georgiapapa

USCG CWO4, You stated you filed a claim for depression (changed to PTSD by VA) in June 2013 but there is no mention in your post that you filed a claim for your knee replacements. Did you actually file a claim for your knee replacements? GP

Navy4life, An IME is an Independent Medical Evaluation or basically a thorough well documented exam by physicans, dentist, etc. In your case, your dentist would need to state in your IMO that they conducted a thorough examination of your teeth and in their opinion the damage to your teeth were "as likely as not" (or "more likely than not", etc.)caused by your current service connected eating disorder. If you haven't already done so, I would provide your eating disorder medical records to your dentist for their review. The dentist needs to state in the IMO that they have reviewed all of your eating disorder medical records. The dentist's medical opinion would have to be supported by reasonable medical rationale. As I previously stated, there is info on Hadit regarding IMOs. I believe Berta or Carlie posted a sample IMO on Hadit. I would suggest providing your dentist with a sample copy of an IMO. GP

jefmil50, As a result of your email to Undersecretary Hickey, you will probably receive a call from the RO in a day or two. When they call, ask them where to send the NOD. Good luck to you. GP

No problem Andy. Good luck to you and Semper Fi. GP

Navy4life, I believe you will only be eligible for dental work on the teeth damaged as a result of the eating disorder unless your dentist stated your eating disorder is damaging other teeth as well. JMO. GP

Buck, I may be wrong but my reasoning for my opinion regarding the dental injury being secondary to a service connected condition is based on 38 CFR 3.310 (a) "Disabilities that are proximately due to, or the result of, a service connected condition." If Navy4life damaged her front teeth due to her eating disorder, the damaged teeth should be considered secondary to her service connected eating disorder and therefore service connected. Navy4life's dentists have completed DBQs for dental disability claim (VA form 21-0960D-1) which have been submitted with her FDC claim. There are about nine (9) different classifications or groups of veterans eligible for VA dental care. 100% P & T veterans are one (1) of the classifications or groups. GP

63SIERRA, Correction on spelling: Canandaigua Sorry. GP

63SIERRA, This might be where the call came from. Cananadaigua VAMC 585-394-2000 1-800-204-9917 GP

Fat, At this point, the VA has not designated any of the diseases on their Camp Lejeune list as presumptive. I believe there would have to be evidence provided showing the veteran's leukemia was directly caused by his exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987. The VA's current list of diseases is only used to provide free medical treatment to exposed veterans and exposed family members diagnosed with diseases on the list. Was the veteran a boots on the ground or brown water Vietnam veteran? Does the veteran have chronic B-cell leukemia? If yes to both questions, the widow would qualify for DIC benefits in my opinion. GP

Fat, I did not mean to come across as callous but I am not aware of any other benefits available to the widow of a Camp Lejeune veteran other than what I mentioned above. At this point, very few veterans are receiving any compensation for diseases they are suffering from after being exposed to the water. GP

Fat, Unless the widow herself was exposed to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune for 30 days or more and was diagnosed with one of the diseases on the VA's list of specified diseases, she would not be entitled to any more than any other widow of a veteran except she could receive free health care for her diagnosed disease. JMO GP

You are welcome. Take care. GP

Navy4life, IMO is Independent Medical Opinion. There is a sample IMO somewhere on Hadit. Doctors preparing an IMO need to make sure the IMO contains specific info and terminology required by the VA? You should be able to find plenty of info on Hadit regarding IMOs. Since you already have an FDC filed, you may want to hold off submitting anything else until you receive a decision. If you submit additional evidence at this point, your claim will be changed from an FDC to a standard claim and will take much longer to be processed. If your FDC claim is denied, you could then file a NOD and submit any new evidence including your IMOs. When you win your claim, you should be able to submit your receipts and get reimbursed for your dental expenses. JMO Take care. GP

Navy4life, Based on the info provided in your post, I believe you should be able to show the damage to your teeth as secondary to your service connected eating disorder. In addition to the DBQs, I would have your dentists prepare IMOs showing a nexus between your service connected eating disorder and your injury to your teeth. In my opinion, the DBQs just do not contain adequate info. The opinion of your dentists in the IMOs must be supported by reasonable medical rationale. Good luck. GP

D4rest, Unfortunately, what Paul stated in his post makes sense and I believe he is right about restarting the process which you have done. However, you should seek guidance from someone who is an expert on the IDES process and VA claims process before you do anything else. It appears mistakes have been made and you need guidance to make sure everything is done properly from this point forward. Speaking as someone who is not familiar with the IDES process, it appears to me your husband would have been better off taking medical retirement as he probably would have his 100% VA rating by now. I don't understand why there wasn't an assigned military advisor advising and guiding your husband through each step of the IDES process and his military retirement to make sure everything was done appropriately so your husband received all of the benefits he earned. If Paul is correct, someone in the military should have told your husband that being processed out on regular retirement would negate his IDES ratings. I may be totally off base but I believe your husband's situation could have been avoided if he had received proper guidance from the military. I wish both of you well and I still believe your husband can prevail with his VA claims but it will just take more time. JMO Take care. GP

