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63Charlie
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Posts posted by 63Charlie
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Berta, I was represented by Veterans Pro Bono Consortium that won a remand at the Court but those attorney fees were paid as allowed under EAJA(as far as I know).
Maybe they weren't?
Two years ago, I won a 100% P&T disability rating upon which my attorney withdrew, so... I have been self-represented in legal matters with the VA ever since*.
The attorney left multiple appeals on the table for me to fight on my own.
I have since won an increased rating to SMC-S on my own and have received multiple favorable claims decisions involving errors which the VA had to correct.
I have and will continue with the ongoing prosecution of my appeals but I hope that my legal matters will be coming to an end soon.
I'll be standing by to see what the future decisions hold.
* excluding the CAVC
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Recently I noticed a deposit of several thousand smackeroos in my bank account from VA comp and pen.
Logged into VA.gov to search for what was granted, as I have multiple appeals pending.
VA.gov only indicated a claim closed on Feb 24, 2022 for a compensation issue.
It said a letter had been mailed to me regarding the decision.
I've waited ten business days for the decision packet to arrive in the mail but nothing so far.
I called the VA 800 number.
I was told there was no decision letter by three different VA employees.
I informed each employee that a decision letter is required to be sent.
One VA employee informed me that the money was deposited in my bank account because it was money the VA wrongfully took out for attorney's fees.
Strange.
I've never raised this issue.
Did the VA CUE themselves?
Not sure how to proceed... but I did submit a complaint to the VAOIG regarding the matter.
Something smells fishy about this.
I truly want to preserve the time to file my appeal just in case I want to challenge the VA decision.
38 U.S.C. 5104 states that the VA Secretary shall mail claimants and their representatives notice of a decision in a timely manner. The corresponding regulation is 38 C.F.R. 3.103(b)(1), which states that claimants and their representatives are to be notified of any decision impacting the “payment of benefits or granting of relief.”
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I don't have an attorney but it seems I won
I'll wait on the letter to know what was granted.
I've multiple issues on appeal so I really don't know what was granted.
Bottom line is... last night i checked my bank account and the VA deposited close to $7200.00.
Seven years in appeals(so far).
I can't log in to VA.gov for some reason.
App won't load from log in page.
Maybe they got me on their blacklist too?
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I didn't hit it off with Dr. Anaise on a telephone conversation.
I did not like him.
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The VARO, and then the BVA refused to weigh favorable medical evidence of Dr. Ellis' nexus opinions for service connection that I submitted.
They didn't even mention those favorable nexus opinions in their denial of service connection decisions.
CAVC found this to be an error and remanded my appeals back to the BVA for correction.
Not sure how long I'll have to wait for the correction of errors.
If I'd to do it over, I would use Dr. Ellis again.
I really wish that the good doctor didn't feel the need to preach to me while conducting his IME.
I don't like being preached to about faith related matters when I see a doctor.
I feel the BVA didn't weigh favorable Dr. Ellis' opinions due to bias.
They know who he is and consider his IMO/IME as "pay to play" , unfortunately.
Of course, this is in violation of the CFRs, but the VA does this most of the time, in my opinion.
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Here's my question, "How can an attorney that just took your case at the CAVC know if the RBA is complete, or not?"
From my experience, every CAVC attorney that I have had, just signs off an acceptance that the RBA is complete.
I have received a copy of the RBA and found the attorney failed to address that MUCH of my relevant evidence was missing from the RBA.
On another matter:
The VBA system is very slanted against a veteran.
EVERY veteran that is pro se should be granted access to their record via VBMS, but it is not allowed.
It's just another way to handicap vets by not letting them see, in real time, what is happening per their appeals.
Vets have to pay an attorney for that privilege.
Unless you want to use some incompetent VSO.
It's pay to play.
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Currently SMC-S.
Expecting to win another separate 100% rating for an unrelated single disability.
Already have a single disability that is 100% rating + 60% combined other disabilities.
Does two distinctly separate 100% ratings entitle one to an increase in SMC?
*Seems like I read a thread on here somewhere stating it does.
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Have to wait until I get the VA decision letter to know what prize awaits in their box of Cracker Jacks.
Granted doesn't mean SQUAT as for rating purposes, as the Board remanded multiple issues to have the VA local office determine the compensation increase, if any.
My appeal just got kicked back(remanded) to the local "house of clowns" for more tomfoolery.
They'd be slacking if they didn't disappoint because their shenanigans have been ongoing since 2016.
If the VA doesn't try to pull the wool over me again I would 100% surprised.
Know thine enemy.
In the meantime, I'll stand by to stand by.
Good luck to those still fighting the fight.
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I had a video teleconference hearing with an ALJ at the Board in Jan. 2021 for some other issues on appeal.
"Crickets" so far following that hearing.
VA.gov says I will be receiving a decision soon on the hearing issues.
When is "soon" supposed to be?
