NavyWife

I can't really say that I have had a large number of victories with my fight with the VA. However, I have to give credit when credit is due. Even though I am fighting the VA on the bogus ratings and denials I received, my mighty enemy had made a possibility come true. On Veteran's Day, this disabled vet will close on his first home purchase using a VA Home Loan. It does make me happy and sad, but mostly happy and elated for this to be a reality. It's bitter sweet, but I have to give the VA its kudos. VA home loans is a great benefit.

I emailed Bob last week and I was just contacted by someone from the Phoenix RO. He said I was finally scheduled for my long awaited DRO hearing for this Nov 19th. Wow that was fast. BTW I didn't asked to be put ahead of anyone in line etc all I asked is someone from the VARO to call me and explain what my status was and correct thier error in the computer system on what I actually put my NOD in for. I put in for Kidney Cancer found within a month of retirement from the USAF and when they inputted the NOD in they put in lower back DDD not Kidney cancer wow what a dumb mistake. I don't have lower back issues not sure where they pulled that from. I couldn't have made it any clearer on the typed paperwork. Well we'll see what happens in a few weeks atleast I'll know if I need to push it to the BVA if the DRO denies it. Thanks for the contact info for Bob it really worked better than I ever expected.

If this is for a new issue and not an increase, it needs a Nexus statement with full medical rationale.

Congratulations! I'm happy to hear you achieved the 80% rating. However if you are not working due to your service-connected conditions, I really feel like you need to pursue the TDIU. 70% for PTSD is a pretty high rating and it's reasonable that it would prevent you from working. I suggest you gather any other medical evidence that would support the IU And submit it as a reconsideration. But most importantly you need to go to a vocational rehabilitation counselor and have them write you a letter stating that you are unable to work solely due to your service-connected conditions. You can find one in the phone book and pay out-of-pocket or another option is go to one at VA.

Exactly. The VA takes the position that The Veteran and the VSR should (mostly) not communicate. The VA does not want Veterans communicating with anyone who has anything to do with the decision. Why? In part because they think Vets are crazed killers and they dont even want Vets knowing the decision maker name.

The result is very poor decisions that mostly have to be appealed.

Better communication= Better decisions.

This is not rocket science. We need a "friendlier" VA..where we can go talk to the rater and explain our case. (In other words a "hearing" earlier in our case than after a 4 year appeal). No, not every Vet would want to talk the RSVR, and, not every RSVR would want to talk to every Veteran. But..vets should have this right to be heard without waiting 4 or more years for a BVA hearing.

One example: Some Vets write better than they speak..they dont like to speak a lot! Especially men! Other Vets dont like to do either, but may well like their wife or someone else to speak in their behalf.

I will add that with Social Security, you can go to an office and speak with someone. While they are probably not a decision maker, they will make notes in your file for the decision maker to review. The VA does not do this...the 1800 dial a ding a ling line will generally not make notes to your file...they pretty much tell you to talk to your VSO. I have looked at my RBA (Record before agency) and there were exactly zero notes even tho I called and even visited my VA and asked stuff to be put in my record.

In my opinion, the inability to communicate with a live person at the VARO causes most of the problems experienced by veterans filing disability claims. You can go to the SSA and talk with a live person about your SSDI claim but the VA thinks veterans should not have the same level of access at the VAROs. The VA believes that a Ebenefits and Peggy can answer all of our questions and address all of our concerns. Welcome to the Stone Age. JMO

Hugh, Have you ever had a DRO Hearing before? if your having hard time financially ? 2 years is a long long time to wait,
ask your RO to expidite this,!

I requested DRO hearing and went alone just me and my spouse while at the RO I did get a VSO he was not much help , just told us what to expect be nice and be thankful ect,,ect,, but I had all my ducks in a row and some favorable IMO's...Rehab letters in my favor ..ect,,ect,,
They called us in this room a long table with microphones at each chair with recording devics's...ect,,ect,,

It was a little nerve wrecking..but after I got over the surroundings...the DRO & Rating Specialist walked in , introduced themselves.
DRO ask me how they can help me today, I said thank you sir for allowing me to be here and present my evidence and to dispute this said VA Dr Thank you for your time, then I told them what happen to me with the VA Dr, They had some of my evidence but I took new evidence and presented them along with a letter stating why I think I warrant the increase and why I disagreed with the VAMC Dr that tried to mess up my claim to reduce me back to 0%, basicly that's what my claim was all about.

