Prospector

Update. I sent the request for review of my file under 3.156 to my VSO in December. He told me it would be a few days before he could submit it to the RO. I have waited (left him numerous phone messages) for 2 1/2 months on him. I finally was able get him on the phone last Friday March 6. He has done nothing with my request. I told him if he was too busy to take care of my file I would handle it myself. He said go for it. I did. I sent Secretary Bob an email with the info on Monday March 9. I received a reply in less than an hour telling me it was forwarded to management. On Tuesday the 10th, I received a call from the RO. He seemed to have a bit of an attitude at first and claimed they were not guilty of a cue. I politely asked him to listen to me and let me explain why I thought they were. He listened. He reviewed my file and called about 3 hrs later and said he agreed with me, but he would send it to someone and have them review it and the decision would be up to them. Today at 3:45 pm he called and said they had found in my favor and I had been right. 5 yrs of retro would be forthcoming.
Thank you Secretary Bob!!

To find out about your states benefits, search for Veterans benefits (your state) It should pull up what your state offers. I am in Oklahoma and it is different than other states.

Congrats.

Sorry, I had forgotten you were in Oklahoma also. Here is the state site. http://www.ok.gov/triton/search.php?cref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ok.gov%2Ftriton%2Fcse_search_xml.php?site=http://www.ok.gov/odva/*&sitesearch=http://www.ok.gov/odva/&q=muskogee&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_occt=any&sort=&num=10&cof=FORID%3A9%3BNB%3A1#947

Not to put too fine a point to it, but reading a denial is often the route to a reversal. K9MAL makes a good point but glosses over the rater's rationale for Mr. Grenier's denial. Therein lies the secret to success...

<<<<<<<<<<<<<The VA examiner noted all references in your service treatment records were to gastroenteritis, which is self-limited. There is no evidence that you were treated for IBS while on active duty, also, while you have a current diagnosis of IBS, current symptoms do not warrant a compensable evaluation.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

This is why you need the nexus. I don't blow bubbles here when I give advice. I've been doing this since 1989. The reason I finally started winning at it is probably the same reason Bertha encountered such continued success. I read each VA document completely and discerned the real meaning of the phrases. Giving advice to others about how you, Johnny Vet, won your claim is unique to your circumstances. Each Vet's are equally unique and subtly different. This is why you cannot cite to a bunch of BVA decisions and say "See, he won and he had the same thing as me."

Winning a claim and being remunerated properly requires a little more finesse than licking the envelope flap and adding postage. In my book, I described this as a recipe not unlike baking a cake. You cannot substitute baking soda for baking powder and expect the same results. Beating the VA is really childs play as any here can see. Time consuming-yes- but not impossible. Their raters work off an antique Adobe Acrobat II (2, not eleven) program tied into the M21-1MR and have a finite choice of denial language. Denials are simply a necessary first phase in a long battle if you are not properly prepared initially. Everything I, and indeed some of the other knowledgeable souls who inveigh here offer, is the shortest distance between two points-filing and a win. Unfortunately, as most of you can also see, a large number arrive here after a denial rather than strapping on the parachute and filing a flight plan before turning onto the active runway.

85% of you will lose the first time out because you think the VA and your VSO rep are your BFFs. The statistics bear me out. But what the hell do I know? I'm just the resident "content contributor". My daddy once said "Advice is like weeds in the garden in early spring. Sometimes it's hard to ascertain the vegetables you planted." Many offer advice here and some of it is outstanding and well-reasoned. Pick and choose based on your own unique situation. Avoid the group mindthink that all claims are alike. Trust me. They are not.

Weapons are free, gentlemen. Cleared in hot on heading 275, over.

Ebenefits finally showed my new rating yesterday.

This is to certify is an honorably discharged veteran of the Navy and is entitled to disability compensation at the 100 percent rate due to service-connected disability(ies).
This total disability is considered permanent. You are not scheduled for future examinations.

My wife asked exactly what does this mean. I told her "They expect me to die soon. I think I will stick around awhile just to prove them wrong again."

I went through a similar issue with the VA. I spoke with the VARO manager and he explained they have to accept the date you mail it. Send it Certified mail and you will be covered.

I just faxed the following message to my VSR.
I am curious what he will reply.

My claim for PTSD, dated June 25, 2007 was denied due to lack of proving a stressor.
I filed a form 21-4138 (your office filed it) in June 2012, and resubmitted the same medical evidence as was in the 2007 claim along with the complete military logs confirming one of the stressors, and requesting they re-open that claim due to New and Material Evidence..

Instead of reviewing the June 25, 2007 claim, the VA opened a new claim.
It is my understanding from New and Material Evidence under 38 CFR 3.156 this request for review should have been addressed.
A review of the original claim from June 25, 2007 under 38 CFR 3.156 was not mentioned in the SOC received on the case granted in 2012. They just started a new claim which found me 50% for SC PTSD.
I feel if they had reviewed the case as is required under 38 CFR 3.156, it would have produced the same results as the new case shown in 2012 as it included the same medical evidence as was shown in 2007 with the added New and Material Evidence (ships logs).

