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Is it worth fighthing?

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Jerrell

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I had wrote a very long post previously but it did not send. To summarize I am a dependent and the son of two veterans my mother who is a disabled Veteran and my father who is a Veteran that had finished honorably. When I was 14 my father was diagnosed with kidney failure do to high blood pressure, and it quickly progressed to end stage kidney disease. I took care of my father the best I could given the circumstances He got a bit of disability  and was put on government healthcare I was in charge for all his health related care and taking care of him which I did so I got some benefits from my mothers disability as a dependent   which helped us scrape by throughout the years over and over again the insurance would request that he applied for VA health care because of his status income and inability to work originally he was told that he did not qualify when we went up to the office because he did not have a preexisting condition while enlisted we stated that he developed high blood pressure during which was the cause of his kidney failure now. He was even hospitalized when it was discovered despite this the man stated he did not qualify no matter how many times we told the insurance this they would stop his medical and state that he had to apply over and over again we took the form to the office throughout the years which they just pulled up the file from before we told them they said they had to sign something stating he didn't qualify this went on for a long time. When I turned 18 i decided to go to school via my education benefits on my mothers side. Everything was fine until my fathers health took another turn for the worst he was diagnosed with type two diabetes do to his home dialysis machine malfunctioning and pumping more of the l liquid that was highly glucose based into his body only draining half before pumping again while he slept. We found out the nurses were aware of this problem and even told the company but they did nothing. This was until people started to complain. I had to stop school to take care of him now that his health had gotten worst and  the company not returning my calls and said they would not talk to us without an attorney. I had told both the school and the local VA office that I had to stop going the VA office told me I had to feel out a form and due to the fact that it was an emergency I would not be charged because of my failure to complete and or attend classes I filled out the form that same day they sent it to my local regional office and I focused all my time taking care of him and trying to get a pro Bono lawyer to handle the case. I had contacted every single pro Bono and non profit lawyer in Arizona  none of them wanted to take on the case despite us having proof from a log we kept from the machine backing up our claims. I tried this up until my father got a transplant in 2015 in the mean time I started to receive letters from the VA stating that I owed them because I did not attend the classes and or failed. I contacted the VA who told me that had no such file I contacted the school who told me they did not work for the VA although they were a VA office and said that they sent it. I contacted the VA every chance I got while dealing with my fathers issues and his insurance constantly screwing things up. Until I got a letter stating if I did not repay or get on a payment plan I would be noted as an unpaid debt sent off into collections and I would lose all future educational benefits in the future. I tried again and again to get this resolved until I finally got to someone who knew who to send me to. They transferred me to some guy who I told him what had happened at first he told me I had to either get on a payment plan or lose my benefits at this point i was upset and I am a pretty calm guy. He than reluctantly said if I got a note from my fathers doctor and or his head dialysis nurse about his condition he would put it in the system and it would be as good as solved. He gave me a fax and said I had 7 days I got the letter from both within 3 and faxed it to him several times. I had contacted him afterwards letting him know that I had faxed it but didn't get a reply  but having dealt with the via for so long in this case wasn't that strange I was told after I had sent him the letter to look out for something in the mail. He was also meant to email me a few weeks past and I no longer got any lettings from the VA about the bills but I started getting some from the school I told them the situation and they said they would contact the VA and get back to me never happened. I ended up getting one final letter stating that I failed to make a payment and my education benefits would be halted and the bill would be sent to collections this made me so angry not just the VA the system itself insurance and all I called the VA knowing very well it was to late simply to vent my frustrations of course there was nothing that could be done and I was told there was nothing they could do I took what my dad told me and the fact that there was nothing that could be done right now. He was positive and regretted me having to take care of him which I love my father for he stood tall no matter what happened. Moving on and not being able to get any lawyer because they figured despite what we had it wouldn't be worth fighting a giant medical firm pro bono and most who were interested didn't even read my inquiry and assumed it was concerning a recall for the same device and not a new malfunction. 

The nurses who knew about this told my father when he was reporting issues previously before getting diagnosed they were aware but the company would not allow the techs to alter it they even knew how to fix it. But they didn't say it was dangerous eventually my father had to be taken via ambulance to the hospital and they told him his blood sugar was almost at lethal rates this was the only time my father had gotten upset about a medical problem only because he had no control over this one and he knew it could have been prevented and that lasted for one day and he went back to accepting it. I continued looking for lawyers up until he got his transplant at the end of 2015 thanks to a great doctor on the transplant bored of mayo clinic who heard from a social worker about my father. He was put on the transplant list right away and at the top because of the length of time he was on the list. This was the best news in years aside from the insurance once again messing up as he was doing to testing that was required before than. It is only because of the great people on the mayo clinic transplant team that talked to the insurance to fix the problems we couldn't that it got approved of course they also requested that we go back to the VA again and once again they said he did not qualify. We got him approved for the transplant and despite some other hiccups with the insurance refusing to cover his crazy high kidney medication which he needed so his body wouldn't reject it. Once again thank you mayo clinic for footing that bill. He got the transplant and as soon as he could work he did Me and my brothers and sisters who were in California put what we had together  to get my father a car which he used to start work. He is still disabled but is doing much better. 

