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judy1

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  1. Perhaps my reply was also taken in an erroneous light. I did not post here (I am realtively new to hadit and it seems the prior post might have been directed my way) to bash Dr. Bash. I was trying to make a point to all who might choose to hire him to just be sure you understand what you are paying for and that you pay accordingly that which you are comfortable with and also expecting nothing in return (refund) should you choose to accept his suggestion that you "pre pay" for an opinion that you "might" need later... in other words, pay as you go. I will be more careful in the way that I express myself in the future. Were it not for Berta and others on hadit, my claim would be non existent and I am most thankful to those who give of their knowledge, time and ability on here to help others with less knowledge of the system. Many are deserving of what VA owes them and will never receive it. I pray that I won't be one of them. Time will tell. I apologize to anyone whom I may have offended. Judy
  2. "I checked back on the older posts you had made-this IS a re-opened claim for DIC- Also it appears Dr. Bash saw 1151 potential and the rep had re-opened under Sec 1151 as well I believe- and both saw potential of CUE regarding a way to get DIC under 1310 and you mentioned you were making Dr. Bash aware of my posts to you on the claim on OCt 2007." YES, this is correct/ "I have no idea if you or the former rep pursued the 1151 potential or the CUE claim." NO, both the DSO and Dr. Bash said to wait on the 1151 as our initial and primary goal was to go for DIC and we had/have a very strong case. "It is not unusual not to hear from a SO or rep.I think you just have to wait for the VA to contact you after they consider the IMO." "I dont understand why they are saying you have "re-opened" the claim.As long as you responded to any of their letters and filed the NOD within one year after last denial-that doesnt make sense to me." The problem and my question here is this: From October 2007 this IS indeed a "reopened claim"; however..... in my March 2008 SSOC and subsequent denial by VARO, they did not even acknowledge the Bash IMO...they said they received "no new and material evidence to reconsider this DIC claim".... so now.... it "appears" to me that they CLOSED this claim (I say that because the NOD I sent went unacknowledged and when I IRIS'd them to see if they HAD the IMO and failed to mention/consider it, they said "we have no record of this pending claim"!!! My next IRIS they denied ever having received the IMO or ANYTHING from the AL DSO either. Now, they say in the form letter I received September 11, 2008 "We are in receipt of your claim for DIC and there is no need to contact us ...blah blah blah" the standard form letter one receives when opening or reopening a claim. Also my newest IRIS says "we have your MO and it has been incorporated into your file and is now a part of your claim".... I really don't see where they acknowedged my NOD which requested a "reconsideration under normal conditions".... I simply don't know where the heck we are right now (in the process/procedure of things I mean). This just becomes more convoluted with each move. "Is your IMO fully supportive of your claim?" Absolutely it is! "Are there any weak spots or landmines to the claim that the VA could use against you?" Not that I as layman can find; Bash even quoted blood pressure on certain dates, triglyceride counts on specific dates, meds used which elevated those, he quoted right from the vet's med recs for the most part. "Were there any gray areas in your IMO that might be explained at this point with more evidence?" I guess that remains to be seen but I don't recall any. I suppose I should dig into the IMO and think deeply on all my med recs to see if I should perhaps send them anything I have. Wouldn't this further delay the case? I am truly confused as to where I stand. Judy
  3. It is not the knowledge, education or ability to opine that Dr. Bash posesses which bothered me and prompted my contribution to this thread. It is not the fact that he has helped many vets/widows win their cases, nor certainly the fact that he himself is a vet, diabled. It is his way of dealing with the widow/vet financially that I wish to mention and to which I object strongly. He wants to be paid up front (I have no problem with this) BUT when he quotes a cut rate for two "if you pay now" and then absolutely will not communicate with you regarding the fact that you paid for "two" letters and only need/want "one"..... That I have a problem with, yessir I do. Made me feel like "shame on me for believing him" .... when we spoke on the phone it was HE who said "lets wait up a while on the letter for