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autumn
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Posts posted by autumn
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**if this topic should be moved elsewhere, just let me know moderator as i didn't know whey to put it
when we veterans have our claims sent in with (documentation, corroboration, history, med reports, imo, etc) why is this process so stressful? or let me say stressful to me"me". the whole process has actually increased some of my symptoms that i'm SC'd for. i'm sure many of you can relate to that. just a fact, no complaint.
i can't really put it into words or perspective, this stressor of filing claims with the VA. its not only mental & physical, its financial stress, i.e. some of us have to get outside imo due to no one at VA will document the real deal, medically speaking. like a truthful supportive counter argument to what VA writes.
i thought i would ask this for myself and any other newbie to the system in that it might help them & me understand (if anything at the VA is understandable regarding claims)
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"i don't understand that if Sec Shinseki is head of the VA why his procedures get "snafued"? who snafues them, VA or Congress?"
VA does it all by themselves.
Some procedures are always followed through-then some are sometimes and it is the 'sometimes' that leaves many claimants out in the cold.
I cold write a book on this subject however-
" does writing a Congress person help to get these procedures in place or is the varo types going to continue to be like a criminal org? " You can write a complaint or possibly submit written testimony to the H VAC committee- Subcommitee on Disability and Memorials. Watch their schedules for hearings on VA stuff like this.
It might not get anything done any better but it testifies to the mess the VA continually is in.
My biggest problem with VA is I think they employ illiterates or people who simply don't care enough about anything because they are just putting in time awaiting their federal retirement.
Reps are often the same. I read a BVA case today that was all messed up.
The rep had failed to do something he should have done. I am 99% sure I know the exact rep.
He retired the same year this claim began in.
i will write them and my congressman who supposedly is helping with why it is taking so long for secondary rating. the writing will help ease some anxiety within me and will be another brick to helping others (maybe)
i often see the illiterates as you do. and boy can they be adversarial. that is why i use the phrase "criminal org" loosely with some humor.
these reps you speak of, i know there are some good ones but really -- what can they do but send a few letters and then wait? VA won't even listen to Shenski, so what good is a rep unless they have inside people, which some do. in my case my rep is out of state cuz this states rep wasn't in my corner.
thanks
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I just have tried the new iris it is a flop ,and i am mad as hell ,why screw with somethig that works , hate the b-trds !!!!!!!!!!
rarely ever hated until i ran into the VA. the more my illness progressed the more the VA folks became adversarial especially regarding disability
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Autum
There are time limits the Veteran must meet, but the VA can take 10 or more years to decide your claim. There are no limits for the VA. If you think your claim is "stuck", that is, if it has been 18 months or more and your claim has not moved, you can file a "writ of mandamus" or you can try just sending an IRIS and asking the status.
While I agree with you that there should be a time limit, there are no time limits. If any of these congress critters had a backbone they would pass a law that required the VA to complete a Veterans claim in a reasonable period of time. The VA "milks" this to the max. When I filed my claim, one of the other Vets told me his claim was 5 years old. I did not believe him. Now, I know he was right.
i went to the iris.va.gov site then to ebenefits. i guess it is at phase #2 since 12/2010. for any correspondence with PVA it shows status #4 (closed)
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The Supreme Court overturned Henderson's CAVC denial.
There is discussion here and at the VAWatchdog link in the posts there:
It regarded equitable tolling at the CAVC level.
Sec Shinseki has continually tried to put new procedures in place to speed up the claims process. Unfortunately they are seem to get snafued.
All VA claimants MUST comply with VA deadlines.
If not they must show good cause and hope VA will accept their excuse.
Henderson complied with all VA deadlines except the NOA CAVC deadline.
i don't understand that if Sec Shinseki is head of the VA why his procedures get "snafued"? who snafues them, VA or Congress? does writing a Congress person help to get these procedures in place or is the varo types going to continue to be like a criminal org?
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Autum
There are time limits the Veteran must meet, but the VA can take 10 or more years to decide your claim. There are no limits for the VA. If you think your claim is "stuck", that is, if it has been 18 months or more and your claim has not moved, you can file a "writ of mandamus" or you can try just sending an IRIS and asking the status.
