hypertension I Am Sooooooooo Angry

[wjack12412]

My Dad just received his Brown Envelope and he was DENIED FOR EVERYTHING. He has Asbestiosis, Sleep Apnea, Pulmonary Hypertension and Cluster Headaches. He was told that the Asbestos was caused by his job that he did when after he got out the Navy. He was told by his job when he filed a Worksmans Comp claim that his Asbestos was caused by the Navy. Tomorrow I will be going to his house to see the letter to begin doing an immediate Notice of Disagreement. We will be sending in the letter from the previous doctor's saying he got it from the Navy. The pulmonary hypertension and sleep apnea is secondary to his asbestos so I think. He said he began getting cluster headaches when he was in Vietnam on the ships and them shooting the guns causing him sever headaches. I will be getting a buddy statement to tell about how they would shoot the guns and it would cause hiim great distress. Any other assistance to help my Dad will be anticipated, because as some of you Vietnam Vets know they find ways to screw you. Here I am 100% and he damn near can't breath and they tell him NO. I WILL FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT.

[68mustang]

My Dad just received his Brown Envelope and he was DENIED FOR EVERYTHING. He has Asbestiosis, Sleep Apnea, Pulmonary Hypertension and Cluster Headaches. He was told that the Asbestos was caused by his job that he did when after he got out the Navy. He was told by his job when he filed a Worksmans Comp claim that his Asbestos was caused by the Navy. Tomorrow I will be going to his house to see the letter to begin doing an immediate Notice of Disagreement. We will be sending in the letter from the previous doctor's saying he got it from the Navy. The pulmonary hypertension and sleep apnea is secondary to his asbestos so I think. He said he began getting cluster headaches when he was in Vietnam on the ships and them shooting the guns causing him sever headaches. I will be getting a buddy statement to tell about how they would shoot the guns and it would cause hiim great distress. Any other assistance to help my Dad will be anticipated, because as some of you Vietnam Vets know they find ways to screw you. Here I am 100% and he damn near can't breath and they tell him NO. I WILL FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT.

Try to get a few buddy statements. It might take some time, but if your dad remembers his fellow shipmates' names and where they were from try to located them. It took me many phone calls and I finally located 2 fellow shipmates who provided buddy statements. Their statements were part of what helped me win my VA claim for hearing loss and tinnitus. They stated the working conditions we worked in and that we were not issue any protection against the enviornmental hazards we were exposed to. If your Dad's ship was an old WWII type there was probably dust from the pipe insulation every time the guns were fired. His service record should have copies of his Navy job performance reviews and copies of his Navy work history, which specify what Navy jobs he did. You might make a list of the jobs your Dad did before and after enlistment.

68mustang

I agree with Berta

[allan]

Hello WJack,

the VARO rating specialists tend to set aside favorable evidence and focus primarily on "any" kind of negative evidence.

They claim pushing a car out of some mud or walking in snow(post service)caused more spinal problems than the "Blunt Chest Trauma" or artillery trauma I experienced at age 19.

I have no doubt they'll deny my asbestos claim as well, but i'm going to file it anyway.

Lacking a certified photo of asbestos from the ship entering my mouth or nose, signed by an officer in my SMR's, it may be difficult to convince VARO raters of exposure during service.

Toxic exposure some how must have been controlled and made safe on every US Naval vessel and piece of land, everywhere on the planet except the soil of Vietnam.

WoW! Almost to good to believe. According to the DVA and our government, life was so good on these ships, enlistees were lucky to get paid.

I'm surprized the rater didn't say, since your father had no boots on the ground in Vietnam, he couldn't have been exposed to asbestos.

I suppose the AO, jet fuel, diesel and bunker crude that was sucked up the ships intake, ran through the evaps and ran through your fathers body on a daily bases, has no effect on him either?

It wasn't long ago I had an SO explain why my claim wasn't going anywhere.

"You didn't do anything during your service, you were in the Navy".

"Your not a Vietnam Vet and there is no boots on the ground."

There is more to it than getting favorable evidence properly weighed, working agaisnt veterans.

[wjack12412]

On asbestos claims- I highly recommend that the vet spell out their actual shipboard MOS-the DD 214 might not reflect what they did to expose them to asbestos-

Did the VA send his claim through the VA PIES co- ordinator?

Seems to me they sure took the easy way out-

Has he considered getting into any of the asbestos class action lawsuits?

Also- was he refused Workman's Comp due to that statement by the employer? Do you have documentation of that?

This most surely will take a good medical opinion from a real doctor-

was he actually exposed to asbestos at all post-service?

Definitely fight this!

Spent the day at mt Dad and we found his Workman's Comp disapproval letter stating that his asbestos came from being below deck on Navy Vessels for 10 years. We have a buddy that is willing to write a statement as to where my Dad spent most of his time below deck in the boiler rooms. He is feeling better today and ready to fight, fight, fight. I will post what they wrote about his asbestos tomorrow a little tired from such a hard day.

[68mustang]

Spent the day at mt Dad and we found his Workman's Comp disapproval letter stating that his asbestos came from being below deck on Navy Vessels for 10 years. We have a buddy that is willing to write a statement as to where my Dad spent most of his time below deck in the boiler rooms. He is feeling better today and ready to fight, fight, fight. I will post what they wrote about his asbestos tomorrow a little tired from such a hard day.

wjack12412

I have been keeping up with your posts, because I too was exposed to asbetsos while serving on an old Tin Can. I worked in the boileroom while underway and at port. Also worked there when the ship went to drydock at Charlestown, Mass. We worked alongside the drydock workers when removing and installing asbestos from the boilers.

I have been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, but it has not turned to asbestosis. So far I have been lucky.

Please keep us posted on what you come up against while you pursue your Dad's claim.

68mustang

[cowgirl]

This may be a shot in the dark, but in thoughts of finding your dads buddies or shipmates, you may see if there are any promotion or travel orders he has. Often times there are many names on one list and those are usually at 'unit' level. Also there are free post areas in the back of veteran magazines, DAV and VFW are a few that come to mind. Thats thinking that many WWII vets may not use teh computer to search out one another. Just a few thoughts. Bless you and your dad! cg