Hucast21

Holy Lord! Stuff like this pisses me off so much! If people were actually being held accountable for either incompetent work or actual spiteful actions, this wouldn’t happen...or at least be very rare.

I agree with Bronco but more important you need to get in regular therapy. You are going to need medical evidence that not only refute this C & P examiner medical opinion, but you also need treatment records about your current condition. If it is at all possible in your treatment session try not to bring up anything about your childhood. Do not lie or make anything up. If/when you signed into the military as a sane individual, then it should not matter but the VA will use this against your claim.

This happens to most of us.  The doctor gives a report in the VA's favor..remember, the VA signs their checks.  
You probably need an IMO/IME to refute that docs opinion.  

This is part of the Rating Decision but what does the C & P examiners notes say (MEDICAL OPINION/RATIONALE).  If the C & P examiner gives you a positive medical opinion and a good medical rationale, then you can try an appeal. The examiner must have seen something in your SMRs. Whatever they found can still get your claim granted if you file an appeal.  Just like doctors gives different medical opinions, raters can give different rating opinions.  No need to try to go out and get a new IMO/IME. BVA is more inclined to agree with the veteran and the Medical Examiner.

When the VA pays for the exam, they get to pick who to send you to.  When YOU pay for an exam such as an IMO (indepedent medical opinion) or IME (Independent Medical Exam), then YOU get to pick the doctor.  
My advice is as follows:
If you know this examiner, you may be able to find out if they are competent or not.  This means they are a medical professional with knowledge and experience treating and diagnosing your particular disorders.  
You can try to find out:  Is your examiner a doctor?  Does your examiner have experience treating and diagnosing mental health disorders?  
Ok, if they do, then your examiner is probably "competent".  If not, you can challenge the competency of the examiner.  
Moving on, lets say the examiner is competent.  You need to "refute" a bad exam.  You refute bad exams with good medical exams.  
It frankly sounds like you will need an IMO or IME.  This is not unusual.  Many Vets have to pay for a medical exam, because VA docs like to advocate for the guy who signs their checks:  The VA.  
So, you need to hire a doc who YOU pay for.  
There are several ways to get an IMO/IME. 
1.  Write a check or put it on a credit card.  Done.
2.  Ask the doc to defer payments until you get retro.  Some, but not all will do this.  
3.  "Some" attorneys will "up front" IMO/IME fees if they feel confident you can win with a favorable exam. 
      I dont like this either.  Im just the messenger.  Its set up so that broke people stay broke, and rich people hire docs to verify their claim.  Numbers 2 and 3, above, tho work some of the time, you just have to ask.  

I will add this  its ok for a Veteran to ask these questions  and if the veteran is in doubt about anything at the exam  then the Veteran has a right to speak up...some of these C&P Examiners are just quiet and not say much  and just reads on the computer  and then says ok I have everything I need   you are free to leave this exam is over ECT,,,ECT,,,    be very weary of this type of examiner   if this happens  then this is when the Veteran needs to speak up and ask this examiner about his/her credentials and ask if they are Qualified to examine you for what your claiming....IF NOT THEN THE VETERAN NEEDS TO REPORT THIS C&P examiner to the VA C&P Office ASAP.
OR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EXAM   ASK THE EXAMINER ABOUT HIS/HER CREDITIALS  AND TRY TO MAKE A GOOD REPORE WITH THE EXAMINER.  JUST ALWAYS BE YOUR SELF AND BE HONEST WITH THE EXAMINER.
Also be it known that the VA sends the Veterans records to the C&P Examiner a week to two weeks before the exam date...this examiner is ask to read the veterans medical records and service records that pertain to what the veteran is claiming   these examiners are suppose to read and analyze these records before the exam  and also during the exam.
  The Dr needs to ask the veteran some questions and try to understand the complexity of of the VA SYSTEM and just have a good discussion with the Veteran. (THIS DON'T HAPPEN ALWAYS)
Normally after the exam depending on what examiner the VA chose for the veteran?  was this examiner a outside contractor  or was the examiner an inside Dr with the VA?...IF THE EXAMINER IS WITH THE VA  THE VETERAN NEEDS TO WAIT OVER 3 DAYS AFTER THE EXAM AND CAN REQUEST THE C&P EXAM REPORT  FROM THE OFFICE AT THE VAMC WHERE THE EXAM TOOK PLACE   THIS IS THE release of medical records office....if it was a contractor that did the exam  then the veteran needs to ask the examiner before he laves the exam about how to get a copy of the exam report...they are obligated to let the veteran know or will find out for you    normally this is in the exam instructions before the exam and a fax #is given out in the information sheet or instructions for the exam date.

