LongTooth

Yeah I know it'll work out. My biggest fear is I'm going to walk into some quacks office after being on this claim over 4 years now and he/she's gonna do a hatchet job. It really kicks in my paranoia and I just want it to be over so I can try and move on.

So my claim appears to be "stuck" somehow. I've gotten the letter I posted above telling me I'm good to go and now I appear to have stalled in the system. My attorney is going up next week to try and figure out what's going on. If that fails I signed a form to get my Congress critter involved...yay...which my attorney is going to hold onto until needed. So basically for the last 6 months I've been cooling my heels needlessly...talk about being pissed...

Ok so here we are in April. My last known contact with the VA was the letter I received informing me that my service is honorable for VA purposes. I'll post the 3 page letter in a moment. I wanted to provide a quick little update. I got sick and tired of waiting around 6ish months now for a C&P date so I called the White House hotline and got passed off to the National VA Center. The lady I spoke to on the phone informed me that according to her system no C&P exam has as of yet been requested and that my claim was marked something like Rater Control, which she couldn't adequately explain what that was. I asked her flat out if the rater could award my claim without a C&P and after a NOD and she assured me that the Rater could in fact rate me without a C&P exam for PTSD...something sounds fishy here. Anyways here's the 3 pages I got from my Attorney these are the pages the DRO submitted from my NOD hearing in Nov 2016. The paragraph that gets me is the last one that talks about full grant of benefit sought on appeal. If one of the knowledgeable folk could chime in I'd be appreciative...

The big to do about this program was that it would remove the right of appeal in exchange for a faster xxxxxxx. It also didn't help that most if not all of the VSO's where on board with it. From what I read on the link above it looks like there is still an appeals process of some kind. At this point in my case it doesn't help me as my next NOD will be after the rater low balls my claim, if I ever get into a C&P that is. I'm going to read up about how the appeals work before I foment an opinion either way. I just hope to christ we don't end up with another enormous backlog. Also, upon a quick reread of the link, I'd like to see deeper statistics beyond a simple 57% award rate because that number by itself doesn't tell anybody anything. I find it hard to believe that 43% of people rejected by the new RAMP system are frauds. I'd like to see a breakdown of the claim fail rate %'s as well as the win rate %'s

I recently had to overcome this obstacle myself. I have an OTH and I'm also fighting a VA claim. I recently completed the character of discharge process successfully. Initially they had me over the 180 day limit which wasn't true and easily disproved. I did, however, have to argue that my pattern of AWOL's was not a pattern of willful misconduct but rather signs of mental illness the military did nothing to address despite being asked. I have an attorney and at the time of the DRO hearing I also had a therapist, not a Psychologist or Psychiatrist, but an LCSW. Both of these people as well as my girlfriend walked into the DRO hearing. The attorney refuted the math and all the legal reasons for the denial. My therapist argued my insanity during the time period in question due to external factors and pressures. The DRO reached a favorable conclusion and now I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting for a C&P exam date to show up.

Since this is new policy/guidance should this post be pinned?

All my stuff is private sector at this point. I have an upcoming C&P exam to SC PTSD at some point in the near future. I bring up the secondary related stuff because up until about a week ago I didn't even know I had SA. I know people in the past have been able to secondary SA to PTSD so I asked in here. Hope this clarifies.

I just recently went in to see my lung doc after a couple years. The sleep study was done in 2015. I didn't hear anything about it so I assumed everything was normal. Fast forward to last week and he's looking through my notes and says "Oh you where diagnosed with mild SA in 2015 after your sleep study. I could probably get him to corroborate if I need to. He's a cool doc. I don't have PTSD SC'ed yet as I'm waiting on an upcoming C&P for that. Do I wait until I have SC for PTSD or do I fire off the secondary when I have all my ducks in a row? Also no I'm not on a CPAP or anything. I don't even know if I should be.

So apparently I have mild sleep apnea which was diagnosed in a sleep study back in 2015 by a lung specialist after a sleep study was requested. From what I gather you can service connect sleep apnea to PTSD as a secondary condition. I guess my questions are then. How do you go about getting a secondary condition attributed. What does this do to ratings/compensation?

I'm going to give this a shot once I get my SC settled. It sounds like I might have a good chance at it.

