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RBrogen
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Posts posted by RBrogen
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2 minutes ago, Patton said:
NP RBrogen. Yes I filed it via FOIA. It seems like it is taking longer to get it every time I request it.
I've never requested mine before so it's a first.
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On 7/19/2019 at 9:29 PM, vgorman0306 said:
I think I was misunderstood. I’m not looking for UI. I want to work and keep a job. I’m a nursing student and would like to work as one. I was just wanting to verify that the letter seals any holes into why I blew 10% PFTs.
I think the letter speaks to any physically tasking jobs that would require you to tax your breathing. The condition rating will be based on the particulars of what the examiner found and how it aligns with the rating requirements. If you have several conditions that add up to 100% you can still work but if you calim TDIU then it impacts whether you can still work and draw the benefit. Be sure which on you are going/qualifying for.
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Just now, Patton said:
I filed for my C-File the first week of January 2019, and it was closed last Friday. Hopefully I will get it by the beginning of next week. I had an completion date of June 23 but it said that they needed more time.
Thanks Patton! Did you request it via a FOIA or some other means if I may ask?
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Out of curiosity I was wondering if anyone here had requested their C-File via FOIA request and if so how long did it take to get it. I submitted my request March 7, 2019 and have had 2 estimated completion dates go by with no results.
Thanks in advance!
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Just now, shrekthetank1 said:
So I was in the same boat at 10% for knee injury and didn't even think why my health was going to shit. One day someone who had done the fight said why are you not applying for benefits? I started looking into it and found all the presumptive conditions and now I am at 90% headed towards 100%. I know try to help any vet I meet, so they will not wait like I did.
I hear you. I had a hell of a time trying to get going again. Spent literally 8 months trying to find someone who would fill out a DBQ for me and was told "not no, but HELL NO" by both private and VA docs. By chance, I saw a guy on LinkedIn who is a VA rep and after about a month of going back and forth, he put me in touch with one of the heads of the local VA hospitals. I explained all I wanted to do was get my DBQs completed for benefits. This guy promised me that he would help and he has been amazing. Within 24 hours I had people calling me, making appointments etc. I have learned a TREMENDOUS amount about the process, pitfalls and nuances but I like to gut check with others who may have gone through it already since a lot of the documentation is vague in describing ratings, levels and conditions. I've been spreading the word as much as possible and try to answer all questions or at least point people to someone who can answer them because no vet should have to go this alone.
- kanewnut and ShrekTheTank
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Just now, shrekthetank1 said:
Good luck to you and keep up the fight!
Thanks again ... I will definitely keep up the fight. I disengaged with the va for over 20 years and had been at 20% all that time. Picked up the fight again last year and I'm at 90% now with a decent chance at 100%.
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28 minutes ago, shrekthetank1 said:
So add up all your scars as they will be rated together. That would put you in the 30% range for that one also.
Definitely will be sending that in. Thanks for your input!
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Just now, shrekthetank1 said:
So yes. Now do you have any other scaring from service or related condition and are they stable?
Yes I have additional scars (shoulder surgery, surgery on both knees). They are stable but painful.
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1 minute ago, shrekthetank1 said:
Ok so you need to hit the top box plus the requirement in ( ). So if you meet them all then I would say yes you do qualify.
So my thoughts were that the total length meets the requirement of 5" and the C&P exam noted the conditions in characteristic 3/4 so I have 2-3 characteristics met. In addition to that they are both painful. So in a perfect world I would get 30% for the disfigurement and 10% for pain .... right?
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Hi Everyone,
In my most recent C&P the examiner noted and measured 2 scars on my neck and jaw. I've read the rating info for scars of the Head/Face/Neck and filled in the chart they had because the first rating option didn't apply. Can someone confirm for me that according to the rating info below, it would qualify me for 30%. There's pain noted in the C&P with each scar in addition to the characteristics noted below.
"If there are 6 or more Characteristics, it is rated 80%. If there are 4 or 5 Characteristics, it is rated 50%. If there are 2 or 3 Characteristics, it is rated 30%. If there is 1 Characteristic, it is rated 10%."
In addition, during the same C&P the examiner documented and agreed (50% more than likely service related) that I had TMD secondary to broken jaw, painful motion of mandible, reduced ROM, surgical wire in right mandible
Thanks in advance!
Randy
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2 hours ago, Buck52 said:
Thats good you highlighted it hopefully the rater will see it.
I hope so ... hey would you know if the bilateral factor applies to the mandible jaw bone? I've seen some claims indicate that it is bilateral and was wondering if the VA applies the bilateral factor to that since there is a left/right joint.
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29 minutes ago, Buck52 said:
YES indeed it needs to be noted, raters are not medical Dr's or Technicians so they read our evidence or suppose to anyway and they do rely on these examiners notes.
Examiner noted it only by pasting in the results of the MRI in my C&P under abnormal results. In my supplemental, I highlighted and noted a copy of the page of the C&P it was on.
