bluevet

Thanks for sharing this with us Buck! These success stories that pop up now and then really help to keep me going.

I think that you will hear from them soon. Do you have a U.S. phone number in Japan? Did you include a phone number in your email? Not everyone gets a response, but those who do usually get a phone call from someone in her office 5-10 days after emailing her.

If he has stressors indicative of PTSD in the record, or presumed via a badge or ribbon, it is possible to obtain a PTSD diagnosis and file a claim. Mental disorders are rated based on level of disability as indicated by the symptoms. You can not receive compensation for more than one mental disorder and, in most cases, it wouldn't be possible for an examiner/doctor to separate the symptoms. Essentially, getting a PTSD diagnosis and obtaining service connection, wouldn't necessarily result in an increase in disability rating. Almost all of the symptoms of chronic adjustment disorder (CAD) can also occur due to PTSD. Logic would therefore suggest that most secondary conditions that could be linked to PTSD could also be linked to CAD. I'm just using common sense here, so there is a real chance that my logic doesn't translate to VA law or policy. What conditions does he believe could be linked to PTSD?

In the case citation that you've posted, the veteran underwent the breast reduction while in service. Did you have the recommended reduction done while on active duty? I'm just giving a layman's interpretation of what I'm reading here, but I believe that would ultimately be the fact under consideration for service connection.

It's a great point and one that we should be making sure that we are properly educating veterans about when they are filing their claims initially. If I had known 3 years ago, what I know today, I would have had my Fully Developed Claim service connected in the first 125 days. Given the extremely low odds of getting a competent C&P exam that includes an opinion of service connection from these quack contracted examiners, I would have gotten my IMO done right away. When my claim was originally denied, if only I had understood what I was doing, I would have; sought my IMO; submitted it as new evidence; and re-opened the claim, rather than appealing. I would have gladly forgone the 3-4 months of back pay to have my claim reconsidered within another 125 days by re-opening the claim once again using the FDC process.

Broncovet makes a very important point here. If you are seeking an IMO, to help establish service connection, you are much better off searching for the best doctor that you can find, regardless of location. You want a doctor who understands what a claims effective IMO consists of. If you're are seeking an IME, to help get the best possible rating, then location would need to be considered, since an in person examination would be necessary. Understanding the difference between an IMO and an IME, what each is used for and what makes them adequate as evidence is crucial to the proper execution of a claim or appeal.

I agree. The fuuny thing is that you can link to MYHEALTHVET through your ebenefits account and access your VA medical records, so there is no obvious security issue that would prevent them from allowing us access to our claims file online. I have found these days, when I call my VSO, they are able to instantly access my file while I'm on the phone with them. C&P examiners also get online access to them now. Hopefully, they will bring that function to us soon. It sure would be nice to get instant access to new C&P exams and other evidence as soon as it hits the file.

Wow, this seems really dangerous to me. If JD powers is calling veterans, giving them a number to call or staying on the line while the veteran calls the BVA, this seems like a bad guy could easily do the same thing and use the "survey" pitch to phish for a veterans personal information. Just sounds like an all around bad idea to me.

The VA is still in the process of scanning paper claims files. Many veterans files have already been scanned and are now electronic claims files. When you submit a request for all or part of your file, VA policy is to send it on a CD, in .pdf format, provided the request is for 10 or more pages of documents. Less than 10 pages are printed and mailed. You do not have the option to choose.

Things are changing at the VA. My claim, which was all paper 1 1/2 years ago has now been converted to an electronic c-file. I recently requested a copy of a C&P and it arrived in about 25 days, on CD. Once your c-file has been converted, having a pending claim should no longer cause a delay in processing FOIA requests. Since you requested your entire file, I would imagine it may take longer than it did for me to get a single document. When I requested all of my medical records from my c-file 2 years ago, it took 4 months to receive them, all on paper. It could be your c-file has not completely scanned and converted to an electronic record, in which case it may be a while yet before you receive it.

