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brokensoldier244th
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Posts posted by brokensoldier244th
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The service didn't hand you the originals. We go to the records repositories where they were filed. Depending on when you got out they could be electronic, as well.
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When a suspense expires for whatever reason a claim gets kicked out of the queue and into someone's workload, unless a received document of some kind comes in first, which triggers the same activity regardless of if there are suspense dates still pending. The phone people can't look at your whole claim, they aren't cleared for that but they can see the notes left on it by VSRs that have worked on it prior.
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No. If we had to request some federal record or another as part of your claim it can take weeks to months right now. The various records repositories are still digging out of Covid backed up requests. The may also need a re-review of a DBQ/exam that was inadequate or the examiner didn't answer all the questions or have a sufficient opinion, do then the exam has to go back to the examiner- and they don't get paid for re-works so........I can't say it combative- I don't work in examinations or even for the VHA side of things- they are their own barrel of monkeys, and I try to just corral my own.
There are lots of things that can cause it but 99% of it isn't you. Other than not filling out a form correctly or something- and in those cases we send the forms back to you to correct. -
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You get one year to keep the original date, after that it’s a supplemental claim with a new date of claim.
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Depends on how far it goes back- bigger amounts, multiple signatures. Plus, HLRs are worked by certain teams, and due to changes in various VA regs in the last year or so, many of them are helping to revisit those older claims as well. There isn't a timeline.
Every claim is different, and sometimes 40 contention claims are put together well and are worked fast, sometimes 3 issue claims take a year because of covid, communication tennis, lack of required documentation, waiting on NPRC/Service/Investigatory/whatever.
It may not need a C&P, either, at least an in person C&P, especially if you already laid the groundwork for it the first time.
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21-526ez- regular claim, claim for increase, secondary contentions, whatever
20-0995- appealing a prior denied while retaining right to submit new evidence. This is a local appeal
20-0996- appealing a prior denied, wanting it reviewed with only the evidence of record. This is a local review
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5 hours ago, Richard1954 said:
Your reading things that I did not say.... so let me be clear....
At the time of the original damage to my eye, 2008 I filed an 1151 claim and hired a lawyer. The government lawyers would not settle, so I was ready to go to court, but the lawyer I hired to help me with the 1151 ( its really a malpractice suit), said since the governmenbt lawyers wouild not settle out of court, that he felt they were not worried about it going to court, meaning he thought they were going to win. My lawyer quit, and I told him , " sure your willing to take easy money, but the minute you have to work you quit."
The lawyer told me since the eye condition was caused by steriods used for my lung condition, I should just claim service connection. Well he did not understand that while I could claim secondary to my lung condition it would not put any money in my pocket. The reason for an 1151, was because of malpractice. I had hoped to make the government to pay big money for the damage to my eye. In the end, I filed a seconday claim and was awarded 30%, since then its been increased to 60%. After the final surgery completed by the VA in Nov 2000. I filed a new claim for two things, 1. A temporary 100% rating during the recovery period after the eye surgery, after appeal I was awarded a temporary 100% for 5 months, at the time I filed for the temporary 100% I thought that it wouild boost my A&A up to the next step which would be A&A at Step M. However, I was disappointed to learn that a temporary 100% rating when your already rated 100% will not net the veteran a single dime nor amount to an increase step for an SMC. 2. I requested a award for loss of use of the eye, since I no longer have a lens,, and my eye is so damaged that surgerons refuse to do another surgery, ( I don't want another surgery either). Anyway a K award for and eye can be awarded if the veteran has loss of use or blindness. The VA keeps denying the claim saying loss of use is blindness. The VA has decided to ignore the wording of the rule, and continue to deny me a K award for loss of use. Today my claim when to the BOVA, I am not hopeful that the BOVA's will grant my claim. But I vow that I will take it all the way to the Federal courts if I have to. All I really want is for the VA to recognize that VA doctors after five surgeries could not correct the problem, that they created in 2008. That's what I I was referring to in my last entry. to be sure I WAS NOT TRYING TO HIRE A LAWYER TO GET A K AWARD.
