broncovet

First, you should concern yourself with your health. Ask the doc what he recommends. If you think that your shoulder injury is SC, then by all means file a claim for it, if you havent already, and if you have, and this is "New and Material Evidence", then you should tell your RO about it with a 21-4138.

ScottCGAS, Yes, I would likely recommend a VSO for you. People on this board with much experience with the VA can often do much better on their own, but if you dont even know your RO address, or what an RO is, then my opinion is that you should get a VSO help you. If you want to do it on your own, download form 21-4138, print it out, and write on it, "I want to apply for the VA benefit of depression. I was prescribed anti depressant medication by.....Doctor, and am seeking treatment at the VA for it as I write this." Send your completed form, Certified Mail Return REceipt Requested, to your RO AFTER you make a copy of it, because the VA is famous for loosing our claims. Expect the VA to send you a letter acknowledging your claim within a couple months (VCAA letter). If you do not get this letter, your claim was probably already lost or shredded, so send it again, being sure to mention that you sent the first request on .....date certified mail, and you have a green card from the post office that it was received by the RO. COUNT on the VA to loose at least some of your paperwork, you will rarely be disappointed. Of course, as was already suggested, see your prime care doc at the VA, and ask for a mental health doc referral. Then call mental health and ask for an appointment with the doctor. When you see the doctor, read what the doc says about your visit, after you see your doc. See if the doc is what I call "Veteran friendly". That is, did the doc write in your chart what you told him about your depression likely related to service connected conditions? If he did not write that, or if he says something like, "patient reports depression caused by SC conditions, but it appears his depression is unrelated to military service", then get a different doc. That one is not "Veteran friendly". He is out to meet his 'denial quota' at the VA and is not interested in helping you.

Sgt Schmidt, Thank you for your service. My suggestion is that you are likely to get much more help with your questions if you start a "new" post, rather than asking your questions inside someone elses post, as your question could easily get missed by people who watch this board but may well have an answer to your question. Stillhere One well known Veteran's advocate, with the initials J.S., suggests not using either IRIS or the 800 number. Personally, I have found both to be highly unreliable, but usefull in a limited number of circumstances. While I certainly can relate to your desire to get an answer from the VA quickly (hopefully favorable), something dawned on me the other day. We wait, and wait, and wait for the "envelope". Finally, lets say the magic envelope arrives, awarding us all we asked for. What do we have to look forward to then, after we have gotten the money? Next months check? We need to "enjoy the journey". Go visit your grandkids. Go fishing. Play Golf. Laff. Dont let that envelope be the key to your happiness, or depression because, either way, "the envelope" wont last.

Free is right and her advice is much better than mine..pointing out that even the IRS will give you 30 day notice. What I was referring to was "due process"...that is, the IRS does not have to go to a judge and get a court order, like everyone else.

"Due Process" notification suggests that you either did not get a VCAA letter, or you did not sign the back page and send it back. Of course, "Due Process" notification could have to due with mental issues, that is, whether or not you are judged competent to manage your own affairs. If you are judged "not competent" then, well, somebody will be hired to do it for you.

I am pretty sure about this. As was pointed out, when you agree to direct deposit, you are agreeing that the money can go IN or OUT..in the event of an error. The IRS has a "due process" exemption. That is, if you owe the IRS money, the IRS does not have to go to court to suck it out of your accounts, they just do it. About everyone else has to go through due process. In other words, if I thought you owed me money, I could go to the judge, and file and allege you owe me ......dollars. Of course you can dispute that..you can dispute the amount, or the debt entirely. If the judge rules in your favor, then you can also ask the judge for a writ of garnishment, which you could take to the appropriate bank(s) and demand they give you your money. It gets "grey" for me with the VA. If the VA sends you a check, it comes from the treasury department...the same branch as the IRS. In that way, the VA could take money out of any account it wants to..without due process, just like the IRS can/does.

