broncovet

Hoppy Of course you are right on. At the risk of being called a naysayer, however, it just does not seem likely that another type of appeal to "revisit" a decision would be productive. A law that says the VA broke another law, without consequences, is no better than a law where the VA broke one law without consequence. The solution, of course, is to ACTUALLY ENFORCE the laws. An example is Interstate 15 passes through a "corner" of Arizona in a rather isolated area between Utah and Nevada. This was an area of very high accidents because it was well known that you could go any speed there. Arizona State Patrol officers had to reside in Arizona, and there was simply no place to live in Arizona on that isolated corner of Interstate 15. Many people died as a result of excessive speed. A residence "exception" was passed, and now Arizona State Patrol officers live in nearby St. George, Utah and enforce the speed limit. Deaths, and the average speed went way down, when the laws were enforced. This lesson showed us that people dont just necessarily obey the law when there is no penalty for disobedience. At the VA, the employee violating the regulation does not pay the penalty..it is paid by the Veteran who's claim is delayed sometimes for years. From the VA employees standpoint there is no penalty for violating the regs, as the VA employees are "isolated" from the pain and destruction that violating the regulations causes to Veterans and their families.

Yes, the Va's "Duty to Assist" the Veteran consists of 2 questions: "Would you like that claim shredded, or just delayed?" or "Shall I deny your claim now, or delay it first?"

The reports shows that Conditions were terrible at the VA in Philadelphia. One Veterans leg had to be amputated as it was allowed to be infested with maggots. So, how does the VA "fix" the problem? Why stop releasing information and cease all reports, of course. Now, the VA is shutting still one more door on accountability. Mind you, no problems were fixed, its just now that the public wont know about them in the future. Here is the story: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburgh...l/s_645645.html

Delta http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfsep09/nf091109-1.htm This watchdog article will have links to the case and also their perspective on it. Hope this helps. It also has some comments that might be worth reading.

Its a "no brainer" that you need to appeal. File a NOD, and be sure to list all the issues you are appealing. Do a good job on your NOD..get help if you need it, and be very clear on the issues. The NOD is your chance to tell your side of the story, including specific points as to what you disagree with. As you do your NOD give careful consideration as to whether you want a DRO (review or hearing) or go straight to the BVA. Personally, I have had good luck with DRO reviews. DRO hearings are good also, but they take forever, and can be a waste of time. That is why I go with DRO reviews pretty much automatically every time I appeal. The DRO officer is supposed to be a very expericed Rating Specialist, and some of them can even read, contrary to popular belief. As Berta mentioned, it may be worth it for you to pay for an IMO. Appealing right now costs you nothing, and you have lots to gain from it. Yes, the P and T is important, as is Ch. 35. Frankly, if I understand what you said, you have had this condition for 13 years. Do they really expect something you have had for 13 years to go away or to improve? If it was going to improve, it would have done so years ago. Instead, considering your oxycodene, your condition has worsened, because Docs dont prescribe that for hang-nails. You have to be in great pain to be on that as it is considered to be a highly addictive narcotic. Frankly I have never heard of being awarded SMC for anything less than 100% P and T. There may even be a requirement somewhere that P and T is required for SMC, others may be able to chime in on this.

Dont hold your breath on a financial hardship "advance on the docket". I filed one in 2004, the RO shredded it and I lost my home in 2005.

I agree with Papa. If the government thinks they can save money by governmentalizing health care which is now largely private, what is to stop them from merging VA and government health care, even tho Carlie is right that it is not in the PRESENT proposal? What they are saying is "More is Better". That is, they think the government, because of its huge size can more efficiently manage health care, than say, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield. The problem with that theory is that it fails to take into account the economic principal called the " Law of Diminishing Returns." This law states, in effect, that as a company grows, it becomes more efficeint..it buys in bulk, and gets discounts, and employees are allowed to specialize and get very good at their area of expertise. However, when the company reaches a certain size (at about 100-500 employees, depending on the industry) it Peaks, and then efficiency falls off with ever increasing size. My econ prof explained it with Big Macs. He says most people will get enjoyment from consuming a big mac. If you consumed 2 big macs, you might get less enjoyment than the first one. If you kept on eating, say, 31 big macs in a setting, you would get far less enjoyment from the 31st than you did from the first big mac. He even suggest the enjoyment from that 31st big mac could even be negative. In a similar way, the huge size of the federal government has passed peak efficiency long, long ago. Just like Big Macs..what is your Peak number of Big Macs? One? Two? Four? 2397? My "law of diminishing Returns" with Big Macs peaks at 1.5 if I am real hungry. Others could eat maybe even a dozen and still enjoy them all. However, no one could benefit from eating one big mac from each mcdonalds in the USA..that is too many...just like our federal government is just too large to do anything efficiently except to allow crime to grow inside of it.

