MilvetHD

I am working on ideas. I will definitely have something to bring to the table this weekend so stay tuned. You are all a very inspiring group.

Tbird, you have carried your load and done more for veterans than many of those who have made a career of pretending to do so. This news is genuinely depressing, but you have earned your rest and retirement. All the best! 

Tbird, you have carried your load and done more for veterans than many of those who have made a career of pretending to do so. This news is genuinely depressing, but you have earned your rest and retirement. All the best! 

Very often there is confusion between a Military retiree, and 100 percent disabled Vet.  As pointed out, the id cards are similar but a slightly different color.  
Generally, we are not required to wear tshirts which say, "100 percent disabled Vet..70 percent PTSD, 30 percent hearing loss, plus ED and SMC K currently taking viagra".  
Our medical records are private and we dont have to disclose those to everyone.  We dont even have to disclose our medical records to VA BUT we will be denied if they dont have adequate medical documentation, so, its catch 22.  But we dont have to accept VA benefits, and if we decline, we dont have to give them access to our medical records.  
So, when people ask if I am retired military, I generally present my disabled Vet card, such as on post, and many people dont get the difference.  Im not a teacher, so I dont explain it to them.  I just hand them my id card.  
For me, Im a private person, and dont want family, friends, etc. knowing my level of disability or other medical conditions.  If they get too nosey, sometimes I will turn the tables and say things like, "Ok, I will give you my entire medical history, after I read yours."  
For disabled individuals, we generally have a "choice" of to disclose or not disclose.  
I mean, gee, you dont walk up to a woman and ask her to disclose her menstral cycle to you, (for good reasons), so we also dont have to disclose our disability percentage, if any, to any person we meet including family.   
Disabled people have a right to choose whether or not to disclose their disability.  Many elect not to, especially when the disability is "invisible" such as mdd, PTSD, and most stuff, frankly.  Most of us are not in wheel chairs and have legs missing.  Some of us do, but I would estimate 80-90 percent have disabilities which are "invisible".  I mean gee, I have a family member with shrapnel in his head, which is NOT visible..unless you take an xray.  He has a purple heart and tells no one, except a very close "inner circle".  

Not going to happen. DEERS is very strict on that piece. Produce a marriage license. Not a common law.

I'm not offended because I am fully aware of how the machine works and what is present in my case. So while you can and have offered generally speculation, I know the facts. All my of ducks were lined in a row and the VA failed to do their job plain and simple. I say that humbly and based on facts, there is a reason nearly 70-80 percent of cases that work themselves through the BVA and CAVC are generally granted or remanded in the vets favor.
I'll give you an example of the sloppy work. They actually listed as one of the reasons for my denial was because I was not formally diagnosed until 11 years after service, they conveniently ignored indisputable science based consensus included in the original filing that my condition at unset is asymptomatic. For those who may be unaware that means without symptoms. My claim request wasn't submitted on a presumative basis, thus is it is irrevelant for purposes of compensation when I was diagnosed or filed according to the law. It is no mistake that the legal standard is an in-service event. 

This site along with the BVA Matrix site has changed for the worst, on this site it is hard to see when a decision was actually decided until you open it and read it, they older site was a lot easier. The BVA Matrix site shows even less than what its older site showed but the BVA can now go back and tell congress “ look how we changed our sites for the better and we spent millions of dollars and we still need more next year to help us (The VA) to better help the veterans even though all the millions of dollars we spent leaves veterans even more confused but hey, we did spend all the money you allotted us (The VA) on these worthless Web Sites.”
The day that the BVA posted its new Decision Time Frame it was already out dated because many of us (Veterans) were already past the 400 days, well beyond the year and the 356 to 365 days of completion and all we get is a generic email or phone call from the VA stating that our appeals are at the BVA waiting to be sent to a judge for review and by law the BVA has to process appeals as first in first out or they have to consider special hardship appeals. Blah, blah, blah. All of us are in a sinking hole/pit of the BVA will get to us when they will get to us and maybe we will get our decisions and our retro pay by 2026.

Keep up the fight. I have 2 appeals before the BVA. Dr Anise wrote my IMO for OSA secondary to Sinusitis, tinnitus, and something else. When I originally submitted it thru the VSO, he freaked out because of the many pages and documentation. Yet it was denied. I have been in this appeal process since Aug 2018\2019, can't remember.
The person that rejected my claim is a geriatric nurse that wrote that she consulted wikipages and found "more credible" evidence there against my claim. And that I should continue my therapy for my medical issue, even if it isn't disabling??? WTF?!!
It is extremely frustrating reading stupid crap like that, especially from a trained nurse. One would think that there would be a checklist or a flow chart to help the rater make a simple but accurate decision.
Just remember, it costs you nothing more than what you have in it to continue the appeal. But it costs you more when you don't appeal.
Fight, Fight more, find away forward.
Look at any other issues you may have and fully document them and file for them. It's about documenting your disabilities. Before Military Disabilities Made Easy became a paid site, you could look at the criteria needed for each issue and provide evidence to support your claim. I only used it for my 2 months to support my recent claim. I also sent in everything I referenced, even if they had a copy of it. I also had a statement from my wife, and I submitted a statement of my own, describing the condition I was filing for, how it affected me, my ability to not be able to do things, the affect on my family.
I had a 1stSgt tell me one time, you gotta potatohead things for people. Make it simple and straight forward for them to follow the path you want to lead them on.
I'm not saying it is a guaranteed path to getting it approved, it's just what I have done.
So it won't surprise me if my recent claim is denied in part, or in full.

