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brokensoldier244th
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Posts posted by brokensoldier244th
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Unless he was NOAA or PHS his exposure in the employ of the DOD wouldn't be considered 'veteran benefits'. He could try networking with these guys: https://usbta.us/
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As a contractor, or did he re-up into the Navy?
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it could help establish a history since OSA rarely just 'presents' one day. I kept a sleep diary of sorts for several weeks, my wife wrote a statement about how she had to adapt her sleeping to wake up every so often every night and poke me to make sure I was breathing over the years, including while on leave a few times (she was home caring for my mom, so I was unaccompanied). We even documented the snoring- she recorded me with a couple date stamped phone recordings. Obviously I couldn't submit them directly but I COULD play them for my doctor, who then wrote up a dx of possible OSA based on the combination of thyroid, inactivity, chronic pain, and meds.
Look also at your MH meds. I am rated for SA by way of meds and chronic pain. I had to an an RO level appeal for it, but it IS doable-IF it applies to you. You need to talk to your doctor/s about the meds you take and research the ones that you do to see if they can cause weight gain.
Also, obviously, rule out what you eat as a possible cause of weight gain. If you eat a medium PH pizza every other night or whatever, well, you know how that goes. But if you can establish a record with your doctor of having discussed diet along with your weight gain and you can rule that out it helps. I also have an extremely underactive thyroid and take testosterone for it.I'm in the same boat as you, weight wise, and no matter what I do Its a huge struggle. If I eat anything with salt, bread, etc, I retain salt and water for DAYS. It sucks. Coupled with chronic pain and nerve pain I pay for any day I exercise dearly if I over do it. A side effect of my low T, low thyroid, chronic pain, pain killers, and weight it........you guessed it. So, it IS doable, but I don't recommend the cocktail that gets you there.
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9 minutes ago, Rivet62 said:
In 2014, when I made the request for the personnel record, they were sending out the basic information that most everyone would want. They did this to speed up requests. If you wanted a complete record then you would make a request for the complete record after receiving the one-size-fits-all response. They may not be doing that now, but that's the way they responded to requests in 2014. I have all the correspondence relating to the requests back then. If you're interested then I can post it here.
Yeah, that's the way the request form was back in 2014 too. You can check all the boxes, but their policy at the time, to handle backlog, was to send the basic file first.
This is good to know. But the record migration into VBMS...does this depend on it already being in DPRIS? The gulf war (army) veteran discharged before 2002.
Ok.
Regarding DPRIS, yes- we use the same tool, it just looks different. DPRIS requests usually only take a day or less on the short end, and a day or 3 on the long end. Its the STRS that take forever.
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What do you mean "basic record"? They are, or they aren't. There isn't a 'categorization', you request, they send what they have. If you don't request all categories of OMPF or request all STRs then I suppose you might get back only some of them. They send whatever you request but they won't go digging for something if you don't request it.
Ive gotten a few back (into VBMS) from NPRC (NPRC has STR and OMPF) within 30 - 60 days. Most are still taking longer, though depending on time frame, and it gets longer if they are pre-mid 2000s or so, like a few months, easy. OMPF only can be requested directly from Milconnect if they are in DPRIS, i.e. got out after the following dates:
Are my documents available via DPRIS?
A: Check the date your Service completed scanning OMPF information into its unique OMPF repository system.
Service Branch Discharge and Retirement Cutoff Date Air Force 1 October 2004 Marine Corps 1 January 1999 Navy 1 January 1995 Army 1 October 2002 Coast Guard Not available via DPRIS at this time. You may be able to find your records in a paper-based archive. You have to register, though, and you may need to disable your ad-blocker in your browser- the page doesn't always load if that is turned on. How you do that depends on your browser.
https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/
I have no idea how long 510 Privacy requests of Cfiles are taking, I don't request those.
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Your effective date won't be until you are discharged. you are currently -44 days from that. Have you provided your DD214? If that is not on the record yet your claim can't be finalized.
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You already submitted the 4142s they are in your file, they aren't going anywhere. The 5103 expires, that's it. You can send it or respond to it earlier just call and say that you have nothing more to submit. They are only per claim. We don't call providers to get records, we mail them and request them.
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You really need to have a VSO or some form of POA present for this. They would know the relevant standards and regulations to apply and wouldn't get mired down during any questioning by attempting to apply them incorrectly. Without seeing the denial letter its hard to know what they did and did not look at. An examiner is not going to cite every instance in your SMR's for a given condition- they are only required to cite the aspects that apply for or against a contention. Did you already raise this information in a supplemental claim- is that what the hearing is for?
