Berta

This is part of the VA Web site's criteria for Camp Lejuene veterans: "Camp Lejeune water contamination health issues If you served at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune or Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in North Carolina, you may have had contact with contaminants in the drinking water there. Scientific and medical evidence has shown an association between exposure to these contaminants during military service and development of certain diseases later on. If you have qualifying service at Camp Lejeune and a current diagnosis of one of the conditions listed below, you may be able to get disability benefits. Am I eligible for disability benefits from VA? You may be eligible for disability benefits if you meet all of the requirements listed below. Both of these must be true. You: Served at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 cumulative days from August 1953 through December 1987, and Didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge when you separated from the military And you must have a diagnosis of one or more of these presumptive conditions: Adult leukemia Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes Bladder cancer Kidney cancer Liver cancer Multiple myeloma Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma Parkinson’s disease Who’s covered? Veterans Reservists Guardsmen What kind of benefits can I get? Health care Compensation (payments) How do I get these benefits?" More info at https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/hazardous-materials-exposure/camp-lejeune-water-contamination/ Thi is an old thread but this info might help someone else out there.

to add,hadit is on Facebook .I have never joined Facebook and found this link there: 198massmedia just acquired http://www.198usanews.com from :https://www.facebook.com/198VeteransNews I cant read anything else there about 198veterans news , because I do not use Facebook. They seem to be a Global veterans web site. I have a lot of Security on my PC and I hope everyone else here does too.

Pacman -I have no idea what this 198 link is all about ,but it is not unusual to see our electronic hadit footprint on Google: This is mine: About 51,400 results (0.38 seconds) Did you mean: Berta hadith I that is their usual spell check and there is more when I google my whole name: Search Results Web results "Great advice from BERTA | HadIt.com For Veterans Who've ... https://hadit.com › great-advice-from-berta Sep 1, 2021 — In another post, Berta gave some great advice. Im going to quote it here, as it echoes nearly every Vets advocate position: The problem is, ... Berta Simmons Veterans Advocate - HadIt.com https://hadit.com › Podcast Aug 31, 2021 — Hadit.com'sm own Berta Simmons will be our guest speaker. Berta is a widow and was married to Rod Simmons. Berta had to go to court over ... Veterans Helping Veterans Podcast - Podbay https://podbay.fm › veterans-helping-veterans-podcast Listen to Hadit.com/ Blog Talk Radio " Berta Simmons" Why we need a death folder?, an episode of Veterans Helping Veterans Podcast, easily on Podbay - the ..." I have never heard of 198 veterans news site before. This is why we always ask vets to redact their personal info when they download C & P exams or other important stuff.

OH ! Great! I have a short cut link to BVA decisions and didnt realize I had gone to main BVA web site and thought it had just been posted there.!!! My fault-thanks for correcting me Pacman! I read BVA decisions many times throught the week- they hold a wealth of good info.

The Board of Veterans’ Appeals has learned that a limited number of Veterans may have had their Board Appeal forms (VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement)) mistakenly rejected for being untimely. Out of an abundance of caution, the Board is sending out a wide notice to help ensure no other Veterans were impacted by this. If you filed a VA Form 10182 with the Board between February 19, 2019, and March 23, 2021, and believe it may have been improperly rejected as untimely, please send a letter to the “Clerk of the Board” at P.O. Box 27063, Washington, DC 20038 or via fax to 1-844-678-8979 no later than March 1, 2022. In your letter, state you are asking the Board to “RECALCULATE TIMELINESS” and be careful to include the Veteran’s full name, claim number or SSN, the date of the rating decision you appealed to the Board, and the date of your original VA Form 10182 appeal form that the Board told you was untimely. https://www.bva.va.gov/

I regret that I only found one single case at the BVA filed under CUE, whereby the veterans referenced 38CFR 4.42 and found no decicion there under CUE search referenced 38 CFR 4.70. I found CUEs in the diagnostic codes they gave my husband on a posthumous award letter-and I attacked the decision that way. The diagostic codes they used were wrong because of the interpretations of the C & P exams they did. As well as the Percentage they applied. Unfortunately any veteran who gets a C & P exam that is faulty in any way,should gripe abut the Exam to whoever performed it-( LHI,VES, or QTC,) IMMEDIATELY but that is not always possible to do. I will look into the 2020-2021 VBM to see if there is anything there that wiuld change my opinion on the regulations, 38 CFR 4.42 andf 38 CFR 4.70, as basis for CUE , and replyif I find anything to help.