I honestly don't understand why you responded the way you did, but anyway ......
Because you said this-
"I figure If I can get the BVA or the court to look at my case I should at least get a K award for lose of use, of the eye."
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You don't need a lawyer for a K award. If your documentation says you were getting surgery for an SC lung condition and that surgery messed up your eye, then file it. A lawyer isn't going to touch a 118.00 claim no matter how far it goes back, unless its maybe to the Gulf War, and maybe not even that.
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You can do the 686-c online at VA.gov.
https://www.va.gov/view-change-dependents/add-remove-form-21-686c/introduction
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You can be SC for NSC conditions that are aggravated by military service, you can be SC for conditions caused by military service, you can be SC for medications taken from VA prescribe for the treatment of SC conditions, you can be SC for conditions that are related to already SC conditions.
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Bronc, It's been just less than a year, and the study wasnt done by Phillips's.
I read the study, I also read the prelininary stuff from Phillips's. They didn't have to do a recall at all, the threshold for the potential to be cancer causing was less than a tenth of a percent. They did anyway and all they have gotten for it is trouble. They didn't deny anything they got in front of yet that's not good enough, apparently.
I have one of their affected cpaps, have for a few years. I've got 4 kids, if I thought it was that big of a risk I'd have gotten a new one or gone back to my old one. But I read the information put out, talked to my respiratory therapist, and listened.
I don't know where you think this stash of replacements is supposed to come from, either.
You literally have a separate group of private specialists saying it's not an issue and that cancer vs not cancer is the same in both groups- meaning it's not an issue with the cpaps. What more do you want?
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If it got there before it was made ready for decision, probably. Im not sure if the system pulls something back out of ready for decision when new info is submitted- I don't see the rating side. I know that I sometimes get claims that were 'done' as much as possible on the development side of things, but then some new mail/upload came in and the claim gets kicked back out into the queue to be worked so someone can look at what the new information is. Thats usually before being made RFD, though.
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There is no way to speculate. It depends on when your claim is assigned to be worked, and the backlog of claims, and what your claim needs vs other claims. You can trigger a claim to be assigned to be worked by submitting new documents, though- that pulls it out of the work queue to get assigned to someone even if its waiting for something else to be done that may take longer (like an exam, or records requested from the national archive, etc).
What regional office doesn't' matter- claims haven't been tied to a specific regional office for a few years now. They originate there, but they are worked nationally based on what RO has the least number of backed up claims on a given day.
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If your condition overall improves, and you go in for an exam or something, yes, just like any other improvement that might be documented. It depends on a lot of things like- when were you rated, etc. that determine how much medical evidence that the VA requires before they can propose to reduce.
That said, if your condition improves thats a good thing. You can make a money decision and opt to not do the medication/procedure study, but potentially at the expense of your health and well being.
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You would file as a supplementary claim on a 21-526 if you are filing based on a 'new theory of entitlement'. If you were appealing the old decision it would be on a 21-0995, 21-0996, or a full board appeal form.
In your case, just a regular claim, submit (or notate on your claim form or 21-4138 how that particular exam/DBQ has evidence for what you are claiming. If you have the DBQ you can submit that, or just refer to your decision and the approximate date of the exam.
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3 hours ago, Whodat said:
So from what I am understanding is that the VA do not have nurse practitioner's? Kinda hard to believe? We check directly with the VAMC to see if they could provide services. Who is we? How did we check? A phone call tells you want to here just to get you off of the phone, did any supervisor's or higher go in person and check?
Why are we hiring medical staff at the VAMC if they can't do a DBQ? Why are we paying outside resources big money to do one and still get denied.
I must have fell of that tomato truck. Make me smart.
It's pretty simple. We log directly into their system and look before sending there exam request.
Not every practitioner exists to only do C&p's and DBQs. Most of them have other jobs, like treating patients.