D4rest, I can not answer your question. Hopefully, Berta will see your topic and offer her suggestions. GP

D4rest, Berta is online now so I hope she sees your post snd responds. GP

Andy, My granddaughter is also considered high functioning. She is classified as Asperger's Syndrme. She has an amazing memory. She can watch a TV show and memorize the lines and she also has all of the lines in some. of her favorite books memorized. However, she has problems socializing with others and making friends. I know there are a lot of children of AO veterans who are also veterans, including some here on Hadit. GP.

D4rest, I am so sorry things have not worked out for you and your husband. It just seems to me there has to be something that could be done to straighten this situation out. Again, I hope Berta and others on Hadit will offer you some suggestions. I really believe Berta may have some helpful suggestions. You might want to repost your topc and title it "Please Help." I can see where the current title of your post might not attract many viewers. It only attracted me because I saw it was posted today and I read all current posts. Just curious, did you provide any evidence for your 4-17-15 claim other than the evidence provided in the original claim? If you submit the same evidence, the claim will probably be denied again. What new evidence did you provide for the 4-17-15 claim? Have you considered getting an IMO (Independent Medical Opinion) from a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of your husband's specific medical conditions? The medical specialist would hopefully be able to show a nexus between your husband's medical conditions and his medical service. Since most of his conditions are orthopedic in nature, an IMO from an orthopedic doctor or perhaps a radiologist would be needed. A lot of Hadit members recommend Dr. Bash who is a radiology background. Would it be possible to get a signed statement from your husband's commander stating why he was only declared fit for duty so he could finish his last 6 months of duty and be eligible for his military retirement? Do you have someone helping you with the claim? I am just throwing out ideas and asking questions because I know there has to be a solution to your husband's claim situation. GP

Fat, I am not a VA legal expert and I still don't fully grasp or understand Chronicity or Continuity of Symptomology. When I respond to a post on Hadit, sometimes I might cite a VA policy or refer others to 38 CFR part 4 but that is about as far as I can go regarding VA legalease. From what I have been told by others, continuing symptoms may be all that is legally required under Continuity of Symptomology. Often when I post a response, I try to put myself in the place of a VA rating official and try to understand how they might view or interpret the evidence provided by a claimant. This is what I had in mind in my earlier response to your post. With no follow up records of treatment, where is your medical proof of symptoms? If you do have medical records showing you reported symptoms but no treatment was received, VA raters could attribute the symptoms to another medical condition not being claimed. VA raters could also ask "where is the disability if no treatment was required for the symptoms reported?" I just believe a claim is much stronger if there are medical records showing a Continuity of Treatment after military service for the medical condition initially diagnosed during military service. JMO Good luck and take care. GP

D4rest, Please post as much info about your husband's claims as possible. A list of the medical conditions (diseases or injuries), info on treatment for any medical conditions after PEB, etc, would be helpful. The more detailed info you can provide, the more Hadit members will be in a better position to help. Based on what you posted about your husband receiving a 100% combined rating from the military on September 8, 2014, I believe your husband will eventually prevail with his VA disability claims. JMO GP

D4rest, In your post you stated, "My husband called today and they said they closed the case (April 9, 2015 - after he retired March 31st) because PEB listed him as fit for service." Did your husband call the VA at 1-800-827-1000? If so, after they told him the case had been closed on April 9th, did he ask if an award for compensation had been granted? Did they actually tell your husband they had closed his VA compensation claim because PEB listed him as fit for service? Hopefully, Berta and others will chime in with some suggestions which may help you and your husband. Good luck and take care. GP

D4rest, When you checked ebenefits, did you check under "VA Letters?" If not, go to "VA Letters" and see if there is a "Benefits Summary Letter." This letter will usually show the current rating status before any notification is received by the veteran from the VA. GP

josef7070, I understand your frustration but you should think long and hard about ever refusing to take a C & P exam. If you already have strong evidence/medical opinions supporting your claims, your evidence should overcome any negative findings from the C & P exams. JMO GP

Andyman73, My second granddaughter was diagnosed with autism and I often wonder if my AO exposure in Vietnam or exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina may have been the cause of her autism because no one else in our family has ever had autism. To my knowledge, the VA has not recognized autism as being connected to AO or the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and they have not offered benefits to grandchildren of Vietnam veterans or Camp Lejeune veterans for any medical conditions developed by the grandchildren. I do not have any personal knowledge or insight regarding AO and Spina Bifida other than what I have read on the Internet. Take care. GP