I contend based on this information, a retroactive date should have been designated to the first filing June 25, 2007.

38 CFR 3.156
(a) General. A claimant may reopen a finally adjudicated claim by submitting new and material evidence. New evidence means existing evidence not previously submitted to agency decisionmakers. Material evidence means existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened, and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

I only learned recently from examination of my C-file they did not have the complete military logs of the incidents at the time of my first denial.

They had sent for them as at that time I was unaware of where to get them.

Thank you Berta, Mikemmlj and Navy Wife.

Navy Wife this is the gentleman who emailed my needed decklogs within 48 hrs. He has helped several others I sent to him.



Mike Constandy
Westmoreland Research
PO Box 320488
Alexandria, VA 22320

202.421.5151 mobile
mjc@westmorelandresearch.org

Sorry Tbird. I didn't see your post. Go to my site and read about individualized Independent Living Programs. I've been through the mill on it and currently have a F9 on a greenhouse in. The gomers who run the whole VR&E program for a VARO will be the ones in charge of your ILP and they are horribly stingy. With 2,700 slots open annually to the most severely disabled among us, and a maximum allowable expenditure of $65,000.00 per Vet locally without going to VACO in DC for a higher authorization amount, you would think it was a slam dunk. I had to fight a year to get a a computer out of them for what should have been a legit. enterprise.(asknod.org). You ought to get one for Haddit easily. Each VR&E program is an entity unto itself with no oversight from DC. Very strange way of running a railroad considering you can't fart at VA without three signatures.

As for ILP, it is a nuanced approach. Yes, you have to fill out a Form 1900 and you can find them over at my place. Yes, to the dog and pony show and a brief interview. Once it is determined you are not going to begin your new career at Walmart, you go down the ILP path and a counselor tried to fit you for a cordless phone and grab bars at the toilets and shower/tub. VA just revamped the M28 in a further effort to curb VA's largesse.

Each succeeding War, VA enacts new barriers to this 1980 program. They tried to make it strictly vocational in 96 and lost on a OGC precedent. It does comprehend recreational pursuits but they are getting stingier by the moment. Any big $ items will require a true administrative review in DC which is a Godsend. It's a viable first step before a full blown NOD and appeal.

My good friend Bruce in Atlanta got a 30X60 heated greenhouse with raised tables and a hydroponic feeding system in 2008. He fights hard for his buds thereabouts. Woodworking shops, photo/art studios etc are the norm. OGC PREC 6-2001 opened up the world of the outdoors to us. Everyone needs some sunshine. I'm fighting for one too just to preserve our right to access this valuable program in a meaningful way.

https://asknod.wordpress.com/2014/06/03/va-ilp-the-secret-handshake/

​Make no mistake. VA is just as recalcitrant in providing you with VR&E for avocational pursuits as they are in granting claims. Same game, slightly different rules.

Thank you Berta, Mikemmlj and Navy Wife.

Navy Wife this is the gentleman who emailed my needed decklogs within 48 hrs. He has helped several others I sent to him.



Mike Constandy
Westmoreland Research
PO Box 320488
Alexandria, VA 22320

202.421.5151 mobile
mjc@westmorelandresearch.org

Welcome to the Muskogee RO. If your VSR is with the State of Okla Vet Affairs, they can possibly enlighten you on the status of your claim. (918-781-7766) They are in the office next door to RO. When I was there, I even noticed some from each office go to lunch together. One of the VSR's just retired last year from the VARO and his wife is still a DRO in that office. While you cannot help but be concerned about some of your info being addressed between some of them without your knowledge, sometimes it can prove beneficial as your VSR may be able to tell you the exact status of your claims. Good luck.

I cannot help but to reply to this topic. This is not to alarm anyone but merely a suggestion from personal experience.
IBS, Crohns disease are often the same symptoms of Carcinoid Cancer which is rare and most VAMC's never check for it. In my own case the VA took almost a year to properly diagnose.
Fact 18% of Carcinoid Cancer is diagnosed post-mortem.
Most often the symptoms are misdiagnosed as IBS or Crohns disease.

There are a few simple tests the Doctor can run to check for it and most VAMC's do not.
1) CgA (chromogranin A) a simple blood test.
2) 5HIAA - 24hr urine test

If either or both of these show excess serotonin in the bloodstream, immediate investigation (scans, and other blood tests) should be performed.


This is the same cancer Steve Jobs of Apple computers died from.

https://carcinoid.wordpress.com/tag/missouri-national-guard/

In this soldiers experience from his original story, he was diagnosed with IBS.

