ShuMan

Thank you Flores for your response. I should find out here in 2 - 3 weeks. Those FDC are moving along fast these days. If this claim gets done next month it'll be under 90 days.  I did file only one disability and the package was solid with an IME and treatment records.  I'll post to this thread when I have the results.

Any guess what the percentage will be for this on? My guess is 50% based on the symptoms.

DBQ for MDD W/Chronic pain.

Secondary to SC Back

3. OCCUPATIONAL AND SOCIAL IMPAIRMENT

·          Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks,although generally functioning satisfactorily, with normal routine behavior, self-care and conversation
FOR VA RATING PURPOSES, CHECK ALL SYMPTOMS THAT APPLY TO THE VETERAN'S DIAGNOSES

Depressed mood
Anxiety
Panic attacks more than once a week
Impaired judgment
Disturbances of motivation and mood
Difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships
Difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a work like setting

 

 

I was in the same boat with the 2018 C-File. So I waited about 6 months and then emailed the security of the VA. I kindly explained my situation ( I needed my Service medical records to get an IME/IMO for my NOD) and within 2 days got a call from someone on his staff saying my C-File would be in the mail today and at my house tomorrow. And he was not joking my C-File showed up the next day.

I don't see any activity on this thread since April 4, but will comment anyway. I have not been on hadit for about 4 years. I fought 19 years for DIC and by using Dr. Bash and his IMO, plus his credentials, we won. It was a case that was "closed" for 12 of those years and then re-opened so as you could guess, they only awarded me back to the re-opened date (2 years; not 19). I filed for EED on the decision and was denied. (let me say here that I filed 1151 claim; denied. I filed CUE claim; denied.)  Filed Appeal on CUE and was denied. Filed NOD and again denied. Filed for Reconsideration and was denied. Went to BVA and I requested BVA DRO via videoconference; took 4 years (2012 to May 12, 2016). Again I used Dr. Bash; brought him to Houston to appear with me at the hearing and all went well. We waived right to Remand (been there, done that...not good) and asked to hold open for 60 days; request granted. Dr. Bash provided me with IME same day as the hearing, I forwarded it to VSO and it was filed to the record same day. Now I'm waiting .... 60 days wait will expire on July 12. They have one year to make decision however Dr. Bash is extremely confident about the outcome of the decision. I agree with the comments regarding VSO's as my experience(s) (and they are many) have never been very positive or helpful regarding them. I can't say enough good things about Dr. Bash. If one can afford him, he is worth the price. He knows the VA regs, most of the Judges know him and he knows them, and they know his reputation as well.
 

I faxed my 3288 in 2 days ago and got a confirmation that it was received. I will give them a month and then it straight to Ms. Wentzel after that!

Many Vets are skeptical of the "non attorney" (Vets) practioner, that charges a similar fee as attorneys. Reason: Gee, if you want to get paid as a lawyer then get a law degree.

Many of us here at hadit are equally skeptical of VSO's for some very good reasons. VSO's are "free" in that they are paid by VA.
For me, what works is this:
1. If you are a newbie, first time filer, consider a VSO, but do not count on him to send in the paperwork he says, many have been caught hiding Vets claims in drawers just like Va employees do. If you are real good with computer searches and hadit, then you may not need a VSO, tho be ready for VA (and many Veterans) to try to convince you that they are necessary.

2. If you are "middle" ground, that is, you have some expertise, but need a little help, then you should consider an attorney if you lose at the BVA level, but you can appeal yourself up to the BVA.

3. Even "expert" published authors like ASKnod, however use attorney's to win difficult cases at the CAVC level or above.

I was successful with getting 100% P&T at the RO level by requesting a De Novo review.
Below is a summary of how this was done:
1- I filled a claim and was denied at the RO level.
2- Sent NOD with two Nexus letters. The RO cued themselves and granted 40%.
3- Sent NOD with three Nexus letters and requested a De Novo review. The DRO at the RO cued themselves again and granted 100% P&T. The second NOD took 15 months and 7 days to get 100% P&T.
Nexus letters are the most important key to winning a claim. All this was accomplished at the RO level.

This last C & P appears to be way more comprehensive and Forensic regarding your MH issues. If I were you, I think I would be very concerned regarding a possible Reduction.
It would be a real good time to bone up, on VA Proposed Reduction Rules And Regs. You don't want to miss any filing (US Mail Certified Return Receipt) dead-lines.
Think I read, if you receive a VA notice of Intent to Reduce your Comp, you have 30 or 60 days to request a Hearing. You can't NOD the proposed Reduction, it has to be a Final Decision 1st. If you then NOD the Decision, my understanding, you don't get the Reduction right away. If at the end of the Reduction Appeal, you loose, not only do you get the Reduction back to the Initial Reduction Date but all the Comp overpayment is taken back immediately from your future Comp.
This is not good. Time to get educated. Don't wait till the AX Falls.
Semper Fi

From the terms and conditions, it sounds like they are a "we help do the legwork" type of entity, but they don't represent you in the same capacity of a regular VSO or law firm. I'll stay with Hadit.

