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You've been dragged a long way on this. Ideal situation is remove the cause of the problem at its roots, and the problem goes away. Guess that's not gonna go over. There is a lot of stuff in your case. Puzzles like zip around in my head. If this comes back and I see idea pop, I will come back here and reply. The solution is to give the VA reason to set aside the DUI issue, because your injuries did occur while you were on active duty. Do you have Combat history, if so, had a check up for PTSD? Self medication via drinking? Another way through the maze?

This is about 38USC 1151 and FTCA claims. Tricky part is, if it is malpractice, then you have to get it well documented. The easiest way is to detail everything about the case in writing, and get a legal opinion from a law firm that handles FTCA claims against the government. Normally that's free.

I would like to see Allison Hickey start a non profit to force reform of the VBA claims and appeals process. She probably changed the system from the inside more than anyone ever before her. She moved a mountain, now its back in the hands of the good ole boys.

So true. and Gratz on the win. I'm like a babe in the cradle at this stuff. Began in 2015 to applying. Without a few of your posts, I would have been even worse off. Thanks for that.

My claim was approved. I was given the wrong effective date, and low balled on one of the conditions. Proof of the low balled condition is in the VA Treatment records, cited as evidence in the rating decision. Proof of the effective date error was on EBenefits server, they ignored the intent to file date, award date was the actual date I finally submitted my claim. Both of these are CUE, and in a NOD, as appeal, it could take years to correct. Reading M21-1, part 3, subpart 2, chapter 2, Section F - Requests for Reconsideration - (Updated 7/15/15) a. Definition: Request for Reconsideration, For the purpose of this topic, a request for reconsideration is a request from a claimant for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reconsider one of its decisions that has not yet become final (the one-year appeal period, which begins on the date the claimant was notified of the decision at issue, has not yet expired). A prescribed form is not required for a request for reconsideration. A request for reconsideration differs from a claim to reopen in that the decision at issue in a claim to reopen has become final. I didn't note anything restricting reconsideration to BVA/COVA, so I called Peggy. In Mar 2015, the Section F was Section G, changed in Jul 2015 to section F.The notation "A prescribed form is not required for a request for reconsideration" was added here. Peggy told me submit request for recon on va fm 21-4138. Statement in Support of Claim. I had a new exam that I cited as new evidence after the rating decision, validating current condition, after the rating decision, which is described for peripheral nerves at 40% in the M21, the same as before the rating decision. I explained both errors in detail, explained that the evidence was on hand when the decision was made, and noted that 38CFR 4.6 was violated in the rating decision because 9 examinations and/or consultations about my condition were ignored that indicated, according to M21 rating instructions, the higher rating was correct, and that no notice as to why these 9 examinations and/or consultations was provided explaining why they were not applied in the decision. So at the end, I am still in the 1 year appeal tramework, and can provide new evidence, and can cite CUE for reconsideration. I didn't use the words CUE. Claim is still closed, on EBenefits under disabilities, not changes, except under Pending Disabilities, it shows all of my conditions, as Inc., with links to "view pending claim" at the end. The link is a claim, went to review, and now is at Gathering of Evidence. This AM I got a note for a 5103, which I also did on EBenefits. Contacted Peggy twice, and it was validated that I triggered a de Novo review of my decision. Now I just have to wait and see. I have 10 months to go before the rating decision is final.

I'm thinking strategy. I'm not thinking the claim is BS. It is a solid claim. Take away the disqualification (DUI) and they don't have any grounds to deny for misconduct. Without the DUI involvement, he should be approved, no? DUI machines are being shot down in courts all over the country. Law Enforcement use the same equipment for the most part, and if the test is not exact, and the machine is not properly calibrated, they have to throw out the DUI. Most of the time, they tell you to blow hard, and get you to blow 2-3 times to get a positive result. Those machines were designed for 1 liter of breath to analyze Blood Alcohol Content. If you pump 3 or 4 liters into the machine, it registers the same result as if you only provided 1 liter, but it counts the content of 3 or 4 liters as 1 liter. The resulting test can show BAC 3 or 4 times higher than what was actually there. Had a friend that blew a 2.9, the testing officer had him blow 4 times into the machine. We got the conviction overturned. Without a DUI conviction, its removes any question of misconduct.