I would hazard that the first thing you need to do is take a deep breath. You're way too close to this, understandably so. You need to learn to distance your emotions and feelings and start thinking in a dispassionate way. At the end of the day the Rater should be basing decisions off of facts. If you can corroborate your narrative with medical documentation then you should be good. I would like to submit that perhaps you should take pen to paper and create a list of the facts as you understand them to be. This will help you as a starting point to begin acquiring valid medical evidence for your case. And imho L was absolutely correct, if your records are not in order it WILL delay your claim even more. If things indeed happened as you say then there should be all manner of incident reports filed as well as treatment records for the resulting injury/trauma. I'd like to close by saying that I'm not a "professional" anything. You can take my advice or dismiss it out of hand. Nobody here has the intent to piss anybody off or offer bad advice. I hope you are able to overcome the adversity and prevail in your claim. Longtooth

Hey man, Thanks for the kind words of encouragement, it means a lot to me. I think at this point in my claim that the VA should have all records in my C-File. I haven't gotten a copy of it yet because I don't want to screw up the process or my place in line. So far the info I have provided to the VA as well as the therapist and attorney I walked into my NOD with have been sufficient. I think I've managed to paint a somewhat convincing picture that, yes, something did in fact happen to me in the service. This line of reasoning is vindicated by my "get out of jail free" letter. As far as VA "healthcare"... You wont catch me walking dead into a VA for healthcare. They are the enemy. Currently I'm on Medicare due to SSDI, which I am being reviewed on. I should pass as I've managed to add COPD II onto my disabilities :( . Personally I think they should do away with discharge "characterizations". I feel they are punative and serve no real purpose in this day and age. Yeah my SSDI was also extremely quick. Got mine within 6 months so I must be screwed up. All I know is I hope it's over soon. I got a house that's falling apart and a life on hold.

I was under the assumption that they weren't supposed to ask about your childhood...Could somebody elaborate?

Well, I'm assuming that the upcoming C&P, whenever that's scheduled, will allow the rater to lowba...I mean rate me. I don't know how well I'll handle another 5-8 years on appeal to the BVA for a 50% or lower rating.

I think if memory serves the SSDI award was for PTSD. One of the things I've been meaning to do is get a complete copy of my SSDI paperwork to include the IMO I received from their doctor. As for the 2013 claim, there was no mention of it, which is fine. In the letter I received they list my application date, which I assume to mean my earliest effective date, as March 24, 2014. So, now I get to sit back and wait some more. Hopefully the C&P happens soon. The thing that is the most difficult to deal with during this process is the insufferable wait and the complete lack of information from the VA while the process is ongoing.

So, it's been awhile and I have a further update to my case. As of Nov 2, 2017 My service has been found to have been honorable for VA purposes. I have successfully navigated the VA's character of discharge process. Victory, on this particular battlefield, is mine.

Berta, The DRO hearing was to appeal the the initial negative determination finding. they initially denied due to 38 CFR's statutory bar of 180+ days of AWOL status. My military file clearly shows on the second page the dates and number of days I was AWOL which adds up to something like 60ish days which is a far cry from the statutory bar. My attorney made the argument that the number of days the VA reported (549) was some kind of special leave, I forget the exact words used. But basically what it boils down to is that I can't be held accountable for either the army's or the VA's outprocessing screwup. I feel like she adequately handled that aspect of the hurdle. I guess time will tell. As for buddy statements or stressor proof I wasn't very close to anybody towards the end of my service I've tried to find the names of a few people I could remember but the internet hasn't been much help in locating people and honestly I doubt I would be remembered. I did receive an article 15 for a volatile incident in the motor pool between myself and my section chief so I'm hoping that gives credibility to my case and supports the parts of my experience that in all likely hood where not documented by my section chief. I'm already sure that my service mental health records where destroyed years ago. I did find included in my personell file a statement I had written around the time of discharge in support of myself which I think will be helpful. My therapist is an LCSW I don't see a prescribing psychologist or psychiatrist because I don't take pills. I have in the past and they have made me worse sometimes significantly so. I live in a medical cannabis state so I choose to explore that route. From what I read the VA doesn't seem to give much weight to LCSW's however I'm hoping that my therapist's CV, which extends back 30 or so years, and has some high level management positions included, such as running the states suicide prevention hotline, will prove the exception to the rule. I've also been seeing him weekly for the past two years.He also has experience helping vets with PTSD. In the event I have to elevate my care to include a Psychiatrists IMO/Nexus he can refer me appropriately. I could also get my SSDI records and see if they contain SSA's exam notes when they conducted my SSDI exam. Curiously I received my SSDI compensation rather quickly from start of initial claim to completion was 6-7 months which is almost unheard of. So I tend to think I have a case worth pursuing with the VA. Anyways, sorry for rambling. Regards, LongTooth

