GatorNavy

The way I see it, the only way it will change is if people refuse to put on a uniform. As long as there are warm bodies to send off at the whim of the President's and Congresses' brain farts then nothing will Change! I ask: "What are our troops really doing in Liberia?" In Harbel, Margibi County, Liberia is Firestone's massive rubber plantation.

That's really awesome! You've got something to work with now, so sock it to 'em!

It is difficult to deal with when you have so many appointments and you are doing internet research to find out what all of the tests and the test results mean. Then all of your energy is geared toward what is wrong with you. Find a way to shave back on those appointments and get involved with something you really want to do. Your stress level will go down. As long as you can get enough sleep and manage the pain. You may surprise yourself with what you can do and how much you enjoy life. The kids grow up so quick, that time is golden. It's not easy to do and the VA sure doesn't make it easy.

Congrats Bro! I'm really happy for you and your family! Berta gives you some sage advice. From Jim Strickland's Site: http://statesidelegal.org/difference-benefits-100-schedular-disabled-veteran-vs-100-tdiu-disabled Some very knowledgeable people here at Hadit may chime in here

I got an anxiety attack from reading this stuff....remembering some of the things they put me through. Most are nice and cordial....but a few are homicidal maniacs. One particular nurse thought I was completely under for my procedure....well I wasn't! My new shrink the first and last time I had an appt. with him put in my notes that I was fighting with my wife over the kids. Well, my wife died six years ago and my oldest grand child is in high school! I was really, really pissed over that. The laundry list is long in my case. Congress and the President want it this way. There may only be 3 million vets with disabilities but it affects many millions of family members. I don't remember hearing anything about Veteran issues by any political candidate past, present, or future. To the upper echelon in this country the Veterans can go eat cake. I fully understand where the Scots are coming from!

Well it's still a time gamble if you don't file the NOD right away. The sooner you file the NOD the sooner you get a docket number for the BVA appeal. The way I see it, unless a Vet has new and material evidence that is irrefutable, or incontrovertible; then you are just throwing time back to the VARO. Few Vets (or VSOs) know what evidence will absolutely change the outcome before the appeal date passes.I got lucky once, but it was under special circumstances. I will probably never have the occasion again to submit evidence before the NOD.

well, first of all, the VARO only knows and uses the M21 which is their operating instructions. The M21 is derived from 38 CFR. The entire VBA uses 38 CFR which is the Agency's guidelines for execution derived from the USC. The USC is enacted by Congress and signed into law by the President. USC 17 is the law which governs how the Veteran's Health Administration reimburses Veterans for health benefits. USC 38 is the law that governs how the Veteran's Benefits Administration operates for compensation, pension and the like. § 3.156 New and material evidence (a) General. A claimant may reopen a finally adjudicated claim by submitting new and material evidence. New evidence means existing evidence not previously submitted to agency decisionmakers. Material evidence means existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened, and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 5103A(f), 5108) (b) Pending claim. New and material evidence received prior to the expiration of the appeal period, or prior to the appellate decision if a timely appeal has been filed (including evidence received prior to an appellate decision and referred to the agency of original jurisdiction by the Board of Veterans Appeals without consideration in that decision in accordance with the provisions of § 20.1304(b)(1) of this chapter), will be considered as having been filed in connection with the claim which was pending at the beginning of the appeal period. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501)

Technically a "Request for a Reconsideration" at the VARO level is a re-open within the one year with New and Material evidence. I understand it has no bearing at all on the NOD or the appeal date. It can be a useful tool. It takes so long to process a decision that new evidence can come to light or the Vet's condition can change. You can file a NOD right away but sometimes in a smaller shop the rater is still familiar with your claim and will change the decision. Worked for me once anyway. I got SC for two contentions but I submitted some inpatient records that had recently come to light. Took me four months to get the decision changed. I was low-balled but at least I had retro in the bank and SC contentions to appeal.

I don't think it's that complicated. The recon is probably buried under a stack of claims on a raters desk because they don't have enough evidence to go to the "boss" and change the decision. Now with a NOD the claim will move on to the appeals team. I always use the 21-4138 that has the sworn statement on it. The RO likes to use that form anyway. They even put my change of address on a 21-4138. DRO review is an 18 month gamble. We have a small shop in the back of the country store with two DROs. Neither one of them wants to go against their own rating team. Only 11% of denied claims will go on to the BVA so they could care less. Some say a DRO review is another bite of the apple. IMHO, why walk into an ambush when you know where it is? The OIG gave my VARO an overall error rate of 30%. I think to double that is more realistic. Name and claim number on the corner of every page is muy importante!

I don't agree BV because the legs have already been found to be secondary to the back. Some medical opinion has already been rendered that indicates so. For purposes of calculating the percentage requirements of one 60 percent disability, or one 40 percent disability, the VA has devised rules for determining what satisfies the term “ one disability. ” The following are considered to be one disability: “ (1) disabilities of one or both upper extremities, or of one or both lower extremities, including the bilateral factor. . . , (2) disabilities resulting from a common etiology or a single accident, (3) disabilities affecting a single body system, e.g ., orthopedic, digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular-renal, neuropsychiatric, (4) multiple injuries incurred in a ction, or (5) multiple disabilities incurred as a prisoner of war. ” 23 Therefore, if a veteran suffers from several service-connected heart disabilities such as congestive heart failure and hypertension, the rating for these disabilities need only combine to a 60 percent evaluation in order for the veteran to qualify for TDIU under 4.16(a). If the veteran meets the percentage requirements, set forth above, the VA proceeds to the second step of the TDIU analysis. The VA determines whether the individual veteran is prevented from securing or following a “ substantially gainful occupation ” because of the service-connected disabilities.

Byte, That is considered one injury for IU purposes and thus the RO can adjudicate the IU claim without sending it off to washington la,la land. The RO should have sent a notice with the rating decision indicating that the Vet may be eligible for IU. It's all in the CFR.

Good luck with a patient advocate.....they are just a gate-keeper. The VA will only pay a private provider for a life threatening emergency that you cannot get to the VA emergency room for. Some VAMCs will pay that others won't. no ryhme or reason why. They do what they want to do as there is no oversight by anyone. The director's main responsibility is show up for tee time on fridays. Might want to camp on urology's doorstep until they give you an appointment. Sometimes when they do give an appointment, it's with a nurse who doesn't know squat and doesn't do squat. your PCP is responsible for that, or should be. Good luck!

The Law is about as useful as tits on a steer! The law is only good for two years and states have a say in what they will pay for medicare and what they won't pay. The VA drags their feet in making any emergency payment so the private providers decided to sit this one out. Our government never intended for the Bill to work anyway. Just a smooze for the general public. I had to cough up blood and do faceplants in multiple VA emergency room visits before I could see a specialist. Took three years and I almost died. Should have...no one knws how I was able to survive it.

Now you'll have to wait for your C-file to see what is missing (almost a guarantee) or which other Veterans records have been added to your file. You may find that the VARO staff will act like they have an IQ of 85 from now on. Good Luck!

Once you make a claim with the VA they pull your Service Med recs from NPRC and keep them. Why they let the VA archive anything is beyond belief. Those records should be in your c-file. Now I had a c-file for 30 years and the Va lost my entire C-file (shredded). Then they came back and said no record of this condition exists in my SMR's. No duh! They said they had to rebuild my c-file with nothing in it! Military Hospital records are usually kept at the military hospital for inpatients. If you have dates that you were in a military hospital and give that ifo to NPRC they might be able to come up with those records.

The BVA "boneyard" where many good claims go to die. You see this all too often. It's a shame. The violin plays the sad saga of a Vet that didn't appeal on time. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The July 1999 RO decision, which denied the Veteran's application to reopen the previously denied claim of service connection for asthma, is final. 38 U.S.C.A. § 7105(c) (West 2002 & Supp. 2011); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.104, 20.302, 20.1103 (2011). 2. Evidence submitted since the July 1999 RO decision in support of the claim of service connection for asthma is not new and material; accordingly, this claim is not reopened. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5108 (West 2002 & Supp. 2011); 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (2011).

It'a crap shoot. Two years if DRO favorable, 4 if not. You can do the same thing with asking for a hearing with a NOD (part1 chap 4). A VSO won't go that route though. That way the appeals team will give it to the senior person who is the DRO.That process usally only tales a few months. I think the DRO review is just a dog and pony show for the VSO's.No body wants to give away their VSCM's bonus to a Vet. Do a few get justice at a DRO recview? Sure, have to show off a few fortunate Vets to the public so the process doesn't die a quick ugly death although it should!

The attorney works for the BVA. Once your C-file leaves the building, that is the end of the VARO's involement. Unless the VLJ remands back to the VARO (known as the AOJ or Agency Of Jurisdiction). To keep off the hamster wheel, take care of all of the possibilities for remand. You don't want a remand for another medical opinion, SOC or something like that.

The BVA is still a non-adversarial process. When you get to the CAVC it becomes adversarial. Attendees at the hearing are the VLJ, you and your representative if you have one. You can present more evidence at the hearing if you wish. After the hearing concludes, your c-file goes to a panel of OGC VA attorneys who help the VLJ make the decision. The BVA is the last gasp for submitting evidence as an appeal to the CAVC only deals with procedure and implementation of law.

Lotza, I like the way you put it bettter. I am just a slow typer.

The thing is they do it to most everyone. They treat Vets with the highest disdain. This is all by design. The cases that resolve within a year are as rare as hen's teeth. At first I used to be very upset until I realized it wasn't personal. The employees aren't evil. But how many people will do anything their boss asks of them for 80-100k? They got a good laugh from you at your expense. They probably talked about it at lunch and gave some high fives. Evidence, time, confidence and endurance to keep rolling will beat them in the end. They know that most Vets will get angry and eventually burn out or die; but very few will finish the race and appeal. When it's my turn in the process, I just toss in some paper and go on with life. I can't see wasting energy on a bunch of vA clowns when I can enjoy my retirement however short that may be.

If you or your family want to possess or own firearms then file for Relief from the Brady Act with the VARO. Otherwise the FBI swat team could show up in your yard and cart you off to Federal prison for illegally posessing a firearm. The VA DOES report to the FBI any mental health rating of 10% or more.

All evidence should be before the VLJ. If not, they will remand. The only remand I want is to be rated for is a grant of Service Connection by the BVA. I've read through several hundred BVA cases. Most of the remands are to get a medical opinion from a C&P or independent when the vet arrived with nothing. Start with nothing and end up at the BVA with nothing will either be another 3-4 year trip on the hampster wheel or a flat out denial. I have no power to change the situation but I can change my tactics to best take advantage of that situation.

Times they are changin'. Please read the PDF I supplied which is about the waiver of initial consideration by the BVA. It isn't well publicized for some reason. I ran across it by accident.I knew it was eventually coming though, as the language was in the Camp Lejuene Act. Next time I find something that I don't see here that may be an update I will contact you or Carlie. That way you can read it and understand it and then decide if it should be before the public. Mea Culpa!

For a moment there I thought you posted 2015 when the "backlog" is supposed to do a dis-appearing act!