Today was the first day I could get time to request info about getting my educational benefits back I had talked to someone about getting it back and along the line my father being a Veteran popped up and she asked if I got my benefits from him I stated no he did not have any benefits which we talked for a bit I stated that we had his dd214 with honorable discharge and he didn't qualify for any medical because he didn't have any preexisting conditions while he was in which I told her that I told them about the high blood pressure the cause of his kidneys shutting down and how he even got cancer on his kidneys. She mentioned that he should of been entitled if not they should have looked into it because of the high blood pressure instead the guy took the form signed it for the insurance marked are reason for visit in the system and said he got nothing. 

This made me think I am not after anything and I wont fight it if he wasn't entitled I will fight for my education given the circumstances but I would be so upset to think that he could of had VA medical or other benefits this whole time but was told no over and over again. Like I said personally I dont know but I wanted the opinion of others on the subject on what I should do I dont even care that my credit got ruined because of the VA and the school thing having my father healthy after beating so many things I am proud of my father regardless but the only reason I am fighting for my education is because my father told me that I should. 

 

Sorry, for the long read for anyone that managed to read all that I has not planned on it being that long but this was my first chance to vent having my father recover enough to do things on his own up until recently. I know there are tons of stories about falling through the system and injustice so on and so on my real question is should i fight for any possible benefits for my father. I dont want to go through another long battle if the lady was wrong and the people at the local office was right. But having filed to get a lawyer and not being able to help my father aside from taking care of him. I now have to fight Arizona and request my certificate of birth Abroad so Arizona will recognize me as a us citizen because of a immigration law that was passed and being born overseas in England because of a military family and despite having duel citizenship I am getting a bit tired of falling through the cracks and want my father to get what he deserves if he does deserve it. I had talked to my father recently and we do know that he qualify for a home loan from the VA potentially we need to provide some kind of point sheet requirement. If i have to request that stuff for him I might as well do the same for any possible benefits. 

Will the VA fight us on this despite him being hospitalized with high blood pressure while in service and tested before joining?

If so and you think we wont win I dont want to drag my father through another battle for a slim chance he is working and rebuilding his credit to try and get a home regardless so he is fine but he said he doesn't know what the VA would do. 


Thanks for any and all feedback like i said this is mainly an inquire for if I Should fight for anything he should of have. 

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  • HadIt.com Elder

Sure its worth fighting for  you love your father..so fight to your last breath.

I Would think you need to finds a good VA Attorney    someone like Dr Bash team  with Attorney John Dorle.

 As for as the school tuition I'm not so sure?  but it sounds like your father could get some compensation for his condition   especially if he is a Vietnam Vet?

Does he have a claim in appeals?

Other members can chime in here  I am not that familiar with what you have mention.

Ms Berta can sure give you some great Advice..she be on tomorrow Morning.

good Luck

.....................Buck

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Well I have been talking to some people and someone screwed up somewhere.Because he had a honorable discharge and because of his income he should of gotten medical help He also had a preexisting condition from the military but they didn't look any of that up. I have managed to pull his medical records and have been very busy Since posting this. 

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“ was fine until my fathers health took another turn for the worst he was diagnosed with type two diabetes do to his home dialysis machine malfunctioning and pumping more of the l liquid that was highly glucose based into his body only draining half before pumping again while he slept. We found out the nurses were aware of this problem .”

Was he being treated by the VA for the DMII at this time?

If so does he have any additional disability due to this problem?

Do you have ALL of his medical records from the VA.

 

As Buck asked is he an incountry Vietnam Veteran? If not when and where else did he serve?

 

“in the mean time I started to receive letters from the VA stating that I owed them because I did not attend the classes and or failed. I contacted the VA who told me that had no such file I contacted the school who told me they did not work for the VA although they were a VA office and said that they sent it

I assume you were getting Chapter 35 educational benefits due to your mother’s service compensation….?

I am a Chapter 35er and this does not make sense to me....because they would only reimburse me for tuition, after I had completed probably 4-6 weeks of every course and maintained my grades.

Can you scan and attach here their last letter from VA Educational Department.(Cover C file # etc prior to scanning it) I also am aware that VA EDU can be an oxymoron, They do make mistakes.

