akwidow

In the process of making my claim, I have asked for in country Viet Nam service medical records for my late husband. I started with St Louis. Many times in fact, from every stage of my case which has been 1st denied, denied at BVA, appealed to COA, then remanded for readjudication and it is now at AMC. I have asked at every stage and VA has not produced. They have sent everything around the in-country records but not those for the time he spent in country in 1968, where he was overcome with CS and treated, then for treatment of the shrapnel wounds he received there. Today I formally charged them with spoilation. Have any of you out there been able to get these records from any other entity? I could sure use some ideas... Thanks, and hope this topic helps more than me - Akwidow

okay, that answers my question. There was no open claim at the time of my vets death. All of his previous claims had been denied with no further action on his part, even though they had merit. That makes my application for DIC the only legal claim I can make, correct?

After reading and absorbing more data in the rules and regs data about reopening an old claim, I now know I need to file a form to reopen an old claim for asthma sc. Which form do I use? I have looked at VA site, and it is as clear as mud. I also feel that since they have not sent me the form to file, and it has almost been one year, that they are banking on me not getting the form submitted in a timely manner. Which form do I use?

I showed the doctors all the other medical records. The psychologist treated him. The medical doctors treated him. They saw him in person, that is how they were able to make their assessments. The letter from Viet Nam was what gave me the service connection for asthma which became intertwined with ptsd. On the other post - all I have received is the COA remand notice. It informed me of the remand and of the additional issues I brought up showing increased service connection for ptsd and for the asthma, which had been denied in 2000. They did not inform me that I had to file any more anything. I just went back over the remand letter that came to me April 2008. It said that RO should send me another VCAA letter about the HUPP case. Secondly, RO should readjudicate the claim for SC as contributory cause of death, and finally for readjudicvation for hearing loss. I received a short note later in April 2008 saying that the file was back in ROAOJ. I think nobody has worked this yet at the RO/AMC, or else they would have sent me the new HUPP letter.

No I have not formally reopened the cases. At the time of the writing in Dec 2007 I did not know that by saying they should have been granted along with providing "dot by connected dot" proof as to why they should have been granted "didn't count". They had almost all the information sitting in their files. I supplied IMOs from two md's and a phd psychologist. I gave them a letter written by my vet in country in the jungle telling of a near death experience, written to a college friend in 1968. I'm no lawyer, just a widow treading water and learning how to swim with sharks. I have not ever had his in country med records....they ignore my requests or send me the wrong data. I can only assume that the near death experience is documented in those records and they don't want me to have them. I now sit in a position where after reading here lots of information, I see that if I in fact do that reopen the claims, I will be muddying the waters by re-opening old issues, and extending the time it will take on the original claim. It would be an easy move to make the formal open...since they already have the proof...what would you do?

How do I go about asking to view my late husband's C File? As survivor, I am allowed, right? Since my case is at AMC, wouldn't the C File be there also? I am going to Anchorage next week, and will have an opportunity to make this request in person. I do not, However, want to make this request and have the request delay the progress of my claim processing. Catch 22.... I was told that since I still have the ability to add additional data to my claim, that I should. I have exhausted all other avenues, but I bet there is something in that C file that would help my cause. Thanks for your advice, Akwidow

It seems that now that I have discovered hadit I make it a habit of perusing all new information, and try to absorbe old posts as well. Thank you Berta for starting a post here for my benefit and for those also in my situation. In my remand statement from Court of appeals on part says: http://www.va.gov/vetapp08/files2/0811271.txt The appellant's December 2007 correspondence further raises the issues of entitlement to service connection for asthma, and a higher rating for service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both presumably for accrued benefits purposes. These claims, however, are not currently before the Board. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.200 (2007). Whereas these claims have not been adjudicated by the RO in the first instance, to include the question of whether they were timely filed pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.1000© (2007), they are referred to the RO for appropriate development and consideration. My late husband applied for service connection for asthma in 2000 or so. Where they say” ... Whereas these claims have not been adjudicated by the RO in the first instance,... “ isn’t that a contradictory statement since he applied for service connection in the past and was denied? I gave VA a dot by dot documented calendar of his catastrophic treatment of asthma that included VA and private medical records that spanned 30 + years. Most of these records were contained in VA files. Wouldn’t this constitute CUE, and my addressing that issue be a CUE request? Since my husband had ptsd since VN, and since he filed for ptsd disability three other times in the past and was denied, is my case filed March 2004 just after his death a sign that a CUE is in order for ptsd as well? Thanks for your time, Akwidow

