ptsd Grrr - I Got Another Rubber Stamp Denial

[akwidow]

AMC came through with a SSOC in todays mail. Once again, I am denied for DIC.

They did not list my evidence. (spoilation?) Rubber stamp again!

They did not address my issue - that PTSD contributed to my hubbys death. (denial made while not condiserating my position)

As an aside, they mentioned the DVD I sent them with the second set of papers but did not list the evidence, and never mentioned the original documents I sent...(spoilation?)

I have thirty days to respond, which I will, with the full gamut of information I have already supplied. They said if I do not respond within 30 days, they will send the file back to the BVA. Is that good for me or bad?

GRRR I am angry.

Should I ask for a reconsideration, or make a NOD?

I had already connected the dots, supplied IMO for PTSD, and copied them with their documents pertaining to his PTSD.

My friends here are telling me to get out of the loop and get congressional intervention, even though I told them about the retribution that it can cause.... any thoughts?

Thanks, please forgive me for venting,

AkWidow

[akwidow]

Thank you - I do feel your good vibes, and am gratefully accepting them all. He was a handsome man, but the love he gave me in spite of his disfunctions far out weighed the value of his good looks, and since he gave me the gift of being able to love and have faith in myself, I became a much better person for meeting him. I will be forever grateful for that.

[Wings]

Well, I got the file boxes back out to start again with fresh eyes. First thing I looked at was his rating decision from 2003 where they granted 50% for PTSD. I glanced down at the denied shrapnel wounds list, hearing, and cancer claims via AO, and I found the presumptive denial of course for colon cancer 7344 (BTW, 7344 is for Benign neoplasms of the digestive system) hmmmm....how can a benign neoplasm be colon cancer?

Further on down the list I found 7913 which they titled Exposure to Agent Orange. I looked up the code and it is for DMII! He never made a claim for DMII, but they denied him anyway! Since I have found sympotoms of DMII I was going to pursue that, so didn't they open the door for me?

Like I said in other posts, I can't thank you folks here enough for the education I have received since I found you early this year....and if my guy were still alive he would be thanking you too.

I hope that Berta will weigh on on your questions ...

If I may be so blunt, what was listed as the cause of death on the death certificate? Was there an autopsy; if so, who conducted that exam? ~Wings

[Pete53]

AKWidow:

I greatly admire your tenacity and when you win your claim I am sure that your hubby will be able to rest in peace knowing that the benefits he earned for you were won cause of the person that you are.

I often tell people that by ourselves we have some dysfunctions but together we make one hell of a person. I am referring to me and Mrs Pete

[akwidow]

Thank you Pete, that is what the definition of wed as one means, right?

-------

Cause of death was listed as colon cancer, with ptsd added by amendment as secondary cause by his diagnosing internist. True to his Jewish faith, my guy requested no embalming, and quick burial. His best friend had built him a very fine pine domed coffin which we used much earlier than expected. It was -25 the day he died, and -30 the next day when we put him in the ground.

He lay in his coffin in our living room after our friends cleaned him and dressed him in his fancy threads, and the hearse came to our house the next day to take him to the cemetary. I had written his obituary a few months before he died because I knew I wouldn't be capable later. Since he died in the morning, the local newspaper was able to get the obit in the next day edition, and there was a large crowd at the cemetary in spite of the -30 temperatures. He had died the day before his birthday. We buried him on his birthday, and the party we had planned for that night became his wake. 100's of people came and went through our doors that day after the burial, and even though I was in a black fog, I could feel the love and loss exxpressed by the folks who came. I couldn't talk very well, but I could read. So I read aloud about him from the emails we received from the people who could not come in person to his wake. He was a man very loved by those who bothered to know him.

I was so lucky to have him as long as I did...and at times I still feel his loving embrace in my mind.

I am so sorry that I was not smart about these VA issues when he was alive, as I could have been helping him with VA long before he died. But I was not, and I have forgiven myself for not "knowing" about VA earlier. To paraphrase what Larry says, "You must have all the voices in your head act as a unified front in order to fight and win a battle....and they (the voices) should like each other!"

[Berta]

"I hope that Berta will weigh on on your questions ..."

I have made many responses to akwidow,Wings.

The BVA rejected initial arguments and evidence she had raised but the claim was remanded.

The remand states:

"Prior to any further adjudication of the

claim for service connection for the cause

of the veteran's death, the RO should

send the appellant another VCAA letter in

accordance with 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5102, 5103,

and 5103A (West 2002), and all other

applicable legal precedent. This

additional letter must set forth

discussion of the criteria for

demonstrating entitlement to DIC benefits,

as outlined in the Court's decision in

Hupp v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 342

(2007)."

She should have received a compliant VCAA letter from the VA after this remand and then sent them the evidence they wanted.

They need very strong medical evidence to award this claim.

I dont know if she needs an IMO from an oncologist or a psychiatrist or even both.

It will be very difficult to convince the VA that her husband's PTSD caused or contributed to his colon cancer.BVA stated why in their initial denial and maybe even in the remand.

She cannot depend on the arguments she made that the BVA already rejected.

She needs clear and convincing strong medical evidence -from a doctor fully capable to opine on both PTSD and his colon cancer -in order to establish a nexus between his PTSD and his death-to support her claim.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Berta

[Wings]

"I hope that Berta will weigh on on your questions ..."

I have made many responses to akwidow,Wings.

The BVA rejected initial arguments and evidence she had raised but the claim was remanded.

The remand states:

"Prior to any further adjudication of the

claim for service connection for the cause

of the veteran's death, the RO should

send the appellant another VCAA letter in

accordance with 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5102, 5103,

and 5103A (West 2002), and all other

applicable legal precedent. This

additional letter must set forth

discussion of the criteria for

demonstrating entitlement to DIC benefits,

as outlined in the Court's decision in

Hupp v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 342

(2007)."

She should have received a compliant VCAA letter from the VA after this remand and then sent them the evidence they wanted.

They need very strong medical evidence to award this claim.

I dont know if she needs an IMO from an oncologist or a psychiatrist or even both.

It will be very difficult to convince the VA that her husband's PTSD caused or contributed to his colon cancer.BVA stated why in their initial denial and maybe even in the remand.

She cannot depend on the arguments she made that the BVA already rejected.

She needs clear and convincing strong medical evidence -from a doctor fully capable to opine on both PTSD and his colon cancer -in order to establish a nexus between his PTSD and his death-to support her claim.

x

x

x

Thanks Berta! I've been gone for awhile, and even when I am here, only half of me is present or accounted for! I agree, that AK Widow's claim poses very challenging issues --but yours was no walk in the park either.

AK Widow, You stated, "Cause of death was listed as colon cancer, with ptsd added by amendment as secondary cause by his diagnosing internist." --Was this "ammendment" added to his Death Certificate? ~Wings