Filing On Your Own :: Unwise Or Wise?

[autumn]

is it better to have the pva and others like them to file the claims for veterans?

do veterans stand a chance doing so on their own?

i don't know, maybe i'm just beating a dead horse on a sat. but sometimes, going through these org's is frustrating. it's like they just type a little note to the VARO and yet we're still at the mercy of the VARO. that is, what's the difference between them writing a note to VARO versus me?

i'll add this, i had to go with a pva rep out of state here due to the pva rep here was a bit unhelpful and detrimental to my case. so i don't know if the VARO resents that or what. you know?

[Berta]

John said:

"There are not many people like Berta, but I think she would admit that even she has made mistakes."

Yes I readily admit to that John.If I had pressed for more info from a rep in 1998 I wouldn't have had needed to file CUE claim.He should have advised me to file NOD right away on the 1151 award letter I got.

Then again- I wasn't really on the ball in those days with the VA crapola and I should have filed the NOD anyhow regardless of whether he wanted me to or not.

I made errors in dealing with those dopes I dealt with at my last POA.I should have just dumped then but I kept waiting for them to redeem themselves.It only enabled them to play around with me with absoltely n faith at all in my claim. I was deligted however to inform their lawyer how much my award came to-which they lost credit for ,because they had revoked my POA before the award letter came.

But there ARE good vet reps and most vets need their help.We also do get so personally involved in our claims that we can have what I call blind spots. It took me many many months to listen to my daughter and re open my claim for undiagnosed DMII from AO causing my husband's death.DMII had recenty gone onto the AO presumptive list. She started asking me to file the claim in late 2002 and was then sent overseas (USAF Intel) at the time and as soon as she came back she again started in on Mom did you file the AO DMII claim yet?I finally listened to her, pulled out the horror of what my husband's med recs reveal I never thought I would have to look at them again)and sure enough she was right.She cried when I read her the award letter.We finally knew the true cause of her dad's demise.That taught me quite a lesson.

Larry-you are always too funny for words. Then again what you mentioned was a few of the long list of reasons why I never deal with claims here in my home or by email or by phone anymore. I had quite a few experiences that made me say WTF I am an unpaid volunteer putting up with crap!

Autumn said:

"since the va didn't include any retro for those years or secondary issues related to ms, i turned that part over to the pva. so, i can only hope they "go for it" but i know they are giving the va som....."

Did you formally claim the secondarys?

Was this claim continuously prosecuted without any re-open?

"Chuck said:

Basically, the VA gave me free run of the Chicago VARO, unescorted."

WOW I would be whipping out 100% SC awards in a heartbeat if I had a free run of the VARO!

My reason and bases would be that regardless of the medical evidence,that might support a much lower rating- you all gave

100 % in the mil for the US of A - so here is the 100% you earned regardless of what your SC disability is.

That would also reduce the backlog.

(and get me into a funny farm ward)

[autumn]

>>Then again- I wasn't really on the ball in those days with the VA crapola and I should have filed the NOD anyhow regardless of whether he wanted me to or not.

nor was i in the late 1980's & early 1990's. i knew nothing about any of this.

>>I made errors in dealing with those dopes I dealt with at my last POA.I should have just dumped then but I kept waiting for them to redeem themselves.It only enabled them to play around with me with absoltely n faith at all in my claim. I was deligted however to inform their lawyer how much my award came to-which they lost credit for ,because they had revoked my POA before the award letter came.

only lately have i read the old claims where some of the c&p's state erroneous info, like why i was discharged from the service completely different than the actual discharge papers, citing incorrect data from nav mil reports, etc. i had just assumed a SO would have caught those. so i'm a bit slow and too trusting in those days.

>>But there ARE good vet reps and most vets need their help.

i think for sure i have one now at the pva. he is a nso in another state and is not the local SO who blew me off saying i didn't have MS (he isn't a doctor anyways).

