vetquest

An attorney can only help you so much, they can file a writ of mandamus if your case is being stalled. That said I think I might consider an attorney when you have been so misused by your rep. They keep 20% but 80% of an award is better than 100% of nothing. I used an attorney after the VA started pulling shenanigans in my case. They got my case moving when it was stuck in the mud a couple of times. It helps when they can just call the BVA, something your rep will not be able to do. The second C&P if they already have a positive C&P is illegal, they cannot get a C&P to give negative evidence against a good C&P. You should have received your transcript by now I believe.

Thank God for small miracles.

Yea, handling the military was much easier than the VA ever is.

Awesome deal, my kids missed out on education because it took ten years.

That's great Broncovet, I hope your care continues to be as good.

Rag ft myers, I would inform your lawyer and ask his advice. He can contact the BVA directly if he feels this is a eminent situation. Find out what he advises.

Because they can. You would see much more prompt service if these VA people were held to performance standards like civilians are.

Yes, brokensoldier, it takes at least six months to get a diagnosis of depression or PTSD. Rick, did you ever seek mental help while in the military? Are you a combat vet? These things would make your life much easier when applying for PTSD or depression. I really like the malingering part. You spend six or eight years serving honorably and ask for medical help and they throw malingering at you. God I love the military some times.

Who is handling your case? Maybe we could get some guidance from ASKNOD if he is available.

That is a class action that I would like to see Bertha. I can add several C&P examinations where the doctor went way off the reservation. I have one where the neurologist claimed my disability of more than ten years was congenital and hindered by my abuse of drugs (medication prescribed by a doctor). The RO went so far as to say that they were going to pull my service connection in an SOC. At a second C&P by the same doctor he doubled down on his opinion and was rude, unprofessional, and confrontational. I really wish I had recorded that C&P. Could we also add a class action where the RO's did not consider all evidence of record? I have a remand where the RO was chastised for this. I am not smart enough to file a claim like this but I would like to be involved if one is filed. I would be willing to sue the VA for $1.00 and lawyers fees if we could bring some of this monkey business to light of day.

Doc25, not to hijack this thread but I would appeal the decision about your feet. Many times the VA tries to relate the condition to pre-service and denies the claim. If you appeal with evidence you will most likely win at the BVA. There is a presumption of full health when accepted unless you needed a waiver, that is where in service aggravation comes in though. I have had the VA try to pull the congenital game on me.

Do you have a terminal or possibly terminal condition? You can request that your case be expedited if so. Please see the following document. http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part3/subptii/ch01/M21-1MRIII_ii_1_SecD.doc I am not sure how you apply for this but your representative should know. Good luck and God Bless.

Rag ft myers, it can take a while for a grant of backpay. Depending on the amount there may have to be multiple signatures. Unfortunately it is another several revolutions of the hamster wheel before you get your check. As someone reported on another thread they have been waiting eight months for their grant. We are at the mercy of the VA even after we win our claims.

Welcome Anthoyne. I was discharged from the Marines after almost eight years due to physical disability. The VA doctor who examined me declared I was a hypochondriac. My mental evaluation showed I was mentally ill, not service connected. Your story sounds familiar to me. If you quit now you are just letting the VA win. I won by finding employment and fighting the VA in my spare time. If you are a disabled veteran see if the DAV will take your case and request that you can speak to the National VSO. As Sgt. Wilke pointed out 2 1/2 years in the VA system is not that long. I am sorry but this is a hard fact in dealing with the VA. After I was discharged I believed the VA was there to help me. Very quickly I learned the opposite. It was ten years before I was declared 50% disabled and twenty five years later after I lost my job due to my disability it was another ten years before I was declared 100%. As far as taking a walk into the woods, I once put one bullet in a revolver and played Russian roulette. That first click woke me up. I was going to leave a family wondering what they did wrong. Do not quit, just make it your hobby.

First off you need to file a form 21-256-EZ: https://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/apply.asp You will need to go to a C&P and you will be awarded benefits or denied and then you need to appeal to the BVA. As far as to what you can expect I cannot say, the rating for audio loss is quite a puzzle, not like other disabilities.

I am going to say that does not sound normal. Usually you get an SOC which describes all of your conditions and what was awarded and what was not. Have you received any monies into your bank account? One would hope that your SOC is coming.

I just checked on my DRO appeal, they are running 365 days behind I was told by the phone person. Sounds like that is really convenient for the VA.

Good luck sir, hopefully the VA will read all of the evidence you submitted.

Yes, I believe I have. On my ten year appeal I had to go to BVA three times. Each time the BVA remanded the claim telling the RO they had not considered all of the evidence of record. I was also twice awarded a new service connection with it being remanded for rating. There is no incentive for RO's to adjudicate claims correctly. They can deny and hope you do not appeal. There are no metrics that show how many remands an RO generates, at least not that I have seen. I would like to suggest that they start keeping metrics that track how many RO denied claims are overturned at the board.

My BVA case showed denied on vets.gov. When I got the BBE I was granted EED on my PTSD and tinnitus.

Since TDIU was denied it goes back to BVA and your lawyer should handle this. The BVA may need an in person IMO.

They have you coming and going. If the VA spent as much time trying to reasonably adjudicate cases as the spend trying to mess a veteran over there probably would not be a backlog. Cases would be settled fairly and the BVA and COVA would be out of a job.

I never was the victim of shredding as far as I know. Once the San Diego VA made all of my medical records disappear. The Assistant Secretary of the VA told my congressman that I had never been to their facilities. I had copies of my visit to the ER and the follow up appointment. Other records were never seen again. I tried to make an appointment after this and the VA said their records indicated I had missed three appointments, when I had never been there. Funny how that happens. Another time my record disappeared from the Oregon VA and turned up in Alaska a year later.

The doctor noted the polyp and then said there were no polyps just as you said. This in itself is dismaying. Do you have the SOC yet? It would be interesting to read how they denied you. Yes your doctor is not an ENT but his DBQ should be considered. After reading the SOC we may have an idea how to proceed, I am sorry I did not ask for that earlier.

Please redact and post your exam.