The VA has had a claims backlog since Moby Dick was a minnow, as Testvet pointed out. If it were the economy causing the problem, then the VA would "catch up" on the backlog in good economic times. Instead, the backlog keeps getting worse and worse in good economies and bad. Considering that there is ZERO backlog on VA employee/executive bonuses/compensation, the VA is sending a clear message: The Va has prioritized executive and bonus compensation over the needs of Veterans. This is bad management, as they are simply not doing their job, and then they pat each other on the back with a "job well done"..as they get each others bonus approved, while Veterans become homeless waiting on them to process their benefits.

Betty... From what was posted, it sounds like there is missing (mishandled) evidence. To preserve your rights, you need to file a "Special Handling Request" before Nov, 2009. It sounds like you may be able to use some of the things that Breckenridge mentioned to support your position that you applied in 1978. For example, if there is a C and P exam request in 1981, the VA will have to do some smooth talking to explain why they are listing a 1992 effective date. You can also get your medical records from your VA hospital to corroborate your position that you applied for benefits in 1978. If there is a C and P exam there from 1981, then again the VA is going to have to do some smooth talking. Unfortunately, for Veterans, the VA has on staff many lawyers whose main purpose it is to "smooth talk" away as many Veterans benefits as possible.

You want to blame the economy for the backlog? This sounds like one government agency blaming another government agency to me. The economy is the same for the IRS, yet the IRS gets millions of tax return checks out in a few weeks..regardless of the economy. Did the word "planning" ever occur to the VA? Oh, I dont know, maybe they could plan for increased applications, say, due to a new GI bill? Or, how about "contingency planning"...in the event of a recession or otherwise an increase in applications for things like wars. The backlog is not about the economy..its about bad management by the Department of Veterans affairs. It isnt the Veterans fault, it isnt the war's fault...maybe you could try blaming, oh, say..greenhouse gasses? If Shinseki was a coach in the NFL he would be fired for poor performance. The "team" he took over, even tho it did have a dismal record, got much worse after his "watch". The VA is managed by what we call "management by putting out fires". It is always a worst case senario. There is no planning, but a string of one fire to put out after another. The VA is rocked with scandal after scandal. The VA lost $342 million, just in the IT scandal. What has it done to improve it? Why it has rewarded these workers with $24 million in bonuses. Until/unless the VA changes its ways, it is going to get the same results as in the past. Shinseki has not only increased the backlog of disability claims by 16% but added a "new" category of backlogs..VA education backlogs. He has tried to implement a band aid approach to fixing that, too.

The "time frame" is going to be exactly what the Regional Office thinks it should be, no more, no less. They have no set schedule and RO's often take full advantage of this fact. Veterans have strict deadlines, and are not allowed a single day's leeway. If you have sent a NOD in 1 year and 1 day after your RO decision, you will know what I mean. I have heard of one Veteran receiving benefits in as little as 7 months, I also know a Veteran who put in his claim in 1973 with no successful resolution yet. An "Average" is probably in between those extremes, if I were to venture a guess, I would say 1-2 years. My claim took 7 years, including appeals. The famous "six month" processing time that the RO claims does not include appeal times, and, since the majority of claims are denied the first time, I think this 6 month number is "spin" while the average actual time for a Veteran to obtain benefits is about 3 years, with 2 years being a minimum for appeals. Personally, I think this is all backwards. I think the Veteran should NOT be on a strict timetable, while the Regional Office should have a strict limit on processing time..probably 90 days. Social Security does their claims within 90 days, so why cant the VA?

Years ago, I was a business owner. Guess who got paid LAST, if there was any money left over? Not the employees..the owner got paid last. Why? Because we had committments and we made sure customers and employees were taken care of first. Any business owner knows this. Guess who got "taken care of" BEFORE the employees? Right..the customers. The VA works the exact opposite of private business. First priority..Executive pay and bonuses. Next Priority..Employee pay and bonuses. Then, IF there is anything left after, oh say, a squandered $342 million on a failed IT projects, then the Veterans will get their due. With these priorities mixed up like this, is it any wonder why people are so opposed to the government taking over health care, and running it like the VA? Americans would only get health care if there was any money left over after Executive bonuses, Employee bonuses, and squandered projects.