For me "soon" is defined to indicate "as soon as the VA wants to get around to doing something", and nothing more.
Meanwhile, other appeal issues are waiting in the line to be picked up at the Board for their initial review.
Looks like I'll be fighting them until I die.
They can't win but they can delay for a long time.
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The VARO eventually intertwined my claim for Meniere's Disease(MD) with tinnitus and hearing loss, and subsequently denied service connection of all three claims without specifically addressing the MD.
The VARO had sent me for separate C&P exams for hearing loss and tinnitus first ,and then later on, to another C&P exam for MD, after I had finally been diagnosed with the illness(MD) that was the source of many of my health problems.
I filed a NOD(appeal) to the BVA after the VARO denied service connection for those and other claims.
The Board subsequently denied service connection of these foregoing disabilities, while ignoring my "intertwined" MD appeal entirely, and also denied certain other disability appeals as well.
I appealed the Board's decision to the CAVC, paid my fee, and then lawyered up.
My attorneys won, and the Board's decisions will be reversed due to the numerous instances where the Board failed to follow the law.
I filed these claims in 2015.
It has taken this many YEARS to get to where I am at today in the VBA's convoluted system.
Utterly ridiculous.
But that's the way the VA works.
You got to fight them to win.
The saga continues....
This is yesterday's Joint Motion For Remand:
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I was unfairly denied service connection at the BVA for multiple disabilities
The CAVC overturned the Board decisions so back I go to the Board in hope of getting treated fairly
A win is a win no matter how you slice it.
- pwrslm, GBArmy and ShrekTheTank
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Don't go to a gunfight with a ball bat.
Pardue and Coskrey were very effective working my appeal.
They turned multiple denials into grants on appeal.
Ryan Coskrey is good lawyer.
The above attorneys Broncovet mentioned ALL rejected taking my appeal.
Just because they won't represent you does not mean a thing.
It only indicates that they pick and choose who they represent based upon their own set of metrics.
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I am not privy to the info you claim to know about Ms Donegan being an employee of the VA.
She has current active cases on the docket at the CAVC representing veterans.
However, the Veteran's Consortium Pro Bono will review your case and if they feel it has merit, will appeal it at the CAVC.
I had CC&K decline representing me at the BVA,and CAVC.
If a law firm turns you away...keep looking.
If your appeal has merit...there is a legal eagle for you.
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Excellent...now I can go buy that shiny new red Corvette
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You can also go to the CAVC website and under docket search feature you can type in her name and view results.
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Contact attorney Judy Donegan at Veterans Pro Bono Consortium in Washington DC.
They have done fantastic work for me and have won all eight issues on appeal from BVA.
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Any place is better than the C&P examiners at Lake Baldwin CBOC
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"How about we wash, rinse, and repeat the cycle?"
Sound about right?
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I am pleased to inform you that the Government has agreed to remand ALL issues on appeal. Since this was consistent with your wishes we accepted the offer on your behalf. What happens next is that the VA attorney will draft a Joint Motion for Remand, that we will review and sign off on. This should occur within the next 30 days, unless VA requires more time. Once the JMR is filed, the Court will approve it and send the case back to the Board. Please let me know if you have any questions at this stage.
Kind Regards,
Alec U. Ghezzi
Training Advising Attorney
Vietnam Veterans of America
425 Eye Street NW, Suite 2W.220
Washington, DC 20001
Could this be called a "circle back" to the BVA?
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My battle with the VA continues.
Got some appeals at the CAVC.
I have other appeals at the Board.
Looks like my attorneys are fighting hard for me at the CAVC
I wonder how long it takes to get a CAVC decision?
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Got it.
Thanks!
I've Got Decision Letter Problem
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted · Edited by 63Charlie
Believe that when the VA awards comp and pen money and deposits said money into your bank account, you can believe that a claims decision was made.
As such, the VA is REQUIRED to send a copy of the decision letter to the veteran.
Your compensation and pension claim
What you’ve claimed:
Not availableYour claim decision is ready
We finished reviewing your claim on Feb. 24, 2022. We sent you a packet by U.S. mail that includes details of the decision on your claim. Please allow 7 to 10 business days for your packet to arrive before contacting a VA call center. If you haven’t received the packet with the full details of your claim decision yet, you can see your rating by going to your disability page in eBenefits. Check your disability page in eBenefits for your rating.
Next steps
If you agree with your rating, you don’t need to do anything else.
If we decided that an issue you claimed wasn’t service connected, and you have new evidence that you haven’t submitted yet, you can ask VA to reopen your claim. Find out how to reopen your claim.
Has your condition gotten worse since you filed your claim? You can file a new claim for an increase in disability compensation. File for a VA disability increase.
If you disagree with the decision on your claim, you can file an appeal. Learn more about filing an appeal.
Are you enrolled in VA health care? If not, you can apply now. Apply for VA health care.