I regret that I only found one single case at the BVA filed under CUE, whereby the veterans referenced 38CFR 4.42 and found no decicion there under CUE search referenced 38 CFR 4.70. I found CUEs in the diagnostic codes they gave my husband on a posthumous award letter-and I attacked the decision that way. The codes they used were wrong because of the interpretations of the C & P exams they did. As well as the Percentage they applied. Unfortunately any veteran who gets a C & P exam that is faulty in any way,should gripe about the Exam to whoever performed it-( LHI,VES, or QTC,).however that is noot always possible. The Legal error is within the codes and percentages in the rating sheet.It is relevant to the diagnostic codes and percentages , at time of the alleged decision being CUED. Raising DTA ( Duty to Assist) will not help regarding a CUE claim.

Her statement might well be enough: https://www.va.gov/vetapp19/files2/19108483.txt

I didnt know where to put this- for over 5 days now I have been part of the massive internet outage affecting satelitte internet people like me,as well as many other sites and stores.. When I can connect to the Downdetector or Century Link ( the possible cause of the outages, it is apparent that they are stil having problems. I cannot use google, or if I do it gets incredibly slow- and I dont even know if this post will go through. Yesterday I was surprised to find that the two closest Dollar Stores,near me, and th closest Walmart, and a few other stoes who use computers that accept debit or card cards , were down almost the entire day. If you didnt have cash you could not buy anything.The Down Detector has multiple sites down as well, to include Verizon.( Maybe just their cell phones) This has been a global outage. Century Link says they are trying to fix it,but if you having problems with internet ,Century Link might be why. My email works today but yesterday it didnt. A lot of the gaming web sites are down- also tic tok etc. https://downdetector.com/archive/ quite a list- I bet it gets longer before today is over