Luckly for me the DRO was in my favor and disagreed with the VA Dr...I won my claim that day and they expedited everything rated me 100% TDIU P/T.

I think its good that veterans can request a DRO hearing you can see them face to face and they can see your disability is real..and you don't have to be worrying if they lose anything its all right there on the table.

Good Luck Buddy

Step-by-Step Filing of an Electronic FDC on eBenefits (Part One)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWWax42P-WQ




Step-by-Step Filing of a Fully Developed Claim (Part 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNtDG0exMjs



Step-by-Step Filing of an Electronic FDC on eBenefits (Part Three & Summary of part 1 & 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRO7mTxulHk

Step-by-Step Filing of an Electronic FDC on eBenefits (Part One)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWWax42P-WQ




Step-by-Step Filing of a Fully Developed Claim (Part 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNtDG0exMjs



Step-by-Step Filing of an Electronic FDC on eBenefits (Part Three & Summary of part 1 & 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRO7mTxulHk

I found this on YouTube. Around the 9 minute mark, he says, "Our ultimate goal is to serve the veteran".

It's a good overview of his philosophy.

He gives me hope!

Thank you NavyWife and Berta. An update on my situation. I emailed Robert McDonald and received an immediate response the same day. He indeed, cares about veterans.

Thanks NavyWife!

The saying " you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk" it definitely will be a monumental task, but if he is truly wanting change and is looking out for the true customer of the VA, the veteran and their families, then I'm all for the guy. I just want accountability. Fulfillment of what the VA's mission is supposed to be. Hopefully this is the start of positive changes in decades long injustice that has been dished out to injured and disabled vets.

Great news yesterday, My claim for increase and TDIU was granted. I am truly shocked at how quickly the WI VA moved on this one. I have been service connected at 30% for 5 years and until last April, I was doing really well. In April I had a major breakdown, couldn't drive anymore, forget to eat and couldn't take my own meds. Of course, I could not longer work either. We put in a claim for an increase with a Hardship and within 4 months I was grated 80% SC. We then immediately filed for TDIU and for 6 weeks they lost my claim. But as soon as they realized their error they rushed it through and 3 weeks letter I am just waiting on the decision packet in the mail. My VSO told me it had all been approved. This was so fast and my VSO and Drs did most of the work for me(I couldn't even think straight). They also helped my wife get VA Caregiver status as she has to stay home and care for me at this time.
There are good VA's out there that really care and try to help. I just wanted to share the good news. I also realize that I am extremely lucky that it went this way for me, I have read all of the horror stories and I was scared to death I would not receive the help I needed. I love this forum and all of the wonderful info one here. Thanks for being here for me, even I wasn't involved all that often.
AJ

Yay!

All the credit goes to asknod For bringing this to our attention. Thanks asknod!


By the way, I hemmed & hawed for weeks on whether or not to send the email, And finally I decided that well if you send the email and nothing happens, then you're just in the same place as before you sent the email, with nothing happening. At least by sending the email we are being proactive on our claims and giving ourselves a better chance of getting eyeballs on our claim. There's no guarantee we will get the answer we want --but getting eyeballs on the claim is half the battle.

Yay!

All the credit goes to asknod For bringing this to our attention. Thanks asknod!


By the way, I hemmed & hawed for weeks on whether or not to send the email, And finally I decided that well if you send the email and nothing happens, then you're just in the same place as before you sent the email, with nothing happening. At least by sending the email we are being proactive on our claims and giving ourselves a better chance of getting eyeballs on our claim. There's no guarantee we will get the answer we want --but getting eyeballs on the claim is half the battle.

Congrats:

I'm glad that you have won your unhill battle and have gotten what you deserved. Having patience is one of the toughest parts of the disability claims process because it can be a very long and frustrating road.

I'd like to think that our military experiences and backgrounds are part of that which helps us to carry on when things are not going the way we would like? Every story is different but we have served the nation for the greater good of all. As a result, the majority of us will never give up and don't know how to even if we wanted too. I believe the vast majority of the VBA raters are doing the best job thet can with the demands that are put on them...and that this process is massive with a huge number of players...so mistakes are going to be made...

So, thanks for serving and enjoy your good fortune.....