>>We also do get so personally involved in our claims that we can have what I call blind spots.

which is why i've got a new batch of chronological ordered records showing other bonafied illness & injury with disabilities that i hope the pva files after this round of ms stuff. i had no idea i could file for such things if not for this website and actually seeing such things in my med records. i can only assume that is why VA doctors never mention them, that is the illnesses, etc so dummies like me wont file.

>>It took me many many months to listen to my daughter and re open my claim for undiagnosed DMII from AO causing my husband's death.

aren't the kids quite intelligent many times over! ;-) thank goodness for em! sorry of the demise though

>>WTF I am an unpaid volunteer putting up with crap!

makes sense, quite volunteering much myself. most people just take advantage and in my case, ms seldom gives me consistent "good" days

>>Autumn said:

>>"since the va didn't include any retro for those years or secondary issues related to ms, i turned that part over to the pva. so, i can only hope they "go for it" but i know they are giving the va som....."

>>Did you formally claim the secondarys?

the pva requested them in the Fall 2010 and again in Jan 2011. the VA scheduled a strange "brain c&p" that gave no exam for anything. we talked for 2 hrs. nice guy though. seemed more like a VA recon appt. he even wrote he couldn't exam for MS secondary's as there were just too many of them and they come and go, and for the rater to contact him for further questions. but he did write i had suffered from MS and its symptoms for over 20yrs as evidenced by mil & va records. so that was a big boost. but the MS c&p in 2010 said the basically the same thing. so i'm still getting bounced about like a ping-pong ball in the system.

>>Was this claim continuously prosecuted without any re-open?

original claims were filed and dismissed in late 1980's and early 1990's as lack of evidence. after many requests over the years for a new lumbar puncture to compare to the navy one's VA finally did that in 2009 after new MRIs showed ms lesions. mind you, the VA dismissed those MRIs. the lumbar was positive just like the 3 in the navy. then started the "no one at VA would diagnose" so i would get the run around. but, i filed a claim after i wrote a senator about it. the VA denied that claim as lacking evidence also. so i got an attorney who filed the NOD thing and presented all the civilian assessments & tests. the VA then granted SC, paid me 2 years retro and closed the case. i felt the attorney dropped the ball when i called to find where my c&p was, because the lawyer didn't know, and behold the file was sitting somewhere collecting dust and not at the VARO raters desk. i dropped the poa with attorney and signed with pva who got the c&p back to the VARO where it was supposed to be.

>>"Chuck said:

you and Chuck are funny people!

[autumn]

>>If someone is helping me I appreciate it.

i'd be more lost if it weren't folks helping me. but i am a bit jaded from past claims submissions, my own lack of beneficial knowledge, and years of VA types telling me nothing is wrong when clearly there was/is.

i don't trust em 100% which is why they get frustrated with me calling and checking & asking questions. but you have no choice if you want to stay on top of it.

>>The reason the system is what it is mainly cause that is how VA and Service Organizations wanted it.

i would know agree with you and add the politics factor in there too.

>>I think that any Veteran with a legitimate claim is nuts to trust their claim 100% to someone who does not get paid by their clients and that there only certification is by the people who are in many cases trying to shoot the claim down.

i've had a few SOs mention like they are doing me a favor because it is free. i can see that argument but it also has a lot of flaws in it. and too, there just aren't that many really good SOs, and there are millions of claims and veterans seeking help. its almost a crap shoot, which is why i do as much work on my stuff as i can to get it right and help the SO out.

>>I think that if the Service Organizations wanted to do right that they would hire Lawyers for the Veterans ...

when you look at the pva website, you are somewhat lead to believe that attorney's will be helping. but that however, is only when it gets to be some big political case

>>Also don't forget that if you want to use a Service Officer if you plan to handle your claim you owe them a visit by phone or letter letting them know what you are doing.

wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their work/efforts. not my style. i will get all this paperwork ready for them for the other claims and get that to them when the time is right and they are telling me now is not the time. so i wait. but my nervous system gets quite frustrated when i see the VA still playing the games.

thx