Flip- it sure is an interesting question-on SSDI and CUE-and technically I proved that SSA had committed a clear and unmistakable error in their initial award to my husband. The initial award was for his 1992 1151 stroke. What I mean is this-he had listed his disabilitis as 30% SC for PTSD and the stroke was T & P, per the evidence I had sent to them ( the VA had not yet determined his two pending claims- one was for a higher PTSD rating and one was under 1151 for the stroke- no rating in his lifetime. He was surprised that the SSDI award did not mention the PTSD at all. I spent a whole day at the SSA office, and asked them if I could read their disability manual- they said yes, but it was like getting the VBM from NVLSP- if one has never read the VBM before, it is OVERWHELMING-but I was determined to see if the SA had broken one of their mandated regulations. I found what I needed, they allowed me to copy a few pages and I prepared the reconsideration request that was based on a violation their own regulations. SSDI ,at that time, and I have no idea if this changed- probably not- was supposed to consider every disability an applicant had listed on their SSDI application. Although my husband was only at 30% for PTSD and had no rating yet on his stroke,under 1151, I knew my husband had a good case, but we wasted our time at the lawyer's office because he would not even consider the evidence I had for the higher SC rating.But hopefuly he meant what he said- and would view PTSD claims differently in the future. The result of the reconsideration ( the stroke EED had been August 1992) as a SSDI award solely for his PTSD with Nov 1, 1991 as the EED, thus the $ 18,000 retro SSA. After he died the RO refused to obtain the SSDI information. Of course I prevailed and I got it. I was the claimant at that point and he had incurred considerable other VA PTSD records in the two years after his stroke, regarding PTSD. The VA then ,almost 3 years after he died, awarded him 100% P & T for PTSD postthumously, and also , when I won my wrongful death case with the OGC, they cncurrd with the 1151 claim and awarded me DIC under 1151. I subsequently have had 2 additional awards for direct SC death both on his malpracticed conditions- DMII due to AO and IHD due to AO. My long point here is Every government entity we deal with such as VA and SSDI, have manuals similar to M21-1MR and also VA has a separate Physician;s Guideline M21 version. If they violation those guidelines they have committed what we call CUE if the error was detriment to the veteran (or civilian in many cases). At VA aclaimant can file a CUE at any time- no deadlines at all. But I have no idea what the SSDI regulations reveal on that. I bet their Manuals are on ine these days- they werent when I prepared my husband's reconsideration request. NOTHING is impossible. I rattled this off before here many times- but it might help somene out there today- After dealing with discriminatin complaints ( 17 of them) for years.under the so called Vietnam Veterans Rehabilitation Act, the ADA became law of the land.ADA ( Americans with diabilities Act.) I had already prepared myy husband's complaint with evidence-I had collected on the Federal Contractor who discriminated against him. I waited for the loocal Post Office to open that day the ADA became law, and about 3 -4 months later the main ADA lawyer called and told me my husband had won the first ADA case here in NY and the Federal Contractor would have to be contacted to settle with him.They settled. At that time I knew of two other Vietnam Vets who had been discrimnated against by the same place-they too had filed complaints with DOL, and lost those cases. The Vietnam Veterans Rehabilitation Act was a useless document, that employed hundreds of DOL people to simply deny those complaints,filed under that Act and I helped my husband file 17 complaints aainst them.They all contained evidence I again had to re copy for the ADA complaint. Neither veteran however was willing to file under the ADA. They could have used some of the evidence I had- I had proved this Federal Contractor had hired only 2 disabled veterans in many years, and many disabled vet applicates never even got an interview and one they fired- one of the vets I knew-who had given them 19 1/2 years of service. They didnt need a lawyer to file under ADA and it only cost me gas money to Corning SSA , xerox copy fees, and priority mail postage. But they had given up. We must NEVER GIVE UP when we are RIGHT! The ADA has changed ,with amendments , and has gotten stronger since those days, when my husband won, and it is explained here: https://www.eeoc.gov/publications/ada-your-responsibilities-employer https://www.eeoc.gov/publications/ada-your-employment-rights-individual-disability

from Buck: "She has Double Pneaumonia and her lungs are both filled as they hope the antionbiotics /durritics start to work she been under the ventilator noe 3 days. with no sign of improvement so prayers are certainly welcome. I can go up there and see her but she is sleep and unresponsevive its sad to see her this way, she was tested 3 times for covid and was all negitive..Thank God, Dr's say she should start showing improvment soon if not they are going to try some other type of antibiotics,,,,we'll see she was scheduled fore her gallbaldder today 9/16/21 but thats all canceled they did remove her drain bag and tubes MRI shows no infection in her gallbladder and its of normal size and the Dr said she can have that surgery at a later date right now they care concerend about the pneaumonia." It is good news that the gallblader infection i gone.But this is a very serious situation. They need many prayers and her doctors should be prayed for too. A friend of mine (Veteran)was in critical condition the last 2 weeks with pneumonia but the doctors are trying a different antibiotic on him, and the news yesterday was that he was imroving a lot. I get the pneumonia shot every year but I understand it does not prevent some types of pneumonia. Still it is protection from some of it- and I ALWAYS get the Flu shot-(but I did get the 4th Quadrant of flu a year ago- that the flu shot did not protect us from. I have a few friends who refuse the COVID Vaccine. Covid is still in this area of NY. They stay at home most of the time.