Thanks, Commander. Yes, I am sure that "missing" files are not the same as shredded, for one thing, they could 'find' the missing files, in theory, that is. If I remember right, the fast letter 08-41 refers to it as "mishandled" evidence. They also refer to it as "the October incident" which is a euphemism and makes it sound like someone had a fender bender in the VA parking lot, instead of the reality of thousands of illegally destroyed evidence and therefore depriving Veterans of their benefits AND denying Veterans "due process"en masse. Freespirit Awesome post. I am going to ask for a "heightened benefit of the doubt", and cite the decisions you mentioned. While I was looking for your decisions, I also came across Comer, which was a federal circuit court case, and it said the same thing.. Jerrbilly Thanks for the help..I never even thought about them archiving old decisions, and storing the files in a different place. I think I am going to "test" the VA..and ask them for copies of my 2002 and 2004 decisions..just to see if they can cough em up. ALL Even tho Jerrbilly is probably right..some of my claim is in archive, some of the missing stuff is from year 2007, and, since they have other stuff in there from 2007, I know that it should not be in the archive.

John That is fantastic news. Since I have the originals of my decisions, and since the VA does not have them, that proves they mishandled (shredded) my Cfile and evidence....unless they "find" them, of course. Now, I need to decide what to do about it.

I received a copy of my C file from the RO recently. I thought it was odd the box was only 3 inches thick, when my box, which is incomplete, contains a stack of at least 12 inches of records. The RO has shredded (or they are missing) more than 1000 pages, about 70% of my files. Since there are multiple RO decisions missing from my files, multiple VCAA letters, multiple NOD's etc, does the RO keep an electronic record of the RO decisions, or do they even know about them? I know they keep an e-record of the percentages, but do they keep an e record of the "reasons and basis" for denials? For about 3 years, I noticed that whenever I filed a NOD, they dont respond to it, ever, instead, they just issued a new decision pretty much just giving "lip service" to my NOD. Yes, I have filed a Special Handling Request due to shredded documents. I saw an "internal" memo that they put in my c-file, saying they did not think my case was a valid "shred" case, because some of the documents I listed in the SHR were in my file, while others were missing but outside of the dates in the fast letter. That is, they pretty much admitted shredding, but said it was ok, because it was way before the "october incident" and year 2002 shredded documents did not qualify for special handling under the fast letter. Earlier, I probably would have been mad about this, but it just does not suprise me anymore. If the VA looses their own decisions, how can they possibly respond to my NOD's, when they dont even know why they denied me?

Shamrock.. Great Post, and No it is NOT "Off Subject". This (likely) affects Veterans benefits (even tho Veterans were not mentioned, they were not "excluded" either). I am upset about the Forest Service's "back door" method of reducing Veterans and other disabled benefits, so they can get more money. You have heard of politicians use the "Soak the rich", well this is, "Soak the handicapped and disabled" Many handicapped/disabled people use the parks because they are severely limited on what they can do. Lets not take this one joy away from them. They have been through enough and should not be sacraficed in order to bolster the Forest Service's "bottom line".

EVERYONE who files for an EED risks loosing what he has, because he already has been awarded benefits or he wouldnt be seeking an EED. The VA COUNTS on most Veterans being scared, and not to seek an EED and that is why they often award benefits at the wrong date because they think many wont appeal it. They do the same thing with "lowballs" since many Veterans are homeless or nearly homeless waiting on their benefits, they are so happy to get ANYTHING, and they are too scared to appeal. Do a search on BVA or CAVC cases using EED. See what happened to them. Get a lawyer to look at it, like what was already mentioned. (You may have to go through several lawyers) They will want to see your paperwork, if they just used your analysis and summary of your paperwork, then you probably would not need a lawyer! Do not believe the Secretary when he says he wants to end homelessness in Veterans. The Secretary has taken few, if any real steps that help with that issue, in fact, it is getting worse because of the economy and an ever increasing claims backlog. The Secretary is even contributing to homelessness, for example, by making Student Veterans wait for months on their benefits, many had to drop out of college..they just could not wait that long for the VA to send their money. Do your homework..search cases of EED, then search Reduction cases. See how many were seeking an EED and lost their benefits. I think those that did have a reduction, would have had them whether or not they sought an EED. As Carlie has said, "Evidence wins claims", I will add that that the " VA has to have evidence to reduce". While I agree that the VA can and does retaliate on some Veterans and pull their benefits, IMHO simply filing for an EED is not the kind of thing that makes the VA mad enough to retaliate. They only retaliate on Veterans THEY consider particulary bothersome, and it has little to do with whether or not they file for an EED. They simply dont have enough time to retaliate on every Veteran who files an EED, besides, if they even tried that, Vets would figure it out and cry "foul" to their congressmen. Their would be an investigation, and VA would cover it up, but they have covered up so many things, and have so much dirt under the rug, they are petrified to have to sweep one more thing under that rug. THIS IS America...and we have fought to make sure that our government can't illegally take things from us, and I am not going to live in fear that they will do it anyway. We have fought and earned our right to freedom of speech, and I think that includes, "I disagree with your decision and I want an EED"