I hope none of the VA IBS diagnosed patients have this, but do not depend on the VA doctors to recognize or test for it on their own.

If you have applied for an increase and been denied, you might want to look at this to help you in your appeal:

http://www.purpleheart.org/ServiceProgram/Training2011/T-4%20%20VA%20Errors%20in%20Claims%20for%20Increase%203.2011.pdf

No one can attach your VA Compensation. Not even the IRS even though in recent years they have tried. They lost every time in court. I know a man who the IRS seized his bank account.
The judge made the IRS return the money as his VA compensation check was deposited and comingled with his money. The IRS was pissed!

I did not realize how important it can be to review your C-file until yesterday. My VSO called to tell me of my approval for my current claim and while on the phone he was reading my file and noticed that I had been denied in 2007 on the same claim. He discovered the VARO had made that decision for denial without all of the logs. They only had reviewed part of them. When I had re-filed in 2012 I had submitted all of the logs as I had only then found where to get them.
I had assumed the VA in 2007 had reviewed all of the logs and accepted their denial. The VSO is asking them to cue themselves on this evidence and retro back to 2007.
I would advise anyone to not assume anything about your c-file. Get a copy and go over it.

At 14:00 today received a phone call from my VSO telling me the DRO had notified him they had granted 100% IU P&T retro to 6/2013.

This is the same VSO whom I have complained about. The only time I had actually go to meet him was the day of the DRO hearing 10/30/2014 and he was not even familiar with my case.
He intro'd us to the DRO officer and then went mute. My wife presented my case. However, at the phone call today he had actually went through my file and saw where I had been denied in 2007 for PTSD because I had not proven my stressor. At the time I did not know how to get copies of our deck logs and assumed the VA would send and get them.

It appears they did send for them but what was in my file was only a few days of logs, not the entire month which had the stressors listed. I refiled in 2012 when I found the logs and included in that filing the same medical evidence I had presented in 2007. (granted 50% 2012, upped to 70% 2013) When the VSO found this he said he believed we could file for retro back to the 2007 filing. I thought since I did not file a NOD on that claim it was a moot point. He says its not.

I appreciate all of the help I have had on this site.

Thank you all.

Because I had to retire due to SC conditions at age 51 I probably lost many thousands of bucks in pension, SSA and my contribution to FERS Thrift Savings. I used to contribute 15% of my before tax pay to Thrift Savings. All that lost due to SC conditions. Back in 2001 I was making about $25 an hour. To me that was a lot of money. Because investments I made I think I broke even, but if I lost TDIU at age 65 that would knock me back to 90% rating and wife would lose ChampVA.
That would cost me and dislocate my plans for the future for me and my wife. She would lose possible DIC unless I died from one of the AO conditions. I have five. These budget hawks don't consider all these complications to doing away with TDIU for older vets. How much do they think we get from SSDI anyway? I think the average is about $1300 a month.

John

I mentioned to my Congressman's office when I spoke with them, If a Vet could work until full retirement age their SS benefits would be larger. If they have not been able to continue working due to their scd, they would be penalized by cutting them off at full retirement age. Clerk who I spoke with said "Good point, I had not thought of that."

If I could summarize Berta and most Vets success with VA its three words, "Never give up." If 4 attornies turned you down, then try 40 more. Its not really suprising. VA attornies are often VERY busy, and cherry pick their cases as to the ones that make the most money in the least amount of effort. Many people sometimes have to apply for a job a 100 or more times before they get hired, so dont give up just because you did not meet that attornies "market niche and expertise". Most often, its not a reflection on you, its just they like to stay in the area of VA law that they know.

We do that. Why do you have Windows XP or Windows 7? Is it because they are superior to Apple or Mint? Probably not. Both Apple and Linux Mint are virtually virus free, and Windows XP or 7 are virus magnets. You chose that because you are familiar with Windows, and you may have never even heard of Ubuntu Linux, Linux mint, even tho among techies its a favorite operating system, and they are free while Windows cost about a hundred dollars.
http://distrowatch.com/

I have a friend who has been waiting over 2 yrs for a requested DRO hearing on his appeal. Earlier in Nov he called the Waco RO and they told him it would be at least another year before he could get his DRO hearing. I suggested on 11/20 he email Bob. He did. On Tuesday 11/25 the Waco RO called him to schedule a C&P and set up the DRO hearing.

I retired from a gov agency. We had people who purposely did the very minimum to keep their jobs. They would openly tell you if we do more than the minimum, the agency will not hire another person so according to our Union we would be depriving someone of a job. I would ask "Do you realize how hard you make it on the rest of us as we try to take up the slack because you purposely do just the minimum?. They did not care and even faulted us for trying to do what we were hired to do.
Be responsible for our time!
Be responsible with the taxpayers money! (We authorized claims and paid them. It was GSA not the VA)

Ebennies is only as good as what is input by the RO/VA - I don't rely on it much