Like many others here, I have personally helped friends and family with the VA claims system nightmare. I guess someone put together a similar business model and ran with it. I don't know anything about that company and cannot tell if they are good or bad, but I remember Carlie (R.I.P.) telling me that regardless of who might help with my claim, the responsibility ultimately belongs to me. At that point, I stopped accepting a VSO typing up a one sentence "fire and forget" claim and took control of my own claims.

I recently discovered Had-it! and I really like it. My VA Comp claim is over 5 years old now. Two denied claims (VARO checked the NAVY & AIR FORCE first ( I was ARMY 1973-1979 ) my appeal denied with NO reason given and my NOD was filed successfully 12/28/2015. IT is lying at the VARO according to eBenefits. I was contacted by the attorney for VA in Kentucky and told me to cease communicating with the VA and move to a VSO. He asked which one I was going to use but I didn't know at the time. I went with the DAV but they have to have Power of Attorney to get my files from the VA. I suppose I should get an attorney as well. 
My oncologist (Vanderbilt-Nashville) states in his letter that I am 100% Disabled and goes on to mention that pancreatic cancer normally strikes men in their late 60's, I was 49.  He also states it is "at least as likely as not" that the radar radiation(s) caused my pancreatic cancer. For 8 & 1/2 years after the 9 hour Whipple Procedure I took 1200MG of morphine capsules daily, 60MG hydrocodone and a 100MCH Fentanyl patch changed every 3 days. When those started to cause damage to my heart, bones and brain he moved me over to the Interventional Pain Management Clinic where I was hospitalized for 30 hours and they implanted a "pain pump" in my lower left abdomen. IV tube runs around to my spine where they made a 3" vertical incision and pushed the diffuser tip up around the T3-T5 area and it flows 24/7. It helps a little but I still think I am at about a "5" on the standard physician smiley chart. I am homebound, can't drive more than a mile, 100% neuropathy in both hands and feet and have zero balance. My vision is fuzzy and I am diabetic due to the removal of over half my pancreas. 
 
Up to 6 surgeries now on my abdomen. Two were to implant rubber/steel mesh across my whole abdomen, the Whipple incision was so long it split open twice plus, I got a Staph infection during my 9 day stay in the hospital. Went home with a wound vac and a port in my upper RH chest for 6 months of IV chemo.
So, my stomach looks like a map of East Tennessee country roads. Along with everything else it sorta' sucks. But would I serve my country again? YOU BET!
Rick

Vets,
Anyone ever use :http://www.vetcompandpen.com/ ?
I talked to there representative today and they seem very knowledgeable and claim to have helped a lot of vets with there cases (for a fee of course).

Rootbeer22,
Try this email the secretary of the VA and tell him about your situation. Dr.Bash actually gave me this tip about a month ago, and no joke I had my C-File in hand within 2 days.

The crazy one here, I will not go into any personal rant about how screwed up VA is. I will just say that VA will deny any and all claims they choose regardless of the evidence until the veteran appeal their (VA) decision.  It is always best to file a NOD than to file a CUE claim but if you have the evidence and you have gone beyond the time of filing a NOD then definitely file a CUE claim and get a qualified attorney.  IMHO (IN MY HUMBLE OPINION) a veteran is a better advocate than a VSO but a veteran does need some assistance with getting through VAs' red tape if s/he is not familiar with it. Keep in mind that VA make decisions because they are in the position and have the power to do so. Getting angry/Yelling at them/Cursing them or even Correcting them can cause retaliations that could cause problems in the veterans claims. VA can be very vindictive and it is the veterans livelihood that suffers.  Just passing the word on. Never Give Up.
P.S. We have not mentioned it in a while but there are VSOs and VA personnel lurking around these boards and with any good thing there is always bad things in there mitts.

Wait log Entry #1:
Well, its been 17 days since judge granted... I think I am beginning to lose my sanity. I check the bank every morning as well as ebennies. I wish I knew what was going on in that regional office. Ive drifted into the mindset of what kind of life I will lead when i receive the benefits.... I think I will dedicate my free time to being there to help the other wounded vets... Well end of log 1-6G out.