The backlog on paychecks and bonuses for VA employee executives, including Shinseki: Zero The backlog for disabled Veterans: about 1 million and growing at 16% per year, altho the VA is not sure about the number. The backlog for new GI bill Vets: VA is not sure, but somewhere around 254,000 Are there any VA executives who would like to Venture a guess as to the reasons for these numbers? More importantly, are there any Veteran Employee executives who are willing to forego their bonus/paycheck until all Veterans are paid? Make a list of VA executives willing to wait on their paycheck until all Veterans are paid, and then simply fire the rest. To qualify as a VA executive, the VA employee executive (candidate) needs to know what it is like to do without a paycheck, so that they can be sympathetic with Veterans who have to do the same. This would apply to any VA executive (or executive candidate) earning over $100,000 per year, Peons earning less would still get their checks on time.

I would exercise a little bit of caution here. If you are getting 100% from the VA and you are self employed, you will still have to report that income. You see there is a definate double standard that applies. Standard 1. If you are disabled by social securty an are wanting to use your SSD as evidence for VA TDIU, the VA will tell you they dont have access to your social security records and make you try to send them to them. Standard 2. However, if you are collecting IU, or Pension, you can bet the VA will know about every dollar you earn, and take it out of your hide, compliments of social security records. They will get your records and use it against you. So, on one hand the VA will tell you they dont have access to social security records, on the other hand the VA will tell you they have your social security records and that you owe them money.

The VAOIG's report IMHO, was SPIN, in that it tried to minimize a much larger problem. The delays of the VA is far bigger than "merely" 11,000 "claims" longer than one year. First, its not 11,000 claims delayed, it is 11,000 FAMILIES of Veterans who are forced into economic poverty because the VA wont get off their duff. Next, I dispute the 11,000 number, as that number is not the number of Veterans waiting on benefits longer than a year because that number fails to include Veterans who have been improperly denied and are waiting upon any number of appeals: I doubt that DRO Hearings, BVA, CAVC, or AMC appeals are included in that 11,000 and it is probably MUCH, MUCH higher than 11,000 Vetrans waiting over a year on benefits. In fact, my experience has been that NEARLY ALL Veterans who received benefits had to wait more than a year to get them, often with one or more appeals. It truly is rare when a Veteran applies at the VA and gets his full benefits in less than a year! The VA makes it sound like most Veterans are approved in 6 months, but an unfortunate 11,000 had to wait over a year. This is SPIN, and not true.

Delta Thank you! Many hadit members know this, but, since this court case was published, the courts have "stuck down" the requirement that a Veterans claim be "well grounded" which the judge in Togo West mentions. A veteran no longer has to PROVE his claim is "well grounded" to be entitled to his rights. In the past, the VA often used the "well grounded" excuse to deny benefits. If the Veterans claim could not pass the "well grounded" test, it was denied without ever being considered. Many Veterans claims were denied, not because they did not have a valid claim, but because their claim did not pass the "well grounded" test. I think this case says something that should be cited in nearly every PTSD or depression appeal. That is, the VA, with its massive number of lawyers on staff and nearly unlimited resources, has a very unfair advantage over a sometimes homeless, depressed, PTSD Veteran who's legal and constitutional rights are not even represented by an attorney. The Veteran, frankly, is a wounded bunny thrown into a den of hungry wolves. The court is saying it is no wonder that the Veteran did not fill in all the VA's forms properly when the Veteran was running for dear life from a vicious pack of DVA lawyers who are desperately trying to move up the ladder by "winning" their case by "eating" the defenseless Veteran. Any Veteran appealing his case should read this case, and probably Roberson, if you dont read any others.

Collaro v West says it this way: "If Collaro had a trained eye for reading rating decision forms, he may have noticed in the narrative section that a change to sections J and I indicated a new basis for his rating. If Collaro had been less than chronically schizophrenic, and if he had more sophisticated legal advice on which to rely than that of a representative from one of the forty or so invaluable national service organizations that represent veterans, we might expect more from him. Instead, like a significant number of veterans collecting benefits under the schedular ratings because of individual unemployability or total disability, Collaro lacked the knowledge, motivation, mental acuity and legal counsel necessary to inquire into the constitutionality of the circular, to detect the conversion, or specifically identify and correctly challenge the agency's action.Congress has passed statutes and the agency regulations to assist veterans in establishing facts sufficient to support well-grounded claims and to give them every benefit that can be supported in law. See 38 U.S.C. 5107 "