I am a former Chapter 35er and VA paid for about 1/2 of my degree.Only 1/2 because I started the degree long ago when I didnt even know my 10% SC P & T huband. https://www.va.gov/education/survivor-dependent-benefits/ It appear to me that their MOS regarding Chap 35 has not changed. I had to pay my tuition first, and then tie in with the AMU veteran's liason rep( I was their first Chapter 35 civilian graduate,)and the liason person would check my online school account, see that I had paid the tuition, and then she transferred that info to the VA. The VA would reimburse me-sometimes fairly fast, but there was one glitch- not bad during the 4 years I attended AMU. The above Chap 35 link says this: "Benefit payment:We pay the monthly amount directly to the student. The current monthly payment for full-time training is $1,265." But in the case of your wife, it seems odd to me that they didnt pay her directly for the course they say their is no amount due for...... You said: "This leads me to believe that VA is paying it or will pay it, I cannot imagine the school letting her attend for the last 3 months without receiving some type of payment." I agree. Perhaps she should call or email their Veteran's liason person or their Financial aid Department. The text book grants are GREAT! VA never gave me a book grant but the USMC did.

I hve no idea if SSA has any type of CUE scenario-we filed for and won a reconsideration request. I called the SSA lawyer who said he could not help us,so I did the paperwork myself. I told him he lost over 4,500 bucks. Which would have been his fee if he had helped us. He was stunned to learn we had won a better EED for PTSD and we talked for about an hour or more and he told me he would never look at a PTSD SSDI matter the same way again. My husband and then I, as his widow , were in the AO Settlement Fund. AT first hi application was denied ( the only requirement was Vietnam incountry service and with a Total and Permanent Disability. I immediately wrote to the judge who signed th denial letter, and asked him for hi peronal assurance to the veteran and to me,his spouse. that the Agent Orange they dumped on him during a maneuver within the tropical jungles near Danang, would Never cause him more disabilities.The marines on that maneuver wer doused by it and then had to remain in the same utilities for weeks,due to another maneuver. The tropic jungle they got sprayed in was destroyed down to nothing within a few days. About 3 weeks later he got the AO settlement Fund award letter and the cash.

I agree Broncovet - I do not know many people who actually are prepared for their retirement or their death. Fortunately my husband taught me how to use power tools, and I was able to do most of the siding and stalls myself in my new barn, that we built , when he worked for NYSEG. I also did part of the electric in my addition, and that passed inspection, and I know how the electricity, water system, hot tub, A/C ,and even my car ,etc etc, basicaslly work. Septic tanks here in NY should be cleaned out every 5 years or so-I covered about a 10 by ten area over the tanks, with about a foot of dirt when it ws installed, and then used some very heavy small concrete tils to make it a small patio off one of my decks,so that when I made the cleaning appointment , I could remove the tiles and tell them basically where they had to dig for the septic lid. and the last time they cleaned it out I asked one of the men to point their shovel to the lid, they had just removed the soil from and I took a photo of it that included the last deck step so it could be found easily, by my daughter when I die or by anyone else. VA Watchdog Jim Strickland told me he had complied a whole book for his wife in the event of his death. I dont expect most spouses need to learn how to use power tools or handle lot of yard work etc, but I do expect them to be completely aware of their veteran spouses SC disabilities and how to use a PC. They can come here to find the info they need and the regulations that control DIC, accrued, etc etc. And I hope every vet with a Death File has the new DIC forms in it.

