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63Charlie
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Posts posted by 63Charlie
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If they award 60% for the MD alone, I should receive two years of a higher SMC-S retroactive benefit above the 100% rating I was paid.
If they award 100% for Meniere's alone I have no clue what my rating SHOULD be as I have another single condition I am rated at 100%.
Maybe some help with this as I know very little about SMC and I have no attorney
I read the VA info but I still don't understand SMC ratings
I don't have the knowledge to even know if I would be entitled to higher than SMC-S
- Vync and Dustoff1970
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I won service connection for Meniere's Disease, and Tinnitus after several years long battle.
I anticipate that the next thing will be the typical VARO lowball rating decision which will trigger a new appeal.
Curious as to why the BVA judge failed to order a new C&P exam for MD/Tinnitus after granting service connection?
I'll never understand the reasoning for the backwards way the VA does things.
I had multiple other issues remanded back to the VARO funhouse for new C&P exams to determine service connection, including one for hearing loss.
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Possibly.
VA.gov shows new BVA decision grants.
A call to Peggy was non-productive.
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I'll share one of my VA stories, if I may.
The VA sent me to a C&P exam for my bad ankles seven years ago.
The examiner found medical evidence in my service treatment records and opined i was entitled to service connection.
You'd think that would be a win, right?
Not so fast.
The rater wasn't down for that, so I was sent for another C&P exam for my ankles only a few weeks later.
Can you believe that the second examiner opined there was no entitlement to service connection?
Want to guess which examiner the VA rater found more "persuasive"?
I believe that there is a practice at the VA known as "doctor shopping".
If the VA doesn't like what one examiner said, the VA will send you to a different examiner with a known track record of unfavorable opinions who will pencil whip you.
Hey.... what is good for the goose, is good for the gander, so I went doctor shopping myself.
I obtained some solid medical opinions from doctors I found, and from doctors my attorney found, and the rest is history.
I still have a few more compensation issues to iron out with the BVA due to a remand by the CAVC.
The VLJ is currently reviewing the issues and I expect a decision soon.
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Ended up getting a ride aboard a C5 Galaxy after sleeping on plastic chairs three days at Rhein Main airbase in Germany.
The flight itself was an extremely long, slow, flight and not comfortable one bit.
Lost 3 days of my 30 day leave waiting on a Space A at the RM airport.
I believe being low on the totem pole, E-3, worked against me.
I happily paid for a commercial jet return flight to my PDS in Germany after that Space A fiasco.
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If a vet is caught lying, they can be criminally prosecuted.
VA C&P examiners are not held to the same standard.
If they were, the prisons wouldn't hold all of them, IMO.
- 8th&IMarine, pacmanx1 and Vync
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20 minutes ago, broncovet said:
Or, if you prefer, send the money to me, and I will read you any information you desire.
Laughter is the best medicine.
Called the 800 # spoke to a VA rep and requested a copy of my most recent decision.
Received a copy via email of an April 11, 2022 BVA decision.
Th decision letter explained why I received yesterday's $3900 deposit
I had appealed a November 30. 2021 BVA decision for an earlier effective date for two disabilities, and the grant of the EED gave me an earlier effective date for SMC-S.
I won and got paid.
I have multiple issues awaiting a BVA decision, some of which were remanded by the CAVC
It is difficult to know what is what as I have multiple appeals that are up in the air awaiting decisions
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Got a new deposit of $3900.00 in my bank account yesterday from VA Comp and Pen.
VA.gov doesn't show any changes or a new decision (as usual).
VA.gov is about as useful for information as teats are on a boar hog.
I owe the VA $7100.00 from a SNAFU because they erroneously deposited EAJA fees into my bank account which were due my attorney for representing me at the CAVC.
If this money is legit, maybe I can use the $3900.00 to help pay back some of the money due them from the SNAFU ?
(BTW...I still don't have a letter from the VA regarding the $7100.00 error)
A VA employee at the regional office called the other day and advised that I would receive a letter in September regarding the error.
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VAVBAWAS/CO/Office of the USB VBA <Do not post your email address.>
12:00 PM (30 minutes ago)
to meVA's admission of errorNow comes the "remedial" financial hardship the VA will put upon my familyDear Mr. 63Charlie,
Thank you for contacting the White House VA hotline and allowing us to address your inquiry. Your inquiry was referred from the hotline to the Office of Client Relations for assistance.
During your call to the hotline, you raised a concern regarding a recent deposit into your bank account but no decision letter received.
A review of your VA file shows that you were paid $7180.86 in error. This payment was actually a payment meant for your attorney. The attorney goes to court on behalf of the Veteran and if the case is won, an Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) is released. No decision on your pending claim/appeal has been made yet.
The Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), enacted in 1980, authorizes the award of attorney’s fees and other expenses to certain individuals, small businesses, and other entities who prevail against the federal government in judicial proceedings and certain adversary adjudications when the government’s position is not substantially justified. The stated purpose of EAJA, among other things, is to “diminish the deterrent effect of seeking review of, or defending against, governmental action by providing” for the award of certain costs and fees against the United States.
The finance department has been notified of this and they are remedying the issue.
We thank you for your service, and we hope that this information was helpful as it is our goal to assist you.
Please do not respond to this e-mail. If you have further questions regarding the claim process or the status of your claim, our Agents at 1-800-827-1000 are able to assist you between the hours of 8:00am to 9:00pm eastern, Monday through Friday.
Best Regards,
Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Benefits Administration Office of Client Relations
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Thanks.
Might be just what I need in the near future.
I hope not but I put nothing past the appeals process.
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BTW Welcome to the VA hamster wheel.
Now that you're on the hamster wheel, you have to figure out what it takes to get off of it.
