hearing loss National Guard Reserve Jump Heart Attack - About To File

[SonOfVet]

My dad had a heart attack at an "exhibition jump" with the National Guard Reserve; to which family were invited, and a picnic was held.  He had been told about two years ago he was ineligible for disability compensation due to his reserve status, so he didn't apply.  Now, a person at DAV thinks he is, and has helped us with a Fully Developed Claim application.  It seemed that the DAV person expected us to send in his work unread without going over it, but I strongly advised against it, after having read posts here.  My mother then advocated delaying filing until more research could be done.  Now, we have been advised by a DAV person it will be better for our application if it were filed within a week; and it has been about two weeks since our intent to file was filed.

The circumstances of his injury are this: My dad was at this "exhibition jump," but the jump was into a river.  He claims that water jumps were necessary for paratrooper training; and it was his first.  I take it this is inactive duty, although I take it this does mean he was active at the event.  He relates that when he hit the water, there was a significant undertow taking him off course, and he was exhausted trying to reel the parachute in.  A boat engaged for the jump eventually picked him up.  We didn't know when to expect him to join us at the picnic, so we waited a while, and then got some food and sat down at a table.  He joined us shortly; but when he sat down, he didn't have food, and he complained of a sensation like a huge pressure on his chest.  A doctor happened to be nearby, and affirmed that he thought it might be a heart attack, as I was suspecting.  A helicopter carried him to a military hospital as per regulations, even though they had no cardiologist on staff.  I could see that his EKG was very erratic.  They could offer no treatment, other than an EKG and a saline drip.  After he stabilized somewhat, they moved him to a city hospital where he received clotbusting drugs.

Over a decade after that attack, he complained of pain in his chest while jogging.  We urged him to go to a doctor.  He was admitted to the city hospital, and ultimately received a dual coronary artery bypass graft as well as a pacemaker.  After one of these two cardiac events, a doctor estimated he had a 50% loss of heart muscle due to ischemia (cell death due to oxygen starvation).  It is now more than a decade since this second event.

After his initial heart attack, he quit the Guard Reserve, out of concern for his heart.  Some time before the second event, the open heart surgery, he reduced his civilian employment to part-time; but he did so at age 65, and doesn't feel he his heart attack was involved in this decreased employment.  That being said, doctors who have read his EKG's all indicate them as abnormal, again, we remember being told of substantial heart muscle damage.

I have a number of questions raised by this process:

1. First and foremost, what moves can we make to file a stronger application?  This site has reams of information, but I am trying to do other things in my life after helping him with his application process for some time.  It is hard for me to have the time to do homework.  He was under the mistaken impression that this site had mostly posts from one person, and hasn't utilized the forum for the first of the two weeks I imagined he would do research here.
2. We seem to be OK on the nexus part; as we have a notarized statement from his jump safety official, myself and his wife; but it is unclear as to just how related his heart surgery years later is.  What's the best way to approach this question?  It seems likely to be related, IMHO.
3. Do you believe that delaying his application by much more than another week will hurt his application?  We supposedly have a year since filing an intent to file.  It has been about two weeks since filing an intent to file.
4. Should he have an examination for employability? We do know that he had curtailed his employment on heart concerns.  Should this be a VA person?  Should it be a private doctor, and if so, what kind?  What form might we file regarding this?  I realize this would be a separate examination from his formal VA examination.
5. Where do I find out what criteria they use to determine percentage disability in cases of cardiac arrest as a duty-related injury?
6. We have a friend whom the same DAV employee helped, and they were able to collect back disability resulting in a substantial lump sum.  He and mom have had a lean time of it, and their savings has shrunk.  One of the forms the VA sent us explains how intent to file protects us as to the start of disability, for a year.  Do we need to do anything special to ask for back disability?
7. I've read here that hearing loss can be a factor in disability.  He has substantial hearing loss at some frequencies in one ear according to a test, which he attributes to firing rifles.  He has difficulty understanding some things that seem to be clearly said, even repeatedly; where other times he seems to hear fine.  He can't document exactly when it happened.
8. His back was damaged by a trailer hitch while in the service, but he doesn't have documentation for that either.  Should this factor into our claim?

TIA for any and all help you guys would care to pass along.

Edited April 22, 2017 by SonOfVet

[Carl the Engineer]

I'm confused.  Was he on duty when he jumped?, i.e., a weekend drill or annual training, etc.  The easiest way to determine this is, was he paid for that day.  As a reservist you get paid for drills and annual training.  There are many times and ways a reservist can be put on orders.

Reservists get VA benefits awarded diferently.  An active duty soldier can get into a car accident at any time, even while on leave and it is concidered on duty and the VA excepts that.  However, a reservist gets in a accident off duty, well nothing for him or here.  That is just the way it is.

So, he would have to be getting paid, again, on orders or at drill.  Annual Training you are on orders.

Then, if he was hurt on orders or at drill, there would or should have been a LOD (Line of Duty) done.  I submitted my LOD with my claim for my shoulder and that worked great.

As far as his back and the trailer hitch, a Soldier can use buddy statements to help prove that it happened.  And those statements have to jive with him being on orders, etc.

A couple more questions?, was he ever on active duty besides basic and AIT?, and how many years did he have in the reserves?  The reason I ask is because a Solder can get a medical discharge after 15 years in the reserves with modified compensation.  They don't put that out there, you have to ask.  Kind of like the VA.

BTW, I was in the reserves (National Guard) for 27-1/2 years, with 12 of that AGR (Active Guard and Reserve).  I did deploy and am a combat Veteran and get some VA comp from that time, however, most of my VA comp comes from my Guard time.  All have LOD's and medical treatment records.

If your father has no or little income, there is always the Veterans pension.

Hope this helps,

Hamslice

 

[SonOfVet]

My dad confirms: Yes, it was a weekend drill.  He was indeed paid for that day.  He says he never noticed an LOD.  He says he does have military treatment records - including from an army hospital where he was having the heart attack.

Concerning the trailer hitch: He says he has no idea where to contact his buddies from back then.  He answers that he was on active other than basic and AIT.  He gives dates, but I am attempting to protect his privacy somewhat.  He says his discharge was honorable, but due to medical reasons.