Mil T

I was wondering if anyone knows the legal time requirement for the VA in notifying a person for a C&P exam. I thought I read somewhere it was 14 days.

Thanks Berta. This BVA case does help. I'll be damned if I can find a DBQ form that addresses any STS in it. This is considered an gastrointestinal illness but there is nothing under the Gastro DBQ's that I see addresses any sts. I could have sworn I have seen other DBQ's that address cancers caused by toxins. I wish the VA had DBQ's for the presumptive illnesses that the VA has established for all presumptive illnesses, be it Gulf War, Vietnam etc. Thanks again for your help. Mil

I need to get the DBQ form to have the doctor fill out for an AO presumptive Soft Tissue Sarcoma (GIST) claim but I can't figure out which one to use. Can someone guide me to the right form please.

Take the advice of the audiologist and go seek mental health care. In her report she is describing symptoms that are related to PTSD, Dementia, and Adult ADD. patient experiences difficulty listening and staying focused. - hard to listen to radio from the right ear. - didn't do well in school becaues too hard to read and focus on lectures. - noisy environments give patient a headache - poor memory, forgetful, patient had SLP consult but declined to continue therapy - loses focus easily so difficult to follow instructions - also reports high levels of stress and insomnia, both of which have been documented in other reports - SLP therapy and sleep study have been postponed because patient is unwilling or unable to change behavoir (i.e. use smartphone and sleep without guns) You have other issues besides audio which can cause thinking that you are not hearing correctly. I do not understand the audio report by your Dr. It does not look like any I have seen that the VA health care is supposed to report per 38 usc. Speech Recognition should be 94% and below for recognized hearing loss Frequency tone patterns should be decibel loss of 24% and above for recognized hearing loss. Your report has; Frequency Tone Patterns (normal = 75%) AU @ 60 dBHL: 32% Compressed Word Recognition Test (normal = 72%): This is not a normal VA way or reporting per 38 USC. Per these numbers, she reported, both should qualify you for hearing loss and both in the SEVERE or PROFOUND LOSS column. What VA Medical Center did you go to? Something just is not right here.

Thanks Vern and Navy04. I will look at what he can apply for. His PTSD and counseling has him with a GAF of 45. He has 5 tours which with everything else and the Stress letters should get him a 70% first time out for PTSD. I'm not sure we want to go that way yet until he actually gets out. I'll look at Hearing and tinnitus etc. that usually doesn't get more than a 20% and Tinitus at 10%. The VA will have a hard time disputing that he has a hearing issue that started in the service. That is why I'm suggesting to him to get in and complain and document everything and anything. It should make our job easier to prove and success in awards. He really needs to be at 100% because of his PTSD. He cannot really work at this point but has to too make ends meet with his family. Thanks again. Mil T

Hello. I think I know the answer but I want to run this by some of the experts on here. I have a brother that is in the Army Reserves and will be getting out in March of 2015. He was Active Army from 2001 to 2005. 11B Infantry. 1 tour Iraq. 1 tour Afg. He ets'd active May 2005. Reuped Oct. 2006 Army Reserve as MP combat support. Called to active duty Aug 2007 to May 2008 Iraq. July 2010 to Aug 2011 Iraq. June 2013 to March 2014 Afg. 5 tours total in 13 years. He would like to file a claim for PTSD. He has been going to vet center for counseling for couple of years now accept for his deployments. We were talking and I told him that I didn't think he could file with VA yet but that he needs to ask for counseling through the reserves to establish a med record along with any other things that he would want to file for like hearing, tinnitus, injuries etc. so that it is easier when he does get out. The main question is; can he apply for VA benefits while he is still active reserve? Can he file a claim while still on active reserves? Thanks. Mil T

Manning01. I am an unofficial VSO in Payson. I am the only person helping Vets up here. I do it voluntarily by word of mouth. My case load is approx. 20 cases at any time. I need to find a good VSO that I can send Vets to. Can you give me tteh VSO at AMVETS that you have used. It has been difficult to find a GOOD vso to refer to. Thanks Mil T

Hoppy. Thanks for the offer of assistance. I will take you up on that as I will be trying to do the right steps to try and stop the VA from sending it off to never never land. I have a lot of back up in the vets files with diagnosis etc. from the Air Force shrink so that may help. The vet also started seeing mental health specialists here in our small town not long after he was discharged. I will get those records and see what they say. I'm still wondering though if I should have all my bases covered with amending the claim to add the Dysthemic Disorder since that is what the Air Force actually diagnosed. This might be the perverbial monkey wrench that could sidetrack the claim if I dont' put it on there. Mil T

