RoverV8Man

Hello, Well I received my SOC and again, they stated that my ankle and back was not affected by my knee injury. I waited 11 months and got my SOC on April 18th, 2015. Now , I am faced with going to the next step. I have read some of the topics here and it seems that I have made the same mistake as others to use my 'local" VSO (Lee County, NC VSO). I am faced with trying to find someone who will truly represent me and help me with this process. I do not know to whether I should use the DVA, VFW or American Legion to help me with my BVA, any suggestions? I must admit that I was highly disappointed when I received my SOC and feel again, that because I am a Cold War Veteran, my case has no merit. My injury was in service but was not through combat. I am not asking anything more than a fairness in my evaluation of what is going on with my ankle and back. They did not even pick up my claim on my left knee as it is in greater pain, amazing. Sop any help would be greatly appreciated. John

I sent mine in on May 29, 2014. I just received my SOC April 18, 2015. Now it looks like I have to go before the BVA.

Good Morning to Everyone, I went to ebenny and decided to look at my healthcare file to see if I had any notes. And yes I did, about 26 pages of notes on my review. I am trying to make heads and tails out of this report. I will post a separate topic to have those of you who are understanding of the wording of these reviews and you can give me a idea of what the results could be. Again, I wanted to thank everyone for their help on this issue. John

Hello Everyone, An update on my C&P; I read everything that you all suggested for me when I went into the exam. What was interesting was that the exam had been cancelled the prior day at 6:05 am. I was struck dumb as I had no idea of that happening to me. However, I will give a lot of credit to the man who was at the front window who called the examiner and she happened to be in the office that day, anyway. Lucky me and throw salt over my shoulder with a rabbits foot in my pocket. Anyway, I spent an hour and half with the PA who was very kind and nice to me. The PA was respectful to me and upfront with everything that was involved with the exam. She then asked me several questions which I answered truthfully and if I had a situation that did not have a direct answer, I told PA. The PA then helped me by asking deeper questions which allowed me to give a thorough observation on my conditions. The PA then had me do the physical movements which was a bit painful and the PA apologized more than once for the work. I found the session organized, respectful and genuine. So my hat is of to the Fayetteville, NC C&P Group. Now, where do I go and find the information on the results of the C&P? Now I had the C&P on March 18th so they may not be ready but I seem to remember that someone said that you could find them somewhere in eBenefits. Again, Thanks to everyone and their advice. I did what you all suggested and the process went very well. John

Good Morning to Everyone, I am due to go to my C&P this week and I am curious as what to expect when I go through this exam. Yes, this is my first time of a C&P. I also want to know what are the should do and should not do at this exam. I want to know what I am in for and what can I expect from the results. I must admit that I was surprise to get a C&P. I was denied my request for increased benefits a year ago, so I put an appeal in for my injuries. I guess this is in response to that appeal and I pray that they finally discover the issues I am having. Thanks for your attention, John

Good Morning, This is my first post on this website and I must thank Scott Channon for sending me to this site. I just received a call from my local VA Rep, but before I get into this I must step back and give my case. I received my first decision on May 2012. This case was in the VA's hands for only 8 months when they returned with my 10% disability claim and approved me for VA disability. I was thankful for their quick decision and proceeded accordingly to the requirements of the VA. I went for my full physical and during this process, I found out that I had further issues with my knees, ankle and back. It was not until October of 2013 that I had surgery on my ankle which took me out of commission for a period of time. Also in the testing at Army Womack Hospital, a Neuro Surgeon found serious issues with my L4 and L5. His official remarks were that I needed further work and surgery on my back because the L4 and L5 were crushing my nerves system which fed out to my left and right hip and down my legs. I also hade serious issues with my left knee and my right knee, which has since blown out has become a bigger problem. I filed an appeal on November 2012 asking for review and upgrade on disability. On January 2014 I was denied on all 4 claims. In May, I sent out an appeal towards the claim to have a DRO (I think this is correct) to re-evaluate the claims as I had documented proof from doctors at Womack. Now forward to this morning when my local VA Rep called and said: "John, you are not going to like this" and I replied: "tell me". He stated that as of this moment, the Winston-Salem office is still on 2012 Appeals and that a DRO has not even been assigned to me. Interesting, so my claim has been sitting in that office since May 2014 and gathered dust and it was only after I called some 2 weeks ago to my local VA Rep that he finally got back to me and that was only because he just got a response to his email that he sent 2 weeks ago. I understand that the VA is overburden but this is beyond words. I feel that I have no one to turn to and to get an answer is unavailable. I have called the VFW and DAV which I am a member of and they have stated that they are unable to find out anything more than the VA Rep. Look, I am not looking for 100% but what I am looking for is justification for my disability and the means of some compensation. I am realized that their are 1000's of men and women who are asking as well. So, I am asking this community if I have missed something or am I not doing something that should be done? I was told that within a period of time, I will be left to get around in a wheelchair and I do not want this for me or my wife. As far as I know, I cannot have any additional work on me and my back, knee or hip until the VA grants the disability. Thank you for taking the time to read this. John