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1 hour ago, NoZZZ's said:
Would the loss of lordosis result in a 20% rating because of abnormal spinal contour?
From militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com:
Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 30 degrees but not
greater than 60 degrees; or, forward flexion of the cervical spine greater
than 15 degrees but not greater than 30 degrees; or, the combined range of
motion of the thoracolumbar spine not greater than 120 degrees; or, the
combined range of motion of the cervical spine not greater than 170 degrees;
or, muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait
or abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or
abnormal kyphosis .............................................................................................. 20That's what I was wondering as well. reverse lordosis is a requirement for 20% rating. I filed a NOD and supplemental claim for it.
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18 hours ago, broncovet said:
A "broken neck" is not a symptom. Its more of a diagnosis. Once service connected, VA compensates you for symptoms. What symptoms do you have?
Symptoms are things like Pain, loss of range of motion, etc., etc.
Numbness, tingling and pain down both arms and hands. I drop stuff that I think I have a grip on, neck pain, clicking in my neck, can't sleep are among the main issues.
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20 hours ago, kanewnut said:
Did you not know this?
I actually didn't know it. I landed hard on a jump and had pain and some tingling and numbness but didn't want to risk recycle if I went to sick call. A few months ago, during another exam they did MRI of neck and found numerous issues including that my spinal cord had some signs of damage and that it was 80+% compressed around C4/C5. The neurologist suspected that it had been broken. They went back into my records and actually found old MRIs that showed the issue but I was never told about them back then.
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6 hours ago, shrekthetank1 said:
The answer to your question is yes you can. You need what Bronco put up there for it to win. As long as you can show how one affects the other or how it was seen for in service then you for sure can. Also remember you could have been seen in service for something totally different you thought at the time, but it could be the starting of this condition. Always check your C-File.
Thanks for the info everyone ... I've been waiting for 5 months for my c-file request to be fulfilled.
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I'm actually trying to see if there has been anyone to service connect arthritis in wrists and/or hands with radiculopathy before. My c&p examiner mentioned that this is a path to potential claim so I wanted to see if anyone was aware.
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16 minutes ago, broncovet said:
You posted:
Its been my experience the term "degenerative" is a poison to claims. This means "age related", where we need an opinion that its etiology is "service connected" not "age related".
This said, this sounds like a claim for increase? You see, once service connected always SC UNLESS VA succeeds is severance of service connection.
If you get degenerative changes from a SC condition, this is normal.
For example, I fractured my leg in service, and, years later, my orthopedic doc said "I have degenerative" arthritis of the knee.
Its not uncommon for degenerative condtions to result from an in service injury.
Its even likely for an old injury to get degenerative arthritis in that joint.
I dont have a good opinion on the percent level, which it sounds like what you are looking for. These vary on symptoms, and this report does not note symptoms.
This was actually a new claim ... I originally had claim for lumbosacral strain and then they found that I had broken my neck in service as well.
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Hello Everyone,
I wanted to gut check my rating for my neck which I just had double laminectomy (c4/c5)
Rating was
10% cervical spine degenerative disc disease with spinal stenosis and intervertebral disc syndrome
20% radiculopathy left upper extremity
20% raiculopathy right upper extremity
Here was my MRI:
There is mild retrolisthesis of C3 on C4 and C4 and C5. Trace anterolisthesis of C5 on C6. Straightening of the cervical lordosis. Vertebral body height is preserved. There is no suspicious focal marrow replacing lesion. BROGEN, RANDY CONFIDENTIAL Page 4 of 6 There is intramedullary spinal cord signal abnormality seen at the C4 and C5 levels, consistent with myelomalacia, and progressed from the previous MRI. There is no evidence of syringohydromyelia. The visualized portions of the brain are unremarkable. The paraspinal soft tissues are unremarkable. Mild enlarged lateral level IIa lymph nodes are noted, nonspecific, and measuring up to 1.7 cm on the left.
SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS BY LEVEL:
C2-C3: No significant posterior disc abnormality. Mild, left greater than facet hypertrophy. Mild uncovertebral hypertrophy. Ligamentum flavum thickening. Minimal spinal canal stenosis. Mild left neural foraminal stenosis.
C3-C4: Posterior disc osteophyte complex. Mild bilateral facet and uncovertebral hypertrophy. Mild to moderate spinal canal stenosis with mild flattening of spinal cord. Mild bilateral neural foraminal stenosis, slightly worse on the left.
C4-C5: Posterior disc osteophyte complex. Mild to moderate bilateral facet and uncovertebral protrusion. Moderate to severe spinal canal stenosis with flattening of spinal cord. Moderate right and severe left neural foraminal stenosis.
C5-C6: Posterior disc osteophyte complex. Mild facet and uncovertebral hypertrophy. Mild to moderate spinal canal stenosis with slight flattening of the spinal cord. Mild right neural foraminal stenosis.
