autumn

Carlie, when have i ever made sense? ;-) all i was trying to ask was, is along with adding the documentation folder i have, plus the IMO that addresses CUE, what form, if any do i need and generally what one would write on that form. i think you provided what i need to get started and make some rough drafts.

Seeking help in what to write to send in claim for CUE/EED due to "inferred claim". i meet these numbered items from the list in link below: #4. Informal/Inferred Claims can lead to an EED. #7. When Vet applies within a year of discharge. :filed the month i was discharged #8. Clear, Unmistakable Error can lead to an EED. :have IMO detailing this #3.157 visit to the clinic can establish the claim effective date :true for me, plus i have C&P from that pereiod stating "severe chronic disese..." that VARO ignored. :evidence from mil med records VARO ignored :errors from navy PEB ignoring medical evidence I don't get a response from VSO when i presented this to them so i figure i'll need to file myself. I don't know what form, and what to write or not write when submitting claim for CUE substantiated by at least the above items i listed. looking for advice on this...

i left due to i was getting a bit more ill & frustrated and VA kept telling me nothing was wrong but "stress" related so i moved to a "different weather climate", i had an opportunity to purchase a house here too. it was time to leave, but i didn't actually know at the time it was MS that was giving me a hard time back then.

appreciate the reply. guess i'll wait till VSO gets back in office.

i'll take the other documentation (non-VA IME for psych, etc) was odd they requested *not* to bring any, they would have what they needed from VA. we've all been burned by that before. its ok to take a list of issues for me to bring up, yes? i get distracted/off-track very easy due to my ms, etc tia

do you advise to take any personal non-VA IME's or wait and send it in to VARO after this exam?

VSO sent me TCIU forms and one of them is a 21-4192. i quit working in 2007-2008. was awarded 100% by SSD hearing that went back to 2008. i don't see any reason to contact a prior employer whom i haven't worked for in close to 5 years. my SSD hearing award shows all this. do i really have to send this form to my last employer whom i haven't worked for in those many years?

i take it one should get irritated and if taken to a dark place in the mind, crying is ok, or not?

when they wrote and mentioned not to bring any medical docs, they were only going to view what VA sent them, i knew i was in a sham exam. which is why i posted here. it doesn't take much to hit the wrong button(s) with me regarding all this. the va lied for 24years about ms, and i think about that 20 times as much the closer i get to any VA or related VA facility. i'm surprized no one else mentioned the wolf in sheeps clothes. its always been that way with the VA and me.

exactly, you got it. beats me, i've never heard of them before until yesterdsya whn i got the letter. thats it, i just answer some questions? and my VA psych couldn't ask those questions? am i a fish in a tank of water and this doc gets to shoot at me? is it like that? i have has a few C&P exam sin the last few years where the RO didn't send docs/records to the examiner, so i'm a little puzzled by what exactly this is .

its a good thought, and appreciate your reply. it isn't difficult to see the "why's" they quit,retire, or got fired or this. its a national company that has centers about the CONUS, from veterans to federal employees dealing with disablity compensation. news to me, just saw that today.

VA has scheduled a C&P from an outside VA facility contracted by VA. This is for major depression. the letter from this outside VA facility states i shouldn't bring any medical documents with me as they will only review records sent to them by VA. the letter also states their goal to "evaluate" the claimed conditions that have been requested by the VA. their examiner is "following strict instructions from the VA" this is regarding major depression rating associated with MS. note: i've been service connected for major depression for 24+ years. a.) the navy listed it as secondary to chronic pain 24 years ago. b.) the VA changed it to other weird labels over the years just after mil discharge, now its back to major depression, secondary to MS i'm surprized they contracted outside for this exam. i.e., they didn't do so for the other upcoming neck/lumbar C&P exam. are these outside contractors sham-exams? what are my rights regarding these things? tia

its a rigged system then and there is something seriously wrong with this picture. i really hope veterans call a national strike day to bring awareness to it. i'm sure the VA legal dept is laughing at all us veterans fighting this system according to their rules. i'm not putting my head in the sand. it is what it is, its corrupt. even a circuit court deemed it as such though it got that decision appealed.

this sounds more like "check" or maybe even "check mate".

as you can read on this thread, seems its getting more and more that way. i'm not far behind on that myself. good luck and get all the info you can.

To add to that- the "motivation " factor is highly important. >>I have seen that lacking in many claimants over the years who believe somehow a vet rep or lawyer can overcome their lack of evidence but they are not motivated enough to find it themselves. i've heard this same from SO reps and seen it myself. folders tossed onto SO's desks with veteran wanting a magical outcome from basically dust. not all veterans. but i know for experience if there is something in the records the veteran better dig it out and show it because no NSO that has worked on my cases looked at it or looked for it. again,, its up to the veteran. i will add, back in 80's when i first started this VA journey i didn't know what to do with my records or anything. i took at face value what SO was telling me and took as gospel what outcomes the VARO sent my way. boy did i have it wrong. i didn't realize i could get a civilian doctor to counter the VA until like 5 years ago. i was really *ignorant* of VA stuff. well, the light didn't go off until a civilian doctor told me i had brain lesions and i had MS. *bingo*, exactly what the VA and Navy said i *didn't* have years ago. so the motivation you speak about really didn't set my arse on fire until then. i was like a wounded dog getting kicked about by VA and PVA and taking it cuz i didn't know what was wrong. so, yes, individual motivation is huge regarding us all and VA. >>Part of my motivation to succeed was to prove how deficient they were. ... no question, and that motivation is in my blood now too >A denial letter holds the keys to the eventual award if the medical evidence warrants it. i have a few of those that over time now holds quite a large key. just depends on how my IMO doctor can word it correctly. good thing i had those old boxes of old docs. the VARO still hasn't sent me copies of old claims decisions that i requested, go figure. i found copies anyways in that old box. >In the late 1980s I was on Prodigy BBS and we had a former BVA lawyer ,Bill Smith, on the board with us.In those days IMOs were really hardly ever discussed. And many vets won claims without them. i forgot about Prodigy. indeed, no one that i recall back in late 80's mentioned i should get a IMO. though the Navy did say i should get more spinal taps from VA once discharged. took VA 23 years to do that. Bill Smith i'm sure gave out a lot of good advice. > Evidence is skimmed over too fast or,worse yet lost, or ignored. the recent bread crumbs they tossed clearly ignored quite a few evidenced medical conditions and these are ones VA diagnosed! >Denial rationales are usually to the point. glad you mentioned this. i'll bring it up with the IMO doctor to ensure it gets included.