Again, I am and can only reference my experience with HLR. HLRs are supposed to be conducted by senior staff, it's not incumbent on the veteran to point them in any direction as the evidence of record should speak for itself and they are required by law to read the file themselves. In my case, I had a HLR official tell me he had not reviewed my file and wanted to speak with me prior to reviewing my claim, initially I took this as a positive sign he would do his job, he would hear me out and then take some time to review my verbal challenges of missed facts. My claim included in total about 80 pages of of information between Buddy statements, Nexus Letter, Peer reviewed research articles and etc. 
We spoke on the phone on a Friday at just before 1400 EST, we were both located in the same time zone, by Monday my denial was already authored and submitted. He either lied and had reviewed my claim or blatantly didn't give a damn about the facts, there is no way a fair and reasonable person could interrupt that much information so quickly and right up a report on such a short turnaround. I don't submit bogus claims. I spent two years researching and gathering information and my private physician spent another 2 weeks reviewing my medical charts and the journals I provided him before he agreed to write a nexus. I don't mind being denied just do so on facts and I think that's what all vets want and desire. 

If not for the seriousness of your injury this would be laughable, zero percent adds insult to injury. When you are able to clear your head and gather your thoughts I suggest going directly to BVA. 

In my opinion, based upon my own experience, I would say skip the HLR as I don't know of any examples whereby they were turned in favor of the veteran. Secondly, you need not have STR for a secondary condition that is asinine. You need a current diagnosis and in my opinion, most important treatment records. You don't mention the evidence that you submitted but it's not good enough to simply say something hurts, gather objective evidence if you have not already done so. 

Wow I’ve heard of that happening but to see it on paper is astonishing. They allow themselves bite after bite, but you’ve got to make the most of your one shot SMH. Best of luck! 

I'm a Marine, I've never had a issue pissing anyone off, in fact it's one of my best characteristics. So whether or not they take it negatively isn't a concern of mine and I respectly suggest it shouldn't be for you either. The extent to which the VA machine is allowed to operate in hostility against war vets in particular is deplorable in my opinion. The facts of my case are so overwhelming it is ridiculous that I am even at the BVA, I honestly say that unbiased and not because it's my claim. For the condition I have pending before the BVA, my private physician is one of the top providers in the entire state and someone for whom I have been a patient for years because of his singular specialty and 25 years experience. The VA permitted VES to do a records only C&P exam with a provider who's credentials are questionable as to be able to provide an objective opinion on my claim. The VA even went so far as to suggest my private physician's opinion was found less credible, although it was based on his personal and direct knowledge and supported by multiple peer-reviewed medical journals. Finally, and probably most laughable is that the VES examiner agreed with many of the points my provider highlighted and the VA still denied my claim. So if they are pissed, I am too. 
 

jbasser, My fight lasted so long that I will find it hard to settle down and quit swinging and throwing punches.

What reason did they provide for removing it? Next, are you on any current medications for hypertension?  If you are I would definitely say you should reengage the VA so that you can have it properly documented and receive no cost treatment. Otherwise, if there is no economic harm I'm not sure of the end goal. 

What reason did they provide for removing it? Next, are you on any current medications for hypertension?  If you are I would definitely say you should reengage the VA so that you can have it properly documented and receive no cost treatment. Otherwise, if there is no economic harm I'm not sure of the end goal. 

James I echo ALL the above. Congrats!
You are a wealth of knowledge and  I always look forward to your posts for advice. Please keep it up as long as you are able to. You wouldn't be sharing your knowledge if you didn't enjoy helping your veteran brothers and sisters. I enjoy your comments on the airways also.

That's what the DSM says. VA just follows it, unless there is some kind of direct pain causing manifestation like rheumatoid disorder, or it is subsumed by another physical diagnosis

LOL this is a joke right? Of course, the regulations say that they should be given consideration but I wouldn't suggest relying on lay statements as a primary strategy. 

Well stated and it's a crying shame, especially for those who didn't retire and didn't have ANY guaranteed source of income immediately upon discharge. It's deplorable as well how they hold it against vets who have no in-service treatment, back when I served it was career ending to seek treatment for mental health. 

I mean how many of these reports must come out before anything changes, there appears to be no meaningful improvement EVER and you damn right the C&P reports should be immediately provided to the veteran. 

Strap in and prepare for a long ride is all I can tell you, the processing times have increased within the last year or so. I got an unsigned letter from the VARO, two days ago, apologizing for the delay with deciding my claim. 

Yes, the idea that it must be diagnosed within even 10 years is a bunch of bull...it's either service connected or it isn't. Our bodies all respond differently and therefore in my opinion shouldn't have some arbitrary cutoff, for years, after multiple combat deployments I spent the first several years after service simply trying to adjust. 

Yes, the idea that it must be diagnosed within even 10 years is a bunch of bull...it's either service connected or it isn't. Our bodies all respond differently and therefore in my opinion shouldn't have some arbitrary cutoff, for years, after multiple combat deployments I spent the first several years after service simply trying to adjust. 

Because pain is subjective it is difficult to ensure that it is accurately captured, I know that if reported it is supposed to be apart of the evaluation process. Are you rated for any mental health conditions? If not, that is an avenue I would explore as chronic pain has long been clinically accepted to contribute to depression and anxiety.