OSC

In a nutshell: When you finally get your letter read through it carefully to see what has been approved for service connection and what rating the VA has assigned and the dates of connection. If there are items that were NOT approved it will explain the reason why they were not approved and these items are the ones you can appeal and file a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) for. Additionally If you do not agreee with the percentage of compensation assigned for the approved items, you can also file a NOD. If you agree with everything in that letter...enjoy the $$$ and have a good life. OSC

I have been in Pending Decision Approval since June 13, 2013 and still waiting. Hopefully your claim will move faster. OSC

I live in Las Vegas and have to deal with the Reno VARO and have to agree that they are terribly slow. Last night on one of our local TV channels, an investigation has been opened up to see what the problem is. Here is a link to it: http://www.ktnv.com/youaskweinvestigate/214773641.html . Don't know if it will have any effect on getting claims out of the deep dark hole or not. On a side note, I have to agree with ThaiStick about the medical side...the VAMC here in Las Vegas is the best care ever. OSC

The VA has a date of September 2005, which is when I started seeing VA medical, in their Vista Web (medical problem list) for diagnosis of the Hypertension. I had a previous heart attack in August 2003 at a civilian hospital and treatment included meds for hypertension. The Diabetes was finally diagnosed in May 2010. OSC

Here are the doctor’s notes from the C&P of April 2013 on the Hypertension. Since I had gone through my file page by page prior to the exam, I wrote down EVERY blood pressure reading from each page of my SMRs. Then when I went to my C&P, I gave him the list which I had compiled along with some other stuff which was all verifiable from the files he had on me. I made the file search easy for him because I had all the dates and readings. 3. Medical opinion for direct service connection Choose the statement that most closely approximates the etiology of the claimed condition. [X] The claimed condition was at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. Provide rationale in section c. [ ] The claimed condition was less likely than not (less than 50 percent probability) incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. Provide rationale in section c. Rationale: Veteran was diagnosed with hypertension in September 2005 in the Vista Web medical records. However review of his Service Treatment Records (STRs) finds multiple separated instances of elevated blood pressure at or above that required to make a diagnosis of Hypertension, indicating the veteran actually incurred hypertension while in service. Such elevated blood pressure measurements occurred on Nov 16, 1981 (150/60); June 25, 1982 (150/68); January 13, 1983 (140/68); May 14, 1986 (148/76); March 30, 1987 {148/88); and January 03, 1992 (157/93). Veteran states he started treatment for his hypertension in August 2003 after incurring a myocardial infarction; and denies any treatment for hypertension prior to that. Here is a copy of the actual paragraph from the 1992 VA denial letter. Service connection is denied for hypertension, bilateral hearing loss and left knee injury, as the evidence does not show that these conditions exist. You may submit evidence at any time showing that these disabilities were incurred in or aggravated by service or wore treated within one year after service. I hope this is going to be enough to convince the VA for service connection. OSC

Thanks everyone for the replies. Here is a synopsis of my claim so you can better get an idea of what “they” are deciding. In March of 2012 I was granted service connection for my IHD and DMII with PN upper under presumptive AO exposure in Vietnam. At that time I was denied compensation for my PAD problem and surgeries by the VA, with the reasoning (from a C&P) that the cause was hypertension so I was not service connected for the PAD. In 1992, when I finally left the service, I was denied service connection by the VA for hypertension. Since I had kept all my records and had received my “C” file, I went through those records to see what might be in them and found for years, blood pressure readings that were way out of the 120/80 normal range. So in July 2012 I filed a claim for a couple of new things and adding what I considered a CUE for the hypertension. Then in January 2013, because I had not heard anything about the CUE claim and to preserve my legal rights of appeal, I filed the NOD for the March 2012 decision. In April 2013 I had another C&P where I was able to show and prove to the doctor with documentation in my service records of multiple instances of hypertension while on active duty to where he realized I SHOULD have been diagnosed with hypertension. He stated that I should NOT have been denied service connection in 1992 and was going to write up his report that way. He also stated that since my hypertension would now be service connected, my PAD problems would now be covered as secondary issues. (I have a copy of that C&P and the doctor did in fact do as he said). Then on 06/13/2013 I sent off an IRIS email asking about the VCAA info that showed as still being needed which was sent 4 times and all of a sudden both my claim and appeal had movement on ebenefits. This is where we are at today and I’m just in the waiting mode. I have not used a VSO and have done everything myself (with a lot of help from the boards, which I thank you all for). OSC PS. Thank you Berta...I followed your advice and got that doctor to service connect the hypertension.