Yes, I read your advice and have taken it to heart. I understand your doubts about my case, and I also realize that you are not in receipt of my documentation. My service rep thinks I have a very strong case...but what do they know? My meager representation of the case in 2004 when I was grief stricken and unable to flesh out the details was nevertheless picked up by lawyers for my service rep and carried to USVCA where it received the remand. In my thinking, there must be some merit to it, or there would be no more case. I feel as you do, that action is better than no action, and like the good book says, "ask not and ye shall not receive". Cheers, and carry on in your battle as I will mine. I support you 100%.

Berta, do I understand you to say that your case left AMC denied and went to Seattle RO for appeal? On another note that may be helpful - I had made a pdf file of all of my evidence when I was remanded and allowed to submit more pertinent data. It included my 15 page brief and 155 pages of supporting documentation. When I learned of Shreddergate, I was easily able to pop a copy of all the data in the mail by cd and resend with return receipt in Dec 2008. I think your fast response was due to your diligence and reputation! Even though they did you dirty, you never give up, and that is a trait to respect. Can you get the Adobe program (Adobe Acrobat Standard) to make your own copies of all the paper you have to file? You send a thin CD and they have to print their own. It is labor saving and an excellent record documentation method. it also makes the documents unchangable. I keep a copy of the file on my records hard drive with a couple back-up copies in the cd library I keep here at the ranch. PFD's are also easy to send via email...that is how I copied the data to my service rep. BTW - I ws told last week by VA on the 800-827-1000 line that the AMC number 866-258-0341 does not ring into AMC anymore, that it rolls over to 800-827-1000. Operators there answer and the last one I heard did not have access to either portal that gives them much information to tell about your case. I then wrote to my service rep with inquiries as to status, and his email came back as no longer existing. Then I wrote the same email to the head honcho service rep in DC, who contacted my local service rep wherupon the local one called me. The local one called me the next day with information after he had talked to the Service Rep "inside" the AMC. Based on the reports of folks in this thread, it looks like there is a wide disparity to the length of time a file rests at AMC before a finding is made. Does more squeeking get more grease? I know how to make noise. Is silence golden?I know how to be patient. In a few days my one and only case will be five years old. I slam dunked them December 2007 after my remand with dot connecting information proving stressors using their own information and a little I dug up on my own. I even gave them a itemized timeline with corresponding numerically listed information. Because of their remand statement they handed me the next SC malady, and thanks to you Berta I know what that is.

What do you mean by "what you have read"? Hopefully for both of us, my first scenario is correct.

I am sorry I was not more clear. I filed the initial DIC case in March 2004. After two denials it was picked up by my service rep and presented to the USCVA. It was then remanded and sent to AOJ by my choice, which landed it at AMC in April 2008. When I asked for timeline clarity from my service rep about the age of the cases, he led me to believe he was talking about the actual filing of the beginning of the case, not how long it had been AT AMC. I hope I am right, because if he was talking about when the cases did in fact arrive at AMC, I have a long row to how before I hear anything. Akwidow

My service rep called me today and informed me that his man on the inside told him that AMC had recently cleared out the "old cases" 2003 and earlier, and were working on 2004 cases. Since my case is a March 2004 case, my eyebrows went up a bit, but I thought I would check here on the board and see if there were folks out there that had a pending case filed earlier than mine that was at AMC who have yet to hear any word in writing about their appeal. I want to corroborate that information with you and yours. Something tells me I can believe you more than them. Thanks again for the honor of belonging to this great group of people helping people, akwidow

I'm new here, but I can still see that this is a great win! My congratulations to you for not giving up and for educating yourself on how to fight. I have been reading all over the place in this .com, and have great respect for all who ask for help and all who give help. Keep on keeping on, fighter! akwidow