While I agree with you that there should be a time limit, there are no time limits. If any of these congress critters had a backbone they would pass a law that required the VA to complete a Veterans claim in a reasonable period of time. The VA "milks" this to the max. When I filed my claim, one of the other Vets told me his claim was 5 years old. I did not believe him. Now, I know he was right.
gee. i kinda thought this but was hoping it wasn't like that. no wonder it takes so long.
and in the big picture how much time does this really waste for all parties without time frames in place.
thx
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thanks for the reply. i see where i didn't even ask the question right. had it right in my mind. ;-)
what i was wondering is, can the raters take as long as eternity to rate something? like is there a process of quality assurance that claims get rated in some time frame or can they sit on them forever making any excuse they want as to why nothing has been rated.
i was thinking Mr Shinseki had put in place processes to get things moving along? i see now i was reading the wrong "120 day" article. my error. doesn't take long for the VA to "take" something away does it? ;-)
sorry for the confusion on my part, its a brain thing
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09-1036 Henderson v. Shinseki (03/01/2011)
is this an actual ruling that went into effect?
its close to a year now still waiting on VARO to rate MS secondary conditions.
hasn't done much good to prod PVA about this or a congressman's office. VARO here walks to their own drum so to speak.
anyways, could someone let me know if this 120-day thing is real or not.
tia
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utterly terrible for her family... although after dealing with the navy and VA, just standard procedure for the gov isn't it?
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thank goodness some vets like yourself were (are) able to sue and put the brakes on some of these people. too bad vets can't keep a "check & balance" on VA doctors like this. not to be vindictive but most on hadit.com have been blindsided by downright absolute medical care/reporting just to ensure no rightful disability -- in civilian world that gets close to malpractice IMHO.
honestly, i'm glad Berta educated us(me) regarding this. i didn't realize Congress/fed pays these reps at these service orgs -- did i understand that correctly?
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John is right. There is that "gotcha" clause that when you submit "new and material evidence" the earliest effective date is the date you get is the date you submitted the new evidence. Interestingly, and most informative, is that when this evidence you submit is "Service Medical Records", then the effective date goes back to when you applied, not when you submitted evidence. This alone can be worth big bucks. For more information read 38 CFR 3.156 a and 38 CFR 3.156 c:
http://cfr.vlex.com/...idence-19776250
I also agree there is a certain amount of "luck of the draw". However,some of those "poker players" seem to win much more than others. I think that "luck" tends to favor the well prepared, well informed, and well disciplined. I think that is, in part, why hadit members "get lucky" on their claims more often than others.
been a great source in keeping my disciplined when i act, though i complain on here a bit. the education here helps one to have a bit more patience than when fighting in the dark with little vision.
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One thing that gets me is say you have a claim on appeal for five years. You submit more evidence in year number five after getting another denial and ask for reconsideration. Now the VA grants your claim, but gives you the date they received the new evidence. What about the five years it was on appeal? This happened to me.
i'm not qualified to answer but hope carlie or berta chimes in on an answer. i'd be interested in that
good luck with the five years back pay.
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I am going through an appeal for an earlier effective date right now. They are just as complicated, if not more so, than an original claim. Let me just give you ONE example: Did you know there is a "3 part test" to see if a visit to your doc is an Informal claim to establish the effective date
To be a claim, it has to meet all threee of these criteria:
1. It has to be in writing. There is pretty much no compromise on this.
2. It has to "show intent" to apply for benefits. It is not enough that you go to the doc and talk to him about your arthritis you think was caused by an old service wound. You see, the VA will say, "Ok...well he sought treatment for arthritis, this is different than asking for benefits for arthritis". You have to "show intent" to apply for a benefit.
3. And, you have to meet the defination that "specifies the benefit sought". This can be complicated. You are supposed to be able to "point to a body part and say, I want to apply for the knee?" Question is, which knee? does this include the thigh? What if the other knee compensates and hurts too? What if its a muscle problem that spreads to other areas of the body, or even moves?
Next, when filing for an eed, you have to worry about previous decisions. Were they timely appealed? If not did you forfeit your EED by not appealing? Did you "continiously prosecute" your claim, or did you abandon it.? What issues did your NOD encompass?