I wouldn't put too much stock in that status change on e-benefits. I've heard many reports of the status changing, then changing back, dates moving around, etc. There are scenarios where, while waiting for DRO review, the R.O. recognizes mistakes that they've made and claims get reconsidered, prior to actual DRO review. You can call the VA for clarification. Often, the 1800 number will provide some insight into what you are seeing on e-benefits. I am doubtful that what you are seeing is the result of the DRO process. Please let us know when you figure it out, so we can have better answers for the next veteran.

You have 60 days from the date on the SOC to file form 9 (substantive appeal) or 1 year from the date that you received the original denial letter, whichever is greater. If your SOC date was 09/17/2014, then your original denial was much earlier. You can not appeal the decision, however, you may re-open the claim with a new effective date if you provide the VA with "New and Material" evidence.

Only C&P exams that are performed by actual VA providers at VA facilities are available through MYHEALTHVET. If your exam was conducted by a contracted doctor, you will need to request a copy from the VA. You can mail or fax Form 21-4138 requesting a copy of the exam and indicating the date the exam was performed. You can also get a copy by walking into your regional office (no appointment necessary). It took me all of 5 minutes. If your exam was at a VA facility, there will be a 3 day hold before results are available through MYHEALTHVET. Just use the "blue button" and select "notes"

Where the doctor indicated he had not reviewed your claims file, it is asking specifically about a hard paper copy of the file. Since he indicates that he did review your "Military service personnel records, Military separation examination, and your Department of Defense Form 214 Separation Documents, I assume that he had access to your electronic claims file. Everything here looks OK to me. Again, if you receive anything less than 70%, I would appeal.

This looks like a 70% rating to me. You may get 50% from whomever rates you, but an appeal would probably net 70% based on the symptoms checked. If you are already service connected, or if you have a diagnosis of PTSD and the VA has already found evidence of a stressor on your DD-214 or in your 201 file, then the VA will not necessarily seek an opinion on service connection from the C&P examiner. In such a case, the VA is only seeking a picture of your current level of disability caused by your claimed condition. C&P examiners provide 2 distinct services to the VA. 1. An M.E. (Medical Examination) 2. An M.O. (Medical Opinion) The VA can request one or both of these from a C&P examiner. If the VA is not seeking an M.O. regarding service connection from the examiner, then a review of your c-file would not be necessary. Was this exam done at the VA or was it a contracted doctor ? Are you already service connected?

This seems like the exact type of situation in which an email to Undersecretary Allison Hickey is appropriate and likely to get a result. Send an email to allison.hickey@va.gov explaining exactly what you have said here. You will probably get a response from someone in here office within a week. Please let us know how this turns out.

The DSM-V which is now in effect includes the following specifiers to "Adjustment Disorder" as follows: "Specify as Acute" if the disturbance lasts less than 6 months" "Specify as Chronic" if the disturbance lasts more than 6 months" There is no automatic change in diagnosis from adjustment disorder to another diagnosis. Chronic adjustment disorder is service connectable under diagnostic code 9440 and the rating schedule is identical to that of PTSD. It might help to answer your question if you tell us a bit about what it is that you are hoping to accomplish. I believe the article you are referring to is here: http://archive.militarytimes.com/article/20131011/NEWS/310110027/Adjustment-disorder-may-now-net-disability-pay It does talk about a bill mandating additional screening for other MH disorders for veterans who have been discharged with an "Adjustment Disorder" diagnosis Since 2001. I'm not sure if that bill was enacted, but there was a change in DOD policy regarding service connection for "Adjustment Disorder".

I know sometimes it's hard to understand what you are paying for with an attorney. Attorneys normally get much more than 20%, this low of a percentage is only because the VA limits what attorneys can take. This really is not a lot considering they do not get paid unless they win your claim. The best attorney probably gets paid on about half ( or less) of the claims they work on. Since they simply will not win some cases and others will end up getting dropped and not followed up on by the client after it is remanded, delayed, etc.. When you hire an attorney for an appeal before the BVA, you are paying for their expertise in finding and presenting the proper legal arguments before the board. I would be very surprised if an attorney even considered an offer like that. That being said, there is always room for negotiation in an attorney's fee. If you feel the amount of work he will need to put in isn't sufficient to justify 20%, explain to him why you feel that way and ask for a lower percentage, maybe 15%, I wouldn't bother asking for less than that. If you hire an attorney on an hourly basis, you pay him whether he wins or loses and a large retainer would be required up front. I guarantee you, no attorney will accept an hourly rate on a contingency basis. Best of luck at the BVA.