Hello All. I am working with a young man that was discharged from Air Force in 2006 after 3+ years of service. His records show that he was diagnosed with Dysthymic Disorder and that he was discharged for Personality Disorder. Dr. report claims the Dysthymic Disorder was pre-existing. I reviewed his entry physicals and there is nothing there for mental illness so that is bogus. He has since been diagnosed Paranoid Schitzophrinic for which we filed VA claim for. I've read his files and it shows an above average to exemplory performance up until 2005 when it all went backwards. He has been seen in our town by mental health facility and documentation has been forwarded to VA as evidence. My question is wether or not we should submit an addendum to include Dysthymic Disorder along with the Para Schitz. or should the Para Schitz be secondary to the Dysthymic Disorder? I have found document study's that mention that DD is connected to and is a pre-cursor to Schitz. We have all the evidence to show this started in the service so I'm confident he will be SC. My goal is to achieve 100% for him since he has been deemed incompetent by the Social Security Admin already. Ironically his mother 54 was also diagnosed while she served back in 1978. She was also discharged. She was also Sexually Assaulted. I talked her into filing as well. She had been told back then by family that she should keep her mouth shut and move on. I am treading new waters her but evidence is overwelming that I cannot see how the VA can deny a claim. I've put her in for the Schitz and PTSD. Thanks Mil T

I'm wondering if anyone has handled a claim or have filed a claim for Multiple Myeloma when they have been diagnosed with Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, or MGUS. This can be a precurser to MM. MGUS is not MM but doctors have to continue to monitor for MM if you have MGUS. Does anyone have experience with the VA and MGUS? Thanks, Mil T

I received my T&P IU April 5. I filed an application for my Wife to receive ChampVa benefits a couple days later by mail. On April 23 I had to take my wife to ER for what she thought was a heart attack. It turned out to not be but I was wondering if this visit could be paid by Champva retroactively if she qualifies and is accepted into the Champva program. Does the elgibility start when I received the 100% T&P award or when her application is approved? Mil T

There are only 2 hardships per the VA. 1. Financial which usually is for bankruptcy or forclosure. 2. life or death. I have filed both types for a couple of vets. The financial is not as fast but does get a little more attention and moves a little quicker but you need to actually have court paperwork showing either the Bankruptcy or forclosure. On the Life or Death, they made a decision in 2 weeks. Although it was a denial because the Doctor did not use the right wording for the leukemia this person has. We have the Doctor writing the correct wording on his condition. He has been given 6 months to live so they are expediting. It is so important to make sure that the doctors you use that diagnose SC conditions such as for Agent Orange presumptive illnesses use the correct words when sending in their letters or DBQ's. It must say either "Morel likely than not" or "As likely as not" or the examiners will kick it back denied. Good luck. Mil T

we looked in VA letters in the E-Benefits and a letter saying he is Total and Permanent is there for his use. We are submitting the Champva paperwork along with other forms for benefits befitting a 100%ter that is T&P. Mil

Hi. I have a vet that received his decision letter in his claim for IU. He was succesful for getting IU. It does not say anything about P&T in the body of the letter accept for this one place. Under reasons for decisions #2 Eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance Under 38 USC Chapter 35, the last sentence states: "Basic eligbility to Dependent's Education Assistance is granted as the evidence shows you currently have a total service-connected disability, permanent in nature. Does this mean that he is actually P&T? Should he use this letter as verification for P&T when he submits for Champva for his spouse and the other benefits for P&T that come with it? Thanks, Mil

Getting back to this issue. I've been busy with lots of decisions coming in all of a sudden by others I have been working with. What I have done with this particular vet is to study his documents and the evidence that was turned in. It was clear that they missed some very important evidence that was turned in June of 2010 that was crucial in a favorable decision. Also the fact that he has never had a c&p for any of the claimed disabilities and they used doctor exams with diagnosis etc. dating back to 2008 to make the decision. That is what I find so frustrating. This was a de novo review done by a DRO on each SOC. Anyway, we have asked for an informal DRO hearing and not a de-novo review. We will resubmit the evidence that they left off the list that they used for evidence. We will submit the 4 psyc reports that state his PTSD is from combat related stressors. We'll see what happens. Thanks for your help guys. Mil T