GBArmy

I kinda agree with Fat: it sure isn't going to make any difference if you don'y have the 3 essential parts. But, that said, I could see a veteran submitting maybe 3 or 4 disability claims together and holding off on another batch. If it is really a strong case you have put together for the first 3 or 4, and it would appear that the VA can't possibly deny you, go for it. Especially if the remaining ones are secondary to the first batch.Seems to me that once you have received S-C for a disability, it can often be easier to get the secondaries approved because they are already connected, not in a pile not service-connected yet. To me, if I was a varo and got a claim file to review that had a dozen items on it, I would likely think that the veteran is just trying to throw the pasta against the wall and see what would stick. There is no correct answer here. JMO.

Sometimes veterans get nervous when they go for C&P's...only natural. Most of the time you have been waiting months to get to this point. Write yourself a note if you think you might forget something to say. For hearing and tinnitus, this is particularly important. Tell the audiologist right up front that you also have ringing in your ears. If your claim doesn't include a claim for tinnitus, tell him you have it. They are supposed to include it in their evaluation, but we have seen many times the examiner won't ask the obvious question and veterans don't get a seperate disability for tinnitus if you don't.

TBird and the others have offered terrific advise. The web site tells what the VA is looking for. If your "friend" did you wrong, eventually, it will come back to him, I truely believe that. You are better off if you follow the advise already given. Good luck going forward.

Hi Berta: The new article is from Fleet Reserve Assn. - News Bytes dated 4-26-19. It was forwarded as an excerpt from a friend; I can't sent the link as it is in a private email with many email addresses on it. Here is the whole article: DOJ Decision on AOBWN Case Delayed 30 Days The Supreme Court of the United States issued a 30-day extension to Department of Justice (DOJ) officials who are contemplating an appeal of a lower court ruling (Procopia v Wilkie). In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C. in 9-2 decision, extended presumptive VA disability benefits to the so-called Blue Water Navy veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam and who were exposed to toxic chemical defoliants during the Vietnam conflict. Mr. Procopio is a Blue Water Navy Veteran who never stepped foot on land in Vietnam but was exposed to Agent Orange during his military service off the coast of the Republic of Vietnam. Due to this exposure, he developed medical conditions consistent with other veterans who had served on land, and were exposed to Agent Orange. He argued that he should be entitled to a presumptive category and thereby eligible for disability benefits. The FRA is listed as a "Friend of the Court" by the petitioner Blue Water Navy Veteran, Mr. Procopio. Some court observers were surprised by the DOJ request since earlier VA Secretary Robert Wilkie had recommended that DOJ not appeal the decision. In lieu of Wilkie's recommendation, the Board of Veterans' Appeals removed a stay that prevented any decisions on Blue Water Navy appeals, a hold that had been in place since October. Many details remain undetermined, including the precise definition of Vietnam's nautical boundaries and the diseases that will be considered connected to herbicide exposure. The VA has indicated that a decision regarding the addition of bladder cancer, hypertension and other ailments would come in June, 2019. Members are urged to use the Action Center to ask President Trump to direct the DOJ not to appeal the Procopia decision, thereby requiring the VA to provide this presumption to Blue Water Navy Viet nam veterans as they did before in 2002.

Are you saying "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan", the mission statement of our very own VA, is just words that don't mean anything to them?

The Supreme Court of the United States just issued a 30-day extension to Department of Justice (DOJ) officials who are contemplating an appeal of a lower court ruling (Procopia v Wilkie). In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C. in 9-2 decision, extended presumptive VA disability benefits to the so-called Blue Water Navy veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam and who were exposed to toxic chemical defoliants during the Vietnam conflict. Now this little slight of hand is AFTER the VA Secretary said he didn't want to recommend any more delays. Am I getting totally negative, but we thought that the Vietnam Navy guys were going to get their coverage finally, and they did is. How come it really isn't in the news?

I have no issue with his hat, but he could "take a little off the top."