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Your VAMC. Yet you read on here every day that some are much better than others, and some have better funding and staffing levels. They aren't all the same, and until Americans decide to assume the actual cost of their stupidity in other countries by not only happily paying for the boom, but also what comes after, it will stay that way.
The budget wasnt even passed untill March- 6 months late. That wasnt the president's fault- Congress controls that. That means that during a Congressional resolution of the prior budget no new expenditures can be made. So, only critical infrastructure and staff.
The contractors got involved because everyone wanted VA to "do something" about the claims backlog, and then senators got ahold of it. So they did. It happened because of cost, and an aging and growing veteran population, and Congressional people looking for an easy photo op.
As for the VA doctors and mass firings- why would you? Their human resources decisions are theirs to make. And you don't hear about retirements either. Why assume it's firings? It's because of attrition, no one is filling the positions because no one is applying. Look at USAjobs sometime.
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2 minutes ago, Mr cue said:
Well I am glad everyone feel the VA would never do that.
I have millions of veterans who will show you how they do it.
I and many other have play there games.
Rater and dro decisions get over turn daily. So raters and dro are not at the top of the food chain. Lol.
Half the veterans on the site are fighting bogus rater and dro decision.
So I have no love for them.
An you can say we have to do this and that but we veterans can show were they didn't do it.
Last if I remember the veteran that post say there is a closer VA hospital.
Why did they send him an HR and half away tho you guys had rules to follow?
I have a friend they did the same thing to he has been in exam limbo because he refuse to travel and hr and half away.
I refuse there exam and they try to put me in exam limbo. But I did a petition.
And the rater got it back to bva real fast.
Ever time the exam come back with out been done why is there a 30 day hold.
To many get by the little ppl
Again, you assume that just because a VAMC is closer that it is available to do X, Y, Z exam.
They don't always have providers that can just do that- not every medical person in the VAMC can just do C&P exams. We check directly with the VAMC- if they have Exam X blocked out for scheduling it doesn't matter how much you think you should be able to go there. They won't do it. That's their domain. You can't just walk in and demand a C&P.
Its not nearly as cut and dried as you think it should be. Pursue it- that's great, but until it changes at a congressional level the system currently is what we have to work with.
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True- we do have work output to hit in order to track that we are actually working. I tend to ride mine on the lower end than some of my peers but I try to be as thorough as I can be. I manage to be 'fully successful' and occasionally 'exceptional' but you are right.
For the audience- we and raters are not just rated on output and accuracy, we are also evaluated for closed (finished) cases. Pushing the can down the road nets nothing for the time spent and doesn't equal any credit for actual work done. So, sure, someone could serially deny a bunch of stuff all the time but it wouldn't count for anything strictly from a supervisory/work output evaluation POV.
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You are making a huge assumption that there is a VAMC or clinic that is always closer to the veteran, Cue- thats why there are the contractors. We have to check with every claim before we schedule exams whether the VAMC is doing X type of exam before scheduling to a contractor. If the VAMC or clinic is doing X type of exam for whatever reason we have no control over that (VSR/claims people, or VBA in general). We can't schedule an exam where they aren't being done in the hopes that in a few weeks or months the VAMC sorts itself out.
There also is a rule about developing to deny- we can't do it. 1- it either gets caught in QC and we (VSR) get reprimanded for it for "over development", or 2- its gets tossed out on appeal because its usually pretty clear if there is or is not a sufficient opinion returned from an examiner. Exams are handled at the VSR level, so when I see a complete opinion I don't care what it is because I have no direct say in how its rated anyway- I forward it to rating. My job is done.
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It’s just a proposal. It’s not anything until it’s codified.
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You can, but you'll have to have a diagnosis or at least something to connect it. Sleep apnea, unless central, is a physical obstruction to breathing. If you have central sleep apnea you'll need a sleep study that says so.
You can claim knee pain secondary to back pain. That doesn't mean it will be approved, but you can claim it.
Replacement for recalled CPAP, Philips recall
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
Is it the black one? Thats the ver2, right?