the 1151; you might not need that one in your case"... oh great I thought, then he will refund THAT portion of my money. Just FYI, I didn't HAVE the funds to buy his expensive IMO but cashed in a portion of my own life insurance to do so. Yes, I think I have a right to be angry with him whether I win my DIC or whether I don't. That is not a morally upright and professional way to deal with a vet/widow and his or her money. Again I say, I don't know my claim's outcome yet but I just hope the price of the letter (the cost of two according to him) was worth it in the end. Thanks for hearing me out. And Berta, I for one certainly do not object to your relating to Dr. Bash ANYTHING that appears on this public forum, at least from me. Judy
  4. By the way; I still have not had one word of communication from this sorry DSO; American Legion Houston RO. Every correspondence I receive from VARO says "CC: name of this DSO--AL" and not a word from him to me!!! This is a travesty; I have no one representing me it seems....guess I'm on my own. Judy
  5. Berta and others, FINALLY yesteday I received another email (after I "added" to my Iris of two weeks prior--telling them that they did NOT answer my question regarding receipt of the IMO) this one finally acknowledges "we have received your Medical Opinion and it has been integrated into your claim file".... WHEW! You mean at last they actually ADMIT having the IMO? WOW. It does however appear that they are considering this a "new reopened" claim (even though I filed a NOD on the most recent Denial!) and that garbage I don't understand at all. I filed the NOD; sent the IMO and the NOD requested "reconsideration under normal conditions" and they APPEAR to be ignoring that fact completely. I don't honestly know if they will now be "reconsidering" or if I must wait another year because they are treating it as "new and material evidence" and a "newly reopened" claim ...??... heck if I know. Do they even know? I did not yet send any of this to BVA; should I? thanks, Judy
  6. Congratulations Ron! God bless you for hanging in there and fighting to the victory over them. I pray (as others do) that one day I can too can say "I won"....my widows DIC is now 18 years in the battle. So happy for you, such great news. Judy
  7. I feel compelled to add my two cents worth here. Dr. Bash was highly recommended to me via this forum/group and I spoke to him about my DIC reopened claim and the POSSIBILITY of an 1151 if DIC was not awarded (all concerned felt that I had an either/or case; strong case). Dr. Bash quoted me a fee (which I could not afford) and I negotiated it down as others have said they did. Bash told me that IF I paid "up front" for BOTH IMO's (one written FOR DIC and one written FOR 1151) he would do them for $1,500 each or total of $3,000 (pay ALL now) and I did so. I later decided that I would NOT need (or qualify) to file the 1151 so I emailed him explaining the situation and requested that he return the payment for the second opinion (that he would NOT be writing). You guessed it... despite numerous phone calls (unanswered) and tons of emails I sent him (ALL unanswered) he will not communicate with me NOR has he returned one red cent. Am I angry at him? Yep, sure am. I had a very high opinion of Dr. Bash going in and I must say I have a much lower opinion of him now. I just hope when the dust settles that my $3,000 five page letter was worth it. That remains to be seen. Judy
  8. I have never been so frustrated in my entire life. Does this mean that they are STILL considering this claim "not pending" as they indicated earlier? I did respond with NOD and TIMELY.... I'm extremely discouraged right now. I received a reply to my latest IRIS and here is what the VA said: Discussion Thread Response (Department of Veterans Affairs)08/21/2008 12:32 PM Dear Ms. B: We are sending your request to have your claim reopened to the proper department for this request. We are asking them to look for the Independent Medical Opinion you sent in. We are asking them to let you know if they cannot find this medical opinion. Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message. If at some future time we can help you on a different subject, you may submit a new inquiry at https://iris.va.gov, call us toll free at 1-800-827-1000, or visit our web site at www.va.gov. Sincerely, T CLARK Chief, Veteran Service Center 1218 cc: AL ***This was my IRIS, as follows:*** Veteran/Inquirer08/14/2008 09:17 PM I am inquiring to find out if VARO Houston has received the Independent Medical Opinion (which they claimed to not previously ad in their possession although sent multiple times) AND also, If VARO is acknowledging my request for "reconsideration under normal procedure" in this claim. Thank you, (sig)
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