Ricky

Jim they can and sometimes do. In such cases the exam follows shortly. However, I have seen them leave the rating intact for up to 12 months simply cause no one caught it. You will have to wait and see what they do in your case.

mrsvet - take look a this link: http://www.avapl.org/pub/PTSD%20Manual%20final%206.pdf I do not understand why the docs did not expand axis IV a bit to show the social and economical problems your hubby has. This is an excellent area to stress the effects of PTSD. a couple of your docs simply listed: Severe ---- which really does not fit here....... anyway take a look at the link and it will give you a good idea as to what the VA has instructed their examiners to do.

I understand what you are saying. However, as I indicated in my previous post if you are trying to climb the hill with a subjective disability (chronic pain, mental issue) then you have to make sure your have the medical evidence to support your claim. The only way to do this is through continuity of symptoms verified by the appropriate medical expert. It is different from a physical disability. It should not be different but it is and if you want your claim to sail through a slow and clogged up system then that is the way to do it.

Don't worry Bob he will tweak it ok. You got to remember whether it is Bush, Regan or the Wonderful One, they are all the same. Things are bad and they (bush/regan) would and he (Obama) will cut anything that he preceives not to be vote worthy. Now can you tell me when the last time the veteran community was vote worthy? Yes Bob they are all the same.....even Obama. Our best bet is to keep our mouths shut until the economy stables itself up a bit so none of the politicians will be concerned about cuts to fund their votes.

Although I have not seen all of your medical evidence let me take a stab. I think that the vet hurt his case by not seeking out treatment for PTSD which resulted in the denial. He may have had a diagnosis in 05 but with little to no treatment the C&P doc was able to provide a different opinion. It appears that there was no continuity of syptoms (due to the lack of treatment) followed by different diagnosis. The board has denied for this reason - and we all know that these two things must be present in any VA claim 1-continuity of sysptoms and a current diagnosis. If the medical opinons from the 05 or earlier date were not updated after the 07 diagnosis of mood disorder by the C&P doc then that coupled with the lack of treatment more than likely caused the denial. I know, I know - we all talk about follow on treatment from time to time and there is no requirement for continued treatment only continued symptoms. A vet with a SC condition such as HTN can simply never go to the doc or take his meds. When it comes time for an updated C&P exam he sits on the table and the doc takes his BP - yep you guessed it its gonna be high. And even though he failed to make his doc appointments or take his meds he will be allowed to keep his SC for the HTN. Why - cause it is something the doc can physically see. However, with purely subjective disabilities such as headaches, pain or mental issues the only way to indicate they exist and their continuance or worsening is through continued and constant treatment. Although it should not be this way that is the way it is. So if you are attempting to SC or keep a mental issue SC'ed - doc visits, complaints of symptoms and strict adherence to your med regime is the only way to go. Now with all of that said - like I said at the start - I have not seen your medical evidence and you may have done all that I said above. If you did then the VA did not see it that way.

Yes you can. If attempting to force the SO to fix this problem then your only option is to reopen. I do not see a cue since the medical report was what caused the 10 percent rating.

They have two IRIS response centers. Depending on where you live it goes to one of them. They turn around and submit the question to the VARO. The VARO answers it back to them and then the response center responds to you.

I have seen a lot of claims denied down my way and based upon the amount one would say them ole boys do have a con spear usy as sure as Elvis it alive. However, if you stand outside the box and take a good look you will see that about 80 percent of the denials are based upon the first five of six things Ron listed with the remaining contributed to the six reason. The good ones are so over-worked they can't care. The rest of them are just plain ignorant due to the lack of training or simply being unable to be trained. 60 percent of them could not understand an IMO even if you wrote it in crayon for them (they will some day - about 10 years from now). The system is and always has been overwhelmed and under funded. However, keep in mind that although it has its uphill battles it is the best disability system in the world. They give you and your family (under certain circumstances) free health care, free meds, they help you buy cars and modify them to suite your disability, they give you scooters, they send you and your family to college etc........ If we could just get congress to care enough to fix the overall system the local VAROs would be more user friendly.

I believe Extraterrestrials did not land at Area 51 and YES THEY DID I SEEN EM AS THEY FLEW OVER MY HOUSE. IT APPEARED THEY WERE HAVING A BIT OF TROUBLE WITH THE SAUCER AS IT WAS A TILT'N A BIT TO THE LEFT. I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THEY DIDN'T LAND CAUSE THEY CRASHED!!! :D B)

doctor that stated within the letter that my PN was moderate incomplete paralysis Did he do any EMG testing to support this statement? I agree with the below that it should have been rated at 10 percent per limb affected, however your doc is probably going to have to conduct the test in order to support his opinion. If you have had an EMG then I stand corrected - I did not see it mentioned in your post.

Time lines: from original decision to file a NOD - 1 year from response to NOD by the DRO to file your form 9 for a formal appeal - 60 days If the DRO changes your decision and issues a rating decision say from 0 percent to 10 percent then you once again have one year to file a NOD against that rating decision. However, if your rating decision issued an award of say 0 percent and your submit a NOD and then the DRO continues that decision at 0 percent then you only have 60 days to formalize your appeal via the form 9. It looks like you missed that 60 day period. However, since you sent in a letter saying you still disagreed - and if you sent in additional evidence after the 60 day period they may re-open the claim if the evidence is new and material. Or if you have an easy going DRO he/she may have accepted your letter as your formal appeal. Does not happen often but it does happen. As posted below you need to call and find out the status of your claim and then go from there. Just keep in mind for future reference - one year to file your NOD after the rating and if the DRO continues the denial or same level of award you only have 60 days to perfect your appeal.

Glad I could be of service to you :D

Congrats Ron. Hey I want to go with you and Carlie too. However, keep in mind that I am an expensive date ole buddy. B)

How far away from Montgomery are you? In dealing with these guys I would recommend that you respond in writing.

Just think of it as VA math 5+3=8 so in VA days the response was sent in 8 days.

Carlie - in this one the VA had tried to apply the later date because they said that the vet had not filed a formal claim for tinnitus as they had instructed him to do. However, at the time he had filed his informal claim in 1995 he was already service connected at zero percent tinnitus. So what they are saying is that the VA can not apply the later date for his zero percent was proof that he had in fact already filed a formal claim for thnnitus.

I think someone is confused. There is no such thing as a normal appeal. However, I guess they are all normal from the stand point that they all have to began with a NOD. Once the NOD is filed you will get an election form as to whether you want the appeal to be processed via the "traditional" means or via the DRO means. Keep in mind that no matter what any VSO says if you ain't a OIF/OEF vet a DRO review will run you anywhere from 12-18 months and the traditional appeal (without DRO review) will run you anywhere from 24-36 months (most go on much longer). What the VSO may have meant was a reconsideration. If you had New Evidence, the key here is "new" then you could ask for a reconsideration Vs an appeal (NOD). They were right in that only the new evidence would be reviewed and it would be reviewed by a rater not on the appeals team (99 percent chance it would be the rater who made the original decision). Normally if the rater considers the evidence new and material to your claim then you could have an answer anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. If this is not the way your VSO explained it then grab your hat and run for the door for they not knoweth what they doeth my friend.

Berta is right Hoppy. The only way to force their hand is to obtain an IMO in which the doc indicates that the SMR's were read and his opinion is that the military doc's misdiagnosed symptoms A,B and C over the years as diagnoses x when in reality symptoms A, B and C were xxxxx. Sealed with a strong rationale will force the reopening of the claim and lead to new exams.

First off welcome home and to Hadit. Your are on the right track. First and foremost in your life should be the treatment. The VA claim, although you have a threat of being homeless and appear to be an afghan/iraqi vet will go much faster, however, it will still take some time. I would not worry about the VA benefits Vs the unemployment benefits until you get to that bridge (when your va claim is approved). Then, although you will have to check with you state on the unemployment benefits, unless you are awarded 100 percent based upon TDIU I do not see a problem. Send in any and all medical evidence that supports your claim now. It could mean the difference between a denial or an award of benefits. Stay with your VSO and visit Hadit on a regular basis.

Your C&P's should go just fine. As far as your claim your will need to provide verifaction of the stressor for the VA in order to speed up your claim. I would begin by looking here to see if you might find mention of the incident: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/declassdocs/marines/19960924/ If not there are other sites that will assist you and I am sure others will chime in with them. Also of importance would be buddy letters from your crew members; those who came back to get all of you and especially your commander.

More likely than not another C&P will not be needed. As John said simply ask for an increase supported with the latest test findings and treatment regiment.

-With the averages you have reported and the assignment of meds on AD you should qualify for a 10 percent rating. -OSA: snoring at night while feeling tired and sleepy all the time is a good indicator of OSA. Just talk it over with your doc and ask him to have you evaluated.

yoggie - it is hard to truly speak on how another human mind will react. Eventhough we all speak our minds about the VA and the ups and downs we have with them, for the most part the DRO's that I have dealt with are very sympathic toward the veteran and try their best to comply with the law. All but one or two of them have been very professional and knowledgeable of their jobs. 1. Will the DRO officer have already made up his mind on my claim before he sets down or does he wait to view all evidence then decide? -They should have a very good understanding of your issues as they should have already reviewed your cfile as it pertains to the claim at hand. He or she will have a very good perspective on if the evidence currently on hand supports the claim or not. Now this is where you come in. Regardless of whether or not they have their mind made up you gotta knock them out of their under pants by providing the most supportive medical evidence and most logical and medically supportive arguments you can. You can do it.....for you know your disability better than anyone. You need to look at the denial again before going into the hearing and insure your arguments are directly against the denial. This is the most important as you have waited for your turn quite some time. You do not want to go in and waste you time pissing and moaning about the short stick the VA has given you (AND THEY HAVE) for if you do then I can almost tell you now what the decision will be!!!!! 2. Will the DRO officer ask me what evidence I have to prove certain claims? -Most if not all of them will not ask for a "definite proof". As you are providing your summary testimony they do listen. When they hear something they have read in the file they will ask clarifying questions about what you said - so such as Mr. vet you stated that you wear a brace on your left leg. So does that mean you have balance problems? does the brace help? Also he/she should ask you for any additional evidence you have to support your claim - If they don't let them know if you do. 3. Will the DRO officer make a derision on whether to grant my claim then and there even though it will be rated at a later date? I have never been to a hearing with a vet where this has been done. Keep in mind that the hearing is for your to present evidence and not for them to review it. Therefore, they will have to review the file, the new evidence and the transcript of the hearing before they make a decision and rating. 4. If I filed for IU Will the DRO officer tell me if I will be granted? -As above I do not believe this will happen for I am sure they will have to rate your current claim before they commit to a IU decision. I do not know if my answers help you or not but as we all know the VA has their proceedures in the claims process. Sad thing is we vets gotta live with them. Good luck my friend. Be calm, respectful and straight forward. You will do fine. Ricky

OK let me see if I can help here. Question 1: I submitted a request for reconsideration back in June 2008. In it I put "Note: I make the election of a VARO DRO review for a de novo decision if available". Now, my question is, does this trigger a DRO hearing, or is the hearing something different? I should be getting an answer of some sort pretty soon I would think. Answer: A reconsideration is just that a reconsideration of a previous decision. It must be supported with new evidence that was not available at the time of the previous decision. It will be reviewed by the same rater that made the decision. You can not elect a DRO de novo review in a reconsideration. Such an action can only be requested in a Notice of Disagreement which is a different animal than a request for reconsideration. What you have done will do one of two things: (1) Confuse the hell out of them and then there is no telling what will happen. Most likely they will let it sit around for a year without responding to it (yes they do not have to respond to a reconsideration) all the while you think they are working on it and whamo - one year has gone by and you have lost your right to appeal. OR 11 months later they will finally review it and send you a letter asking what it is you want them to do - reconsider or process as a NOD. This will add a bunch of time to your claim. So my best advice is if you have not heard anything by the 11th month (from the original decision) then you best send in another letter titled: This is my Notice of Disagreement to your rating............. Answer to your second question: The effective date will be the date your claim was reopened Jan 2008 unless you could find a CUE to force them back to the Oct 2000 date.

It would be interesting to hear a little more background on this one ie......what you claimed, their denial, your response etc...... Also Why did you get mad and file a writ? Was it because you got your cfile and saw this NOD or have you actively been pursuing the issue along the way? Just curious. In response to your writ the Sec stated that the paper had been interperted as a claim for benefits. That is strange for they do not have such luxury. The court has ruled that even the most twisted response from a veteran (in an appeal) must be clarified. As they did respond to the writ and say they "interperted" the document to be a claim for benefits then how did they explain that none had been awarded or denied based upon the document your submitted? Yes this is going to take a one on one with your rep's involvement to unsnooker my friend.