I would like to ask Hadit members, most of which had "at least one" or more C and P exams:
1.  Do you know the examiner's name?  Did the examiner wear a name tag, and identify himself/herself?  
2.  What was the education level of your examiner?  (MD, Nurse, NP, Audiologist, hearing aid specialist,  Voc Rehab Specialist with a Bachelors degree, etc.  ). 
3.  Was the examiner a VA employee?  Contractor?  Did the examiner identify which?
 
I will start:
1.  No.  I have had at least 5 exams, and can only name 1 examiner because that was my regular doctor.  I dont recall any of the others wearing a name tag or identifying themselves.  All of mine were at my VAMC.  
2.  Again, I know only one examiner's level of education:  He was a "Psych D".  Exception:  I had a c and p exam for sleep apnea, who actually admitted she was not involved in sleep medicine.  This examiner had an MD, but no experience or training in sleep medicine.  Still that did not stop her from opining my sleep apnea was not related to service or secondary to any SC conditions.  Later, I read research that linked PTSD to sleep apnea.  (I dont have PTSD, but MDD has also been linked to OSA). 
3.  NONE of my C and P examiners have revealed whether they were a VA employee, or a contractor.   While I "assume" my regular Doctor's are VA employees, I really dont know how to verify that.  (This matters in the case of malpractice..ask Berta).  
      Veterans have reported VA is "not" always releasing the C and P exams until "after" the VARO decision.  I am fairly certain I am "not" the only Veteran who appealed his claim "not knowing" the medical degree (or lack thereof) of the examiner, until I got a copy of my cfile AFTER the BVA decision.    
       I do realize that at least part of this is "on me" as someone suggested.  I did not ask the examiner name, whether they were a VA employee or contractor, or their medical degree, or lack therof.  Since I did not ask, "none" of the c and p examiners responded.  While I did not ask in the past, that was likely because I did not understand "WHY" the level of expertise of the examiner was important.  
      

With all due respect, broken soldier, the well respect attorneys who represent Veterans on the NOVA list, do not "convince Veterans to sue"
regardless of whether or not its warranted, for multiple reasons:
1.  The attorneys who represent Veterans "only get paid" when the appeal is successful, and there is zero incentive for attorneys to represent Veterans "where the issue is not warranted".  In fact, out of the multiple attorney's I have spoken with over the years, its actually difficult to get an attorney to represent you.  The expect to see a copy of the decision letter in dispute, they review it to decide if an appeal is warranted, and, better than 50 percent of the time, the attorney declines to represent you.  Why?  First, Veterans successful experienced Veterans attorneys are "extremely" busy and I have had several decline to represent me simply because they had too much backlog and could not take any more Veteran claimants.  Next, attorneys specialize and get familiar with particular aspects.  I could not get an attorney to represent me on a WRIT so I had to do it myself.  (99 percent of Writs of mandamus are denied).  
2.  Not only does the attorney not want to represent you if they dont beleive you have an issue of merit, it costs them money to do so.  They pay secretaries, postage, phone bills, legal assistants, charges to make copies of medical records etc, as well as use up their time, before they ever can be compensated.  So they pick and chose their claimants.  They wont represent you, for example, if you are seeking an appeal where there wont be a chance of monetary settlement, such as if you are already 100 percent P and T, with SMC S, and are not appealing the effective dates, unless you have loss of use for a higher SMC level.  (or A and A).  
    All the NOVA attorney's I spoke with were professional, did "NOT" try to get me to sue unless he agreed my appeal had merit.  Several declined to represent me, but even offered great advice.  
     Its a myth that NOVA registered attorneys "talk claimants into sueing" with no merits to their claim.  Its not in the client nor the attorney's best interests. 