Each month while you had a waiver for PFB you should have been issued a OAFB form 183 "Stubble Growth Control Card" which was issued by the PFB/Shaving Clinic, signed by the clinic director, signed by your CO with a copy maintained by your first sergeant.

If you do not have your copies, copies should have been in your SMRs and in your regular company personnel records. If you did not specifically ask for records from the PFB/Shaving Clinic when you made a request for your SMRs, they might have been left out.

As NavyWife suggested, if you haven't already done so, get a copy of your company records which should include the shaving waiver cards and possibly other in house documentation of your PFB. I would not be surprised if you found documentation between the CO and first sergeant commenting about you PFB. Military personnel with PFB were sometimes given a hard time by their superiors because they felt like personnel who didn't shave did not present a professional appearance.

Also, as NavyWife suggested, get those buddy statements. Since you did not have to shave, you should have stood out like a sore thumb and your military buddies should have no problem remembering the guy that didn't have to shave.

Good luck to you and thank you for your service.

The VSO is there to guide you and hopefully give good advice on filing your claim -- but at the end of the day you have to take all of the information that you research and then make your own decision. Some VSOs are awesome and know every regulation while some have no clue what the hell they are doing! Unfortunately it's hard to figure out which one you have until it's too late! In my case I found out that the truth was actually the complete opposite of everything the VSO told me.

That is great you already have the diagnosis from a psychiatrist. That will really help your claim.

If you look at that link I posted you will see that There is no DBQ for a first-time or initial PTSD claim. That is because VA wants to control that process And determine if you meet the requirements for a PTSD diagnosis. With that being said, Because you already have a diagnosis from a board certified psychiatrist, it's going to be real difficult for VA to try and deny you a diagnosis from their doctors.

My opinion-and of course you need to decide on your own what's best for you-is that you should submit your diagnosis and your Nexus statement, and other medical records, along with your claim. Yes definitely file it as an FDC. And remember once you file an FDC do not send them any additional documentation or else it will be taken out of the FDC Lane. Of course the exception would be something that could dramatically change the outcome of your claim.

As far as taking these medical records to your VA C&P exam, The examiner might or might not want to look at them --it's completely up to their discretion. I say take them and offer in a friendly way for the examiner to look at them but if they say no then don't be offended.

And remember your Nexus statement must Use the verbiage that VA wants ,"at least as likely as not" or "more likely than not". It also should include a rationale or the reasons why your psychiatrist thinks your PTSD was caused by your in-service stressors. And all the reasons you are stating you have PTSD must of course be related to military service and nothing else.



Study the section on mental health rating if you haven't already done so. Here's the link.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5;node=38:1.0.1.1.5

And remember mental health issues are rated based on how badly it is affecting your life --both your family life and your work life right now.

I finally emailed Bob tonight. Thanks for the encouragement NavyWife :)

Do you have a company copy of your service medical records?

Is there ANYTHING Mentioning your issue? Even a single sentence? Symptoms or a diagnosis of this issue.

If there is absolutely nothing in your records to indicate you had this issue while in service, you may look into getting a buddy statement. If there was someone who served with you who could state what he observed, you Could submit that with your claim.

You'll also need a current diagnosis of the issue if you don't already have that.

This link explains a lot about the DBQs.

http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/dbq_FAQs.asp

PTSD claims can be complicated. It's good you are doing some research before you submit your claim. Lots of people rush to submit a claim and wonder why it got denied When they didn't follow the proper steps of getting good medical evidence first.

Like Georgiapapa said above you really should try to get a diagnosis of PTSD by VA before you submit your claim. All you need to do is go to VA and say you would like to be evaluated for PTSD. If for some reason they do not diagnose you with PTSD, you can get a diagnosis through a private doctor And submit those medical records with your claim.

There are different rules for PTSD claims for noncombat versus combat.

I would say that you should return to the form and under the question: Do you receive any type of separation, severance, or retired pay?

Make sure that you didn't check the YES box.

Great news on the bennies but the real win here is your wife still standing by your side. All the money in the world wont fix a heart. Stay on top of the bennies but do whatever you have to in the world to keep your wife.

I lost mine for two and a half years due to untreated depression. That pain was suffering.

Stay on top brother!

As long as they have a printing press , we will get paid. What things may cost you is another story.