“Will the VA fight us on this despite him being hospitalized with high blood pressure while in service and tested before joining?

He was accepted to service in good health and even if they knew of a pre existing condition, that is no reason not to fight for him.

But can you clarify what you are fighting for, in regards to his health?

Has he had past VA claims that were denied or is he going to file his initial VA claim for disability?

Or as Buck asked does he have a claim pending now and if so what is it for?

In addition to his Medical records do you have his complete SMRS and 201 file from the Military?

Then again:

"If so and you think we wont win I dont want to drag my father through another battle for a slim chance he is working and rebuilding his credit to try and get a home regardless so he is fine but he said he doesn't know what the VA would do. "

A "win" as you called it ,is based on medical evidence and any ratable disabilities  he has now that are directly or presumptively due to his service.

There are many lawyers out there and there is a searchable list here too, who are exclusively interested in VA claims issues.

Many many years ago, before lawyers were allowed to advertise their specialties, I could not find any lawyer here in NY to help me with a FTCA malpractice case against the VA. They were all very negative to me and didnt even have anyone else to refer me to , so I handled that issued myself, Pro Se.

These days the internet has made it easy to find lawyers who deal with VA claims, VA malpractice issues, and probably with Chapter 35 issues as well.

We have a few vet lawyers as members here...Chris Attig, Bob Walsh, forget who else

John Dorle is not a lawyer but is an outstanding VA claims agent, representing veterans and/or their dependents in multiple issues.

If you can define what issues you feel your father should be compensated for and also can attach the Chapter 35 letter here that would help us understand more what you need to do.

Chapter 35 decisions always have appeal rights. Did you file a NOD (Notice of Disagreement) in time?
 

 

 

 

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There may be no need to scan the VA overpayment letter,unless you formally filed a NOD and request of waiver for overpayment with 180 days of receipt of that letter.

Overpayment waivers are not easy to get. This BVA link shows what they involve.

http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/view.jsp?FV=http://www.va.gov/vetapp09/Files2/0916240.txt

"A request for waiver of indebtedness must be made within 180

days following the date of notice of the indebtedness issue

by VA to the debtor.  38 C.F.R. § 1.962(b)(2)."

You said:

"Well I have been talking to some people and someone screwed up somewhere.Because he had a honorable discharge and because of his income he should of gotten medical help He also had a preexisting condition from the military but they didn't look any of that up "

I hope you mean you have acquired a veteran representative or VSO (or veteran's lawyer to help with the waiver ),if there is still time, and also to help with your father's potential claim for service connection.

 

There are very few Chapter decisions to students on overpayments at the BVA web site.

There are Many hundreds of decisions regarding overpayments to  disabled veterans,in the dependency amount, after their child became a Chapter 35 student.

 

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  • HadIt.com Elder

''I stand corrected''  I always thought John Dorle was a VA Attorney....and worked with Dr Bash on the legal parts.

He is just as good in my opinion.

Also Member ''Asknod'' is now officially  certified to help veterans.

I would recommend you get all his Medical records and STR's together and  hire a good VA Attorney.

you should request your father C-FILE if you have'nt yet? &  All  Records from NRPC in St Louis,Mo.

 

 Btw=I was going to school back in 1976/77 Using VA Educational allowances ...I was almost finished up and into  last semester with a GPA OF 3.5 & made the Dean's list.

 I got a letter from the school and the classes I was taking was not accredited with the VA  Meaning the VA would not pay.

so I withdrew from those classes and I got a letter from the VA Wanting me to pay back about 2000 $$ of the grant I used for that particular semester....My argument was   when I pre registered  then why was I approved & granted the $$ for those particular classes?...They excused the payback payment.

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WOW -good for you Buck on that back payment stuff!

yes, John Dorle and MANY MANY here know what the vet lawyers know, 38 USC and 38 CFR.

And no one knows it all. And never think your private lawyer ,who might have handled your real estate purchase or a will or something,has a clue on VA benefits unless they themselves are a disabled vet with personal experience with the VA claims process ...and even so, their knowledge will be limited. It isnt their field of expertise.

A friend of mine (Vietnam vet) who is also a lawyer asked me to help him with his claim years ago.

It was very difficult to do that.He did not know what evidence he needed because he didnt have any idea of the VA claims process and this was prior to the VCAA regulations. When he realized we have No Discovery Rights , as in civil court, and just how arbitrary the VA can be, he did succeed in his claim.

I love vet lawyers. They live for Evidence!They can do great things to move a claim along to a proper resolve.

What they can't do is prove a service nexus if it is severely lacking. And they cannot perform miracles.

And often in many cases, they will want the claimant to obtain an IMO/IME as the only way to get the claim hopefully awarded.

 

 

 

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