They might have "accepted" the Buddy Statement but I do not believe they will consider it until they get a cause of death and more information from the widow. This BVA decision invovles a widow of a veteran who never filed for PTSD.He had no SCs at all. A very unusual case: https://www.va.gov/vetapp19/files10/19181645.txt His treatment records and PTSD diagnosis were from a private doctor. The spouse submitted two buddy statements m as well as the evidence revealed a police report of the assault inservice that the veteran had gotten PTSD from. In part: During his lifetime, the Veteran was not service-connected for any disabilities. The appellant asserts that the Veteran suffered from PTSD due to an in-service stressor or stressors, and that his PTSD was a contributory cause of his death in October 2012. The Veteran’s death certificate listed an immediate cause of death of left brain hematoma and metastatic prostate cancer. PTSD was indeed listed as a contributing cause of death. Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 4.125(a), a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptoms and an in-service stressor; and credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f). In this case, PTSD is listed as a cause of the Veteran’s death on his death certificate; therefore, it was clearly an existing disability at the time of his death. The Veteran’s private treatment notes from his physician, Dr. F.J.P. also confirm a PTSD diagnosis. With respect to an in-service stressor, the appellant has identified several stressful experiences she recalls the Veteran discussing before he passed away. In pertinent part, she indicated that the Veteran was assaulted and robbed on the street while on active duty in Olathe, Kansas in November 1961. More specifically, the appellant testified that while the Veteran was in air traffic control school in Olathe, Kansas, pursuant to his assignment and military occupational specialty, the Veteran was battered on his way home from his bus stop and was hospitalized. See Hearing Tr. (Aug. 2019) at 10-13. The Veteran’s military personnel records confirm the Veteran’s assignment in Olathe, Kansas during the period in question. The Board is also in receipt of a November 1961 police report that confirms that the Veteran was indeed assaulted as she so described. Furthermore, the record is supplemented by lay statements from the Veteran’s friends and colleagues, each indicating that the Veteran was fearful for his life after the November 1961 incident and was continuously affected by that incident throughout the rest of his life. See, e.g.: Buddy Statement from T.H. (April 2016); Buddy Statement from M.M. (May 2016). There is no contrary evidence of record, and the Board finds there is credible supporting evidence that the this claimed in-service stressor occurred. Having established a present disability and an in-service stressor, the Board now focuses its attention on the final element: whether a nexus or relationship exists associating the in-service November 1961 assault with the PTSD from which the Veteran suffered until the end of his life. The Board is in receipt of an April 2016 nexus opinion from the Veteran’s psychologist, Dr. F.J.P., as well as contemporaneous notes throughout the course of treatment. Dr. F.J.P. is a psychologist who treated the Veteran on a bi-monthly basis from 2004 until the Veteran’s death. His positive nexus opinion confirms that the Veteran discussed the November 1961 incident with Dr. F.J.P., and that in the psychologist’s opinion, “He appeared to be reliving the experience in my office. This topic came up a number of times while I was treating him. … Furthermore, [the Veteran] exhibited and I observed while treating him, when discussing these life and death situations: mood swings, anxieties, concentration problems, difficulty with his sleep routine, flashbacks of reliving these experiences, and anger problems.” Ultimately, “[the Veteran]’s life and death episodes during the military, his post-traumatic stress disorder and his serious health issues all contributed to his death.” As the Veteran’s long-time psychologist, Dr. F.J.P. is competent to state whether the Veteran exhibited PTSD by virtue of his military experiences, his findings are credible, and his opinion is afforded significant weight. There are no other medical opinions of record, whether positive or negative. In sum, the evidence of record demonstrates that the Veteran was the victim of an assault in a robbery in November 1961 in Olathe, Kansas while the Veteran was on active duty in the United States Navy, and Dr. F.J.P.’s opinion establishes a nexus between this event and the Veteran’s ultimately fatal PTSD. As such, the Board concludes that the criteria for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death have been met, and to this extent, the appellant’s claim is granted. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1310; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.312. Obviously mthis evidence was in the RO's possession when the widow filed for DIC, and the VA might have listed it as evidence, but they never 'conidered it' and the first time it was properly considered was by the BVA. The BVA can read. The widow is not eligible for accrued benefits,and I dont know if the award would give her CHAMPVA or Chapter 35 benefits, and I hope it did, BUT, if the RO been willing or able to read the evidence properly, and consider it all, she could have been awarded DIC long ago at the RO level. When the Coroner asked me of my husband's disabilitites I told him of his PTSD but here in NY they never list PTSD on a death certificate- although he said he was well aware of how serious PTSD can be. In this case above BVA link -the veteran's PTSD was listed on the Death Certificate as a contributing cause of death. This case could have been awarded at the RO level and is one more example of how deficient the raters can be. Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Michael B. Engle, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303. "

