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lysol

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Posts posted by lysol

    Wife Denied On Everything...

    in Eligibility - Veterans Compensation Benefit Claims

    Posted

    My wife was recently denied for every medical issue she applied for... She was enlisted in the Air Force for 4 years and then completed 2 years of Reserves. Her medical paper stack was thicker than mine and the VA sent us a letter stating that they could not make a single connection for anything. One issue that stands out in my mind is that she actually just went through foot surgery for a running injury she received in the Reserves. All paperwork documented.

    We went through a guy downtown DC who put together her package for her. He seemed very knowledgeable. What do we do now? I mean, I got denied for my bad knees even though I had went through physical therapy in active duty, but this seems like a big old slap in the face...

    How To Go About Starting My Appeal?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    I believe I would of stated "I am submitting a notice of disagreement and I am further requesting a decision review officer" You can do as Broncovet stated "on all issues" or if you only want to do the knees then just put exactly the condition as it is writtten on your rating decision and state the reasons why you disagree. Then there will be no doubt.

    I would definately get this in the mail as soon as you can, in order that you may keep your effective date from your initial claim.

    Once you get this submitted, start making appointments to get your knees checked by a doctor, obtain opinions! You can download a "disability benefits questioneer" for your knees. Actually the one for your knees is for all your joints. Obtain as much medical documentation as you can and I would send it in all together. I believe the worst thing you can do is send a document in this week, another next week and so on. VA does lose documents as stated above, don't give them the opportunity. Send it in all together and send it certified.

    Good luck!

    How To Go About Starting My Appeal?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    It sounds like this was a Regional Office denial. To initiate your appeal, you simply fill out a 21-4138 and state:

    I disagree with the decision dated (insert date of decision), on all issues. I request a DRO Review.

    (Here you can state why you disagree, and how you feel entltled to SC or a higher rating. Best is if you cite a doc's opinion or other medical evidence).

    Be sure to SIGN and DATE you 21-4138 AND send it certified mail, return receipt requested.

    The best way to do this is to take your time and clearly state your medical evidence in the NOD. You can also submit evidence LATER, but, count on the VA losing your evidence. If your evidence is enclosed with the NOD, then its hard for the VA to say.."oh, we dont have any record of that".

    The worst thing you can do is to wait past a year after the VARO denial. If you wait past a year, the VA will automatically deny your appeal based on untimeliness. If its already been more than a year, then you need to do something different.

    Thank you for you reply broncovet. I have pretty much filled out my 21-4138 and have the mailing address and fax number to the regional office that my file currently resides at. On question thoug, You typed:

    I disagree with the decision dated (insert date of decision), on all issues.

    Since I'm appealing only the "bilateral knee patellofemoral syndrome" that I had originally claimed, I would put that right?

    How To Go About Starting My Appeal?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    It sounds like this was a Regional Office denial. To initiate your appeal, you simply fill out a 21-4138 and state:

    I disagree with the decision dated (insert date of decision), on all issues. I request a DRO Review.

    (Here you can state why you disagree, and how you feel entltled to SC or a higher rating. Best is if you cite a doc's opinion or other medical evidence).

    Be sure to SIGN and DATE you 21-4138 AND send it certified mail, return receipt requested.

    The best way to do this is to take your time and clearly state your medical evidence in the NOD. You can also submit evidence LATER, but, count on the VA losing your evidence. If your evidence is enclosed with the NOD, then its hard for the VA to say.."oh, we dont have any record of that".

    The worst thing you can do is to wait past a year after the VARO denial. If you wait past a year, the VA will automatically deny your appeal based on untimeliness. If its already been more than a year, then you need to do something different.

    Thanks!! Do you know the address in which to mail it?

    How To Go About Starting My Appeal?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    So, last August, my claim was completed at 30%. I was not happy because they did not rate me on my knees. Since then, I have been too busy to start my Appeal on the matter with the wife and I getting out of the military and what not. Now, we are settled in the DC area and I'm still having the same issues with my knees.

    in May, I hit my 12 month mark from getting out of the military so I don't expect any retro because I'm sure it will be long after that before this all gets done. (My fault).

    So I was rated at 30% (10% PTSD, 10% Tinnitus, 10% left eye).

    I was denied my knees due to insufficient documentation on my part I guess. I have bad knees and I cannot do active sports such as basketball because they will pop out of socket. My first job in the AF was in a warehouse lifting and moving heavy objects around for over 2 years. I had a few mishaps with both knees popping out, but I failed to do anything about it. Then I fell out of the back of an MRAP in the desert and twisted them pretty badly. Again, I was with the Army and didn't want to complain out in the middle of nowhere. I went to physical therapy after my last deployment and it didn't help. Other than that, I don't know what else to do. During my C&P exam, they x-rayed my knees. I had them x-rayed in the military once before physical therapy and they were clearly loose and still are.

