RBrogen

Congrats on the win.  I have had several C&P exams "screwed" up still fighting them.  No wonder the backlog continues to grow.

Had posted a note in another part of the forum but wanted to post here in the success stories.  I had been at 20% for over 20 years and finally decided to fight the fight by filing a claim November 2018.  I was awarded with 80% and a new found education to the VA system.  I had several other conditions cued up and sent in the next volley which was screwed up by a C&P examiner that shouldn't be in the position but I got to 90% in spite of her incompetence.  I fired off a couple of supplemental claims and was awarded 100% P&T backdated to April 18, 2019.  Very thankful for all of the great advice here on Hadit!  Now I've got my eyes on filing a CUE for a bogus rating decision in 1999.
 

Here’s a nightmare of a claim. The Vet had no STRs in his NPRS file except for his eye records. He admitted snorting the white lady in the late 1980s to a VA nurse in 2015. She immediately wrote down “HCV due to bloody shared dollar bill(s).” That pretty much put a fork in any potential claim.
He approached the VFW about filing his jetgun claim in 2016. They laughed him right out the door. No attorney or agent would even talk to him the moment he mentioned the toot. And then he called me.
Regardless of what you’ve heard about me, I refuse to arbitrarily deny representation to a fellow Vietnam or Thailand Vet when it comes to Hep C. I was there. I contracted it, too. It almost killed me by 2006. I told him to go ahead and file knowing full well he’d get denied. We obtained an IMO from one of my doctors for free due to his being indigent. It sank like a rock. We filed the NOD and got another "No". After filing the VA 9, we obtained an IMO from a good hepatologist but that was not going to be the winning ticket. I asked for a Travel Board hearing in Oakland so I could present my Vet and his lay testimony in person.
We had the hearing March 28th, 2019 at the Oakland Puzzle Palace. The Judge, Matthew Blackwelder, wasn’t very receptive to a grant until he read the IMO while we were sitting there in front of him. He mused and said it was indeed an interesting case.
The funny thing about jetgun cases is you could never win them at the local Fort Fumble under the old Legacy system. They’d refuse to grant even if you had a buddy letter from Jesus Christ himself. This one was really no different. We had nothing but lay testimony and some eyeglass prescription records that didn’t say much  which was really nothing useful. Worse, he’d had an STD which wasn’t in the STRs because they were AWOL. When all you have is lemons, make lemonade.
But...an STD like Gonorrhea leaves antibodies forever. I suggested we hold the record open for 90 days to obtain a blood test showing the presence of same. The Judge said “No need to. I have enough here to make a decision.”  I was worried. I took that to mean we had a better chance of winning the Powerball Lotto. I was positive I was going to be arguing this one at the CAVC. We won Wednesday.
Of all my wins, this is by far the best. It’s the only one I’ve ever won solely on the strength of the Veteran’s lay testimony . Don’t get me wrong. The IMO was very instrumental in the win but I doubt we would have prevailed without a face-to-face hearing. A picture may be worth a thousand words but a Travel Board hearing is worth a thousand pictures.     
Steve BVA Win redacted.pdf

I just got a phone call from my VSO who said my RAMP decision letter will be mailed out today.  I won an earlier effective date (CUE claim) for my skin condition!  I was denied on the PN earlier effective date which I knew was a long shot.  My skin condition was rated at 0 in May 2009 and I had an overall rating of 60.  In Jun 2017, I was finally increased to 60 for my skin condition.  If I had been rated correctly for my skin condition in 2009, my overall rating would have been 80.  So the back pay will be the difference between 60 and 80 percent from May 2009 to June 2017 -- not bad.  I can't wipe the silly grin off my face.  You can see my other posts in the CUE Forum.

Just a month ago I hit 90% from 30%, literally a month later got more back pay and generated a benefit letter on ebenefits. They upped me to tdui permanent and total disability. I went from almost losing my house two months ago to being debt free. Thank you everyone who answered my questions and helped. 

Congratulations,
Thats two 100's today,
Whooo!,
Hamslice
 

I want to say thank you to everyone who provided their insights especially @Berta, @GeekySquid, @Buck52, @shrekthetank1, @vetquest and @GBArmy .  After 20+years at 20%, I decided to fight again in March 2018.  After 8 months of trying to figure out how to get someone to complete a DBQ I had a breakthrough and submitted my claim in November 2018.  March 4th I won 80%, May 5th 90% and today, 100%!!!  I did the entire process on my own (with huge help from resources like hadit.com).  The latest rating decision has errors (no surprise) but I'll clean that up over the next few months. 
The next big thing is I believe I have grounds for CUE on a rating from 1999 so I am putting that together now and am researching @Berta's great information!
Thank you @Berta

I swear, the VA loves deferring shin splints claims, lol. Mine has been deferred for months and I just recently had another exam for them last week. Hoping for the best! Good luck on yours too!

i wouldn't go that far.. hehehehe ...JK you are adorable here in the forums.

That's me, Geeky. Just plain loveable!!!

love it

LOL Funny enough the only thing out of 15 conditions they deferred was bilateral shin splints LOL.  Everything else was connected and rated! 🙂  I'll keep you posted on the shin splints.

