free_spirit_etc

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Why is the veteran always subject to criminal, civil, or administrative penalties and VA workers are always given amnesty. I just logged onto ebenefits and I saw this post. VA workers are always given amnesty for destroying, shredding, losing, misleading government officials and anything else they can get away with but they get a slap on the wrist, very few are fired and even less go to jail but veterans must sign forms with a legal statement saying the information is true to the best of their knowledge. These are the same forms that government employees are destroying, shredding, throwing in the trash and they get amnesty and veterans go to jail. If VA forms are legal documents then VA employees should not get amnesty. How hard is it to do the right thing.

Probably to the other veteran.

Diver,

I am sorry to hear you had to leave your job. Though you are considered "young" by SSA standards, and thus they will see if you can be retrained for a different kind of job, the percentages on the back disability and depression are very relevant for your claim. The back injury would most likely rule out many non-sedentary jobs, and the depression might rule out many sedentary jobs.

You might want to contact a few SSA attorneys and see what they tell you. You might want to contact NOSSCAR http://www.nosscr.org/for referrals. You may call NOSSCR at 1-800-431-2804 during regular Eastern Standard Time business hours.

Some attorneys like to handle claims from the beginning to make sure everything is filed correctly before an initial decision is made. Other attorneys don't want to take claims until the person has already been denied. So keep that in mind when you talk to them.

Some people prefer to go it alone when filing, and other people prefer to get an attorney involved from the start. If you get an attorney involved, they will generally get a percentage of your retro pay regardless of what step in the process they enter representation. So some people prefer to get an attorney from the start, rather than do a lot of their own legwork, and then end up having to get an attorney later.

Some people also use Allsup http://www.allsup.com/Some people have liked them; others haven't.

But a good first step is to contact some representatives and see how interested they are in taking your case. The more interested they are, the less you probably need an attorney.

Good luck!

Have you also considered filing for any increased ratings and TDIU with the VA?

In the military, your buddies and comrades will often pressure you into "sucking it up", and not reporting to sick bay. Im sure that saves the military billions of dollars because, as you found out, sometimes it makes your case very hard to prove.

Old letters? Is there a possibility that you might have written to any friends / family and mentioned your neck hurting in any of the incidents? Or even after that?

Couldn't jump school create situations that would impact someone's neck, even without documented injuries.

When did you first receive treatment for your neck?

The closer that was to your discharge, the better.

You also might want to have someone else look over your medical records to see if the catch something you are missing.

yes in some cases. Is the widower getting DIC?

Lots of info here:

http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/purchaseco_certificate.asp

I looked into this years ago when I considered adding a library/extra bedroom to my home.

I am in a credit union and the VA Home Loan people checked out my VA DIC status and immediately said they would contact my credit union for a VA home loan.

The Credit Union told me they handled the COE and asked how much I needed.

I never pursued it though.....

I had the specs all doped out for the local code enforcement officer but he saw a problem with one part of my new addition idea and said I could easily change it and add on to another part of my home, instead of where my specs room was.

I thought about it but then again, I have too many books as it is ,dont really need another bedroom , and I find the Kindle is far more convenient.
I have the entire Bible and 4 other books in a plastic Kindle that fits into my purse.

As I understood the VA Home Loan people, I could get loan for repairs, an addition, modifications etc etc...or if I bought a new home and moved.into it.

I think you have to also have a good credit rating.

If the widower has DIC, for direct SC death of his veteran wife, does he also get CHAMPVA and Chap 35?(He should be getting them)


This is a good topic Home Loans for vets as well as surviving spouses...maybe a good topic for a radio show.

.

razinkane,

Glad to hear the VA head honchos are helping you. Wouldn't it be great if veterans received this same level of responsiveness and helpful attitude all the time from the VA? We can only hope it will eventually happen.

Good luck and Semper Fi.

GP

That is interesting that he noted that you only had the disease in the left hip but you have decreased range of motion in both hips.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/legg-calve-perthes-disease/basics/lifestyle-home-remedies/con-20035572
Activity modification. Your child should avoid high-impact activities, such as running or jumping, because they can increase the amount of damage to the weakened bone and worsen symptoms.

See Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (stating that the Board erred in relying on a medical examiner who “ultimately relies not on the objective medical evidence, but rather the absence of such in reaching her opinion”)

Since you were granted benefits for the lower back, did the VA doctor give reasons why he concluded the trauma your lower back experienced somehow bypassed your hips and only affected your back? Those are body parts that generally work together. (<<my lay opinion).

thank you free_spirit_etc for that great information. the VA gave me the sciatica and decided on their own that it was caused by my lumbar strain. I don’t know if they used the BVA decisions or if because the Alison Hicky was involved but now that they have stated that it was they cant come back and say that it now isn’t. I am setting up appointment with the spine Dr that did the diagnosis to discuss with him about the decision. The Dr saw me for my sciatic running down the back of my left leg and on the bottom of my left foot, in both butt cheeks down just past my hips. The rater said that they could not give the right side and down the leg because the Dr just put my left hip. So I will see if I cant get him to correct his diagnosis and then I will file it and hopefully get the right side and my left leg.
diver

Thank yew to all for sharing all of this deep information and I apologize if I misdirected this thread to BVA decisions. To me, this is wonderful information and slow as I am it will take me days to absorb it.

Respectfully,
Slowlane

ps: I'll be back

I agree. That is where I got the "A non-precedential decision may be cited "for any persuasiveness or reasoning it contains." See Bethea v. Derwinski, 252, 254 (1992)." - from a BVA decision.

And diver -- once you find something you might want to cite -- you can do an additional search for that case. For instance, in the above, do a search for Bethea v. Derwinski, and it will pull up BVA cases that cited that case, and you can find the reasoning worded in a variety of ways, and look for one that best supports your claim.

But with that being said, there are still times when citing the BVA cases might be the best thing you can come up with.

My husband's doctor told him that his cancer started a long time before he got out of the service. He explained that was based on his type of cancer's doubling time / growth rate. When I did a BVA search on cancer doubling time and growth rate, I found that most of the claims I pulled up were granted. Most of the claims were similar to my husband's -- where the cancer was diagnosed within a few years of getting out of service, but the nature of that type of cancer was that it would take many years to reach the size it was at diagnosis. It wasn't a case where I was able to find a case or two that were granted. I started clicking on the cases I pulled up under the doubling time search term, and found most of them were granted. The ones that were not granted were usually ones in which the claimant did not get an IMO, and just gave their own opinion and a couple articles to support the claim.

Despite the fact I found many of those cases, most people continued to tell me that my husband's cancer couldn't be service connected unless it was diagnosed in service, or he had boots on the ground in Vietnam. Even the couple of lawyers I contacted turned down representing me, and the VSOs told me I wouldn't be granted benefits because his cancer wasn't in his SMRs and he didn't have boots on the ground.

Despite the fact, §3.303(d) specifically addresses Post-Service diagnosis of disease, most people will tell you it has to be diagnosed in service, or exhibit noticeable symptoms in service. But the BVA cases told me different.

Of course, I had my IMOs, but I couldn't find precedential cases that specifically addressed cancer onset based on growth rate. So I used the BVA cases in my argument. I submitted the following:

"Entitlement to service connection based on doubling time and / or growth rates of cancer is not uncommon. Service connection has been granted on this basis in various claims. (See BVA Citation Nr: 0932955, BVA Citation Nr: 1132635, BVA Citation Nr: 0202424, BVA Citation Nr: 0905201, BVA Citation Nr: 0022373, BVA Citation Nr: 0521737, BVA Citation Nr: 1308760). A non-precedential decision may be cited "for any persuasiveness or reasoning it contains." See Bethea v. Derwinski, 252, 254 (1992)."

Ironically, one of the cited cases was decided by the judge who was deciding my case.

I also attached a copy of the excerpts of the portions of the decisions that addressed the issue.