I just submitted 2 today, and will wait for those to close before submitting my other two.........I have my reasons.  The VA is shady 😂

5. Some veterans just say fudge it, I don't need this Sugar Honey Ice Tea and quit their claim or let it die

Well, that is about seven years, and includes 2 BVA decisions, 1 CAVC, but its unclear if VARO "implemented" your claim or not yet.  7 years is ridiculous.    Its consistent with mine, however, I had to do all the above "at least twice", so mine was 17 years total, including at least 2 effective date appeals.  All in all, I pretty much got what I was asking for, including 100 percent and the effective date, but after a 17 year fight, where VA fought me at every step of the way.   
Remember, VA profits by delay of Veterans claims:
1.  Many Vets die before going through appeals.
2.  Many other Vets become too sick or too weak to continue.
3.  Others take bad advice from VSO's who tell them to "settle into" poverty, otherwise VA could reduce you instead.  
4.  Even if the Veteran is persistent, and VA does not hornswaggle the effective date (unlikely), then VA gets an interest free loan from the Veteran for decades, sometimes.  
 
 

There are "2" types of medical opinions that can benefit Vets case:
1.  Independent medical opinion.  (IMO).  In this type, the Veteran and the doc need not ever meet.  The doctor can review medical records, and form an opinion based solely on other doctors exams. 
2.  Independent Medical Exam (IME). This suggests an "in person" exam, or, at a minimum, the examiner observed a live video of the Veteran, and rendered an opinion.  
     Both of these types of exams can be used to refute a VA decision "that there was no definate link from an in service event to this diagnosis".  
     Many Vets go the IMO route, and that can be accomplished thousands of miles from the Veteran.  The Veteran forwards his medical records, and the doc renders an opinion without an in person exam.  
     There are many docs who perform IMO's nationwide, and many Vets have won benefits with the help of an IMO.  The doc need not be located nearby.  
      I personally think the IME with in person exam is stronger, but its not always necessary.  

If your attorney is present at your hearing, it may not be necessary for you to even show up, but ask your attorney about that.  
If you look at the BVA chairmans report, you will see that attorney represented Veterans at the BVA only lose about 1 out of 10 times. (10-15 percent, depending upon the year.). 
That means about 90 percent are wins or remands for the VET.  
Yes, if you get a remand its supposed to be given expiditious treatment.  

Permanent and total doesn't mean immune from reduction, it just means no more automatically scheduled exams. 

Congratulations!  Since this was a remand, I guess my question is "was the remand productive?"  That is, did you win benefits upon completion of the remand?
Unfortunately, The VA lovves to put Veterans on a remand hamster wheel, where the CAVC remands, the Board denies, the the Veteran appeals, the court remands again, ("to infinity and beyond").  
Maybe Buzz Lightyear applied for VA benefits and was remanded..maybe that is where he got to infinity and beyond!

glashutte You just said it best yourself "It seems like it is case specific." Bingo! That is what disability claims are all about. Everyone is an individual, and has a different set of circumstances. What works for one veteran doesn't necessarily work for another. They can be good examples to start with, but every one is different. Income, family situation, pain, age, other illnesses and disabilities, etc. etc. I wish everyone would try to understand that fact. We hear that someone will say "he gets 100% disability and I only got 10%, or whatever." Most of the time we have absolutely no idea what is wrong with that veteran. It's the same thing filing a claim. It's your claim; consider all the facts, not just based on what someone else did. Good luck in whatever decision you make.

My guess is right about the time of the 2028 Olympics, give or take. Who knows, you appeal and get a docket #. Th ecovid19 is still going on and adding to the backlog every hour. It would be impossible to predict.

If you posted the decision, we may have a better answer "why".  
However, VA has a propensity to delay, deny, and lowball, and hornswaggle the effective date, usually in that order.  
There are at least 2 ways to interpret every VA regulation:  
1.  "Our way".
2.  "The VA way".  
      Guess which usually wins.  
      As always, you can better guess the day VA will process your (appeal) claim, by taking a 5 year calendar and throw a dart at it.  This seems to achieve the most accurate result, no matter who guesses.  
      VA gets your claim done "not one second before" they want to.  

