Perfected Ftca

[sweeper68]

I filed a letter of complaint to BVAMC after suffering a heart attack and residual damage due to their (BVAMC) not addressing the diagnosis and complaint (non treament of a known condition for 3 years ). Instead of filing a complaint claiming an amount certain the VSO told me I could write a letter of complaint to the hospital but not to enter an amount for damages ! Of course they never replied to my letter.And I filed an 1151 within the 2years of my heart attack. It was denied after 4 years in the merry go round called adjudication. But strangely enough they awarded a 100% rating for heart shortly after learning where I was going with my complaint.. I did not even submit a claim for the heart ! anyway I filed an sf 95 (registered mail )shortly afterward and it got lost after waiting for a reply for 2 years and was told to submit a new one !! Yes! the ride is just beginning! I submitted a new claim( copy of original ) ,this time time they admitted reciept of the claim.I know the FTCA law stating you must notify the offending agency for a claim to be valid, so the question IS. do I stand on solid ground as far as procedure goes? My POA is the American Legion and my opinion of them is lower than a snakes belly ! Anyone with knowledge that could assist me would appreciated.. Sweeper 68 Vietnam Vet 67-68 Central Highlands

[sweeper68]

Hello again Berta, I thought I would give an update on my FTCA claim.. Spoke to my assigned atty. at VAOIG and she said it was still under investigation by a hospital outside of their VISN for a IMO. And a PEER review would be NOT be done. Is that SOP for this? And when the IMO was complete I would not and could not recieve the results ! I mentioned even if I asked for it under FOIA, she said it was still privileged! What CFR will show that this is indeed the case? And where can one obtain a online training manual for the handling of FTCA claims ? On the IHD and Agent Orange presumptive issue. I filed a claim for it on the advice of my county SO in Dec. and go for a C&P next month! WOW! It seems they want to resolve these claims bullet quick.. For the good of vets or not remains to be seen. No luck on a FTCA atty. so far. but I have a good friend who is a regular Joe type lawyer and he is guiding me as much as his expertise in this will allow. Thanks for you advice and concern.Berta.. Sweeper

[Berta]

I posted some links and resources here in this forum for some FTCA info.

I got the FTCA medical info AFTER I settled.

There might possibly be a Peer report generated by this independent 'investigation'.

I found my Peer report when I re opened and although they told me it did not exist-it was right at the bottom of my C file.

Both the regional counsel (who wanted to settle with me within months due to this report and my evidence) as well as the Doctor- assured me the report had been prepared but they both retired.

I think I have posted all the info I know of on FTCA and also the offset criteria in this forum.

Although the VA is very adversarial on these claims- it is solely the medical evidence (and Persistence) that awards any FTCA matter.

Once they sign off and they settle -they become as sweet as they can be.(I learned there are reasons for that-they dont want us to dig any further- but I did.)

If you have someone who is willing to read the intricate FTCA regulations-that is great.

All I had when I FTCAed them was the Veterans Benefits Manual for the years involving my case (from NVLSP) and I made many trips to law libraries ((there was no internet then like we have now)

I studied cardiology and neurology to get up to the level of any cardio doc they could find-I never even thought of getting an IMO.

It is difficult to go one to one with the VA attorneys and their docs as a non attorney.

I advise anyone with FTCA potential to get an IMO right off the bat to see if malpractice really happened (the paper trail will be IN the Medical Records)

and then if the IMO fully supports the FTCA claim, a malpractice lawyer would be a fool to not want to represent you.

You know exactly what your med recs reveal and you know best if you should invest in an IMO-as the VA will invest plenty of time and energy to defeat your claim.

FTCAs have been won without IMOs and lawyers like in my case- but my advise is to not do this Pro Se unless you have a great deal of confidence in your case, a full grasp of the medical nuances of what the med recs reveal -every single bit of them-(to include anything crossed out, or hard to read or in symbols),and you can highlight the proof of the documented malpractice and you are not intimidated by the VA lawyers or docs -who will want to walk all over you.

You could contact Office of Legal Medical (maybe thats OMLA)VA here in Buffalo to see if they have any record of any Peer report done or that will be done.

If I find their email addy and phone number I will post it here.

I caught them recently in a very big outright lie however-so dont rely on what they say too much.

And check out the links I provoded here for more FTCA info.

[Berta]

I see they took their contact info down:

http://www1.va.gov/forensic/

Maybe you could make an Iris inquiry to get their contact number.

The statement here is BS regarding their obligations with the mandate of the NPDB-as I recently informed the General Counsel.

Another reason to get a lawyer.

I did not find out for over a decade that VA did NOT honor the mandate in this link regarding my case (and GAO recently found there were more cases not reported as well) I hope this office can spell Inspector General.

A lawyer would have made sure the mandate was followed.

[sweeper68]

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/usc...----000-.htmlta, Berta what is your take on this ? It's not agreeing with what the VAIOG atty. told me..

[sweeper68]

Link doesn't work, here is the law USC 38-5109

[Berta]

I dont understand your question