EED's are one of the most complex parts of VA law, and they take years.
not a pretty picture to say the least. i think i'll ask my rep about all this and see where his head is at with this.
since the navy and va kept telling me i didn't have ms all through the years, i didn't appeal for "ms" or "ms related issues" when i was discharged. i appealed for a higher percentage a few months after discharge and won that for my back issue. all appeals for the spine issues (increase and to correct diagnostic codes) were are denied through the years. twice with pva representation.
that is some fairly complicated confusing items you mention. though i certainly didn't expect the va to allow a fair up hill climb.
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Get the EED if you can do it since the VA owes it to you and your VSO thinks they owe it to you. It is often best to get a rating and then go back and file a CUE or for EED. Getting the rating is the main thing.
agreed,
cheers
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I believe he will have to file an appeal when you get rated if you want an EED. Why was the request for the earliest effective date not included in the claim? What are you basing the request for an EED on in this claim that is about to be rated for a different ED?
i don't know why that request wasn't included. i suspect, he wants to get all the ms medical related rateable issues listed/granted first.
i think, due to va sc'd the ms last year. that date goes back further than the date i filed the original claim for ms on. medical evidence proved the ms sc at during active duty. so i think he wants to claim earlier date -- which makes sense.
claims were filed way back then though not for ms (seems everyone swept that aspect under the carpet all these years). so maybe he thinks ED is the way to go versus CUE ? hard to say. i can't seem to keep all this straight in my head. hadit always returns calls! ;-)
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not sure if this is the correct forum for this question...
NSO is going to try for EED once the ms secondary issues get rated. is this a fairly long process like an appeals thing?
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an update. i think i posted this somewhere else on hadit but can't recall where.
after contacting my congressman's office and they contacting the VA, a new set of C&P's were ordered for MS secondary/residual ratable issues.
i had mentioned the "seemingly fake" C&P from Jan 2011 to PVA rep a few times and never was anything done about it except told to wait and we'll see if the VA does the right thing.
the VA couldn't rate anything via that first C&P. he used no form or anything, just talked and wrote a general summary on two pages.
the VA canceled the cog/memory exam. i told that to PVA too, and they have done nothing about it. VA said phone person said i didn't need one. Congressman's office is trying to get a reason for canceling that.
note: i contacted patient advocate about issues i've had with local VA neuro office. first advocate said she put an entry in the computer system about it and sent the list to Chief of Staff. a month later i contact PA office for follow up. temp PA says no record of entry in system and no paperwork. i faxed it again to her, she received it, said she put it in the system my issues and that we have talked. its july 2011, and PA hasn't returned calls.
note: VA neuro doc wrote in notes he didn't have a copy of IMO of a certain MRI (i've taken it to records like 3 times to have it scanned). so i walked the docs into the office. the front desk lady said she would put it on doctor's desk. three months later, no one knows where the docs are. doctor says he never saw them. office says they didn't get them or sent to records. records says they don't have a record of them being sent over. just another day at this VA.
so, in the typical VA holding pattern.
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In regards to this post/thread, if I were the OP - I would not submit any additional
claims at this time - whether it's for secondary conditions or whatever.
Besides that - claims as secondary conditions are not even ripe for any consideration prior to
a primary SC that the secondary is a result of.
IMO - everyone puts way too much work into getting EED's - most members say file the claim now
to establish your effective date.
JMHO
regarding my post, RO did SC the MS in 2010. it is the secondary MS things that are getting listed and adjudicated for their specific diagnostic codes & ratings
yes, i guess in "my mind" the EED for the cervical issues has been on my mind & when the SC that, i hope to get better medical attention for it.
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IMO - No - you will not have a second c-file.
You might wind up with another volume - but no - not a second c-file.
The only instances I know of having a second c-file is if your c-file has been transferred to
the jurisdiction of a higher level such as BVA or COVA, as an appeal.
In this case your VAMC would have copies of some of your c-file, but it will pretty much
be bare bones as a temporary file.
Anything you submit now that is not relevant to your issue/s for MS - is going to throw the breaks
on whatever they are currently adjudicating.
I would sit back and let whatever you have in progress resolve prior to filing any additional claim issues.
