usaf1970

I met with my POA today and reviewed my records. I was denied in 2008 for service connection for my kidneys. The RD stated it was denied due to not finding service records of any treatments while I was in for chronic kidney disease, and also they did not receive proof that I currently had a kidney disease. I did not physically receive this letter, i had moved around that time and for whatever reason I did not physically get the letter. However, I followed up with my POA at that time and he explained that I was denied because they did not find service records. He requested a more legible copy of my service records. That is the last I heard from them. The 1 year to appeal expired. This past year I replied and received service connection for my kidneys. My question is do I have any shot at all of getting my sc date pushed back to 2008? My current POA heard my story today and stated they would not file a CUE because I have no chance. Im sure they are right...but I wanted to hear from people on here. I trust the people on here. Let me know what you think. Is this worth getting a lawyer to fight the va?

Thank you Berta. Just called and spoke with him, love his attitude. Just what I needed. I'm done struggling with this process! Thanks again Berta...one day when my life settles down I'd love to meet you and thank you personally. You are awesome.

Hi all, Can anyone recommend a decent attorney to help me file a CUE claim? I separated the AF with proteinuria back in 1996, kidneys got worse and have been on meds since like 1999 for my kidneys. My original Disability claim was filed in 2008 and denied in early 2009. I did not file an appeal, because I didn't know what the heck i was doing. I have dug through the internet and this site and learned a lot, I requested my claim be re-opened in 2014 and was awarded 60% service connection for my kidneys in October or November. This is great for me, but I want to know if I have a claim for a CUE. While I have read up and tried to educate myself about the CUE process, I don't feel comfortable filing that myself. I have tried to work with my VSO, and they asked me to assign them as POA....but frankly I feel like I'm doing all the work myself and I just want to be sure this gets done right. I am currently working on adding some secondary conditions to my original claim. I have my doctor drafting an IMO letter to include in my secondary claim. Once that is done (soon), I want to file a CUE. Does anyone have an attorney they can recommend? I live near Cincinnati, OH if that matters. Also, what should I expect their cut to be if I'm awarded some sort of retro pay? I'm thinking it will be 50% which seems harsh, but if that's the going rate I guess it is what it is. Thanks for your time. Pat

Thank you Navy4life.

thank you Berta. I will read up on both of them. I will also take a shot at my VSO to see if he can assist.

Thanks Berta & John. My kidney doctor has already offered to write up a letter connecting my gout to my kidney disease. I'll discuss the other things with him and see what he says. I think hypertension is also a no brainer, but not sure if mine is bad enough to warrant any additional %. Plus it is under control with meds. The depression and sleep apnea are probably a stretch...but my doctor will let me know. Berta, a question for you. You mentioned previously that I can appeal my EED with either a CUE claim or you mentioned this in another thread: "I am now thinking (since they obviously SCed the proteinuria disability,) that perhaps a claim under 38 CFR 3.156 would be in order...instead of a CUE claim. hard to say at this point.....it depends on the older denial. But I think you sure have a basis under 3.156" -------------------------------------------------- Is one of these claims better than the other? (CUE vs 38 CFR 3.156). My original claim that was denied was filed in 2008 and denied in 2009. I'm working on getting all my C-file & my denial letter from 2009. Once I have all that, I believe I'm going to request getting retro pay back to 2008. I think a CUE can do that. Can a 38 CFR 3.156 get my EED moved back even further than that?

My claim is still showing in ebenefits as admin review even though it has been approved. Could that be the VA is looking at if this could have been a CUE without me requesting?

So I originally files a claim in 2008 for kidney disease and it was denied in 2009. I did not appeal it for numerous reasons. I have requested the cfile but haven't received it yet. What I scanned in was all that was in the letter regarding the reasons and basis. If I get more I will scan it in. I reopened this claim in August of this year so they retroed to 9/1

The letter I received had a lot of stuff about receiving benefits and there was this section:

Yes Berta, I got 2 months retro so im not retiring anytime soon but I actually never thought id get anything after the original denial so this is a blessing. I will definitely hold on to some for the IMO. Thanks for the advice. The letter I received from the VA does not look like a cfile that I've seen people scan on here before. I will snap a picture of the section that discusses what they decided. I am on medication for depression and I have been for probably 6 years now. I dont see a therapist or anything. But I have been to one a couple of times in the past.

Thank you CT

I received a service connected disability rating for kidney disease recently of 60%. I have multiple other conditions at least two of which should have no problem being connected as a secondary disease. Gout and hypertension. Since I am going through the process of filing another claim...I feel like I might as well throw everything out on the table. So a couple of other things that I have also filed for aren't as clearly connected. Depression and sleep apnea. My question is, should i even bother pushing the envelope on the other two conditions - depression and sleep apnea? I dont know if they are related or caused by kidney problems or not. So could it hurt anything to submit them as well as the other two? Without a doubt in my mind I have bad depression as a result of kidney disease and gout. What are your thoughts?

Its hard to believe but I actually got paid today. I know I keep saying this but I really am eternally grateful for this site. I will be donating as soon as I hit submit on this post. Thanks again everyone.

Berta - everytime I log on here and see another reply from you, I feel so completely honored. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I will read up on this 38 CFR 3.156. I'm not going to hold my breath, but when I get my C-file, SMR's, & my original claim rejection I will try to upload the denial letter and whatever else is relevant and if you or anyone else has time to help me form my argument I would be eternally grateful. You are an absolute angel!!! I have been close to Harvard (for work), but never stopped by. If I ever make it out that way again I will definitely ask you about the room named after your uncle! What an honor that is. :)

Thank you Berta. I am going through ebenefits now and trying to add gout, hypertension, sleep apnea as secondary. I tried to add depression since i've been taking meds for that since 2008 or 2009. But when I add that through ebenefits it treats it like PTSD...so I dropped off depression. I have not done anything with SSDI for this, I didn't think i would need to or be able to since I'm still able to work. I will look into that though. "if a vet is denied for a SC and the denial is not appealed ,and then the disability eventually becomes SC, ........ if the disability was at least at a 10% NSC rating level in the denied decision, that makes the older decision in many cases, ripe for a CUE claim to recover some EED." I'm all over this. I'm going to file for a CUE and even though my VSO does not think it will hold water, I can not see why it wouldn't. In my denial letter from my 2008 claim, the VA stated that they were unable to find medical records from my military medical records that showed where i was treated for kidney disease. I'm not sure how they missed the proteinuria, but I guess they did. So this time around it was approved. I will try a CUE and hopefully my kids get to go to Harvard as a result. :)) You are truly a saint for helping vets on here. The world is a better place thanks to people like you!!!