Congrats!!!
now that you have won, keep fighting...get what you deserved to get in the past.
woohoo for you!

There is considerable info here in this forum on CUE-it is not really a ‘claim’ -
it is a frontal attack on a recent or past VA decision, whether award or denial.
 
And explained in many of the articles I have already written-no sense in re- writing what is already here-
This is where you need to go if you think you have had a CUE in any past or recent VA decision.
https://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part3/subptiv/ch02/M21-1MRIII_iv_2_SecB.docx
The M21- MR link has info as well on 3.156 claims too.
A legal error means just that. It could mean the improper diagnostic code, used to your detriment, based on the medical evidence, an improper EED based on established medical evidence , in VA’s possession at time of alleged CUE, or often a violation of 38 CFR 4.6 because VA failed to consider Probative evidence, that you can prove they had.Such as ignoring a probative IMO/IME or ignoring any other type of evidence they had ,that fully  advanced your claim.
If they mention the IMO/IME in the opinion, that means they did not ignore it- but probably didn't read it well, or, as in my case, over my last CUE, they did list my evidence ( 4 pages  -opinion from OGC VACO cardio doctor) but never mentioned it in the decision, They reversed immediately when I filed CUE the next day. The award letter is dated 3 weeks after the denial.
A CUE on an improper EED is the same- scenario- the VA failed to consider evidence they had that would warrant a proper EED, of a ratable condition (at least at ten percent, at time of the alleged CUE decision.
I could write a book on CUE, because in the past 25 years VA made just about every conceivable error on every decision I got. But what is the point.
Everything you need to know is here.
My initial denial for AO IHD ,I have brought  up to the Nehmer Philadelphia   VARO-as well as within info I gave to the VA OIG Counsel who handles their section on audits.
I filed CUE and mailed it the next day.(2012) Within 3 weeks they reversed and adjudicated the claim.
It was brief,(the CUE)  one page, I made a point on how ridiculous the denial was and stated the regulation they broke- 38 CRF 4.6 and mentioned this to the Director of the Philadelphia VARO in a recent letter,to her ( copy sent to the IG) with my concerns of how many other widows of AO exposed IHD veterans got a denial as ridiculous as that one….and they might have never even appealed or had a vet rep who didn’t advise them properly to CUE it.(AO IHD death claim)
I might have posted that CUE here-
Examples of all sorts of CUEs are here, as well as templates…… and they should never become so involved that they become convoluted.
Try to get it all on one page. If it is a CUE on a recent decision, address the CUE as Attention to: and put the alphanumeric there.That alpha contains the initials of the last person who handled your decision.
If you need more info and still believe you have a valid CUE and that it is worth pursuing, you can also purchase the VBM by NVLSP , where they have considerable info on CUE and actually on everything any claimant  needs to know about the claims process. Chapter 14 of the 2018 VBM-2019 holds 59 pages of info as well as numerous other references to CUE in the VBM index.
And if you go to the BVA web site, under decisions, you can search for CUE and why they awarded or why they denied.I learned plenty on CUEs by seeing them in action at the BVA and also the CAVC.
 
NVLSP is a pro bono law firm who won the Nehmer Class Action Case.
Do not be easily discouraged if you find you have a valid CUE-if anyone here says you do not have a basis for CUE, ask them to attach their most recent CUE award.
 
 
 
 
 

i know what you mean but that part of the phrase made my bowels roil...yeccchh

i totally get it. I hope you win and win big.

We all have our fingers crossed for you. Best of luck, and we hope you will continue to add your comments to help others going forward.

38 CFR § 3.304 (b) ". . .where clear and unmistakable (obvious or manifest) evidence demonstrates that an injury or disease existed prior thereto and was not aggravated by such service. Only such conditions as are recorded in examination reports are to be considered as noted."   In your case it should make no difference whether or not it was preexisting.  It was aggravated by service.  (Just my two cents).

VA math, I am not sure how they came up with 3.5% but my bilateral factor also included secondary conditions. The sad part is at 80% I still need another 110% to reach 100% and that is going to be very hard to do. I will get there but it is going to take a lot more work. I should have started this years ago, when my Brother-in-Law had told me that I needed to file. 

Look what came in the mail this morning ... about 2900 pages of goodies.

Yes....filed a FOIA in TN and c-file took about 4 months to arrive on disc. 

Look what came in the mail this morning ... about 2900 pages of goodies.

Look what came in the mail this morning ... about 2900 pages of goodies.

Yeah we have .... I have been contemplating putting together a very simple flowchart that shows the process in general so it can be shared so vets at least have a general idea of the process and what to do themselves.  I spun my wheels for 9 months with blank DBQs trying to find someone to complete them only to find out that they are completed automatically in the C&P ... literally that was my biggest hurdle.

Yeah we have .... I have been contemplating putting together a very simple flowchart that shows the process in general so it can be shared so vets at least have a general idea of the process and what to do themselves.  I spun my wheels for 9 months with blank DBQs trying to find someone to complete them only to find out that they are completed automatically in the C&P ... literally that was my biggest hurdle.