You typed that they had access to your medical records from 1984 to 1989- implying that the information you typed as 'missed information' was part of the record. 3.156 applied to information that would not have been part of the record at the time it was rated or to information that wasn't considered, so you have to show, or at least raise the possibility, that the other things you typed above were not considered in the original examination or rating.
You've already done most of that, you just need to factually and unemotionally provide the information above during the hearing as the basis for why you think 3.156 applies as new and relevant evidence.
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It hasn't been decided and finalized yet. It won't change anything with your benefits until its been finalized- that updates the benefits letter and internal systems and also triggers kicking out a decision letter.
There is also a possibility that whatever change is made if you are granted SC for something won't affect the overall total- say you have 60% rating and only get a 10% grant. 10% of the remaining 40% "whole" that you are is only .4, which isn't enough to = 65% (.5 rounds up to the next 10%).
CAS
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Every state is different on the property tax thing. Some only do a percentage, so do full, some only do up to a certain amount of assessed value. ALL have hoops and dates to go through that can screw it up for a year until the next rolls around. Its a great benefit if you can use it but its a pain in the ass to get.
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Don't use Ebenefits- its going away. File through VA.gov. Your hospital/doctor *should* send a notification of hospital stay if they know you are a Veteran, especially if its a VA hospital, but once you get out of surgery get the intake report (that you checked in- you'll have copies of all kinds of this stuff, its not a specific form) or something similar that shows you checked in, checked out, and get the surgical report with future therapy and prognosis. It should say on there how long the doc thinks it will take to recover. You can't file until you have all that because you won't have proof that you actually had surgery until you have surgery. After that, file it like a normal claim on a 21-526ez. You can't file for an increase on your knees until after recovery is complete, but that is what the temporary 100% is for.
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You only list whatever you are wanting to increase or claim.
If you received both now and there is no offset then it sounds like you are subject to concurrent receipt and nothing will change. Just put in that you are retired, what Branch, and the amount, and drive on. That section is more for those that that do not get concurrent receipt or are claiming disability for the first time.
You with lose anything- the accounting part of your claim was already done when you claimed the first time. Honestly, a lot of veterans leave it blank. If it applied to you they would correct it during promulgation or contact you but you already get both.
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No one said you were. The point is you have to claim it. We don't care HOW you claim it, and just because someone claims it 'secondary to something else..." and its not doesn't mean that its not SC on a direct basis. Usually we set up the exam for both opinions anyway.
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You don't have to know if its primary or secondary- you just have to claim it. The examiner and rater make the determination.
As for the rest, no, just because we have to look at the record sympathetically, we do not assume what you want to claim. WE can take a claim for Rhinits and do an exam for sinusitis or something similar if your dx is not for Rhinitis, though, and we infer IU examinations all the time by soliciting the veteran for the 21-4192s with employment info, and the 8940 with the medical info signed by the doc, even if the veteran didnt claim it.
M21-1 V.ii.2.A.1.c Definition and Example: Issues within scope
While the law requires VA to give a sympathetic reading to a veteran’s filings by determining all potential claims raised by the evidence, and applying all relevant laws and regulations, nevertheless, it is well settled there must be: 1) an intent to apply for benefits, whether formal or informal; and 2) the intent must be communicated in writing. Criswell v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 501 (2006) (citing MacPhee v. Nicholson, 459 F.3d 1323, 1326-27 (Fed. Cir. 2006)).
The Criswell Court went on to explain that the mere existence of medical records generally cannot be construed as an informal claim; rather, there must be some intent by the claimant to apply for a benefit. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.155(a).
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Basically, you covered it.
How is VA supposed to know what the Veteran considers to be disabling? Just because it shows up in your STRs or because you get treatment for it afterwards doesn't make it disabling, or even service connected or secondary. In order to be a 'disability' that can be service connected it needs to be diagnosed, and chronic, first of all. Acute conditions (I stubbed my toe in Basic and it never hurt again....) are not disabilities, neither are many of the conditions related to general aging. Vet reps, barracks lawyers, etc. tell veterans to "look at your medical records from service, and then whatever you are seeing a doctor for now, and claim anything you find....." which is lousy advice, because, without some further consideration, not everything is a disability by definition or by personal definition, i.e. " This condition doesn't disable ME".
Not everything that shows up in STRs or Capri/VAMC, or your private records meets the legal standard of a disability with regards to service connection. It creates a lot of extra unnecessary work, exams, ultimately denials (in some cases), appeals, etc. - for something that didn't ever meet the legal criteria and shouldn't have been claimed in the first place. And then, those veterans go to their clubs, Veteran groups, the Internet- and are upset because of the denial, and then pollute the pool for new veterans that decide not to file for things that they should have right from the get go (within the year after RAD).
