Vync

I agree with Bravo6 100%. If it's documented in your service records that you were busted for smoking pot or boozing while driving, you can't do anything about it. There is a big difference between sipping the communion wine, a single glass of fine wine with a gourmet dinner, in comparison to over indulging. Additionally, if you are taking any meds that explicitly say to avoid alcohol, you better heed the warning. It is there for a good reason, not about what's ethically accepted, but you are placing your health or life on the line if you ignore it.

I think the VA should post a SC calculator on thier site which matches their fuzzy math and also allows you to see the SC payments and SMC for various conditions all in one spot

Sgt Dove, If you are curious about the math, you can use Hadit's SC calculator: http://www.hadit.com/service_connected_dis..._calculator.php I plugged in your numbers and it said you have a rating of 85.888%, which the VA rounds up to 90%.

I would recommend your buddy take a copy of the GAF 40 exam to the new C&P exam. Also, he might want to go ahead and fill out a release of information letter with the VA so they can get the records directly from the GAF 40 examiner.

In the last six months, I have sent six IRIS requests and only received responses to two of them, one of which was a completely wrong answer., corrected in the second one.

Here are the ratings for sleep apnea: http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38CFR/BOOKC/PART4/S4_97.DOC 6847 Sleep Apnea Syndromes (Obstructive, Central, Mixed): Chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or corpulmonale, or; requires tracheostomy 100 Requires use of breathing assistance device such as continuous airway pressure (CPAP) machine 50 Persistent day-time hypersomnolence 30 Asymptomatic but with documented sleep disorder breathing 0

Hedgey, If any of DH's SC conditions are listed as bilateral, please let us know that too. Also, on his 30% SC 3rd degree burn ratings for his arms, I noticed that you listed him as 30% for the left arm and 20% for the right arm. Just curious if the right arm % was a typo and supposed to be 30% instead of 20%.

I checked my old outlying clinic to track down some old medical records. I have not been to the place in over 10 years. They said my records were transferred to the VAMC near where I live. However, they only had records in their electronic system which went back to 2002. I had to put in a special request for my archived records. After a couple of months, I received them and everything was there except some imaging lab results. I had to go to the nuclear medicine records department and they were able to print those out. Records can be everywhere!

Congratulations!

If a vet wins an 1151, what's the result?

Is this anything different than requesting records from the storage facility in Missouri? Also, does anyone know if the records stored in these archives also contain security clearance-related investigation results and related documents?

Does this apply to refinanced homes too?

Sweeeet

Just remember to be courteous. They can have security escort you out if you start causing a scene.

From what they wrote, I bet the treatment records they reviewed contained some sort of recent range of motion numbers, which may explain why they said your knee has DJD and did not give you an exam. Physical therapy can help -some- patients, but not all. They do that to strengthen your body and help compensate for your weak spots. The stretching can help stretch nerves so that your bones/growths don't impinge on the nerves as much. I don't know what to make of the report because it seems to contradict itself. You have one recommendation telling you a desk job would be a good idea, but the other wants you out of the desk and on your feet. I have a desk job and can tell you that sitting at a desk is not a good thing to do for your back, as I also have DJD in the same vertebral joints as you. The only time I am comfortable and in less pain is when I am laying on my side, like when I am watching TV or sleeping.

Just doesn't sound right. The doc could still be 'debating' his results. If the doc hits send accidentally, the Veteran is screwed. I view this like a check, not valid until signed.

Someone please tell me if I am correctly reading the decision. It looks like the court upheld the denial because the unsigned report was submitted via the CAPRI system, which indicates an 'implied' signature. The dissenting judge disagrees because the the rules require a signature. i.e. meaning that if the doc fails to sign the document, it's still official. Is that correct?

A few folks here said they received their medical records on CD. I checked with my VAMC, but they have not implemented that feature yet. The way I see it, is if I could sign a release, maybe a VAMC that supports that feature could fulfull my request and send my data on CD. It would be a good start.

But for some reason I doubt my VSO will spend an afternoon with me helping with research....

VA Electronic Information/Research Systems I have been doing some reading about various information systems used by the VA, which include the following: - Automated Medical Information Exchange (AMIE) - Compensation and Pension Record Interchange (CAPRI) - Veterans Examination Information Request System (VERIS) I found this article about CAPRI, but it indicates it is only for VSO's and people within the VA network. Check out this internal brochure for CAPRI. http://www.ehealth.va.gov/EHEALTH/docs/CAPRIforVSOsWeb.pdf If they would allow us research-only access to this or these systems, it could save us countless hours that we spend digging through this or that to help us found our claim. I can think of a lot of reasons why the VA will not grant us access to the system, but I can think of more reasons why they should.

There's also a lot of internal accounting details and notes that we should have access to. If they tag something incorrectly, it shows how wrong they are. I guess it could be another method of covering their tracks.

Hey Phil, My VAMC travel department tried to tell me the same thing, so I had to prove it to them. Check this out: http://www4.va.gov/healtheligibility/libra...aq.asp#eligible <h3 class="va-paragraph-header">Who is eligible for travel?</h3>Veterans rated 30% or more SC for travel relating to any condition Veterans rated less than 30% for travel relating to their SC condition Veterans receiving VA pension benefits for all conditions Veterans with annual income below the maximum applicable annual rate of pension for all conditions Veterans who can present clear evidence that they are unable to defray the cost of travel Veterans traveling in relation to a Compensation and Pension (C&P) Examination Certain veterans in certain emergency situations Certain non-veterans when related to care of a veteran (attendants & donors) Beneficiaries of other Federal Agencies (when authorized by that agency) Allied Beneficiaries (when authorized by appropriate foreign government agency)

Here you go: http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/...8/ch08_secc.doc

Did you request a copy of your c-file while you had a claim pending? How long did it take to fulfill your request? I'm curious because I requested mine about five months ago and still have not received it, but I do have pending claims. Thanks for the tip about the copies being incomplete. I just hope all of mine is there and nobody else's papers are jammed into my file.

Last month, I got the same care letter twice, two days in a row.