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51 minutes ago, jbasser said:
Do you have a VSO?
Been winning most appeals for a while now without help with representation.
If it isn't broken...I won't be "fixing" it.
If I need to appeal to the CAVC...I may go it alone this time.
I don't like that my attorney took the initiative to approve the Record Before Agency without forwarding me a copy for review beforehand.
Especially since I discovered some favorable evidence was not included when my attorney approved the RBA.
Now that the Rule 33 conference is available to pro se appellants after the CAVC revised the rule, I may go it alone if there is a next time.
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21 minutes ago, jbasser said:
I have seen this. I usually have the veterans call the 800 number and tell VA that letter is not received. They will offer to re send, or email a copy. If you have a VSO who has access to VBMS, they can run interference.
I have been told repeatedly by VA employees that there is no decision letter.
This is occurring after I've advised VA employees of the date of decision and that VA.gov states a decision letter has been mailed to me.
By telling me this, the VA can continue to delay my ability to file an appeal, should I choose to do so.
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A lay statement indicating continuity of symptoms from you on the proper VA form is favorable evidence.
Others that are familiar with your symptoms you have from your injury can be submitted as favorable evidence on the proper VA form, and are called buddy statements by the VA.
Research the "Caluza Elements" definition, and learning this will take your far into knowing what will be required to prove nexus for your disability.
I think Chris Attig discusses the matter.
Many treating doctors do not have the expertise to provide medical nexus opinions.
Most are simply not interested.
I had to travel from Fl to Ok. City to get a nexus opinion from the Ellis Clinic.
They specialize in legal medicine and he has YouTube videos.
But if you can get a freebie from a treating doctor you did good and those carry a lot of credibility as well(if done right)..
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Got a call from a staffer about my Congressional Inquiry this morning.
What a strange coincidence that my appeal for multiple issues has been sitting idle at the BVA for three years, and suddenly, today, my appeal is in front of a veterans law judge at the Board.
About the decision letter issue, the staffer has reached out to the CAVC, BVA, and the Regional Office.
Will know something soon she said.
About the new claim(3/17/22), I still don't know anything yet other than I didn't file it.
It doesn't say what the issues are on VA.gov
Can the VA automatically increase my rating via this new claim if the evidence supports a higher level of SMC?
I don't have a representative..BTW.
VA sent me a new medical release form for me to sign and I threw it in the trash.
They already have 5000 pages in my C file.
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On 3/24/2022 at 1:14 AM, john999 said:
Now you need to send in your notice of disagreement right away. This starts the appeals process. You will have plenty of time to gather up all your new and old evidence. If you could get a doctor to state that after a careful examination of all your medical records he believes that it as likely as not that your current disability in a continuation of the back problems that first emerged in service. The doctor believes that your back problems are a result of your military service. Something to those words could be your nexus. That is called getting an independent medical opinion. This is what the VA pretends to do all the time and you see how that worked out.
If you can get a doctor to submit supportive medical treatises with his nexus opinion it would be much more favorable.
Any doctor can give a favorable nexus opinion... but any nexus opinion must have a supporting rationale to substantiate it in order for it to be given credibility.
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I have paid lawyers to win appeals.
I have paid doctors for independent medical examinations necessary to refute the inadequate C&P exams the VA has provided.
It has been strictly a pay-to-play experience all the way acquiring my benefits.
I don't plan to spend the rest of my life going in circles with the VA so I had to ante up.
I'm all in to win.
The VA could have done this the easy way as I had all three Caluza elements at the start, but instead the VA chose to hamstring me hoping I'd lose and quit.
YMMV
- JKWilliamsSr and broncovet
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VA.gov said I filed a new claim on March 17, 2022.
I have not filed a claim
I asked for the Feb. 24, 2022 decision letter which VA.gov says was mailed.
This new March 17, 2022 claim does not show what the claim is for.
I called the 800 VA number and was advised the VA is doing a tracer on the money deposited into my bank.
Was also told the new claim was "internal" but I didn't think that this is possible.
I always thought a vet had to file a claim for benefits
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I have a case number with the VA Whitehouse Hotline.
I have a case number for a congressional Inquiry.
I have a complaint submitted to the VAOIG.
I have called the VA toll free number multiple times to no avail.
Did I cover all the bases?
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15 hours ago, broncovet said:
" You really can not trust what employees tell you on the phone."
Strongly agree.
" For one thing, they may not have that much better access to information than we do."
Strongly disagree.
I've had a 1-800 phone rep at the VA email a claims decision letter to me
Remember, they are the gatekeepers.
In the alternate, go to ebenefits/va.gov "letters" section. Compare a letter to what you have.
No new decision letter
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On 3/14/2022 at 5:31 PM, asdf said:
Get a VSO with VBMS access and they can see the letters and reason for decision without waiting for the mail.
I would rather not "acquire" a VSO.
I don't trust that process.
The only way that any VSO is able to look into the VBMS/veterans claims file is if the veteran agrees to have the VSO representation him/her before the VA.
A big negatory for me.
BVA Grants Service Connection Yesterday
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted · Edited by 63Charlie
Dr. Ellis' IME performed in Oklahoma City won the grant for service connection.
Dr. Ellis stated my symptoms met the criteria for a 60% rating.
The VARO and the BVA ignored this IME.
Appealed their BS decisions, and kicked BOTH their asses at the CAVC.
They begrudgingly had no choice but to grant service connection.
As I predicted, the VARO gave me the lowest possible rating for MD @ 30%.
I have never been sent to a C&P exam for MD.
The BVA didn't order one, so the VARO didn't provide one.
The big question...do I want to appeal this?