Now, you have a veteran that should have applied and potentially could have easily won their claim but are timed out both for their earlier effective date but also to show continuity of treatment. It's a lot easier to claim and win something right out the door with STRs than to wait 2-3 years and start from scratch, especially if you don't go to the doctor for it, anyway.
The few exceptions are Separation Health Exams on the way out the door, and things that manifest to a compensable level within a year of discharge- and even those aren't a presumed disability in every situation, much less disabling "to you" or according to the ratings schedule.
How would you like to get a letter in the mail from VA where they just assume you are disabled for something that you don't consider a disability and doesn't limit you, anyway? I have spoken with many veterans and non-veterans alike that don't consider some things to be a disability are are quite insulted if you say that some condition or another is.
Bottom line is, if you want to claim it as a disability then claim it as a disability. You know whats wrong with you and what you consider to be a disabling condition. VA doesn't. There are some situations that can be inferred- like IU if you are likely to meet the threshold even if your pending claim isn't rated yet,- but might be granted, or housebound, but we cannot assume every condition is potentially a disability or know what it is that you want to file for.
Also, inferred ratings can only be done for things that will result in a grant of benefits- an inference can't be done just to then deny it.
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Probably because every RO doesn’t have staff dedicated to in processing everything that comes from veterans and goes in their file, even voc rehab and debt mgt stuff. It all goes to one place and gets scanned in
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Your release out ours? If we do it it has to the 21-4142/4142a.
the med increases will show in your provider notes where they discuss what’s happening. The medication lists themselves don’t show much. VA ratings are about symptoms, that’s hope they are rated in the schedule.
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1 minute ago, Rivet62 said:
Ah ha. Ok then...
Lol... thanks for all you've done here.
Im not really looking for affirmation- I want you guys to understand some of the process behind the scenes so you know why some things happen the way that they do. The time we spend tracking down records and/or re labeling them, merging them, whatever, is time that we aren't reading through them and actually working on your claim.
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Yes, always. Scan them to a PDF and upload them through VA.gov for your claim. Personally I prefer named large PDFs for each provider- I can scan through them all at one time. Some veterans upload a single page at a time unlabeled. They show up as "unknown" in the subject when the scan comes in and we have to open every page and re-label it something descriptive so others will know what it is. If I find a grouping of stuff like that I usually download it all, open Adobe, merge them all together and rename it, and then re-upload it as a single file. I probably spend an hour or two a day doing stuff like this instead of actually reading through it- because if I don't the next person is going to have to do the same thing 1 pg at a time.
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Exactly- when we request VAMC we see and pull everything relevant to whatever the last date we have in your Efolder forward. So, that is something we repeat on each claim- to see if there are more records, or if you changed VAMCs, whatever. When we request from NPRC we *hope* they send us everything but they are scanning paper records - we have no way of knowing if what they send us is complete. Thats why we re-request, and why sometimes after months or years new things are found that weren't in your Efolder before.
STRs have a certificate of completion certification (form 2963) that comes with them so, in that regard, we assume STRs are complete. When requesting from private doctors or Federal agencies (NCIS, CID, Forestry, VHA, whatever) for investigation records, police reports, employment, etc- we get whatever they send us. Private doctors sometimes send us nothing at all- they aren't obligated to do so. Some charge money- we don't pay for records- so we'll get a reject from them.
Sometimes if your date range on your 21-526ez, or the 21-4142a isn't right they will reject it saying that "the dates of treatment don't match". Many of them won't fulfill open queries for dates, aka, you list the last day you were treated and write "I think Ive been treated there for something like 4 years.....". If we guess, and pick a date 4 yrs prior (01/01/xxxx) to present sometimes they won't even do that.
That's why, while we CAN request them, we ask you to do so also because some of them ignore us completely. Its not a delay tactic, or a 'we lost/didn't consider' records issue every time- sometimes they just don't send us things that you know you have. Then vets get angry at us like we're deliberately sabotaging their claim because they called their doctor and got records with no problem. "see!! I have them/they had them, You (va) were supposed to get them and didn't......".
Duty to assist requires 2 attempts to get them- if they ignore us but don't ignore you and you don't send us what you have thats not really an issue that we can correct. We didnt screw up your claim, your doctor did by not sending what we asked for.
This is my day, daily.
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On 2/4/2022 at 1:39 PM, KC3 said:
Thank you!
Also, everyone, I didn't mean for this question to cause any aggravation.
No worries, KC. Many of us have been here for awhile, some of us are grumpier than others. We come from different eras, and different periods of time where VA has messed up in different ways- our POV's reflect that.
C&P exam for increase
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
Same. You may not even have to go. Did you submit the suspension as evidence to your file?