Can the BVA just cancel or negatively decide your appeal without input from the Vet or am I looking at a possible quick approval? Also my appeal was for a de novo review request by a new DRO. Here is what I found on ebenefits. I have yet to receive any letter and have made an IRIS request for clarification. Timeline of Your Appeal Date of Progress Progress Progress Office 03/09/2012 Local VA Office Decision RO 12/18/2012 Notice of Disagreement (NOD) RO 01/09/2013 Appeal Pending BVA 06/13/2013 Decision & Claims File Dispatch BVA Details about your BVA Appeal received on no date Local VA Office of Jurisdiction: Reno, NV Power of Attorney: For more information about Powers of Attorney, please refer to FAQs Current Progress: Decision & Claims File Dispatch Current Progress Description: Your case has been received at BVA, and BVA has mailed your decision to you (and your representative, if any) and will be returning your claims file to the VA Medical Center. Please note that transit times vary, and there may be some lag time between when BVA forwards your claims file to its appropriate location and when that location receives it. I also have a CUE claim pending which shows movement to PENDING DECISION APPROVAL. Both the Appeal and the CUE claim moved on ebenefits the same date of 06/13/2013. From what I understand, it takes 2-5 years for an appeal to go through the system. I am looking at movement after only a few months. Any guesses as to what is going on?? OSC

deanbrt, I think the situation you are facing about your C&P copies is that you can make the REQUEST, but it will be up to the VA as to if and when they release the info. It is just like the questionable advertising done by some car dealers where they “ACCEPT all credit applications”. This statement means just that….you fill out the application and the dealer accepts it; this is NOT the same, as the general public thinks, that their bad credit is APPROVED to buy a car. I’m waiting for a copy of my C file so I can see what info I might be missing when I am filing my appeal. So far it has been almost 3 months and I am beginning to believe they will wait until the time limit for me to appeal will pass before releasing the documents. Of course that won’t happen as I will have my appeal in well before that, even without the C file. Good luck, OSC

Here are some links which may help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandamus http://www.hadit.com/vaclaimslibrary/mandamus/mandamusexample001.htm OSC

Thanks again Berta. Will follow your advice. OSC

Hi Berta, I really appreciate everything you have done here to help us with the fight. On this thread you had requested more info from me and I have posted it. Just hoping you might have a comment or possibly make any additional recommendations. One other thing I did do was request my C-File and posted it here along with the responses . I just hope I haven’t screwed up by this request for the file. Again thanks for everything you do. OSC

I would file everything at once. When I did my initial filing, I did it one at a time and finally realized that every time I submitted something new, It was like I went to the bottom of the pile and the end of the line. If they need something they will ask. Also the Fanaticbooks link was a great help, so I recommend using it. OSC

Cool Breeze and Concern thank you for the replies. “Concern” that scares the “h” out of me. I was hoping to get the file in my hands before I filed my NOD, but it looks like that won’t happen if you have been waiting for well over a year so far. “Breeze” I waited until my initial claim had already closed before requesting my file as I thought it might affect my place in line like you said. My records are pretty complete but I think I am missing just a couple of possibly crucial items and was hoping I could see if they might be in that file. Since I will be appealing their decision on a few items in my claim, will this request for my C-File screw up the NOD filing and appeal? OSC

I think I found the answer to my question in another section of the site, but if anyone has something to add, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks OSC

I requested a copy of my C-File last month from the Reno RO where my request letter was signed for with return receipt. Now there is an entry made on Ebenefits showing this C-File request as a new open claim. First why an entry on Ebenefits as a new claim? (Huh) Second does anyone have a clue as to how long before I will receive the file, as I want to see if I am missing anything from my own files before submitting my NOD for my appeal. Thanks in advance. OSC