JMHO
my gut tells me you are right, my head spins too much about the other claim. more than likely due to my neck/cervical gives me issues that keeps it on my mind.
thx
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Unfortunately, there are times where the RO will deny a claim and force the claim to go to the BVA to be granted. Evidence will win yes but the RO should do what they are paid to do instead of letting the veteran suffer and go through hell just to get his or her benefits.
i think they did this with the "fake/poor" c&p's that wasted 6-7 months.
this article is ole , but it states what we all know who have been through the "force the claim into a black hole.."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_robert_a_070324_why_veterans_are_wai.htm
totally agree, it is bizarre. and there is not end insight. no one has been able to fix it
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5110. Effective dates of awards
(a)Unless specifically provided otherwise in this chapter, the effective date of an award based on an original claim, a claim reopened after final adjudication, or a claim for increase, of compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or pension, shall be fixed in accordance with the facts found, but shall not be earlier than the date of receipt of application therefor.
(b)(1)The effective date of an award of disability compensation to a veteran shall be the day following the date of the veteran's discharge or release if application therefor is received within one year from such date of discharge or release.
(2)The effective date of an award of increased compensation shall be the earliest date as of which it is ascertainable that an increase in disability had occurred, if application is received within one year from such date.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode38/usc_sec_38_00005110----000-.html
Medical Treatment Records can get you the earliest date possible.
can't say for sure. i tend to think we (pva & i) have docs to show this unquestionably. as we know the VA will do everything to disallow this, as Carlie says, i'm walking through fire to get there. and this state RO is quite adversarial IMHO.
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Autum
The "effective date" means the date you start getting paid for your disability. As Pete pointed out, it is the date you apply or the date the doc says you got the disease. But you wont get an effective date earlier than what you applied, UNLESS you apply within a year of getting out of the military. In other words you get "a free year" to apply for benefits out of the military, and have the date go back to when you exited the service.
The "effective date" is important because it determines your retro check. The earlier the date, the more retro. You see, the problem is that it takes so long for the VA to process claims...sometimes it is 10 years or more before they get your paperwork done and you get your money.
And, the VA does not always get the effective date right. If you like the award, but think you applied earlier, then you can appeal the effective date, which is what I have done. The RO says I get a 2007 effective date and I say...no...I applied in 2002, not 2007..and you (the RO) shredded my claim, then said I did not apply until 2007.
Many Vets are so happy to get their award, they do not appeal the effective date, even if it is wrong. The VA knows this, and takes full advantage.
i think i applied the first year. voc rehab started about a year after that. somewhere in that period i went from 20 to 30% for my back issues. though they now concur the ms showed up after a spinal infection while on active duty.
i'm sure pva knows about this rule/law
a b!@#h about your dates. i'm not surprized though. they did the same with the ms claim. i'm sure you have copy of that shredded claim.
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'Autum', I hope you had a chance to read this topic from brocovet.
broncovet, on 24 June 2011 - 05:39 PM, said:
no, i had not seen that. will read it today for sure
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Autumn...
I think I can also answer your question: Yes, applying for benefit "B" while you are appealing "Issue A" will likely delay your application for benefit "B". Most of the time they wont be able to develop benefit "B" because your C file will be at the BVA.
An exception to this, that I recall reading, is for dependents. In other words, if your wife had a baby, you can tell the BVA about the new dependent, and they may go ahead and compensate you the additional for your new dependent even tho your c file is at the BVA.
That being said, you dont want to delay filing for benefit B because your appeal is at the BVA. Your claim wont be processed any faster by delaying filing for "B", it will only "hurt" you on the effective date, since your effective date will never be any earlier than the date you apply. Dont "hurt" your effective date by waiting to file for benefit "B" until your claim gets out of the BVA. File now...even tho it will "sit" until your appeal gets done, you will get an earlier date for filing earlier.
nothing is at BVA now, only at RO.
it is THAT, the effective date, that my brain keeps getting stumped on. so it takes them a year or so to get going on the cervical claim, at least the DATE would be in. i wouldn't think it would interfere that much with the MS secondary stuff RO is trying to decide how to distribute those disabilities.
Why Is This Process So Stressful?
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
i think of that often, that is, before the internet. i never had one claim approved before the internet. the internet, researching ms and stuff, emailing other veterans with such issues, and hadit.com, i don't think i would still be here. so very thankful for such help.