MRRRR5

Oldsol423, please accept my sincere condolences for the lost of your wife. May God keep his loving arms around you now during your time of bereavement and always. Respectfully, MRRRR5

Teac, also in the 2nd Edition by John Roche he mentioned that although it is law, the VA counts on many Vets not knowing this and therefore, they (VA) have changed their procedures to allow NPs and PAs to conduct these exams. However, he did stress that a claimant has a valid argument on appeal if it is performed by a NP or PA, especially if you have medical evidence from a "doctor" or "specialist" that counters the C&P results. It just has to be explained correctly so that the BVA or ultimately the court can see this and either remand or grant the benefit.

Carlie, you make a great point that I failed to consider; doctors actually signing off on the C&P exam. :P

I requested a DRO review for a NOD submitted in October 2006 (left tarsal tunnel syndrome); got the "brown envelope" today with a SOC and VA Form 9! It was definitely a cut and paste job. The VA stated in the original denial that I had all the symptons, however, the doctor "gave an assessment (impression) of left tarsal tunnel syndrome, and not a definitive diagnosis". So I contacted (emailed) the doctor, explained the VA denial and why, and ask her to clarify what she meant on the original EMG report. Doctor responsed that "the diagnosis is left tarsal tunnel syndrome". Sent this to VA with the NOD and they still denied me. Oh by the way, the date on the paperwork of the DRO review was 9 July 2008; go figure!!! :P

Carlie, I believe Teac is correct based on the the 2nd Edition by John Roche, which he quotes that it is required by "federal law" that a physician (doctor) performs C&Ps. He further states that although the VA commonly violates this requirement, it is grounds for an appeal based on a flawed C&P.

DDWUSN, Hello and welcome to HADIT! I am not familiar with the TDRL claims issue you raise, but I'm sure one of the seasoned HADIT members will be able to help you or point you in the right direction. :P

Sgt Mac, well deserve; you earned it, now you can enjoy it. :P

Well deserve; congratulations to you!! :P

This can open the VA to a lot of trouble if the Vet decides to pursue this. In this case, just as with the VA worker who took the computer home that got stolen, this Vets personal information has been compromised and who knows what damage has been done. In addition, the Privacy Act Law of 1974, Personal Identifiable Information (PII), and HIPPA Laws may have been breached in reference to this Vet. :P

Betty, my Virginia cell area code is 703; do you have the same?

Interestingly, when I call the 800 # from home, I always get the Atlanta RO. Then, I will call from my cell, which has a Virginia area code, and get the Roanoke office. I would normally call the Roanoke office first just to see what they can tell me, then I'll call from home and see if the info is the same. :P Usually, the Atlanta RO will provide me more detailed info, while I get some basic info from Roanoke.

Ladies and Gentlemen, LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!! The no holds barred fight between Randall and the VA!!!

Dan, great to hear you got your power back on so you can use your CPAP. Also, I hope your Vietnam Veterans helpers will petition the VA to process your claim as a "hardship" due to your limited financial situation. They should know who to contact, but if all else fails, have them or your wife contact your congressional representative to get priority assistance with your claims decision from the VA. I sure would not mind the VA processing your claims ahead of mine due to your circumstance that is verified with various local government agencies as well as utility companies. Good luck and God bless.

sehinchee, I agree with both Pete and Josephine in their assessment. Additionally, I went out and bought John D. Roche "The Veteran's Survival Guide" (2nd Edition, Revised and Updated, 2007) because I read on one of the HADIT forums here about his book with great info to help Vets with their claims, along with HADIT . Very interesting read to say the least from a Vet who worked at the VA as a ratings official for many years. Anyway, I've already read half the book yesterday; and one thing he mentioned under describing the "Rating Team" responsibility is Rule #2, which in part says, when requesting a copy of your files from the VA or sending them evidence, "submit it through your local congressional representative's office or your senator. Your request gets special handling considerations thus reducing the waiting time to obtain the records". From his perspective, it appears to help if for nothing else to ensure the VA stay on their p's & q's and not lose your paperwork since the people who authorizes their funding (congress) has an interest.

Chuck75, in your post, you stated: "I'm a firm believer in when they screw up, hold thier feet to the fire. On the other hand, if the VA has awarded you (in your opinion) a fair settlement, why rock the boat." I don't believe it to be rocking the boat to get your fair, earned rating from the VA if they intentionally excluded evidence that may result in a higher rating.

Got it; I'll keep mine too.

Pete, So the VA would not take action on what you sent them because you had a VSO/agent and did not get a response from the VSO/agent? I thought that if the Vet "took charge" of their claim and sent in information, that the VA would still process/move the claim along.

ok; I went and re-read your post; thought I missed that part. Anyway, great to hear it was on the C&P exam. I agree, some of the people at the VA health care facilities and the regional offices are good people who try to do the right thing by the Vets.

Yoggie, Wing is right. The VA Authority can be very imitidating, however, when one finds that they used that authority incorrectly and contrary to the intent and spirit of the law, then the VA must be challenged to make it right. As Mark Cuban says, "right is it's own defense", and in your case you are right and the VA is wrong.

Conecuh, if the VA gave you 10% for each arm and you didn't ask for it, that is great. Just curious how they came up with that since you didn't request it. I hope it doesn't impact anything else in the future in a negative way for you though.

UPS, Fedex, is the right answer. Sorry to hear you going through this with them, but hang in there. You inspired me with your patience; it will work out for your again.

Yoggie2, hang in there, my friend, and don't give up. From what you stated, the VA still owes you and they owe you big.

Caravan Dan, It saddens me to hear situations that Vets are in like this. I have sleep apnea also and know that you really need your power on to deal with it being worse. Don't give up no matter what. Jbasser gave some solid advice on getting your electric turned back on. I would also recommend that you get your county disabled Vet service to see if they can help by doing a letter explaining your hardship that you can send to the VA and the electric company to get them to turn your power back on and to expedite your claim processing. I hope all will work out for you and soon.

John, interesting point you make here. I would think that if they let us start seeing a private doc, that we would be able to pick and choose who we wanted though; just my thought.

LarryJ, if they recommend surgery and he refuses, what happens? Will the refusal affect any benefits?