OK, I was just trying to understand why this examiner did not review your c-file, but I suppose if the VA is not requesting an opinion on service connection and are only seeking a picture of your current condition/symptomology, then it may not be of consequence, although, in rating your claim the rater should be looking at the total picture of your disabilities and not just the most recent exam.

I agree, I would guess a 50% rating. Are you already service connected? If so, What is your current rating; is this a claim for increase?

USMC, do you think she should send this in before she knows the results of the exam or just prepare it and have it ready in case the Doctor's opinion is not favorable to her?

Hi, Sorry you had such an awful experience. I have had 2 C&P exams for my mental health disability claim and in both cases, I left the exams feeling extremely confident that the examiner understood everything and in both cases, the examiners even assured me that they understood my symptomology and both told me outright that my condition was service connected, yet one turned in an opinion against service connection and the other resorted to an amazing amount of speculation to opine a pre-existing condition. I have heard others who thought they had a terrible exam and then were given the 'golden trumpet" of results. The point is this. Try not to drive yourself crazy mulling over how the exam went. Call the VA 1-800 number once a week to see if the results have come in. Then request a copy. You can request they send you a copy, which can take weeks to months to receive or you can walk into you R.O. and walk out with a copy. Once you have it, you can react to it appropriately. Take it from someone who's been there and try to limit yourself to dealing with those things you can control, or you will drive yourself nuts, as I have in the past. Good Luck!

I've heard one other story of the VA doing an unsolicited re-consideration of a previously denied claim, but it seems rare. Maybe someone else on the board could tell you more, but since these exams are for conditions that they already denied, I can't see any downside to them for you. How long has it been since your denial? If it hasn't been a year, I would file a NOD for the denied conditions right away, just to cover your bases. If it has been more than a year, I would just go to the appointments and see what comes of it. There is also the possibility that a CUE exists here, which would give you the opportunity to appeal even if you're beyond the normal appeal period. Also, have you checked on e-benefits to see if the claims for your knees and back are showing as re-opened or possibly as on appeal?

When you file an FDC, to have your claim expedited, you are suppose to have already retrieved your medical records and submitted them with your claim. If you indicated on your application that there are medical records elsewhere and that you want the VA to seek them, then that would automatically remove you claim from the FDC status to that of a regular claim, which would explain the change in dates that you saw on e-benefits. The kicker is that those records probably would not be found anyway, since they date back 20-30 years and those records were probably purged many years ago (unless they are SMRs). It looks like someone at the VA recognized this and called you to clear it up. I wouldn't be surprised to see those "estimated completion dates" change back to the earlier dates now that you've told them not to seek those records.

Why would you recommend that he file for PTSD when he never even mentioned PTSD in his question? He asked whether he should should file his diagnosed depression as a primary condition or secondary to chronic pain. Where did PTSD come from? A claim for PTSD will require a diagnosis of PTSD and a traumatic event in service at its cause. I believe; and I'm not 100% on this; that if you file it as primary and the VA finds it to be secondary, they will automatically assign it as such. Since you have some markers in you SMRs that you feel could be used to form a nexus, file for it as a primary condition. In this case, if I were you, I would get an IMO and nexus statement from a private doctor before I filed and make sure the private doctor has reviewed and listed all of the same records that the VA has. I say this because C&P examiners are not very astute at defining a nexus. Often, with much more direct evidence in the record, these examiners fail to opine service connection. Save yourself 2+ years of waiting for a DRO review, in which case you would need to get an IMO anyway and do it now instead. Good Luck