I total agree with the others,
I ask DAV to help me with my PTSD Claim, the S.O. just ask me my name and SS % scribble it down on a 21-526ez....no questions ask about my service or how long  or if I had any medical evidence to send, he just scribble PTSD in big letters  and sent in the form to my RO.
I Found out later he should have sent it to the Janesville Wi Claims intake Center, finally I got a letter from the VA letting me know they Recieved my Claim request...
As time went by I went to see the DAV SO that was supposably helping me  It took me 3 trys to see him ,finally I seen him to ask him about my claim, he said'' ''oh you won't hear back from them for a year or two''...I left and worked my claim myself  lucky for me the VA sent me a letter of what they needed from me, AND I gathered it all up and sent it in  and sent in my STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF CLAIM, and I figured out how ebenefits work and MyhealthyVet...I worked my claim by myself along with members of Hadit.com...
the DAV SO was USELESS AND WAS NO HELP AT ALL HE NEVER ONCE CALLED ME AND GAVE HIS SUPPORT IN ANYWAY.
SO needless to say the DAV Sucks in my opinion.
...jmo
..............Buck

There are three distinct areas of records.
1)All Service military and medical records are stored at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. That is the NPRC.
2)All VA medical records are stored in the VISTA computer electronically after 1996. Any before that date are archived and still accessible if asked for. That is the Veterans Health Administration or VHA.
3)Your c-file is maintained by the VA- as in Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and are located at the VARO where you filed. It takes time and sometimes dynamite to dislodge them from VA's grip.
Regardless of the resident expert representing you, remember one thing. They have 40 hours of training to get their learner's permit to do claims. I've studied VA law intensely for over 8 years and been filing since 1989 and I still don't know everything. However, it is a basic tenet that you have one year from a decision to object by filing a NOD. That is claims 101 and even a VSO rep with an IQ over 75 should be able to tell you that. I suspect his prowess is less than Specialist 1st Class.
Best of luck on your claims, sir. 

JWegg:
I wrote about my negative experiences some time ago with my American Legion VSO as I was a novice concerning VBA Disability processes, the law,  how to formulate a good disability claim. What I found was the "Forrest Gump"  Experience in terms of filing for disabilities. The VA disability process is like a "box of chocolates", you never know what you are going to get-when selecting a VSO-that is! For me, my VSO was just an input clerk and had very little knowledge of the VA disabilities process nor did she even try to learn? She liked to shoot from the hip and speak as an authority but after closer inspection her answers were only correct about 50% of the time. So to educate myself, I watched a really great Video on YouTube about the VA Fully Developed Claims (FDC) Process. So, when I came back and met with her about my own strategy for processing my first claim to ask questions, I was floored that she did not know much? So, I did a lot of research about VSOs and learned that there are some very good ones and also some very bad ones? The main thing is that there is no VSO education or formal certification process, so just about anyone can call themselves a VSO? Unfortunately, my VSO gave me a lot of bad advice which I'm still paying in terms of denied contentions that I'm trying to correct. The "stick that broke the camels back" is when I turned in my disabilities package "hard copy" to her and it sat on her desk for almost a week? So, I asked why and she said she was busy but every time I went by the office, singed-in and waited  a long time for her, I could hear her gossiping with someone in an outer office?  So, I said "please let me have my own package back" and I fed-exd it to the VBA Regional office.  Frankly, that's when I decided to fire her to took back control of my own case because I knew that she was not going to be much help. This was the smartest move I could make.
So, I started doing extensive research and work in terms of reviewing the VA/VBA  regulations for  disability filing requirements and viewed hadit.com and Youtube whihc were a godsend for me. I attribute a lot of my success to many of the regular contributors to hadit.com. As a result,  my first claim was 80% which quickly turned into 90% and I'm working towards 100% now-getting to 100% is very tough. Anyway, I showed my disability package to a Chief C&P doctor and he said that it was one of the best packages that he had seen in 25 years?  But I learned that it all takes hard work and a great deal of personal perseverance and effort to be successful and the process is very stressful. Let's face it no one is going to care more about your claim than you do?  Also, there's no question that there are also a lot of excellent VSOs out there that are aggressive, educated and highly motivated. But I can only say action speaks louder than words and putting your fate into someone else's hands is a big deal. So if you pick someone (VSO), do your homework and make sure they are good and check multiple sources. Frankly, the way it works for most is that you go to to the VSO Office, sign in and then they randomly get assigned someone for you anyway. So, it;s just the luck of the draw of whom you get -but may have a big affect on the final outcome of your claim? For instance, if you get someone that is way overworked and has "piles of files" in their office, you'll always be behind the power curve and your claim may take a very long time as they get a chance to work on it when they can?  
My advice, take your fate into your own hands now to get educated and go to the Vet forums like hadit.com, Asknod and a host of others to find the disabilities  discussion forums that match your own disability contentions and learn as much as you can about them. Most vets have had the same issues over and over again that you are going to face anyway, so learn from them and ask questions if you need help? Otherwise, you could find yourself in a long up hill battle for years trying to get what you already deserve in terms of medical care and compensation. Also, you need to learn specifically about range of motion (ROM) and how it is measured for different body parts and with regard to painful motion. This is an area that I have had to fight myself. Also, never-ever give up, it's a long road and many just give up and blame the "system" for their misfortune -those who don't usually win in the end. 
Anyway, Goodluck and Godspeed Rootbeer22
 