She could add to the CUE claim, that her Statement inSupport of claim, noted as a "Buddy statement" on the evidenc list, was also probative evidence that the VA did not consider, another violation of 38 CFR 4.6. You can use the M21-1MR print out as well. https://www.va.gov/vetapp18/files11/18152030.txt This above is a widow's claim, after she and the veteran had been separated, that succeeded in attaining her DIC. I am widowed of a 100% P & T SC PTSD veteran and unfortunately I know how abusive and violent ,in many marriages, some PTSD veterans become. They vistimize their spouse and although my husband had years of PTSD therapy at the VA, he would never tell them (VA) of his erratic and violent outbursts. When I was called into the therapy sessions,by his VA shrink, I had already been warned of what I could not say.Of course that didnt help him but the 21 Day inhouse program did- he came home from it with a completely different attitude, had been given intensive anger management therapy, and only had one angry outburst the morning of his death, a few weeks later. She will need to prove that her husband's PTSD had caused the separation. Were the police ever called, did anyone ever notice she had black and blue marks , did she tell anyone at all what she was dealing with? My husband didnt drink but maybe alcohol use was a factor in this vet with PTSD, .... did you observe anything that indicated the relationsgip was abusive? Did any children ,if they had children, witness any abuse? Does ahe have any hard copy evidence of any threatening emails or letters or texts he might have sent to her after they separated ? When I requested a reconsideration of my husband;s SSA award for a 1151 stroke-the SSDI tried to talk him out of that- but I knew they had broken their own regulations by not considering his PTSD at all on his SSDI application. The SSDI did however award him solely for PTSD with an EED that superceded the stroke award. In doing that, the SSA ,with his permission, allowed me to look over an enourmous stack of his medical records from 3 VAs at that point. I happened to read a long statement from his ex wife, and she had divorced him due to his chronic abuse of her. The VA also had police records but she had dropped the charges against him. My long point here is that she will need to prove that the cause of the separation was his PTSD. The Vietnam War caused good men to become damaged to the point that they felt the only control they had in their lives was to control their families with abuse. I dont blame them for this tragic condition, I blame the War and the fact that alot of them had no where to go when they came back to the "world", for help- PTSD was technically "invented" by VA in 1983" but has been part of every war since time began.

Thanks again Toddt!!!! Sorry for the typos and missing letters above - my carpel tunnel syndrome is getting worse. And to add auspices of "38 USC 5109A" for CUE. dont use 38 CFR

VARO Date: C file # To whom it may concern : if there is an alphanumeric code on the decision, put Attention to: and then put the alphanumeric code.) hat identifies the last person who handled the decision) This is a claim of Clear and unmistakable Error (CUE) in your June decision and is filed under the auspices of 38 USC 5109A. (***) The decision lists as evidence a divorce decree but that involves a past marriage I had, and is not relevant to my claim for DIC. Apparently no one at your VARO read the decree. I have never been divorced from ( name of veteran). This error would be highly detrimental to me, in pursuing my DIC claim, so it must be corrected. It is a violation of 38 CFR 4.6: “The element of the weight to be accorded the character of the veteran's service is but one factor entering into the considerations of the rating boards in arriving at determinations of the evaluation of disability. Every element in any way affecting the probative value to be assigned to the evidence in each individual claim must be thoroughly and conscientiously studied by each member of the rating board in the light of the established policies of the Department of Veterans Affairs to the end that decisions will be equitable and just as contemplated by the requirements of the law.” https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/4.6 I expect a proper and timely correction of this legal error. Enclosures : June decision Respectfully, Copy ,sign, and send to the VARO and also to the Evidence Intake Center. You can also file it as an IRIS complaint. That is the widow can. I filed a CUE for accrued on one of the new forms- regarding accrued benefits for survivors. You might even be able to file it on line at va.gov. I send everything to VA via Priority Mail, that way I have a Tracking slip. *** I could not read the date if the decision on the first page. I use every potential way to make sure the VA gets my stuff. In my HVAC Shreddergate testimony I produced 53 USPS receipts that cntained evidence the VA refused to read. If they dont read our probative evidence, they might as well have shredded it. They ignored 12 coies of my husband's autopsy and then withheld it from the OGC for my FTCA case. I got right on the ohne with the Head Cardio doc at VACIO and she was SHOCKED to learn an autopsy had been done yet the VARO never sent thm a copy of it. I faxed it to her and general counsel called me upsoon after that to begin negotiations for my husband's wrongful death. I have no trust whatsoever in the RO I am forced to deal with.