The way I used the BVA decisions was similar to the way you are using them. In your case, the C&P doctor didn’t just state that YOUR sciatica isn’t caused by lumbar strain. He stated lumbar strain CANNOT cause sciatica. All the BVA cases you found certainly point out that the doctor did not use sound medical reasoning in his decision.
However, though you can point out that the opinion was inadequate because of that statement (and other issues in his report) you will still need to have a doctor state that YOUR sciatica is more likely than not caused by your SC condition. They can’t just base that on the other BVA cases.

diver,

Chris Attig has some interesting info here about Inadequate Exams http://www.attiglawfirm.com/communicate/inadequate-c-and-p-exams/

Here are a couple cases that might also help.

See Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (stating that the Board erred in relying on a medical examiner who “ultimately relies not on the objective medical evidence, but rather the absence of such in reaching her opinion”)

See Dalton v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 12, 39-40 (2007) (examination inadequate where the examiner did not comment on Veteran's report of in-service injury and relied on lack of evidence in service medical records to provide negative opinion); see also Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331, 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2006).

This is such GREAT news airborne!!!

The amount of time and resources the VA spends making veterans fight for years for benefits that had enough evidence to be granted from the start is ridiculous.

"MR. Secretary,

I am writing this to ask your help in a situation. In June I filed multiple claims, including Chronic Fatigue SYNDROME (closest thing on claims drop down) and joint/muscle pain. I also claimed sleep apnea and headaches increase (which were both resolved favorably). During exam VA Dr stated that sleep apnea was caused by exposure to toxins during gulf war. He also states in the same report that I have chronic fatigue and random joint/muscle pain which are undiagnosed illnesses and were at least as likely as not caused by the same exposure.

These two were deferred. VRO apparently contacted va Dr and asked if I had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue SYNDROME, which of course he said I hadn't...... They are UNDIAGNOSED illnesses according to his expert opinion. VRO sent me denials for both Fibromyalgia (which I never claimed), and Chronic Fatigue SYNDROME.

I have since filed a claim for undiagnosed illness (gulf war). I feel I have not been treated fairly in these cases and should not have had to refile when there was medical evidence in my file clearly stating that I have undiagnosed illnesses at least as likely as not related to exposure in gulf war where I served as an Airborne Infantryman with the 82nd Airborne. I'm not sure if I did the right thing or not, but I thought there is a duty of those looking at claims to consider all evidence. I still feel my start date for these claims should be June when I first filed. There are plenty of lay statements supporting these claims, as well as a VA Doctor advising they are undiagnosed illnesses as least as likely as not caused by exposures during the gulf war. "

The next day I got a reply saying they were having leadership look into it. Today I got a call from someone at va with the ability to fix errors. He went through the issues and stated he was canceling out the denials and granting sc for both claimed undiagnosed illnesses. He also stated he was adjusting some granted issues claim dates as they had been entered later than they should have been.

Bob is the man in my book......

I sometimes use BVA decisions, but, instead of citing the BVA decision, I cite the precedential decision they cite. This way, I avoid all the "non precedential hocus pocus" the VA loves to throw at us. If you carefully read the applicable BVA decision, they often cite a precedential case. Use the precedential case instead.

I feel for you rootbeer2. The VA got a medical opinion after my husband died. It was used to deny my claim. It was so short and brief, and just scribbled on a Statement of Case form. It was like the doctor couldn't even be bothered with sitting down and writing a real opinion. I thought - my husband deserved MUCH better than that. He spent his life serving his country and the VA could dismiss him with a few scribbled sentences? Of course, such a pathetic medical opinion was easy to defeat at the BVA level, but still - it just seemed so disrespectful to me.

diver,

I never claimed for this. I am a widow and filed for accrued benefits and DIC after his death. I used IMOs and medical articles.

If we would have known during his lifetime what I know now -- he could have been awarded several claims that he had been denied previously. We would have known to go over the medical records, the decisions, and the law. Back then, we didn't know as much about the VA games, and how to win them. That was before we knew about hadit.

Diver,

I am sorry to hear you had to leave your job. Though you are considered "young" by SSA standards, and thus they will see if you can be retrained for a different kind of job, the percentages on the back disability and depression are very relevant for your claim. The back injury would most likely rule out many non-sedentary jobs, and the depression might rule out many sedentary jobs.

