we are just numbers to many sifting through paperwork. But cheer up, there is One who has overcome, and so shall we also! In short I separated for the second time, June 30, 2002. I thought I was doing everything "the right way" starting with trying a new "streamlined" pilot program to help veterans separating by beginning the paperwork 30 days prior to departing the service. What an abysmal failure that was! I lived in Vancouver, WA and checked with local VA in Portland, OR who told me due to living across river in Vancouver, could not file in Portland, even though that is where I was stationed, that I had to file in Seattle. Called Ft. Lewis and got info on new program. Drove up there and signed in. First thing they said was, "what the he#$ are you doing here? You can't file here, have to do it in Portland!" It went downhill badly from there. It turned out to be such a debacle I waited a couple months till I moved to Los Angeles for a new job and to apply at the VA there where I would be living. I did not think the problem could get worse, but the VARO in LA managed to debunk my theory, just like the VARO in state where I now am managed to trump those in LA with even more grief! So far so bad. Long story short, used American Legion to represent me in LA (big mistake). (I am member of DAV, AL and VFW and am not casting stones, just stating the facts). I quickly fired my AL rep who sat on my case and worked my own case with better results, going from 0% to 20% and later to 30%. Back then, attorneys could only represent you once you reached a certain level, at the NOD level I believe. In any case, I sent out feelers on the web for a half dozen attorneys, got a few replies and narrowed it to one, and I am thankful I did, that being with ABS Legal Advocates out of Lawrence, KS. The firm quickly took my already good record keeping and began dilligently and accurately documenting my case, keeping me informed along the way, etc. with no $ in hand just a 20% percentage of any award. It was by no means a quick or easy journey, and some times I was not sure if I was more frustrated at the VA, my attorney, myself, or just the system because it was taking so long, too long, in my opinion. The firm was patient with me even when I demanded more than my share of their patience. On more than one occasion the firm went to bat for me when the VA tried to throw me under the bus, saying I had missed a certain deadline, which was not true of course. However, if not for their meticulous record keeping I might have gotten hosed. The net result was that though the first years were very slow, from 2002-2006, I was upgraded I believe to like 50% or 60% around 2006, and I was compensated retroactively, thankfully, though %/amount that is still in dispute due to various errors on dates and conditions. I appealed my claim to the BVA and eventually went to the USCAVC and back twice and have two cases named in my honor. I am now at 80% compensable, lot more than 30% I was prior. The first case took about 18 months to resolve dated from 2007 and the second around 29 months dated from 2009, and the second case was sent from the BVA back to the Regional Office where it has languished since June 2012. The irony is that that the Judge told the VARO in his written opinion to expeditiously adjudicate my case and basically put me in cue where I should be, in other words, help resolve it in fair order and request C & P exams. At first I thought, wow that is great, help, finally. Do you think VARO listened? NO! I waited patiently 6 months for a call or letter for exams the Judge prescribed to be done, and did not hassle them at VARO at all, then finally in frustration, contacted my Senator and requested help. Remarkably, within weeks after that I was called by the local VA hospital for C & P exams and thankfully that part is all over now. That has been about 6 weeks and my claim is back to being a "cold case" file and here it is almost another year gone by. You would think they would want to get my case resolved after all these years? Again, I think I am unique and it should all happen on my calendar, but it does not work like that, no not at all. My best advice is, DO get help (attorney), DO be patient, DO NOT get in a hurry, resist the temptation to "do it on your own". This is not a DIY project, trust me, I now know! If you DIY it will take over your life, your time, and almost consume you, like it almost did for me. Having an attorney deal with it was liberating once I turned it all over to her. However, don't blow off your claim and miss any time before filing. Easy for me to say I know, but I have been there, done that, have the T shirt. The biggest mistake is appropriately naming the conditions I filed for which in retrospect I did not due but that is where the AL definitely did not assist me well. Use the Diagnostic Codes, which any attorney should know. I was unaware of this, thankfully this wonderful web site points this out. Don't list, I have back pain, or I have a headache, or my hand is swollen, or I feel stressed out, the VARO will just say sorry about that, pal, sucks to be you, but no eligibility for disability rating because you did not list the code correctly! You need to use those codes. That caused substantial delays because I had no idea that codes existed, was how the VA operated, etc. which again underscores why you really need an attorney. It is changing now, it seems, that the VA is trying to actually assist the veteran with his or her claim, at least I think so, but again my vote is for legal counsel. I hope this has been helpful to you, and remember like Winston Churchill said, "Never, ever, ever give up!" or something similar.