A CUE will only ,hopefully, correct the fact that they were never divorced. One CUE I had was a no brainer and it took 8 years for the CUE to be awarded. Husband was 100% SC PTSD and over 80% ( eventually 100% for a Section 1151 stroke) You would not believe the crap my RO gave me on that claim.Finally it was supposed to goto the BVA,and I was delirious with joy becasue the BVA can read. Then AO IHD becamea presumptive and the Agent Orange VARO awarded the AO IHD, and also the CUE claim. My other CUE claims went very fast- I will try to write it today-and post here. Flip are you formally representing your ex wife. If not I need to prepare the claim as if I was her, as the claimant. VA, unless they changed this, will allow anyone to represent someone else for VA claims ,on a one time basis. I need to find out if that regulation has changed. Found out: "May represent a claimant on a one-time, one claim basis per the provisions of 38 CFR 14.630. The individual may only represent one VA claimant unless a request is made to the VA's Office of General Counsel. General Information on Power of Attorney (POA) (UShttps://www.benefits.va.gov › docs › admin21 › part1DOC) Here is the regulation: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/14.630

Bumping this up- There is no potential theory of Hypothetical Entitlement anymore for DIC claim filed under that basis. Also dont forget the DIC,accrued, etc forms have changed and can be found here and at the Main VA.gov web site.

Flip- I hope you realize that theVA is slower than ever and this is a Very difficult DIC claim, in my opinion. I cant figure out the SMC level he was at but maybe because I am looking at single veteran rate charts and maybe she was listed as his dependent for his comp.

"If she wins I know they award Chap 35 to widows, does that mean she could get more education paid for, even tho she'd previously used it as spouse." In some cases that is possible. My Chapter 35 delimiting date ran out when I was at AMU, and I paid either 6 thousand or maybe 8 thousand out of pocket to finish my degree there. With 2 more successful VA Awards of direct SC death of myhusband, the VA had to give me more entitlement to Chapter 35 ( a more favorable EED) as well as reimburse me for the Out of pocket amount I had to spend. John, the 8 year DIC factor is explained in the article: https://www.va.gov/disability/survivor-dic-rates/ The pst theory of "Hypothetical entitlement" DIC claim no longer has merit with the VA: https://www.va.gov/vetapp21/files7/a21012785.txt DIc can become a very complex situation -so make sure everyone that your spouse is up to speed on the PC .