I have an appeal that I will be sending in shortly. I guess it will be quite a long wait until it is done. OSC

Thank you so much for your reply Berta. Sorry for the length of this reply, but that is how the scans came out. Here is a list of all my VA surgeries: 20060619 Right Leg Arterial Replacement (Fem/Pop) Before SC 20070312 Right Carotid Arterial Endarterectomy Before SC 20070627 Right Leg Incomplete Angioplasty (Fem/Pop) Before SC 20070717 Right Leg Angioplasty (Fem/Pop) Before SC 20100831 IHD Service Connect Date 20101123 DMII Service Connect Date 20110426 Left Carotid Arterial Endarterectomy After SC 20110908 Right Leg Angioplasty/stenting with After SC residual complications As you can see from the list of VA surgeries, I have the secondary issues but in order to have the secondary’s service connected, there must be a primary disability service connected; and this is where I have a problem. Regarding the scans of the disabilities which were denied, there is one statement that is consistent with all these denials and that is “However, (insert disability) is most likely related to your hypertension, which is not a service connected disability.” I have been treated for hypertension since my 2003 heart attack with no service connection. Additionally I submitted a VA claim for disability in 1991 for hypertension which was denied and never appealed. (I did not have the time or the energy to fight an appeal at that time) and I’m not sure if I can prove service connection today. I have only partial service medical records. Here are the scans from my award letter: Left carotid arterial endarterectomy 0 The evidence does not show an event, disease or injury in service. G We did not find a link between your medical condition and military service. 0 Your condition is not one of the chronic diseases that VA presumes is related to your military service. 0 The evidence does not show that your condition resulted from, or was aggravated by, a service-connected disability. You submitted a lay statement to support your claim. A credible lay statement may establish what was seen, heard; and directly experienced. The particular lay evidence was found not to be competent and sufficient in this case to establish a link or nexus between your medical condition and military service or to establish that such a link has been found by a medical professional. The VA medical opinion found no link between your diagnosed medical condition and military service. Your service treatment records do not contain complaints, treatment, or diagnosis for this condition. The medical opinion we received from the VA Medical Center was more persuasive than your private physician's opinion because it was based on a thorough review of your relevant military and/or personal history and contained a more convincing rationale. The examiner indicated that the left carotid arterial endarterectomy is less likely as not due to a service connected condition. There are no reasonable or credible studies linking left carotid arterial endarterectomy with heart disease. However, left carotid arterial endarterectomy is most likely related to your hypertension, which is not a service connected disability. Medical Description Denial Reason Right carotid arterial endarterectomy • The evidence does not show an event, disease or injury in service, o We did not find a link between your medical condition and military service. o Your condition is not one of the chronic diseases that VA presumes is related to your military service. • The evidence does not show that your condition resulted from, or was aggravated by, a service-connected disability. Explanation You submitted a lay statement to support your claim. A credible lay statement may establish what was seen, heard, and directly experienced. The particular lay evidence was found not to be competent and sufficient in this case to establish a link or nexus between your medical condition and military service or to establish that such a link has been found by a medical professional. The VA medical opinion found no link between your diagnosed medical condition and military service. Your service treatment records do not contain complaints, treatment, or diagnosis for this condition. The medical opinion we received from the VA Medical Center was more persuasive than your private physician's opinion because it was based on a thorough review of your relevant military and/or personal history and contained a more convincing rationale. The examiner indicated that the right carotid arterial endarterectomy is less likely as not due to a service connected condition. There are no reasonable or credible studies linking right carotid arterial endarterectomy with heart disease. However, right carotid arterial endarterectomy is most likely related to your hypertension, which is not a service connected disability. Medical Description Denial Reason Peripheral arterial disease • The evidence does not show an event, disease or injury in service, o We did not find a link between your medical condition and military service. o Your condition is not one of the chronic diseases that VA presumes is related to your military service. • The evidence does not show that your condition resulted from, or was aggravated by, a service-connected disability. Explanation You submitted a lay statement to support your claim. A credible lay statement may establish what was seen, heard, and directly experienced. The particular lay evidence was found not to be competent and sufficient in this case to establish a link or nexus between your medical condition and military service or to establish that such a link has been found by a medical professional. The VA medical opinion found no link between your diagnosed medical condition and military service. Your service treatment records do not contain complaints, treatment, or diagnosis for this condition. The medical opinion we received from the VA Medical Center was more persuasive than your private physician's opinion because it was based on a thorough review of your relevant military and/or personal history and contained a more convincing rationale. The examiner indicated that the peripheral arterial disease is less likely as not due to a service connected condition. There are no reasonable or credible studies linking PAD with heart disease. However, PAD is most likely related to your hypertension, which is not a service connected disability. Medical Description Denial Reason Right leg arterial replacement • The evidence does not show an event, disease or injury in service, o We did not find a link between your medical condition and military service. o Your condition is not one of the chronic diseases that VA presumes is related to your military service. • The evidence does not show that your condition resulted from, or was aggravated by, a service-connected disability. You submitted a lay statement to support your claim. A credible lay statement may establish what was seen, heard, and directly experienced. The particular lay evidence was found not to be competent and sufficient in this case to establish a link or nexus between your medical condition and military service or to establish that such a link has been found by a medical professional. The VA medical opinion found no link between your diagnosed medical condition and military service. Your service treatment records do not contain complaints, treatment, or diagnosis for this condition. The medical opinion we received from the VA Medical Center was more persuasive than your private physician's opinion because it was based on a thorough review of your relevant military and/or personal history and contained a more convincing rationale. The examiner indicated that the right leg arterial replacement is less likely as not due to a service connected condition. There are no reasonable or credible studies linking right leg arterial replacement with heart disease. However, right leg arterial replacement is most likely related to your hypertension, which is not a service connected disability. Thanks again for your assistance in my case and I look forward to your reply. OSC