Not really sure what is going on with your claim.  A lack of treatment records in not a deal breaker. Based on your post, A veteran can still be awarded service connection. Based on your OP (Original Post) if you already meet the Caluza Elements than why would the VA need Lay Statements?
A nexus or link has been established between your claimed issue and an in-service event or injury. During VA exam dated 11/7/19 the VA examiner provided a positive medical opinion linking your right knee to service.
You have been diagnosed with a disability. The VA exam dated 11/7/19 showed a diagnosis of right meniscal tear, right knee instability, and patellofemoral pain syndrome.
CONTINUITY OF SYMPTOMATOLOGY, NOT TREATMENT (§ 3.303(B))
§ “[T]he Court notes that symptoms, not treatment, are the essence of any evidence of continuity of symptomatology.” See Savage v. Gober, 10 Vet.App. 488, 496 (1997) citing Wilson v. Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 16, 19 (1991) (“regulation requires continuity of symptomatology, not continuity of treatment”).

To determine your EED would require a review of your cfile.  However, you may be able to review it yourself and watch for the following:
Effective dates are complex, but the general rule is your effective date is the LATER of:
1.  Date of claim.  If you applied when "informal claims" were allowed, the criteria for your date of claim is greatly reduced.  
2.  Facts found.  This is generally the date the doc says you were disabled.  
    There are considerable exceptions (I counted 18 exceptions)  to the above effective date general rule, but some important ones often overlooked by VA, VSO's, and Veterans include:  
a.  If you applied for benefits within 1 year of exit from service, your date can go back to the date you got out of service.  
b.  If VA denied you because of lost service records, and found them, you can get an eed based on 38 CFR 3.156 C, or maybe 3.156 B, if you sent in new and relevant evidence.  
c.  Nehmer claimants have special rules which allow earlier dates.  To find out if you are eligible under Nehmer, you can contact NVLSP (for free):  https://www.nvlsp.org/what-we-do/class-actions/nehmer-agent-orange-lawsuit
d.  Changes in regulations can benefit the Veteran.  
e.  Claims for increase can result in an eed in some circumstances if facts found so warrant.  
      Since I dont know, what, if any of these apply to you, I can not give a definitave answer.  
Effective date regulations, explain this in more details:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/5110
Specifically, one of your issues is addressed here:
 

The answer to both of your questions is yes. It depends on the evidence you have in your records will depends on if you win or not. When I won my EED back to 1998, I had VAMC medical records that proved I was being treated yet the VA denied my claim. The same thing in my 2005 claim but when my claim went to the CAVC they reviewed my entire record and remanded my claim back to BVA where they granted it. So, it is possible but without knowing what evidence you have in your file it is impossible to fully know. You as the veteran should know more than anyone. Don't give up the fight. In reference to your prior claims, your records will still have to prove that you met the criteria and had 1. An in-service accident and or incident or disease, 2. A current diagnosis, and 3. A nexus connecting 1. and 2. 
 

No that is not normal imo. I would wait for the decision letter and then you take it from there if you want to appeal or not.

My observation is that the Va seems to move a bit faster on iu claims in general. I’m new to the system, so I could be wrong, but it makes sense since that initial claims have a higher bar. The iu supplemental has a high bar as well, but at least they’ve already “presumed” (their word presumptive) that the disability is service connected.
it is not a given, of course, by a long shot But it does seem at least to move faster. Yours was very fast, my iu was filed on nov 10 and c&p was on 18 December. Not too shabby. If it sails, I suspect a decision by Apr or May. But...that could very well be a denial as well!
 
good luck to you, watch the anxiety levels. They tend to rise appreciably at this point!

Its good.  "Time" is Vets enemy.  Many thousands of Veterans pass away before their claim is completed.  When this happens, "UNLESS" the spouse or heir KNOWS to promptly file a substitution of claimant, the claim dies.  
Other Veterans become too old and sick to persue their claims.  Thus, there is significant financial incentive for VA to delay your claim as long as possible.  
"Even if its quickly denied", you can begin to appeal.  Many Vets, including myself have been delayed for decades.  
 
The bus may not go "all the way", but at least its traveling in your direction now.  

It can take a while.  There is no set time limit on their side.  What you can do is make an IRIS question to see where your claim is at.  This can sometimes get them to start moving the ball again.  I know they get overwhelmed and they can forget about claims.  They need a little reminder to help get it back on track.
You can also call the Whitehouse hotline which i have received several calls back from with answers on issues I was having.  They will try to push it to the side, but just be straight forward and let them know you would like an answer.  This can also get the claim moving again.