Charged..yes. Convicted...? whatever the outcome of the cause of the accident, if they can prove that you had no business driving the vehicle to start with...in that the act of DUI is misconduct, they have a grounds to deny you benefits. Just the fact that you were in the vehicle, in violation of the law, in control of the vehicle while you were under the influence of alcohol/drugs (or whatever)...is misconduct. Hence...you need a very good attorney for this case. \/\/\/\/\/\/\\//\\// it might be smart to go after the dui and get that overturned so they cannot use it in the VA Claims process before you pursue the end of this all /\/\/\\/\/\

Did you get a DUI in all this? Conviction on it? This is where they can get you. Fault is a quasi issue in a DUI conviction, because the DUI could sway the verdict in your case against you. It, alone, is misconduct.

So if they turned you down, you have an appeal in yet? With a complex issue, you need a high power attorney. Have you got one now? You are talking about a lot of complex litigation issues and each one give and take rights. Put in the wrong claim, you lose it all. No re-roll on this trip, talk to lawyers, its the only way to get what you need done.

Everything is going digital. Letters and forms are scanned into the system as JPG's or PDF's, and then filled in section 8 for posterity. The good part of that is that you can have people in multiple locations deal with separate issues in the same file at the same time. The bad part is if a EMP hits, everything is gone, and hackers tend to penetrate every government system, so eventually, VA is gonna get it.

Great work USMC_VET. This should be a must read for everyone who wants to file for disability benefits through the VA.

My impression is useless. I'm no radiologist and cant tell heads from tails about what the situation is without all of the fact in front of me. That being said, was the 1st report done by a VA Radiology department? If so, you might want to take the x rays to a non va radiologist/orthopedic specialist and get it read again. I had my back re-read like that and it opened up a whole new story that got my back service connected.

Good to hear this is working out for you. With VASH, your evict should not be a big hit. Once your rating is set and you have a stead stream of income to rely on, its a no brainer for them to put in a Vet with a family and VASH. Also, there are organizations that get special consideration working with housing vets in your shoes. Track them down and try to get into a house with a yard. Look at the housing resources on E Benefits they will guide you. They get special prices for government owned homes because they put low income vet's into them.

Ask for open MRI for the next time. Its much better. They also have new equipment that can be done standing and sitting, upright MRI. New Tech is eliminating the claustrophobic issues.

That's how I did it. Everywhere I look, they want you to register. Most of it is through the NIH, its an international thing that the US is a member of. ITs free for member nations, so you can try if you want to register to get access here; http://www.ihtsdo.org/snomed-ct/get-snomed-ct or here https://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/Snomed/us_edition.html

Welcome pumibel

Snomed CT (SCT) codes are not CFR, they are AMA and international designations of conditions, mostly required for billable issues. This is an acronym for Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine – Clinical Terminology. It is recognized throughout the US and internationally, and it is available at no cost through the National Library of Medicine. Using SNOMED-CT enables providers and electronic medical records to communicate in a common language, thus increasing the quality of patient care across many different provider specialties. SNOMED-CT will also improve the accuracy of patient data analysis. Knowing that a standard medical terminology is being used across the enterprise, and within other hospitals, simplifies the query and resulting report. Users can be confident that they haven’t missed anything in their definition of a diagnosis and rely on a complete report for this patient population. Sounds simple. Unfortunately, it is far from simple. It is structured into “hierarchies” – 19 of them -- which further define the clinical concept. These hierarchies are then broken down into increasing granularity, resulting in very specific clinical concepts to define a patient’s condition. Whew! We think the ICD-10 coding hierarchy is complex – it’s nothing compared to SNOMED-CT.