The award of 10% for b/p sounds right (diagnostic code 7101, I think), where you were 100 for the second number. I know the VA has special rules on which readings they use; kinda hard to beat the guy who holds all the cards you know. The most significant factor is now you are covered for hypertension; and it covers a lot of health problems, including stroke. Remember, if you should pass from a s-c condition and it is on your death certificate, your spouse can get a DIC pension of $1300+ a month. Your new s-c disability just provides additional "insurance" for your wife. Congrats!

I agree with Vetquest and Bronc. Since you are not sure on the secondary connection for your knee I would also suggest you do an intent to file . You can get an independent decision from another doctor, an IMO might be appropriate because getting secondaries can be tough without a good doctor's opinion. Some people I am sure would disagree with me; you don't have to do that now, you can wait and see if you get denied first, but sometimes it is worth the money to get it done right the first time. But what often happens is a s-c back injury causes a change in your walking, or gate. That injures your knee. Your walking now affects your hip on the other side; next your other knee starts to go. I just feel that maybe winning on the first go round may kind of set the record for the next related injury. Jmo, that's all. And that is what is so great about this forum; you can get advise from many people who have different experiences and vantage points. Best of luck.

Bronco and Shrek are right on. Take their advise and get the time off. If your C&P shows you have a comp hearing loss, if it is rated at least at 10%, you are likely to receive a monthly check for the rest of your life. Miss the exam and you can forget it. By the way, if you have tinnitus, ringing in your ears, and you didn't include it on your claim, be sure to disclose it to the examiner. They could evaluate it at the same time and the results would be an additional 10% disability. The VA doesn't have to be proactve and add it to your claim, but sometimes they do and it saves you time and additional effort. In any case, go to the appointment.

Congrats to your friend and you for sticking with it and not letting the b....... win! All too often veterans give up when denied, or when they get low balled. Some of it is bad advise, like "don't rock the boat or you'll lose everything". But it is encouraging to hear these great success stories, and gives people hope. Thank you Berta.

This brings up another point we fail to promote. There are good plumbers and then there are bad plumbers, good lawyers and not so good lawyers, and good vso's and not so competent vso's. But when you get a good one and they do a great job for you, I mean, they really know their stuff, spread the word. Tell you buddies; I have a great one and I promote veterans to reach out to her all the time. Disability claims is a tricky path to go on, especially when you have never done it before. Give them a shout out when they do good by you. And one more thing, ever wonder why some vso's are really back logged, and other are not. More likely than not I'm betting on the busy one; they are taking the time to find every angle they can for you, not just moving paper.

It may seem arbitrary that the claim is moving backwards for you but it is not an uncommon thing. After all, this is the VA you are dealing with, so we shouldn't be surprised on any thing they do. It may be a coach or someone noticed it was not developed in a certain area and they decided to do more work on it to make it complete. But it doesn't necessarily mean something bad regarding your claim. As you see over and over on this forum, you just have to be patient and wait till it comes to you. Good luck.

AFMedic 09 Were you diagnosed for GERD while in service, or how did you get S-C? I am interested if anyone has heard of of getting it tied into A-O.

I have a hearing disability also, but it is VERY difficult to figure out the chart. If you go to https://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy shows how it works; good luck.

Congrats 63 Charlie ! Semper fi

"If there is a 5% chance it will work, it is worth it, isn't it?" IMO, no. This is going back over 20 years; very long time by anyone's standards. Let me ask you a question; what is more important to you: being able to say you did it yourself and got this big settlement. Or, winning the settlement and finally getting the satisfaction that because of your efforts, your legal team finally prevailed and won? Because you aren't one of "the old boys"; the odds are just not in favor of a good outcome without legal representation. I ask veterans in this potential situation "would you rather have 100% of nothing, or 70% of something? Don't let your ego get in your way of making the smart choice.

Riplip Hang in there brother; we are all pulling for you. If the VSO isn't doing the job, and you feel you need help rather than doing it yourself, there are people out there that can help you. Ask your friends for recommendations, ask questions and get comfortable. But make sure you don't miss any VA deadlines. But work on it; it isn't going to get done by itself if you need a new advocate.