Has she tried any other ways to get a copy of the complete death certificate? Such as: https://www.publicrecordscenter.org/death-records?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkIGKBhCxARIsAINMioJsLwH5_sNt38W5i0xwXHP805_6uHjdipj8ZKA9R6DDaiWKgGpI4GoaAq9NEALw_wcB This is how to get a copy with a Cause of Death indicated: "How to order a Florida Death Certificate CAUSE OF DEATH INFORMATION: Death records less than 50 years old with the cause of death and full social security number are confidential and may only be issued to: Decedent’s spouse or parent; Decedent’s child, grandchild or sibling, if of legal age; Any person who provides a will, insurance policy or other document that demonstrates his or her interest in the estate; Any person who provides documentation that he or she is acting on behalf of any of the above-named persons; By Court Order" It seems to me that she is still the spouse of the veteran,since they were never divorced. Source for above http://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates/certificates/death/index.html I am surprised that she still gets CHAMPVA, but without DIC. I have never seen that before because the requirements for CHAMPVA are basically the same ,in many waysm as those for DIC

Flip- I misinterpreted the payment- so sorry----the decision states that the veteran had "minimum active duty requirements in order to qualify for pension." And also that he had wartime service ( another pension requirement.) This is what caused me to think it was a pension payment but it wasn't. However the amount she received indicate he as getting the 100^ P & T as well as SMC. These are the 2020 rates for SMC and I cannot figure out what level of SMC he was at- with the $3,549.83 payment. This is a very confusing situation. You said " She had ChampVA, 4yrs of Chap 35 and resided w/him for 9+yrs. " I assume that was based on his 100% P & T EED. Without a Death Certificate the VA has no hard copy knowledge or proof of his death- yet they did pay her his final VA compensation for one month.????? It sounds like he was a Vietnam incountry vet with IHD and DMIIbut t this point I am just taking a guess. You mentioned 17 pages---of the decision and my Foxit pdf reader stated 17 pages but only three popped up in the pdf. Is there more VA rationale on the denial of DIC?

An application forDIC is always also an application for a VA Pension. My first thought was why didnt the VA consider her for a Pension, but then again perhaps that part of the DIC form was not filled out- then again, based on what the decision says, they apparently did not need to go forwrard at all, regarding the pension, due to requesting more evidence. I divided the $3,649 by 9 months in 2020 nd the 6 mmonths in 2021 and got a monthly amount of $243.I might be off by a month.I didnt figure in the Cola fr 2021 20 % SC is currently 20% Disability $284.93 with no dependents. Or perhaps this is a Pension amount. A Pension is based on Total disability and death would make that `100% P & T. The 100% P & T does not jive with the SC rates. However this is a valid CUE. It is a violation of 38 CFR 4.6. "38 CFR § 4.6 - Evaluation of evidence. CFR prev | next § 4.6 Evaluation of evidence. The element of the weight to be accorded the character of the veteran's service is but one factor entering into the considerations of the rating boards in arriving at determinations of the evaluation of disability. Every element in any way affecting the probative value to be assigned to the evidence in each individual claim must be thoroughly and conscientiously studied by each member of the rating board in the light of the established policies of the Department of Veterans Affairs to the end that decisions will be equitable and just as contemplated by the requirements of the law." https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/4.6 The VA failed to read the Divorce Decree as it pertains to you and not the veteran who is deceased. They would need to have the Marriage license, for your ex wife's marriage to this veteran, I cannot tell if the evidence they listed is Marraige license regaring this decased veteran.and also the forms that involve the spouse's income must be filled out and sent to the VA. The June 22, 2021 letter they reference must be complied with,and certainly any information- if he did have a service connected disability-exactly how that caused orcontributed to his death. I do not see the Death Certificate listed at all as evidence. Can you tell us what the Medical examiner stated as # 1 Primary cause of death and also as any secondary contributing causes of death? Also was an autopsy done? Where did he serve and when and what was his MOS? The Buddy Statement- did that comply with a Buddy Statement as explained in an article I did , available here under a search? It would help to get ahold of his C file and all inservice SMRs and his military Personnel file.The VARO has his C file and NARA holds Military records, but due to Covid, this all can take quite some time. A valid CUE is within the decision and I can write one for you- maybe tomorrow-(the Century link outage is again affecting many of us who use the internet, slowing everything down) It is possible that her SSA income would be more than a war time pension, but it is worth a try on that ,if she cannot attain DIC.