scooter318

Berta Thanks for replying and the appeal is for my lower back, I had a car accident when I was stationed in 29 Palms back in 200l.I do have one buddy that I'm going to get a statement from and then I'm going to have my wife and my daughter write me a statement as well. I noticed you said I have to get the buddy statement notarized, that's no problem should I do the same thing with my wife and daughters statement? Eric

Hello Everyone I wanted to give an update on my appeal process,I'e contacted a lawyer to help me in my appeals and the law firm contacted me today and told me that I would need to send them a copy of my C&P exam and I need to get several lay statements to back up my claim. I wanted to know how effective are lay statements and is there a template that I can use, and do these statements have to be notarized because everyone that I contacted said that they would do it but they were just going to put the statement in an email and send it to me. And i would like to say again thank you to everyone on this forum for all of your help I really appreciate it. Eric

Hello Everyone I wanted to give an update on my appeal process,I'e contacted a lawyer to help me in my appeals and the law firm contacted me today and told me that I would need to send them a copy of my C&P exam and I need to get several lay statements to back up my claim. I wanted to know how effective are lay statements and is there a template that I can use, and do these statements have to be notarized because everyone that I contacted said that they would do it but they were just going to put the statement in an email and send it to me. And i would like to say again thank you to everyone on this forum for all of your help I really appreciate it. Eric

TiredCoastie Thanks for the encouragement I sure am going to make this case as airtight as I can Eric

TiredCoastie The accident in 2001 is what actually started my back pain and then on top of me going to the field it was made even worse. But I must say you guys are really giving me some good information that I'm going to take and use and turn things in my favor, like you said in your earlier post "don't quit". Eric

TiredCoastie I actually have documentation in my record from the accident that I was in that states the condition of my back was damaged. I had an accident in 2001 driving to work and I had to go to a hospital and I was given a week off work. But the VA said that the reason they denied me was because I didn't go in for follow up when I came back to work so they are saying even though the symptoms I have now are similar to the accident they don't think that they are connected. And it's my fault because I thought that they would see that in my record and know that this was what started my back pain when I went back to the field. Eric

Chuck Thanks for the advice, I find a back doctor and have them do the write up for me. I really appreciate the help that everyone has given me I will post back if I have anymore questions. Eric

Hi Everyone I have a question about the IMO, I am currently seeing an outside chiropractor by the VA for 8 visits and then they want to re-evaluate my back. But I wanted to know could I use the same Chiropractor for the IMO and just use my insurance from my job to pay for those visits or should I find another one and explain to him what I'm trying to do. Thanks in advance and I really appreciate all the help that everyone has given me thus far, you guys have really helped me a great deal. Eric

Chuck Thanks for responding to me but can you tell me what an NOD and IMO stand for?

Carlie I just looked over my paperwork and I mislead you, I was given not 0% I was denied SC for my back. But when I read through the paperwork for real this time and not just put it in the drawer. They did see where I had a back injury but because I didn't go back for a follow up they denied me. Below are the exact words from the paper work " Your service treatment records show that you were involved in a motor vehicle accident in February 2001. It was noted that you were discharged from a civilian emergency room with thoracic back pain. You were noted to have slight resistance to lateral range of motion and were prescribed motrin. There is no evidence in your record of any follow up treatment or of a chronic condition related to your lumbar spine. While your service treatment records reflect complaints, treatment, or a diagnosis similar to that claimed, the medical evidence supports the conclusion that a persistent disability was not present in service. We did not find a link between your medical condition and military service and the VA medical opinion found no link between your diagnosed medical condition and military service.Although you have been diagnosed with anterior subluxation of the sacrum with residuals of low back to include radiculopathy, the VA examiner has stated that this condition is not at least as likely as not connected to military service.

Hello Everyone My name is Eric and I'm new to the site and so far from reading this it is really a wealth of knowledge. I was talking to my sister on the way to work this morning and she told me to come to this site and post my question and get an opinion from people who have been through it and can probably give you an answer really quick. I filed for VA compensation on January 18th of this year and I had a claim in for my back and my appendectomy scar because of the pain that I have. Everything went through and I went to my C&P exam on the 27th of August and I received a letter in the mail from the VA about 2 weeks ago stating that I rated 10% for my appendectomy scar pain and 0% for my back. This is the think that I wanted to know, currently the VA has me seeing a private chiropractor 2 times a week for the next 3 months and then I'll go back to them for follow up and before they referred my out I was seeing the VA once a month for my back. The provider that I'm seeing now actually sat me down and showed me the X-Rays and the lower part of my back where L-4 and L-5 meet are some what separated and out of alignment and that's why I'm in so much pain. I was in the Navy and station in 29Palms with the Marines for 3 years and out in the field all the time, I was a corpsman and I walked around with my gear on my back and took a few falls with caused the injury, but me being macho didn't go get my back looked at when I started having back pain and just dealt with it. Now it's really bad and I filed for it but they are saying that in so many word if it's not in our record we aren't going to compensate you for it. I wanted to get the groups opinion on filing an appeal, do you think that it's even worth it or should I leave it alone because I probably won't get rated for my back. I talked to several people and I've heard different story from some saying that I should because I can and other saying no because I'm wasting my time and I'm stuck at 10%. I wish I would have went and had this added to my medical record when I had the chance but I just didn't know. Thanks in advance for the advice and I hope to hear from you soon . Eric