Buck That is great advise if you think you got low-balled. An increase of just an addition 10%( ex. 10% to 20% )would easily pay for itself in just one or two monthly disability checks. If you tell the ENT doc what you are trying to do beforehand, he shouldn't have a problem in doing a dbq for you if his test shows worse hearing. When you say have the ENT doc give his opinion, do you mean an IMO letter or just a dbq for hearing. If it is for an IMO, I would love to see a redacted opinion.

Riplip: What I meant about the CI for my friend is that his hearing improved after the operation, but his hearing was so far gone that he still misses most of anything said. Forget about going to a meeting or a gathering with a bunch of people talking. If you are not in an area that is relatively quite, he can't hear you even while looking face to face. I know it gets him down because he doesn't participate in things like he used to. Of course, all people are different and situations are different, but there is plenty of evidence that proves that hearing loss can also cause depression. If the veteran develops it because of s-c hearing disability, a good IMO can get it secondary.

Something isn't right. Is it possible he was set up for a C&P and he didn't go? What specifically did his decision letter say?If he was a heavy vehicle mechanic and worked mostly in the motor pool, his MOS should be one listed as likely or probable that he was exposed to outside noise and it would be a basis for tennitus. Did he also go for a hearing exam? If you are rated for hearing, even at 0%, it is more than likely you also would get the 10% for tinnitus. What was his MOS listed on his dd214?

https://www.vetadvocates.org/users/kenneth-carpenter When I contacted his office, they did not accept "email" attachments of our evidence, I had to snail mail them to him. IM not sure why. CCK law, or other law firms may also take this on. Maybe even NVLSP, if they think you issue will apply to other Vets. https://www.nvlsp.org/what-we-do/lawyers-serving-warriors/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtMvlBRDmARIsAEoQ8zStOmFy-cIYBQSXVNN6EtEvKirW1wKB0jkqdcChEfjofZ3huNVMRVMaAkJXEALw_wcB Feel free to go down this list and talk to as many as you can: https://www.vetadvocates.org/directory/widget_search?current_page=1&sort_type=featured&filter={"additional_info.show-profile-on-sustaining-membership-directory"%3A+"yes"}&asset_type=company_user&display_type=default Attorneys are like people...they vary widely in their opinions. You need to find a firm sympathetic to your cause. Thanks, Bronco. It certainly would help his family with the potential of 70+ years of back pay; and it would partially right a wrong done to him for many years. As the saying goes, you can't win if you don't play. We'll try the lawyers and see what they say.

https://www.vetadvocates.org/users/kenneth-carpenter When I contacted his office, they did not accept "email" attachments of our evidence, I had to snail mail them to him. IM not sure why. CCK law, or other law firms may also take this on. Maybe even NVLSP, if they think you issue will apply to other Vets. https://www.nvlsp.org/what-we-do/lawyers-serving-warriors/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtMvlBRDmARIsAEoQ8zStOmFy-cIYBQSXVNN6EtEvKirW1wKB0jkqdcChEfjofZ3huNVMRVMaAkJXEALw_wcB Feel free to go down this list and talk to as many as you can: https://www.vetadvocates.org/directory/widget_search?current_page=1&sort_type=featured&filter={"additional_info.show-profile-on-sustaining-membership-directory"%3A+"yes"}&asset_type=company_user&display_type=default Attorneys are like people...they vary widely in their opinions. You need to find a firm sympathetic to your cause.

Bronco, I was thinking we could do just that; see what a legal beagle might think. Where can I get Attorney Carpenter contact info?

SO the lesson to be learned is when a veteran receives a SOC and it doesn't seem right, you see if you can find it in the M21 and then compare it the CFR. Then you can provide new and relevant evidence to support the law, not m21. Thank you , Tbird for sharing this site. You probably have done it many times before but I just saw it. Great resource!