But Wait! I wouldn't give up on that EED so fast! We have had several people who were going to give up, then gave it another shot and won. 12 years of 100% is probably over $200k, so spend some time doing research..look at, or even post the original decision. Lots of time it is just finding a loophole to their loophole. The VFW sent me a letter dropping me, but I persisted and won. Lots of times VSO's tell Vets to give up. I never do that. Ask the Captain! He says never give up. JMHO

Exactly...now the VA is going to have to use one of their OTHER 10,000 excuses for delaying our claims. ( Some examples: We have too many claims from 2 wars...too many Veterans have applied all at once...we hired new claims processors, but it takes 2 years to get them trained, we lost your paperwork, you need another C and P exam, You forgot to sign your VCAA form and send it in, we farmed your claim out to another RO to speed it up, you dont have a nexis statement, we cant find your 21-526, there is "no record" of that claim in your file, your claim is at the rater, but he sent it back to triage, we sent you a form and you didnt send it back, we didnt get your records from.....Doctor, "What claim?", yours is held up because of Nehmer, yours is held up because of Agent Orange, you shouldnt have contacted your congressman, you filed too many claims at once so it was cherry picked, or, my favorite: 6 years is not unreasonable to "process" your claim, etc )

I am not disputing that the VBM can be worth much more than $200 to a Veteran seeking benefits. As I mentioned before, if you are dying of thirst, a glass of water can be worth thousands to you. That does not mean it is ok for them to charge you $10,000 for a glass of water, or a VBM. From what I have heard on this board, it is a very good idea to get your hands on a VBM. Maybe you can luck out and your VSO has one you can read over, and copy any pages you need. I really dont need the whole thing..just the EED and informal claims part.

Veterans for Common Sense, a Veterans group, on 60 minutes last week, says it takes 4 years for an appeal. If you have an emergency, you can try for an advance on the docket. I dont know if it is too late for you, but a DRO review, is much faster and CAN yield the same benefits as a BVA appeal. If you dont like the DRO decision, you can still send it to the BVA, by appealing.

Dittybopper Man..I hear ya. I lost my home waiting on VA. Its better now...after a 7 year wait, I got my benefits, but only back 2 years when I applied 7 years ago. I am appealing the effective date. The good news is that even tho I lost my home, it was not the end of the world. In fact, I am doing much better now than before, that is, financially. If you dont have a household income, apply for NSC pension..its about double what 40% SC is. My doc explained that to me. Drawing NSC Pension does not seem to interfere if you are applying for other SC benefits, such as an increase. If you think you are not working due to SC conditions, by all means apply ALSO for TDIU. Have your doc document it. If surgery will fix your knees, and you can work, go for the surgery, and then go back to work....you dont want to be on TDIU unless you have to be. If you arent making your house payments contact your lender and tell em why and ask for some of that help people have been talking about. Dont be proud..pride goeth before a fall. Also, if you need it (and I have no idea of whether you do or do not) get mental health help too. Economic stress definately wears on your mental health and loosing your home worsens it. If you have to, apply for those HUD apartments in your area. Finally, "hunker down" for a pretty long wait..if it happens in 6 months, you can be happy.

Pete..of course I dont appreciate the expense in creating the VBM. However, people tell me the 2009 version is just like the 2008 version with just a few updated changes. That is, the expense in creating this book has already been made, and the companies that sell it now is pretty much pure profit.

I think you are going to need to fight for what is yours. This is what I would probably do: 1. I would go to the watchdog website link I supplied earlier, and file a "Special Handling Request" due to shredded documents even tho those are not within the date range that apply to that fast letter. You still want to document this shredding. 2. Wait about a month or 2 and see if the RO responds to your SHR..you may need to do an IRIS inquiry about the status of your SHR. 3. If no action by the RO, or adverse action by the RO, then file a VAOIG complaint. Again wait for the VAOIG to respond. 4. If still no response/favorable action, file a writ of mandamus with the CAVC, alleging that the RO shredded documents and that this shredding resulted in a reduction of benefits. Your Writ will probably be denied, but you will have the RO's attention and they will have to take some action.