C6-C7: Posterior disc osteophyte complex. Moderate uncovertebral and mild facet hypertrophy. Mild spinal canal stenosis. Mild to moderate bilateral neural foraminal stenosis.
C7-T1: No significant posterior disc abnormality. No significant spinal canal or neural foraminal stenosis.
Conclusion: 1. Multilevel degenerative changes of the cervical spine as above, most pronounced at C4-5. 2. Intramedullary spinal cord signal abnormality seen at the C4 and C5 levels, consistent with myelomalacia and mildly progressed from the prior MRI. There is no evidence of syringohydromyelia. 3. Mildly enlarged bilateral level II cervical lymph nodes, nonspecific. Clinical correlation suggested
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Hi Everyone,
I wanted to see if anyone here had ever connected arthritis in their wrist/hands arthritis to another condition like Radiculopathy of Upper Right/Left or Cervical spine issues? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Best,
Randy
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1 minute ago, asknod said:
Why not skip the HLR and go straight to the NOD at the BVA? It's just as fast as the HLR and you get real lawyers looking at it-not illiterate GS=10 VSRs. Without new and material evidence to submit to change the decision (assuming no CUE) in a HLR, you might as well go straight to DC. If you lose, the Judge will tell you why and you can turn around and go back to the supplemental lane and submit more evidence to win with. You still keep your effective filing date too.
I originally filed this claim myself (had done one before with no issues at all). Since I have had so many issues, I reached out and just started working with a VSO ... supposedly best in the state ... I think that is what she mentioned before if this happened we'd do. I am going to be speaking with her again tomorrow since the decision is done now.
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3 minutes ago, vetquest said:
Personally I would file this straight to the HLR with this explanation that you gave. If it is denied at the higher level of denial I would then appeal to the BVA. It is a lengthy process but at least they know how to read evidence. If you could get an IMO at the BVA level they might grant outright without you having to go to a remand.
I have done the HLR with a previous claim and it was really a farse .... won't go into details but the gist is the guy that was doing the HLR called but when I answered the phone, instead of having he informal conference call he came up with some lame ass excuse that he was calling to schedule it for another person. Turns out it was him the whole time and he was just punching it through to meet quota and never talked to me before he closed it 28 days in.
I'll probably try that same process as it's a roll of the dice and I might get lucky. The evidence that I have is absolute and overwhelmingly blatant which is why I thought that since I reported the issue 3 days after the C&P (C&P was on a Friday, report was in my Blue Dot med records the very next Monday). I then went into the local teleconference with the regional office and filled out a 21-4138 at the request of the VRO and faxed that along with all evidence so they could hand carry it to the review officer doing my claim. I followed up 2 days later on another teleconference all and was told that I would get another C&P exam. A few days went by and my claim status went into Preparation For Decision. I then contacted the same VRO via faxed and expressed my grave concerns that my claim was being decided on blatantly incorrect information. Did not hear back from them and then it was closed today with partial decision and then sent back to Review of Evidence status. Frig'n frustrating.
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You got me vetquest ... the C&P included only 2 of the 7 conditions claimed (lumbosacral strain increase and GERD as secondary to lumbosacral strain). I've taken the NSAIDs for decades and have diagnosis of NSAID induced GERD and this examiner was really not doing her job. She actually said that I was taking NSAIDS for other major musculoskeletal issues like neck and knees that were not service connected so therefore she couldn't say 50% or more it was the cause. NEWS FLASH: BOTH my neck and knees are service connected and she didn't read my file. Yes very frustrating but you have to dance the dance I guess. I did go from 80% to 90% after today retro to 2/2019 and I have a long list of conditions they still have to decide on.
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UPDATE: Apparently even though I proved beyond any reasonable doubt 3 days after the C&P that it was inadequate, sent information to RO who told me I would get a new C&P, they went ahead and processed my claim anyway with the bad C&P. As expected, it was a disaster! The GERED was denied as not service connected as was the shin splints which are BOTH documented clearly in my medical records and the C&P exam just before the last C&P. They didn't approve the increase for lower back even though I proved the doctor didn't do the exams she claimed she did nor did she ever use a goniometer. 5 of the other conditions were "Deferred" and ultimately they awarded me 10% sciatica bilateral lower body which should have been even higher than that.
Now I have to go through the jacked up process of filing the notice of disagreement and going back at them. It also appears on E-Benefits that as they changed the status today from Awaiting Decision Approval to, Preparing for Notification ... all of the conditions updated, showing their current status ... THEN about 20 minutes later, the status got reset to Review of Evidence. I surmise that this is probably because the pushed the original claim through with the bad info to get it off their books faster and once it was deemed "Complete" it goes to their quota number and then they will go back and do the "Deferred" items. Leaving me to have to fight them to get the original crap corrected! UGH
C-File
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
When you file a FOIA claim, it showes up in E-Benefits just like any other claim and follows the same status path. Once it's closed, as with a regular claim, a notification of decision ( in this case your c-file record) should be sent to you instead of just a decision letter like you get on a regular claim.
Yes