You might want to contact a few SSA attorneys and see what they tell you. You might want to contact NOSSCAR http://www.nosscr.org/for referrals. You may call NOSSCR at 1-800-431-2804 during regular Eastern Standard Time business hours.

Some attorneys like to handle claims from the beginning to make sure everything is filed correctly before an initial decision is made. Other attorneys don't want to take claims until the person has already been denied. So keep that in mind when you talk to them.

Some people prefer to go it alone when filing, and other people prefer to get an attorney involved from the start. If you get an attorney involved, they will generally get a percentage of your retro pay regardless of what step in the process they enter representation. So some people prefer to get an attorney from the start, rather than do a lot of their own legwork, and then end up having to get an attorney later.

Some people also use Allsup http://www.allsup.com/Some people have liked them; others haven't.

But a good first step is to contact some representatives and see how interested they are in taking your case. The more interested they are, the less you probably need an attorney.

Good luck!

Have you also considered filing for any increased ratings and TDIU with the VA?

diver,

I never claimed for this. I am a widow and filed for accrued benefits and DIC after his death. I used IMOs and medical articles.

If we would have known during his lifetime what I know now -- he could have been awarded several claims that he had been denied previously. We would have known to go over the medical records, the decisions, and the law. Back then, we didn't know as much about the VA games, and how to win them. That was before we knew about hadit.

Vern2, I get you bud. My current FDC was submitted in Nov 14. This claim was Prep for Decision with no C&Ps from Dec14-Feb15. Then all of a sudden claim goes back to Gathering of Evidence, RO sent me to 8-10 C&Ps, also the VA reviewed 4 of my current SC conditions, even though they were not due until Feb 2016 to be reviewed. Now my claim has been at Prep for Decision for the last month. Funny thing is going by the C&P notes, it looks like I will granted almost all of the current conditions claimed, and a few of the Reviewed conditions look like they are going to be increased, right back at ya you dang VA!!!!

After a living hell for 3 years I was awarded 70% with 100% TDIU, P&T. 27 months ago I had a DRO hearing and NOTHING was done until I sent an email to my Senator 12 days ago complaining about the delay and lack of communication from the RO. A week later I get a call from the Deputy Director of the RO and today a rating decision. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. No more living in a tent in the woods. Thank you, Jesus. ...or should I include the Senator?

When you receive your SOC, you have 60 days in which to file your VA Form 9 completing the substantive appeals process. If you filed the F-9 with any new and material evidence, they have to review it, make another decision up or down and then send you a SSOC confirming it is still denied. You are not required to answer a SSOC but if you have more new evidence, you can always submit it to the BVA once the claim is certified and moved to DC. If you wish to answer the SSOC, you have 30 days in which to do so before they begin packing up the file for shipment to DC.

To me, the SSOC is concrete proof that the RO is never going to give you a fair shake or a grant at the eleventh hour. No guarantees at the BVA either but certainly better odds.

The VA's Regional Counsel has been telling VA Doctors for years not to fill out the DBQs, because they are a conflict of interest between the VA's interests and the Veterans' legal claim....this is BS, in my opinion, as the system is supposed be "non-adversarial" to the Veteran, so there is no "conflict"

That said, there are quite a few VAMC docs that have the backbone to support their patients. Ask your VAMC PCP or Specialist, and if they say no, don't push. If they say yes, ask for the copy so you can submit it, that way they don't put something harmful into the DBQ and send it directly to the VARO.

As to private docs, the VA will honor DBQs prepared by private doctors - in many cases they carry as much weight as a written IMO - but typically only on the impairment rating question. It is difficult - in my experience - to get the VA to accept a DBQ as proof of "nexus", but much easier to use a DBQ to establish an impairment rating.

Here's some more pros and cons on the DBQ in a post on the Veterans Law Blog.

And....a little off topic....but DON'T FORGET to challenge the credentials of VA C&P Examiners that give you a bad opinion: