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jamescripps2
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Posts posted by jamescripps2
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Nobody has mentioned an automobile grant with adaptive equipment due to the foot drop. Loss of use should be a sure thing with consideration of the AFO.
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Its sort of a catch 22. I am highly appreciative for what I do get from the VA. Without the VA benefits I would for sure be in a world of hurt. In the process over the last ten years of trying to claim those benefits really took a toll on myself and my family. It should not have been that way. I now have my earned benefits but neither I or any veteran that I know of trust the VA in any circumstance. In private enterprise if you have no satisfied customers you don't survive. The VA has no satisfied customers that I know of, not even the ones who eventually win their claims. The lack of accountability of individual VA employees has created a monster of an organization that is hostile to the veteran that it is meant to serve.
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You are required to show where you were exposed, in great detail. When you were exposed, in great detail. And how you were exposed, in great detail. If you are extremely tenacious and presistant you might have a chance. Be mindful, it will take years of your time. The benefits, should you happen to win, outweigh the effort of the fight for yourself and those who might follow in your footsteps. Go for it!
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I was rated for PN at 50% right upper extremity and 40% in the other three limbs for years. On the 27th of August 2015, after a four year battle, I was awarded loss of use of R/ upper extremity as due to PN to include carpal tunnel and ulnar involvement. Loss of use, 50% of R/lower extremity due to PN to include complete loss of the peroneal nerve. The rating for the PN of the upper and lower extremities remains the same @ 40%. I was granted the automobile grant with adaptive equipment and the special adaptive home grant. My SMC is at the M rate with 1k and an S award.
I was given the decision by one of the Service Officers who works for the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services. I just happened to run into the guy and he informed me that I had won my claim. I told him that I was unaware of the claim being granted. He brought it up on his computer and made me a copy of the August 27, 2015 decision. It has been more than a month since the decision and I have not received the official brown envelop. I also can't get the VBA to sign off on the form 21-4502. I did get a letter from prosthetics and was given an appointment w for the adaptive equipment, which has been ordered. The SAH agent also called and paid a visit to assess my home for improvements or to build a new home. Still no big brown envelope.
Yesterday, I paid a visit to Senator Corker's office and voiced my complaint. What good is a Vehicle grant if you can't get the va to sign the form and return it. In my opinion, as a group, the VBA commits the worst case of bullying in America. Either they are inept or they bully the very veterans whom they are committed to serve!
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I was rated for PN at 50% right upper extremity and 40% in the other three limbs for years. On the 27th of August 2015, after a four year battle, I was awarded loss of use of R/ upper extremity as due to PN to include carpal tunnel and ulnar involvement. Loss of use, 50% of R/lower extremity due to PN to include complete loss of the peroneal nerve. The rating for the PN of the upper and lower extremities remains the same @ 40%. I was granted the automobile grant with adaptive equipment and the special adaptive home grant. My SMC is at the M rate with 1k and an S award.
I would think that involvement of two distinct nerves would only increase the award percentage assigned.
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Keep on keeping on Buck!
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Berta, Jerrel, and jbasser, I think that I can see another podcast coming in the near future. The widow needs some time to receive and bank her accrued benefits first. I think that for the benefit of others she just may agree to a joint show to inform other Thailand vets of her experience share her knowledge.
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I personally know the contractor who contracted with the US government to clean up the mess at Johnson's Island, "Operation Pacer Ho". He is local and good friend of mine.
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Berta, The DIC, CHAMPVA, and chapter 35 benefits letter will come from the office of original jurisdiction, in this case the RO in Nashville TN. The notification will include her back pay effective date and amounts. I suspect in the neighborhood of half a mil.
Again, the most paid for nexus and medical opinions in the claim was nominal $15 and $30 copays. In the case of no insurance a cost of 85.00 can be expected for a medical opinion.
I am honored to have built the case and produced the evidence to win a favorable grant in
my own claim for the first CONUS win. 100% P&T
The first AO win at fort McClellan ALA, 100% P&T
The second AO win at Fort Gordon GA for a reserve officer who did not even carry a veterans status until he won his claim for AO exposure.
A win for a Korean vet who served outside the dates and unit requirements. 100% P&T
The granted claim for the widow of a Thailand vet's widow, despite her husbands death half way through the process. Again, he was neither an MP nor was he a dog handler. He worked in supply.
At this time I am working on another fort Gordon claim. It is at the BVA and ready for a decision and decision is very close.
I rely on Gods promise to those who care for widows and orphans to get me through the gates of heaven, I have spent my time in hell!
To John999, yes we relied heavily on buddy statements and a bucket full of properly written nexus letters. You can find my outline and
explanation for a properly written nexus letter at usva101.org. Just copy it and take it to your doctor when you go after the nexus letter.
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This claim was originally filed in 2003 and was denied several times, lost a few times, kicked around to various regional offices and eventually remanded for a C&P exam. I was asked to take a look in 2011 and I started working feverishly with the widow. There was a lot of evidence gathering in the face of the usual sea of naysayers but we never lost focus. It is very difficult for a Thailand veteran to win, much less the thought of a sole surviving widow signing on upon the death of the veteran and seeing the claim through to a win. Needless to say, the evidence needed to be overwhelming. I venture to say that this the very first win for a sole surviving spouse in a Thailand herbicide exposure claim. It is important to note that the veteran was not an MP nor was he a dog handler. When it is posted on the BVA list of prior decisions web site it is DOCKET NO. 09-17 560 and dated June 02, 2014.
It is such an honor for me to be able to work these kind of claims to a win. I expect that a 100% award will be awarded in the claim because the death of the veteran was the result of the now service connected chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
The following is an excerpt from an email that I received from the widow this afternoon.
It has been a long, emotional, and painful ordeal, but I did receive a letter today from the Board of Veteran’s Appeal that says – For accrued benefits purposes, service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is granted.
I had James Cripps, a friend who has guided me, the first vet to win an AO claim stateside, who works daily with vets – read the decision tonight to re-assure me.
I am going to copy two paragraphs that I thought was so interesting and James also pointed it out:
An August 2007memorandum of the Compensation and Pension Service confirmed that herbicides such as Agent Orange were only applied in Thailand from April-September, 1964, 3 ½ years prior to the Veteran’s duty there. Moreover, the only application site in Thailand was the Pranburi Military Reservation, not U-Tapao. However, the memorandum determined that routine maintenance such as brush clearing, weed killing, and range management was conducted by the base civil engineer at U-Tapao, and that involved commercial herbicides applied by certified applicators. The memorandum notes that security police units and dog handlers were known to have walked the perimeters and therefore have a greater likelihood of exposure to commercial pesticides and herbicides.
Several letters were submitted by fellow-servicemen who served with the Veteran, or served at the same base in Thailand. These accounts endorsed the Veteran’s assertion that he was present at the perimeter of the base at U-Tapao. While the Veteran is not presumed to have been exposed to any herbicide based on his service, based on the Veteran’s assertions as corroborated by these statements, the Board finds that, it is at least likely as not that he was actually exposed to herbicides during his service.
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Consider the fact that Dioxin does not occur in nature, it is 100% man made.
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You are correct. "CONUS" is the Continental United States. Alaska and Hawaii are excluded from CONUS. There was one AO claim won by a vet whose duties and exposure was on on a golf course in Hawaii. There was also a AO exposure win at Fort Greeley Alaska and I know of several more Fort Greeley claims that are pending at this time.
This latest Fort Gordon win is only the fifth AO win inside CONUS to my knowledge. This win was for a National Guard officer who was at Fort Gordon for training. Not only did the win establish his medical care and compensation but it also established his veterans' status as a veteran. He was exposed to AO while on active duty for training purposes.
I expect that Berta will chime in on this one. There is also another extenuating factor in this claim, the Veteran did not arrive at Fort Gordon until seven days after the conceded defoliation testing at Fort Gordon. Can you see the inference in this win?
James
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I have in my hands the BVA decision, it is a new AO win @ Fort Gordon GA. dated Oct.17, 2012. When it is posted on the BVA web site it is DOCKET NO.10-06 183. We worked on the evidence and submitted the claim for DM II at the Nashville TN. RO four years ago.
Never give up,
James
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I put a lot of thought and time in these documents. We, in our orginization, have used them and provided them to doctors, the result has been some of the best nexus letters that I have ever seen. They were used in two CONUS agent orange wins and now they are working really well in producing letters for a Thailand exposure DIC claim. http://usva101.org
James M. Cripps
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I probably did not see or respond to this post in time to do you any good but here it is. In order to win a claim for chloracne, the claim must be submitted for direct exposure. 38 CFR 3.303 D allows that any disease may be claimed at anytime post discharge.
If you choose to file under the presumptive of exposure, then you have to contend with the cloracne one year rule as laid out for you at
38 CFR 3.307 and 3.309.
My advice would be to change the claim from presumptive exposure to direct exposure. You will then need to show where in Vietnam your veteran was and do your DD as to where exactly AO was used and how he was exposed. Just use the spray maps from the websites and VA,s own site.
If you elect to do this, just write out your intentions on a VA form 21-4138 and submit it. Clearly make it known that you are changing from presumptive exposure to direct exposure and send along with the 4138 a copy of the exposure evidence. do not spare highliting in yellow your intention. You do not have to refile and the change should not slow the claim.
James Cripps
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Carlie, the bashing is what I wanted everyone here to see. It makes you appreciate the hadit forums!
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This is well worth the read! It is three pages long at this time and it contains my entire BVA decision and CONUS win.
removed link to comply with HadIt.com Policy
Cut and paste into your browser if you have to. Unbelievable!
James Cripps
IHD_ 100% P&T
Diabetes II_ 20%
Neuropathy right upper extremity_40%
Neuropathy left upper extremity_30%
Neuropathy right lower extremity_10%
Neuropathy left lower extremity_ 10%
Severe anxiety and depression_40%
Chloracne_0%
"S" award and 1K award
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Veterans' claims are mired in backlog
It now takes VA six months on average for each demand
4:57 AM, Apr. 7, 2011 | 6Comments
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Written by
Gregg Zoroya
USA TODAY Filed Under
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U.S. troops in Afghanistan suffer higher number of catastrophic injuries
WASHINGTON — The number of veterans' disability claims taking more than four months to complete has doubled, prompting criticism from veterans and Congress that the Department of Veterans Affairs failed to prepare for a rise in cases it knew was coming.
"Without question, I believe that the VA disability claims system is broken," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said Wednesday.
The number of claims that take more than 125 days to decide has gone from 200,000 a year ago to 450,000 today, according to administration budget documents. As a result, veterans must wait even longer to receive payments for disabilities.
The VA says the delays are due in part to a generation of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with more complex claims, and a decision two years ago to expand compensation for Agent Orange-related illnesses. Claims also increase in a poor economy.
VA is criticized
But veterans groups and Murray say the VA was aware that claims would rise.
"The explosion in the claims backlog is another predictable, preventable insult to thousands of veterans of all generations," said Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America.
It now takes the VA six months on average to process each compensation demand for illnesses or injuries.
And the delay will reach an eight-month average next year, according to documents.
The VA says it has added staff and expanded automated record keeping but is dealing with an unprecedented amount of work.
"I think the disability determination system does not deliver decisions in as timely and uncomplicated a manner as people would like," said Tom Pamperin, a VA undersecretary for policy.
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki predicted an increase in 2009 when he expanded the number of illnesses that could be linked to Agent Orange.
The total number of pending claims for compensation has grown from 448,000 last April to 756,000 today.
"The VA knew that more Agent Orange claims would be coming in, but the claims have still overwhelmed the new caseworkers that Congress provided funding to hire," Murray said during a confirmation hearing for a new VA benefits chief.
Processors added
The VA added 3,000 claims processors last year, for a total of 14,000, but Pamperin says the work has been more labor-intensive than expected.
"We are working with a relatively inexperienced workforce. They make mistakes," he said.
Murray described a visit to a Seattle claims office where it took nine months to process a claim from a terminally ill veteran.
He died three days before the case was resolved, she said.
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Won on a BVA appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Nashville, Tennessee.
Decision date Mar 04 2011
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DOCKETT NO.09-16 193
Agent Orange claim was granted for diabetes II and residuals thereof.
I not only won my own claim for AO exposure inside CONUS but then proceeded to work on another CONUS claim for a friend. The BVA decision was handed down on March 4, 2011. You can watch for its posting on the BVA website DOCKET NO. 09-16 193. (Copy and paste if you need to, it is a 2011 decision.) http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/bva.html
This win is in a location that is not on the list of post and bases as generated as a result of Congressman Lane Evans demand to Secretary Donald Rumsfeld demanding a list of places outside Vietnam where AO was used, tested or stored. The DOD furnished the list but admitted that it was only 70 to 85% complete. My argument to the BVA judge hearing was; if the list had been completed as promised, would Fort Mc McClellan have then been on the list? It takes evidence to gain a favorable decision, and we had it all. This is the second win inside CONUS; I am working on the third, they are not easily won!
Never give up!
James
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The retro check came in todays mail.
The retro check came in todays mail.
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My inital post that started this thread was actually a copy of a letter that I had already sent to President Obama, MR. Eric Shinseki, The Secretary Of The Department of Veterans affairs, and to the Assistant Commissioner of the Tennessee Department Of Veterans Affairs.
I never heard from Mr. Obama or Mr. Shinseki but I did receive a letter the very next day from the Assistant Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs. The next day I received a call from the AMC in Washington. My claim was hand carried through the rating team and then through the post determination team. In short order I was faxed an un-official copy of the rating decision on April 11, 2010. The rating decision is 100% P&T as due to AO exposure inside the Continental US for the conditions of Diabetes 20% heart disease 100% and they are still working on the chloracne. Retro is back to November, 2005. I received the official rating decision notice from the AMC on May 20, 2010.
Throughout the entire five year conflict with the VA I never hesitated to call upon multiple Congressmen, Senators, The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, The President of the US, and I even used the media a few times in order call attention to the rampent injustice. Had I not knocked out all of the stops and used every tool available to me, then used the entire arena to conduct the battle I really think that I would still be back at step #1. I never whined or spoke in anger. At all times, (well with the exception of once,) I conducted all business with the VA in a buisnesslike manner.
Thanks to access to research via internet, good fortune and guidance from above, and the post available at Hadit.com, I won the seemingly imposible claim in under five years. My most valuable tool, and the one that is most often overlooked is the,"search prior BVA decisions" at the www.va.gov web site. There you can see why the winners won and the loosers lost in similar cases to yours.
DON’T BE AFRAID, JUST BE YOURSELF.
BE WHO YOU ARE, SAY WHAT YOU FEEL.
THOSE THAT MATTER.. DON’T MIND!
THOSE THAT MIND.. DON’T MATTER!
I wish that Irish could have lived to have seen it happen.
Thanks
James
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While at the VAMC today, I saw they had a comment card box full of cards. I filled one out to accurately describe my experiences today while I was there. They need to do this for the VARO's too, but I like TestVet's idea too.
Vync, the problem with your idea is that nobody makes a comment box that big, and even if they did, where would you get that many comment cards?
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Thanks for your input Testvet.
A congressional is useless. It is posible to entice the media on this issue, but when it only involves one veteran's benefits it is hard to do. I do suspect that retrobution for earilier media contact has a bearing on my claim now and is now playing itself out. If I had to do it all again I would do the same thing, as you say, that is how I got the VA to consider the evidence and render the favorable decision according to that overwhelming evidence.
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I am a Vietnam era US Army Veteran. In October, 2005, I filed a claim with the VARO in Nashville Tennessee for several diseases associated with my Agent Orange exposure during my military service,1967-1970. My claim was denied at the VARO so I appealed to the BVA in Washington DC. The VARO had also denied me a C&P exam, although I had asked for the C&P exam, in writing, many times. I have never been afforded a C&P exam.
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On November 2, 2009, The BVA rendered a partial grant. Despite being denied access to a C&P exam and based upon my overwhelming evidence I was granted service connection for type II diabetes and chloracne as due to herbicide exposure. Coronary artery disease was also granted as a residual of the diabetes. (BVA decision here) http://www4.va.gov/vetapp09/files5/0941553.txt
Three issues on the appeal, peripheral neuropathy, a hand and foot fungus, and ED were remanded back to the VARO, via the Appeals Management Center. The remand directs that a C&P be preformed and that the claim be re-adjudicated.
The AMC remanded my claim back to the VARO. The BVA decision also ordered that the claim be given expeditious treatment. The BVA’s order for the C&P exam was ignored by the VARO and no exam was ordered. My file was sent back to the AMC by the VARO on March 26, 2010, with no C&P exam having been ordered or performed. There was also no re-adjudication at the VARO as ordered by the BVA. Due to ineptness of the VARO my claim will once again be in limbo for a long time due to the backlog. When the matter finally does come up for consideration it will again be remanded back to the VARO for lack of a proper C&P exam.
My wife and I have been forced to survive on my small Social Security Disability check for more than thirteen years now. It required more than four years to get a favorable decision at the BVA level. The financial strain has been tremendous. The VA has even garnished my SSD check for medication co-pays that I can’t afford to pay. The numerous medications, ( fifteen per month), are for the granted conditions, now proven to be service connected disabilities. We exist off of the Vietnam Veterans of America food program. I have asked the VA to separate the granted issues from the remanded issues and to please give me a rating decision on the granted issues. After five months, I still do not have a rating decision.
I have talked official at the Nashville VARO. They admit that the remand order was not followed and that I should have been allowed a proper C&P exam as ordered by the BVA. They also say that although they sympathize with me, there is nothing that the VARO can do to correct the mistake or to right the wrong that may cost me another year or more in poverty.
I am proud of my honorable military service, but I am ashamed of the VA whose employees are not held accountable for accuracy and proper handling of the veterans claims for the honorable veterans who have served this country! Any ideas as to how to resolve this matter would be appreciated. What are my options and where do I go from here?
SMC "M" award
in SMC M and M 1/2
Posted
Previously I was service connected for,
100% p&t for AICD implant. 100% p&t for class III kidney disease, 50% neuropathy right upper extremity, 40% neuropathy left upper extremity, 40% neuropathy right lower extremity,40% neuropathy, 30% for severe anxiety and depression, 20% type II diabetes 0% for chloracne, 0% for ED.
I was rated and being paid as a 100% veteran with spouse. I had an "S" award and one "K" award.
On a new rating decision dated August 2015, I was awarded Loss of use of upper right extremity and loss of use of right lower extremity. They combined the two loss of use awards at 50% each for a total of 100% for both. The loss of use of two extremities generated an "L" rating. I was given a ( P-1) bump to the next higher rating of "M" on account of the independent 100% rating for the implanted AICD. The "K" award for ED was continued.
My question,
A "K" award for loss of use of a hand and another for a foot was not mentioned in the decision. From what I read at 38 CFR 3.350 The "K" award is payable in addition to the basic rates. Should my correct rating be at the level of "M", veteran with with spouse, plus one "K" for the ED? Or should my rating be an "M", veteran with spouse, rating with three "K" awards, two for loss of hand and foot and another for ED?
I know that a veteran can have a maximum of three "K" awards. From what I read at 38CFR 3.350 a "K" award is payable in addition to the basic rate of "L" through "N" provided the total does not exceed the monthly rate set forth in 38 U.S.C 1114 (o).
The only thing that I can think of where I might be missing the point is if using the "K" award in addition to the "M" might be considered by the va as pyramiding? What am I not seeing when I read the first paragraph at 38 C.F.R. 3.350?
I was also awarded the automobile grant w/ adaptive equipment and the SAH grant.