Hello fellow Vets
Sorry in advance for the long read. But I am at my wits end. Any advice on some next steps BESIDES filing an appeal? One thought I am flirting with is getting a doctor to write a letter saying my symptoms existed since "blank" date directly refuting the decision the rating official made February 2021. This would be considered new evidence and I could just do a supplemental? Anyway here is my story:
I don’t think it’s fair that I would have to get in the back of the line, again, when the error rested with the VA and how they adjudicated this claim…
On August 11, 2021, I filed a HLR for a decision on my claim for GERD made February 26, 2021. The HLR was for one thing: Early Effective Date (EED). Why my claim was granted, the date was for January 2021, I felt the date should've been earlier for August 2020. That is all I filed the HLR for. When you file a HLR online as I did, it does not give you an option to “check” your reason for the HLR as a paper copy does. With that concern, I called on or about August 16, 2021, and spoke to a VA Representative and explained what I was doing. She filled out a form “0820 Service Request” articulating I was seeking a EED with my HLR and the circumstances of my claim. Of course, in the original filing I requested to speak to a HLR Officer to discuss my claim.
Fast forward to September 29, 2021. In addition to my HLR claim, I had a separate claim for another condition pending. I called and spoke to a supervisor on September 21, 2021 and was informed earlier that an escalation ticket was put in because the claim was, as she put, just sitting there. She gave me a reference number for this second claim (210921000442) and said I should receive a call in 5 days regarding the second claim. So, on September 29, 2021, I called to just get an update on the second pending claim and to see if someone was going to call me. During routine conversation, the VA representative informed me that I missed my call for the HLR and wanted to be sure I wasn’t referencing that. I said “wait, I never got a call on the HLR” …He stated the HLR call was made 9/28/2021. I immediately looked at my phone and there on my phone is a “Restricted” notation at 08:30 am on 9/28/2021 (See Attachment 9.28).
First, my phone does not even ring if it’s a restricted number, so I never received a call. Second, why on earth is the HLR representative calling me from a “restricted” number?? I have had plenty of calls from the VA and all have come up with the VA 800 number. This past July I had a HLR call and she came through fine and we discussed my claim. In fact, During the call on September 29, 2021 the VA Representative thought he hung up on me and was nice enough to call me back and the call came through fine!
Why did the HLR representative reach out in a way that made it impossible for me to take his/her call? All the reps I spoke to said that should not have happened, but it did. Now, as I understand it, A failure of a “Duty to Assist” has been initiated by the HLR based on the fact that my condition GERD did not have a proper medical review and may need to be rated higher…..NONE OF WHICH IS WHAT I REQUESTED!!!
Here is how the VA lack of customer service not only impacts me, but other veterans, and VA workers as well by clogging up the VA pipeline with an unnecessary claim. Even if this Duty to Assist continues the HLR representative put through, this backlog creates more cases because now the HLR has dived down a rabbit hole with my claim that not only puts my original request, EED, out the door, but more veterans behind me will be waiting in the “que” for this process that was NEVER even asked for by me. Veterans are now waiting longer for their claim because a claim that was not even initiated is in the pipeline!
The HLR representative called from a restricted number that I know from experience does not normally happen, did not leave me any voicemail, and did not try and follow up so that I could take the call. Further, anticipating the bad faith the VA might try to do, I called shortly after filing the HLR to provide clarity for my claim. I was told this was submitted and SHOULD'VE been viewed by the HLR representative but apparently was not! The form was a 0820 Service Request that detailed my concerns about the EED and was submitted on or about August 16, 2021.
How else does this create more problems for the VA workers? If this Duty to Assist process initiated by the HLR representative runs its course my original request for the HLR, EED, is never answered, and guess what? I file another claim, and not only do I go to the back of the line waiting several months for another call, but I have just put another claim on the VA books that is helping create a backlog!!! Mind you, I can't be the only one that this has happened to nor have complained about it. But if nothing is done, this will continue to happen, the trust veterans have that the VA is helping them continues to dwindle, and the backlog, court cases, overturned cases will continue to grow if the VA is not held accountable for the little things like making calls so veterans can take the call and reading the entire file to adjudicate on the proper grounds!
I have attached not only the picture on my phone showing the restricted call at 8:30am on 9/28 but also screenshots showing calls from the VA on 9/29 that came in fine as I discussed this with various VA representatives that called me back fine.
Anybody have any recommendations on what I could do? So far I have emailed about 7 leaders here at my local VA Regional Office explaining the situation. One person did reply and said she was reaching out to the Seattle Office since they had "jurisdiction" over my HLR. I also reached out to my Congressman's office not sure if that will do any good. Any other suggestion or theories or am I just stuck like chuck and need to appeal or try a supplemental claim with new evidence if I can get it? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.