 
 

I was in the same boat with the 2018 C-File. So I waited about 6 months and then emailed the security of the VA. I kindly explained my situation ( I needed my Service medical records to get an IME/IMO for my NOD) and within 2 days got a call from someone on his staff saying my C-File would be in the mail today and at my house tomorrow. And he was not joking my C-File showed up the next day.

The Records Management Center in St. Louis is now the de facto place to get c-files but remember we now live in the VBMS electronic records world. You have to adapt to the new ways or suffer waiting forever. I suggest you read this. I published it over a year ago but the technique is tried and true. Of course, calling the VA ombudsman or Secretary Bob is always a great way to get their attention sooner.
https://asknod.org/2015/01/12/2015-va-updates-on-getting-your-c-file/

There is so much truth in this line:
"We can sing, dance, curse, do card tricks or hand puppets, but the VA doesn't seem to even flinch until you drive an IME and/or an IMO into their heart"

Bluevet,
I introduced new evidence by way of an Independent Medical Examination and Opinion report, along with a nexus letter from my oncologist, which, along with a SMR's that the VA didn't have in their possession when they iniitally rated me, may have helped open the door for the DRO to seriously begin looking at my claims.

You really can't trust what they say on the phone, but he said that my evidence looked good, but C&P's were necessary for proper ratings. He didn't elaborate on which conditions he was talking about, because I have multiple on appeal, and of course, his call caught me flat-footed and I didn't have my handy list of questions with me to quiz him properly. (My fault.)

Afterward, I got a call from Veterans Evaluation Services a few days ago, who advised that the VA had contracted with them to handle my C&P examinations and to do bloodwork. They have handled me before on other claims, and were pretty decent. (They diagnosed two inferred conditions that I have filed as new claims.)

I really don't have a single answer to your question though, other than that I have spent a couple of years debating with the VA on my corrupted C-File that held about 89 pages of other veterans' medical records when my claim was processed and rated, debating on the fact that the VA recognized that a condition existed and was diagnosed in the military but had no residual effects, while saying that my civilian records show that secondary conditions existed, but no evidence of the primary condition existed. (Which is the same one that they said did exist but had no residuals when denying it in an earlier paragraph.)

I think some of it really was that I was able to retrieve SMR's from the NPRC that the VA did not have on file when they processed and rated me, which they now have. I would say that I shamed them into realizing that they really had my case pretty screwed up, but they have no shame and I am still in the waiting arena, so no boasting or crowing here. (That's why I always preach about obtaining your C-File AND everything you can get from the NPRC before you file your claims. I made the mistake of assuming that everybody talked and shared information....the DOD, VA, NPRC, etc. Nope. That error cost me years of processing and waiting and a little chunk of money so far, and it isn't over yet.)

I also have to say that a great deal of the cause, and maybe the only cause, may have been the introduction of new and material evidence. We can sing, dance, curse, do card tricks or hand puppets, but the VA doesn't seem to even flinch until you drive an IME and/or an IMO into their heart. It may or may not do any good, but it does cause them to stir a little.

I also spent a lot of time researching BVA appeals citations and forwarded a few on each condition to utilize as persuasive evidence, along with professional medical journal information alluding to my own situation and conditions that have developed through the years, always citing the SMR's, VA C&P's and civilian medical records of mine that are the real hard evidence.

As I told the DRO when he called me the other day, the VA and I have had 5 glorious years together in this process, and who knows how many more before it's over. He laughed. I didn't.

I am open to any theories from anybody else out there who may have gone through, or may be going through a similar situation as mine. I'm just glad there is some sort of movement. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking.

I hope your process runs smoothly, and that you are awarded your claims quickly. Thanks for your service!

Happy Father's Day!

Mark

I'm not an IMO expert but based on the fist couple of pages it looks well put together and backed up by sound medical logic. Did you end up getting an IMO or an IME from Dr. Ellis?

Sorry to hear about the health issues. I am glad that Dr. Ellis was willing to work with you. Two solid IMOs I would say your in this thing fully loaded..lol

Shuman, I believe she did a great job, together with the IMO from Dr Ellis, i should be good to go.