    I've been trying the workouts that I learned in physical therapy again and no dice. The pain is flaring up.

    I'm guessing my main problem is that in my C&P, I was only experiencing mild pain... I told the truth and that's what was written down. I do have limited rotation on my knees due to pain so during this next C&P, i'm going to stick with that.

    My question is how do I go about getting this started? I've been calling the 1-800-827-1000 number and they are always busy and suggest calling after hours. Then I call after hours and it hangs up... That is a very clever way to ensure to not get any calls... I want to get scheduled for another C&P exam but I don't know the process. Am I even supposed to call?

    Moving From Nevada To Alabama Next Month

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    I'm curious about what's going to happen to my Claim. Well, as always, it depends. If you already have had all required C&PEs, your current claim may stay where it is (Reno?) and be rated there. If more C&PEs are required, it's likely that your current RO will transfer it to the new RO for scheduling and further action.

    Will it go to the bottom of the pile if I update my new address? Well, see above. In any event, the transfer process does takes some time.

    I'm forwarding my mail so I could technically keep the same address right? I would not recommend this. If, for some reason, any VA correspondence does not get forwarded, or gets delivered to the new resident (and the new resident shit cans it), your claim can be dead in the water.

    If you keep the same old address and a VA exam is needed, THAT EXAM WILL BE SCHEDULED IN THE OLD LOCAL AREA.

    Gotcha. Thanks for the quick and informative reply. You are correct. Mine is at Reno, NV currently. I am done as far as I know of with all exams. But who knows, they could very well request more.

    Nevada (Nv): Reno

    in VA Regional Offices

    Posted · Edited by lysol

    Just pulled the latest and greatest from the Monday Report

    Percent pending over 125 days has went up by about 2.5% in the past 2 months. Wonder how many claims are getting completed per month that's the magic number that would help to understand the process better.

    4 Months Left Active Duty And Have A Few Problems

    in Introduce Yourself

    Posted

    Tried calling the 1-800-827-1000 number for a while now and can never get through. Called a VA office in Reno and a female helped me out by telling me after I call the 1800 number above, once you get to the first menu, dial "170" and sometimes it drops you into the que to hold. Didn't work.

    I then called the office below and spoke to "Tom". He treated me like a newbie and told me to sit back and relax. He must've had a shitty day because the only thing that came out of my mouth before he said that was a polite question... lol.Oh well. Not everyone is customer service oriented or likes their job...

    LAS VEGAS

    950 W. Owens, Suite 111

    Las Vegas, NV 89106

    702 636-3070

    FAX - 702 486-5268

    He told me that I have about 18 months before I hear anything... I am very fortunate that I have nothing but time at the moment and hope the people that need their compensation faster get it soon. Only thing that worries me is that I need to make some medical appts and will be coming out of pocket for them. I just can't wait any longer.

    4 Months Left Active Duty And Have A Few Problems

    in Introduce Yourself

    Posted

    I'm not sure. I wasn't in combat but did have rounds fly over head a few times and mortors almost everynight. I don't know why it's called that though. I just called the 800 number and they said that my package is sitting at Reno right now. They also told me the average wait time for Reno is 107 days. Not sure where that number came from but meh. I'll have to wait and see. So it will probably be about 3 months until I get a %.

    4 Months Left Active Duty And Have A Few Problems

    in Introduce Yourself

    Posted

    Well, here it is May 2012. My last day of terminal leave for active duty was the 15th of this month. I also finished up all my VA appts before then. They put me on a fasttrack program so I went through my appointments fairly quickly.

    Within the last few days, my status on ebenefits has been updated to "Preperation for Decision"

    This is what I claimed: Contentions: bilateral hearing loss (New), tinnitus (New), bilateral knee patellofemoral syndrome claimed to include difficulty running, squating, extending leg, and pops out of p (New), atypical chest pain (New), bronchitis (New), acne (New), adjustment disorder with anxiety (New), conjunctivitis (New)

    We'll see what happens now. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll find something out.

    4 Months Left Active Duty And Have A Few Problems

    in Introduce Yourself

    Posted

    So I have a little less than 2 months left in. Just got my medical records (215 pages) on a disk and printed them out this week. I submitted for them back in Nov. Called them 2 weeks ago and they hadn't even gotten to my name yet but because I called, they went ahead and did them. Jeez... Have my initial VA appt set up for Feb 22. Anything else I need?

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