Award Letter

[Berta]

hours ago I irised VARO Buffalo to remind them I won 6 claims issues under Nehmer-I wanted to do this hopefully before the award letter came .

I just got the award letter in the mail-

They awarded me SC death but forgot to mention the money!!!!!

And they skillfully completely ignored that this is now a death directly due to AO.

I am calling up NVLSP- I am livid -

They also said they enclosed a pamphlet as to additional benefits I am entitled to but the pamphlet wasnt in the envelope.

And then they sent a separate statement that my CUEs are still on appeal-

but my award should render them moot and they still have to decide SMC.

They cannot do a single thing right- the BVA decision clearly states I an entitled to offset FTCA refund as well as other ancillary benefits- what a bunch of DOPES!

I will re send my Iris as a complaint and then maybe I will get respond from someone there who is literate

[Wings]

x

x

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Berta, Would the General Counsel assist you? Who is responsible for paying you; which VA Office has the authority, would that be the Finance Office in Austen, Texas? ~Wings

[Stretch]

Sometimes you get lucky and the new VSCM is better than the last one. It just takes a while for them to get up to speed when they first step into the job.

[luvHIM]

Berta, we all know that if anyone can get them straightened out...it is you...sorry for all the hassles they seem to still be putting you through. It will all be over soon.

Six figure retro is definitely worth the pursuit.

[Berta]

What gets me the most

(every single award letter I ever got since 1996 was wrong and I had to fight them but it didnt take long to correct them-to include Chap 35, CHAMPVA -every single one)

is that this claim was filed due to Agent Orange.

is that the BVA decision stated that Rod's AO exposure caused his misdiagnosed diabetes and also his death since it was never treated.

The VARO never mentioned this at all in the award. The reasons and bases does not account for the nexus to AO at all.That is an insult to my husband.

(and of course they never mention I proved the additional malpractice).

But they do grant direct SC death.

Wings- good idea- I am calling the regional counsel up here-instead of in DC because he is the one who awarded my CUE some years ago-a CUE claim both VARO and BVA denied and I didnt pursue to CAVC.

They sent this out so fast they did not realise they have to get a hold of him for the offset refund anyhow.

I love the lawyers who work for VA.They speak the same lanquage we do here- 38 CFR-

and understand it intimately-

unlike the VARO employees who do piss poor work and get paid wonderful GS level salaries.

This is exactly what many VAROs did a decade or more ago- they withheld Millions of dollars in retro that should have been paid to AO vets and widows

They must think we are so dumb we will allow them to get away with that again.

I will get this squared away

[free_spirit_etc]

Can they be that dumb on purpose?

I do believe they can be that dumb on purpose.

§ 3.54 Marriage dates. states:

A surviving spouse may qualify for pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation if the marriage to the veteran occurred before or during his or her service or, if married to him or her after his or her separation from service, before the applicable date stated in his section.

© Dependency and indemnity compensation. Dependency and indemnity compensation payable under 38 U.S.C. 1310(a) may be paid to the surviving spouse of a veteran who died on or after January 1, 1957, who was married to the veteran:

(1) Before the expiration of 15 years after the termination of the period of service in which the injury or disease causing the death of the veteran was incurred or aggravated, or

(2) For 1 year or more, or

(3) For any period of time if a child was born of the marriage, or was born to them before the marriage.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1304)

My husband retired from the Air Force in October 1998. (Served from 1970 - 1998) We were married April 2, 2006. That is CLEARLY within 15 years of his termination from the period of service in which the injury or disease was incurred.

My latest letter from the VA denies benefits because the law states you have to be married to the veteran for a year or more.

§ 3.54 is very clear. It is not hard to read. There are only 3 categories. Actually, being married within 15 years of the termination of service is the FIRST category. If you do NOT fall into THAT category, THEN you are only eligible if you are married for more than a year or have child with the veteran.

However, the VA was able to be "dumb on purpose" enough to IGNORE the FIRST category of entitlement for a widow, and make a determination that focused on the SECOND one.

This is not a matter of not looking hard enough to discover if I am eligible. They had to skip over the first category to read the second one.

And though I know they are often pressed for time, it seems like it would have taken LESS time to actually read all THREE sentences in § 3.54 (or even the FIRST sentence) than it took them to write a bogus denial letter based on bogus interpretations of the law.

Taking it one step further, the letter was actually a denial of the claim for HELPLESS CHILD benefits.

Though my son is is developmentally disabled, was disabled prior to the age of 18, and was LEGALLY ADOPTED by my husband - the VA determined he can not be entitled to helpless child benefits because *I* was not married to my husband for over a year before he died.

Yes, they can be that dumb on PURPOSE.

"....and for his widow, and his orphan"

Free

[Berta]

I am still reeling over their decision on my daughter's Chapter 35-

They awarded her one month of Chapter 35!!!!She is a veteran.

The dopes could not apparently read her application where it specifically asks for any military service period nor could they read her DD 214 attached to it.

I prepared her NOD and worded it very tough-and I attached the exact Chapter 35 regs they were too dumb to read.Actually they were same regs they had attached to the one month award letter-

Three weeks later she got the proper Chap 35 award -7 more years of

educational benefits due to 7 years of military service- I wonder how many times they got away with crap like that when a veteran is also eligible under deceased veteran's record for Chapter 35.

Only my accrued award letter of 1996 seemed to be proper -but now they have to send me one more year of accrued under Nehmer- I sure am glad I saved everything from them.

These errors are either deliberate, or these raters are under such extreme pressure that they cannot possibly make proper awards-

as you all know many more VARO employees are dropping dimes on them these days-as to their working conditions-

and the VA some time ago hired newbys to help reduce the backlog-which is worse than ever-

A few training sessions mean nothing when it comes to VA case law- it takes years of experience to learn all this stuff and no one knows it all-not even the veteran's lawyers