If the VA is trying to reduce this rating, they are going to have to prove fraud, imho, because not even "material improvement" 26 years later would not make the reduction fly. There is a remote possibility that your C and P exam results in an INCREASE. The other possibility is they are hoping you wont show for the C and P, and in that case they may try to reduce your ratings. If the VA is proposing a rating reduction, they have to give you 60 days notice, and a chance to appeal. Is it possible this C and P exam is for something else?

Chuck I agree that is a huge problem, and this is precisely why Veterans are so upset about "shredded documents". Since the VA requires proof of everything, a shredded document could cost a Veteran tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost VA benefits. The VA has implemented a bunch of rules related to what they call "the october incident". I dont even like the phrase, "october incident"...it makes it sound like someone had a fender bender in the VA parking lot, when, in reality it was VA employees caught illegally shredding Veterans documents costing Veterans millions. Go here for what to do about shredded documents: http://www.vawatchdog.org/VAshredderscandal.htm

Jones.. That is an excellent question and I would also like to know the answer. It has been my limited experience that my MH records have not been restricted at the VA. That is, if I want them, I go to "release of information" at the VAMC and show my id, and sign a release, and I can get a few pages right away, or, if I want my entire VA medical record, including MH, I will have to wait a few weeks and it will be delivered by mail, just because it takes some time to print off hundreds of pages.

Larry... Thank you for your kind offer, and I will accept your generosity, in part because I think it will benefit other Veterans. I am frankly very upset that Veterans must pay for a book that will help them get the benefits they deserve, as I certainly think it should be provided at no cost. (Its almost like those people who "help" Veterans for a fee. This demonstrates to me that VSO's generally are not doing their job..if they were, why would a Veteran pay for help, when a VSO does it for free.) On the other hand, I really do appreciate the authors of the VBM and realize they do deserve to be compensated for their labors. Still, I think about $200 for the VBM even tho I wont dispute that it can easily be worth much more to a Veteran, is big time excessive. In a similar way, a man dying of thirst on the desert would likely pay all he had for that glass of water, but it is unconscionable for people to charge thousands of dollars for a glass of water, just because they can. The VBM is just like the glass of water above. To store the VBM electronically, and allow it to be downloaded, or burn it to a DVD, would cost less than a dollar. A 500% markup, and the DVD/ electronic download version of the VBM would sell for $5.00. But to charge a disabled Vet $200 plus for an electronic/DVD version of the VBM, is taking advantage of a disabled Veteran big time.

Well, I cant afford the VBM right now, even tho it would be useful to me. Is it possible someone post a section on the VBM dealing with EED, especially with informal claims when the Veteran tells his VA doctor he has another SC condition. Thanks.

I also agree with testvet..dont take chances with your benefits. Play by the rules and you will be ok.

This is an excellent question! IMHO if your are still seeing the doc and you have a good nexis, especially if you are over 55, you dont have that much to worry about a reduction. I am not sure that a NOD for an eed will increase your chances of a reduction, in fact, it may actually decrease your chances and here is why I think so. Remember the VA is on a paper file, and there is only one copy of your C file, so it cant be in multiple places at the VA at once. I am not sure which department goes over files looking for reductions, however, if your C file is in an appeal process somewhere, (DRO/BVA CAVC etc.) then it wont be in the hands of the "reduction department". It is true, that when another set of eyes goes over your file, it is always possible they discovered an error, and they could then try to correct it. But I think if you have been following your case closely, you would probably know if that happened. I think lots of Vets "give up" their claim in fear of loosing something they already have, and I think the VA would like to keep it that way. If you think you have a solid claim for an EED, then by all means go for it. This is America, and we Vets have fought for the rights to prevent the "gestapo" from invading our home arresting us, and then say we are guilty until we can prove our innocence. In a similar way, the VA is going to have to convince a judge, if you appeal any type of possible reduction, that they were justified in reducing your benefits and followed all the required rules. Judges have repeatedly ruled in favor of Veterans when the VA fails to follow its own rules, and the rules for a reduction in rating are very specific, and the VA must follow all of them. You are always given a chance to appeal any proposed reduction in rating.