Thanks, Delta, this is an interesting Federal court case which may well prove usefull to Veterans, as I am sure Veterans attorneys have cited it in behalf of Veterans. Federal Court decisions "trump" both BVA and CAVC decisions, as you probably know. This decision is important not just to Veterans seeking TDIU, but to any Veteran who has filed a NOD and then ultimately had the VA "weasel out" of paying because of legal complications. IMHO, this decision clearly states that the Courts have to consider the Veterans legal and constitutional rights, even if the Veteran does not raise that issue with the NOD. That is, the VA is not free to deny a Veterans constitutional or legal rights just because he may not have had adequate resources available to challenge the Va. http://vlex.com/vid/andrew-collaro-togo-ve...ffairs-36141091 The VA was not allowed to use its vast resources such as lawyers on staff to deny Veterans benefits on the basis that this Veteran lacked the abilities to thoroughly understand and challenge the courts to preserve his constitutional and legal rights. The Veteran can not be denied constitutional and legal rights based on his lack of ability to understand and challenge the courts for these rights.

Tom The short answer is that it takes exactly how long the Regional Office Wants it to take. For me, it took them 2 years and they NEVER paid me for back pay. Others have said less time than this. Since the VA has no accountability and no time limit, they can take their sweet time. This is a pet peeve and one of the reasons for "hadit".

TEAC is correct, unfortunately, and it shows that the VA, frankly does not follow the regulations which were highlighted in red in the post below. While the regulation states they are required to submit this to the director, in reality, they almost never do what is required by the regulation.

Yea..me too. Larry had to apologize first...even tho I started it. Larrys hat made me do it.

Carlie.. You are right..I had no idea that what you have gone through. Most people dont know what I have been through either, in part, because I think the VA has NO PROBLEM retaliating on Veterans, and so most Veterans keep their mouth shut. I probably have already said way, way too much and made myself vulnerable to VA retaliation. If the VA does retaliate on me, however, then they had better make real certain that I can not speak or type another word ever again. Back to the COLA thing, however. I heard someone say some years ago that scientists had made a new weapon that destroyed people..and left buildings and trees intact. That new weapon was called inflation. Pete.. There has already been legislation proposed to give Social Security recipients a COLA this year in spite of the governments claim that inflation has been negative. I agree with Purple..why do SS recipients deserve COLA while Veterans are forced to drink beer and dont get COLA.

Yep. I can see it all now. The Veteran needs help and calls the suicide hotline and gets this message: Please press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, 3 for Mandarin Chineese, and 4 for other. (Veteran presses #4) Hi. Welcome to the recruiting sector for the Taliban. If you are considering suicide and can drive a truck, press 5 and you will be immediately connected with a Suicide Assistance Officer. Otherwise, The VA suicide hotline is experiencing extremely high call volume right now, as there are a million Veterans suicide assistance backlog ahead of you who are also trying to commit suicide. Please try our suicide line again tommorrow, if you truly think your life is worth living. Thank you for calling the Veteran suicide hotline. Goodbye. The Veteran, frustrated, calls back: Please Press 1 for English...(Veteran presses 1) Were sorry, but there are no English speaking suicide assistance counselors available, as the VA has outsourced its suicide hotline to Chinese speaking employees only.

Pete, I agree. Social Security disability claims are pretty much decided in 90 days. Veterans takes at least double that time. I think the reason VA settled that $45 grand so quickly is probably because the VA lawyers were very happy to get by with just 45k, when that Veteran could have gotten a great lawyer and got ten times that amount. So, the Va gave him his money before he changed his mind and decided to hold out for much more! Also, in this case the VA probably would have to pay interest, so lets get it paid ASAP. Since Veterans never get interest, but the VA gets an interest free loan, lets pay Veterans back 20 or 30 years from now, that is, if they dont die first.

I admire Carlie and darkhorse's optimism. If they went to the Doc and the Va cut off an arm by mistake, they would brag that they still have one good arm and two good legs that the VA did not cut off. Last years 5.9% increase did not even keep up with inflation, because gas alone went from $2 gallon to $4 or so. However, I will agree that 5.9% is better than zero. So, this year the VA is saying..well, since you did not complain that we gave you 5.9% last year (when our inflation was higher), this year we are taking your COLA away completely so we can pay for the failed IT projects, and increase VA employee bonuses and salaries. So, what I am saying is that because they got away with it last year, I am not going to let them make it worse this year. If the Va cut off my arm last year, I am not going back to the same doc and tell him that I still have 2 good legs, does he want to cut off one because he forgot to cut it off last year.