you're right about the homeless veterans and such. i forgot that (shame on me). so many of them it is sad. another reason among many i hate the VA system, its rigged to where you almost have to get an attorney to win. what was granted by Congress, now 25% goes to some legal eagle. and the ones i called only discuss sure bets. its a corrupt system. appreciate the link. that will help me decide.

gettting close to dumping them all, really. i've done way more work than any of these NSO's and the one attorney. i did notice that with the one attorney my SC for MS took about a year whereas with PVA things were at a standstill for 2+ years and the claim still isn't complete. thats why im convinced the VA can tell PVA what to do, though they wont admit that. serious conflict of interests

exactly what i've finding/going through. i just can't commit to an attorney yet. one, i don't know who is really good, and two, i've done way too much work and spent way much to get this far and to give away 25%, well, i'm not there yet. appreciate the insight

who is the less owned by VA? regarding my claims for MS and MS secondary issues and spinal injury and related issues, there's no question the VA is doing as little as possible and tossing me bread crumbs and dog bones hoping this will go away. i'm on my 3rd PVA NSO in as many years regarding all this. and of course he says the same as all the others, like he's "going to do all this super work that should have been done years ago" there is no question in my mind the VA can and does tell the PVA NSO's "what day it is" regarding some claims. what experiences have some of had with getting fed up with your NSO service and jumping ship to another SO? how negatively does that effect a claim?

>>And you expected something different from the VA. no not at all, its just another research bit that supports why so many veterans have complaints at the VA system. i only posted it for that reason >>Remember that they have a history of interpreting the laws in ways that tend to not be veteran "frendly". At various times, Congress has "clarified" the laws by trying to modify some of the more onerous VA practices. Usually just enough to reduce the complaints to a level that allows them to fall off the news media's radar. exactly, and that just adds more credence to why veterans should "go on strike" or whatever they call it these days because nothing changes there and its only getting worse. sure they build some new buildings, etc. but the internal core of VA practice is rotten to the core. i see no other way to bring it to light in this country but to "occupy ?" or go on some strike example. if anyone can show me some action other than those that has truly gotten positive changes made for the veteran just so me >>Currently, things are a lot different, thanks to large numbers of newer veterans that are more internet savvy, better educated, and more likely to take on dealing with the VA. i'm one of them that would still be wallowing in my own ms symptoms thinking (I) had done something wrong or there was some mental problem with me. this site and the internet helped me greatly to see what was happening. that and 4-5 years worth of going through old mil and va records. >>Unfortunately, those veterans in the most need and least able to deal with the VA still have many road blocks to surmount. another reason i posted this the link. we can point a veteran in the right direction when we are put in a position of chance meetings with people and they are in need

hmm, maybe a veteran petition to congress to get this changed is in order? having attorney's for veterans VA claims that only write a few letters to VA that the veteran could write just as well ... doesn't make sense to me they get the auto percentage. the legal folks in congressional seats set this up this way. again, congressional laws made that have too many loop holes. if the attorneys actually "fight" for the veteran then i see the auto payment to them as a good thing. i just don't see where they actually fight and earn that guaranteed percentage in many instances. IMHO

http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/alr/vol63/iss3/5/ A bit of educational research for those interested. i thought it interesting and the last sentence grabbed me. [last sentence from the article] "This policy has troubling consequences: by protecting only the fee agreements of veterans not in debt to the government beyond their claims’ values, VA in fact ensures that some of the neediest veterans cannot retain legal representation."

i need to update this in case anyone new reads this and before i go take a nap and forget. i'm really fatigued & stressed. Dr Bash and his colleague did get back to me in a quick manner and took care of business in a professional way. my own head's time frame sometimes isn't understanding of other's, though it's good to send a smoke signal so those working on your behalf don't loose you n the volume of work. he has always come through and been precise with my medical records and puts the correct contrast to the VA's version to put things balanced. at least for me that is the case. and thats what veterans need with regard to some of the non-sense the VA writes to undermine the veteran. and how many veterans deserving of their benefits don't get it due to not knowing ... ?

as some of you know, i have ms and was service connected for it at lowest rating. (standard va procedure). got the typical letter at time we acknowledge ms and service connect, blah blah, and we consider the matter closed. VA regulations update in 2005 states something like, all of the conditions related to Multiple Sclerosis must be addressed by the Regional Office. i & pva pushed to get the first exam. a joke and sham exam that did nothing. got a congressman's office to help get a second legit exam. that was over a year ago. now i hear VARO wants to schedule more exams saying its to benefit the veteran. frankly i'm tired of all these exams. i'll do em, sure. but VARO knew they were supposed to do the correct ms secondary exams by their own regulations. let me aks, how many of these exams can they put one through and keep holding up ratings for ms secondary issues? maybe others here with ms have the same gripe?