November 2010 I put in a claim for PAD of my right leg, left and right carotid arterial surgeries and a couple of other things. During the waiting process I was diagnosed with DMII and I also found out about the AO presumptive court decisions for Viet Nam Navy Vets and since I had proof of “Boots on the Ground” I added a claim for the heart attack I had in 2003. Last September I had a scheduled Roto-rooter on my right leg performed by the VA. This was the third or fourth one done so it should have been no big deal. The procedure went fine and because I was having the surgery out of state, I was to spend the night in the hospital and then fly home the next day. The next day and a few hours before I was due to be released to fly home, my blood pressure dropped and I felt tremendous pain in my abdomen area. What they discovered was that an artery (one of the ones they had been working on the previous day) had burst and I was bleeding internally. They rushed me to emergency surgery to patch me up and I ended up spending another week in the hospital in recovery. The doctors during that emergency surgery had to “Filet” me and I ended up with a 22cm scar as measured by the doctor who conducted a C&P exam on me 4 months later. I still have some pain in that area plus of course that new lovely scar. Fast forward to March 2012 when I received my completed compensation package from the November 2010 claim. I received approval for SC of the 2003 IHD heart attack and DMII, but all of my PAD surgeries and procedures were denied including this one done in September. My intentions are to seek a civilian doctor and pay for a second opinion and while I am being examined I will have them fill out the appropriate DBQs. I am in the process of preparing my NOD for appeal, but was wondering if this would be an 1151 claim instead. In reading the past posts about 1151 claims, I’ve been unable to make the determination if this is either a standard appeal or an 1151 claim or both. If during the appeal process, I am again denied Service Connection for PAD etc, will the raters consider an 1151 claim and then rate it as such, or can I and should I file both? Because I receive my entire medical from the VA, I am very hesitant in filing a full Tort claim. I really don’t think that I want to have surgery performed by someone I just sued. So with that in mind, would I be able to file strictly for compensation without a tort claim if I go the 1151 route? Thanks for listening and any help would be greatly appreciated. OSC