Update on this, today this came up on EB as "Under Review". They list my VA 21-4138 as evidence, so all I can do now is hold my breath and see what happens. added Fri, 22 Oct 15 (2 days later), gathering of evidence, they wanted a 5103 form. I hit the link on the E Benefits site that said "Decide my claim", and 10 minutes later, the 5103 appeared in the uploaded documents listing.

I am using the choice program for back surgery. Didn't hear a word from them, so I called in. The total hours I have spent to insure that my preferred provider is in the CC program and properly registers, with approval to perform whatever needs to be done, is about 4.5 hours. You have to be a pit bull and call every day until you get the desired results, otherwise its useless. It took them 5 days to get 1 fax with approval sent. This was after it was supposed to have been sent already, and the provider was given verbal instructions on what they had to do, and why. Incompetence runs the Choice Card Program. He could never qualify for any other branch of service...

If the information that the condition was already located in your STR, and if they denied the SC initially, then you should ask them to re-open the claim to determine if the there was a CUE. IF they didn't use the favorable information in the STR, or explain why they set aside that information, its a Colvin violation (Colvin v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 171 (1991). A common problem is that the VA may dismiss favorable medical evidence of record without citing to medical evidence in the record or medical literature to support its rejection. (re; broncovet) They cited my VA Treatment Records in my claim, and inside of the records was 9 separate examinations and/or consultations that documented that my peripheral neuropathy should be 40-60% according to M21 and 38CFR. Yet, the rater gave me 10% based on the C&P exam, and completely ignored the medical history that he cited as evidence without any explanation.

CAVC and SCOTUS are the typical routes for BVA issues. But the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act is not under the jurisdiction of either the CAVC or the BVA. Depending on the violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act, it might need to be acted upon as FTCA. Federal Tort Claims Act is not limited to acts under 38 USC or CFR. This is something that an experienced attorney should address. This is a fairly complex legal issue. Contact an Attorney, get a free opinion on your case. That's what I would do. Whether or not the VA (a govt entity) is bound by the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act is beyond me. Certainly other govt agencies (ie...IRS) are not phased by the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act.

Plan on just gathering information right now. Let a lawyer worry about court. You have your facts, your buddy statements, any proof you have about asking for a different provider, etc..etc.. If you determine that you have enough documentation that essentially proves your issue, then talk to an attorney to see if it is a viable case.

All of this behavior rises to criminal at a certain point. If records indicate that a condition exists, and the examiner said it does not, yet you continue to receive care for that condition, then it is falsification of medical records. That is a crime. If you have a well documented case of this happening, take it to the IG. The IG is responsible for investigating criminal acts by federal government employee's. Document everything. Some things you cannot, but if you walk in to a C&P exam with a written list of your conditions and symptoms and hand a copy of that to the examiner, keep your copy as a record. What happened in the C&P exam cannot be recorded at this time, however, as soon as you walk out, you can note everything the examiner did. Keep track of everything. Lay testimony is competent to the point of what you experience, and it holds an even bigger impact if you write it down and date it. That being said, if the IG gets enough complaints, and they make cheesey excuses often enough, then something is going to happen. Vets have a right to competent medical examinations for the C&P exams, and if it is documented that they are not providing it, by enough people, then maybe the law/regulations will change. That MD that provides the exam is obligated to review our entire history, not just the front 2 pages of the file. The law states in no uncertain terms, that these services are not adversarial, and that means that they are there to competently represent the VETS, not to protect the VA. Its a law, signed sealed and delivered by Congress, signed the Commander in Chief, and they don't have a choice in the matter. If enough Vets bring this issue to the IG, they have to notice it.

You have to document all of it. From the sound of it, some of it is easy, police records confirm facts about your reaction. Whats in your medical file? walk in to a ROI office and ask them for copies of the inpatient records for the dates that you were institutionalized, see what the MD's put in your file. From that point, you can see if its possible to make a case. They should give you copies on the spot, don't ask for the entire medical history or they will just have you sign a form and it takes over a month to mail it out.

You need EBenefits. Really! For this password issue, did you forget what it was? Or is it that you cant figure out what they need fo create it?