Buck I feel you're absolutely right. I mean obviously a veteran has to have a case in the first place. No amount of experience, razzle dazzle etc will help an experienced attorney polish a turd. However, that being said, if the veteran has a case then an experienced attorney I feel is definitely the way to go. I have PTSD I have an extremely difficult time most times comprehending normal layman speak. I know I don't sound it. Every time I read legalese my eyes tend to glaze over and my mind wanders, I end up 15-20 minutes later coming too while my eyes are just following the lines, couldn't tell you what I read or what it meant. So in that regard I'm glad to have somebody who can read, interpret and apply 38 CFR to my case as appropriate. I feel that had I gone in there with a VSO or simply by myself I'd probably already be sitting on yet another denial letter. Evidence is absolutely critical and I feel that here also an experienced attorney can help because they know what is needed and how to get it if it exists. Furthermore I would hazard that an experienced set of eyes helps to give you all sorts of new and different perspectives on an old situation and may help drag up new information that may have been forgotten. That being said all attorneys are different and some probably shouldn't even hold a law license. I feel I found a diamond in the rough with this one so I'm letting her drive the car. I do check the internet frequently regarding PTSD and VA claims for it. I feel this helps me better serve my attorney in serving me. As far as I'm concerned the more people who want to take a look at my claim and offer their opinions/advice the merrier. I did read Asknod's book a couple years ago there was definitely good information there. It helped prep me for the fight. We did correspond briefly but I believe back then he wasn't knowledgeable about PTSD so the conversation fizzled out.

Honestly Gastone from what I've been reading these past few years while I wait in the vacuum of zero information, as soon as you file a claim the VA is no longer "non-adversarial" I decided to go with my attorney for a few reasons, the first being how comfortable I feel with her. She is also an experienced trial lawyer who is making a foray into helping vets. I had gone with a paid attorney for my SSDI case, which I won within 6 months, she had done absolutely nothing and received 700 bucks for it. Ironically I had almost decided to go with a huge national SSDI firm which would have probably ended up as about as incompetent as the DAV. I'm not sure but I may have read somewhere that depending on how long a VA case drags on even a free attorney can charge 20%. I wish I could say I believe in the old adage "you get what you pay for" but in this case I don't think it's true. I paid one lawyer 700 bucks to do absolutely nothing for me and then I have a free attorney that's like a human pit bull. Honestly if this case goes on long enough for her to start charging me I'll consider her worth every penny. As for the when, well... I think that's something that is definitely a personal decision. The when for me was when DAV picked up the phone, talked right over me, and then changed my address back to an old one from 5 years in my past, sorry that's just a no-go at this station. I feel I'm better served by an attorney who knows me, is familiar with my case and able to get back into the intricate details with a quick read when action is warranted. As opposed to an assembly line "firm" that just wants to know if you want fries with that and doesn't really want to speak with you anyways let alone go locate your file. Hope this helps others when deciding to go the impersonal service or personal service route. Also when choosing an attorney MAKE SURE they are certified to deal with the appeal boards.

So I have an update, I fired the DAV awhile back because honestly they where completely incompetent, Thank god I caught it early. I have retained a free attorney that I feel is much more competent to handle my case. After filing my initial claim and being denied due to excessive AWOL status, 549 days according to the VA, I had a DRO hearing on Sept 7th 2016. Both my therapist and my attorney where present as well as my girlfriend. My therapist testified that I was insane at the time of my AWOL status and my Attorney informed the rater that my actual amount of days AWOL was 62 days. Apparently somebody screwed up when I was outprocessed. My girlfriend testified what it was like to live with me and deal with my PTSD on a daily basis, how we can't even sleep in the same room because of my nightmares and I lash out in my sleep, how it is to have to cancel plans at the last minute because I can't get up the nerve to go out and face a crowd of people, and other things of a PTSD nature. So I guess at this point I'm cautiously optomistic that a C&P exam is somewhere in my near future The one thing I've learned is that it is critically important is to surround yourself with professionals who believe in you and in your cause and will go to the mat for you. I can't even begin to describe just how much my therapist has helped me and my case these past two years. There have been plenty of times I just wanted to quit in disgust but he kept me going. And I suspect maybe I might just be seeing that tiny sliver of light that marks the end of the tunnel.

Something I noticed on that form. It looks to still be relying on criteria from the DSM-IV NOTE: Please check criteria used for establishing the current PTSD diagnosis. The diagnostic criteria for PTSD, referred to as Criteria A-F, are from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) Is anybody aware of an updated form that reflects the DSM-V criteria? Has the VA even begun to use the the new DSM? LongTooth

no they didn't Ive been to the VA hospital and the VARO and today I went to meet with a vso readjustment councilor who turns out wasn't scheduled to be in the office today so I got to talk to a glorified secretary and did some kind of limited intake. Why is this process full of smoke machines trying to blow it up your ass?

So I have an appointment today with a VSO I think. So finally getting the ball rolling. The only thing that concerns me is they are going to want me to sign a power of attorney and I'm not sure I'm cool with that.

So I'm headed to the VARO today to hopefully file a claim. This should be fun...

I don't do yard work I have physical issues. So instead we have an arrangement with a person that does my yardwork. Hell even the small amount of gardening I do is physically hell on me most times but I try to persevere.