georgiapapa

Congratulations. Good luck and good health to you and your family. GP

Hopefully, everything will work out for both of us. Good luck and good health. GP

kadmir2004 You may be able to find some research info on Benzene poisoning by reading posts on this website and Googling "Camp Lejeune water contamination." Thousands of Marines and their families were exposed to contaminants in the base water systems for decades which has resulted in numerous claims being filed with the VA for various diseases. One of the main contaminants was Benzene. You should be able to find a lot of info on the Internet about Camp Lejeune water contamination. There is a book out on the Camp Lejeune water contamination titled "A Trust Betrayed" by Mike Magner. Good luck to you and thank you for your service. GP

KansasNavy, To get an idea of what to expect when you file claims for scars, Google and review 38 CFR part 4.118. Also, Google and review VA form 21-960F-1. This is the VA DBQ for scars. Hope this helps. Good luck to you and thank you for your service. GP

bh1981, Buddy statements (plural) from fellow soldiers who actually witnessed your in service injuries would be helpful. However, in my opinion you really need an IME and a strong IMO from a neurologist who could state your current medical issues (migraine headaches, memory recall and dizziness) were "as likely as not" caused by your in service injuries. The neurologist would need to review your relevant medical records and fully justify his/her opinion with reasonable medical rationale. GP

bh1981, Do your service medical records show you suffered concussions due to parachute jumps and mortar fire while on deployment? If yes, did you submit your service medical records to your VA regional office as evidence to support your disability claims? If no, what evidence did you submit to support your claims? Being treated at the VA for a condition you reported was caused by parachute jumps and mortar fire would not prove a nexus or connection of that condition to your military service. If you submitted only VA records, they may have confirmed a diagnosis of concussions but this alone would not be enough to substantiate your claim. Please post the reasons the VA denied your claim and also provide a list of the evidence you submitted with your claim. The more info you provide, the easier it will be for Hadit members to offer suggestions or give opinions. Do not post your personal identifying info. GP

Runrdud3, Letters from your private ENT doctor and audiologist should carry more weight than a primary care doctor since they specialize in hearing problems and ear diseases and disorders. Make sure their letters address the issue of your inability to hold gainful employment and the increase in severity of your conditions. JMO GP

Lysol, Please post a list of the evidence submitted showing diagnosis of her medical conditions and how each of the claimed medical conditions are connected to your wife's military service. Post as much info as possible and Hadit members will be in a better position to offer opinions and suggestions. Leave out personal identifying info. Thanks GP

Congratulations and continued good luck and good health to you. GP

ArNG11, I am glad your procedure went well but I hope you will eventually be free of all of the GERD symptoms and issues. I have healed from my UPPP surgery and go for my last follow up visit on March 17th. I will be scheduled for another sleep study to see how much my OSA has improved. My wife has not heard me snoring since the surgery but she said I am still having some apnea episodes. I know I still have some level of OSA and my doctor indicated he will probably implant an Inspire device in my chest if the next sleep study shows my OSA is moderate to severe. Good luck to you. Keep me posted. GP

chiefhouse00, For the medical conditions where the VA continued your ratings at the same percentage levels, Google 38 CFR part 4 and find the sections covering your particular medical conditions. In the Schedule of Ratings for each of your medical conditions, you will see boxes listing symptoms and different percentage levels. Using the medical evidence you submitted, compare the symptoms listed in your evidence with the symptoms listed in the different boxes. The box containing more of your symptoms is the percentage level you should have been awarded by the VA. In regards to the medical conditions where the VA denied your claims stating the evidence did not show the conditions were caused by or connected to your military service, you will probably need some good IMOs from doctors specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of the medical conditions denied by the VA. Good luck to you. GP

RevanOmega, Google 38 CFR part 4.16 for info on determining your eligibility for TDIU. You should also review 38 CFR part 4 and find the info on the different medical conditions you have and are considering the filing of a NOD. By comparing your current symptoms with symptoms listed in the different percentage levels n the Schedule of Ratings, you should be able to tell if you were low balled and if a NOD is feasible. Note: If your symptoms are listed in two different percentage levels in the Schedule of Ratings, the VA is supposed to award the percentage of the level showing more of your symptoms. Good luck to you and thank you for your service. GP

VetDeniedSince1980s, Have you actually carefully reviewed all of your service medical records? During the three month period you were hospitalized and during follow up exams after your hospitalization, it is hard to imagine that all of the medical personnel(doctors, nurses, techs, radiologists, physical therapists, etc.) incorrectly stated they examined and/or treated the left leg in their notes and reports when the injury was in your right leg. I can see one or two persons making a mistake but not all of the different medical personnel involved in your treatment. I might be wrong but I would think that a radiologist could differentiate between a left leg and right leg on Xrays and this would have been noted in the radiology reports. If you have not reviewed your service medical records, I would obtain copies and review them ASAP. Make sure you have all of your service medical records. They should include the corpsman's report of your initial treatment in the field, reports of all medical personnel who had anything to do with your treatment while you were hospitalized in Vietnam and other hospitals overseas and stateside, reports of physical therapy after hospitalization, medical follow up appointments after hospitilization, etc. Often with injuries like you had, you would have been on a medical profile and on limited duty for a period of time. There should be copies of these records in your service medical records or in your regular service records. I had a serious injury to my left shoulder while in Vietnam. I was treated by a Navy corpsman in the field and then sent to a field hospital in Danang where I remained for about a week. I was then transported to a naval hospital in Japan where I remained for another week, flown to a naval hospital in Maryland where I remained overnight and then flown to a naval hospital in South Carolina where I remained for over two months. I remained on a medical profile for over a year and had regular follow up visits at the base hospital at Camp Lejeune, NC. I am telling you this to point out all of the different medical facilities where medical reports were generated regarding the treatment of my injury from Vietnam. I requested my service medical records from the national archives prior to filing my first VA claim. I only received part of my records and in the cover letter I received from the archives it stated more records might be found if I could be more specific about where I was treated. I provided more specific info listing everywhere I was treated and eventually received all of my medical records with the exception of the report of the Navy corpsman who treated me in the field and my overnight stay in Maryland. There are many notations through out my reports from numerous medical personnel who treated me at the different facilities. There were a couple of notations where someone listed my right shoulder as my injured shoulder but an overwhelming number of references were made regarding the injury to my left shoulder. Also, my profile and limited duty records stated left shoulder injury. Have you reviewed your military medical exit exam for any mention of your right leg injury? Did you or anyone else ever take any photos of you after you were injured showing a cast on your right leg or being treated in the hospital, etc? Again, I think there has to be some reports somewhere showing the injury was to your right leg rather than your left leg. Keep searching and don't give up. Good luck and Semper Fi. GP

vern2, Allison.Hickey@va.gov GP

I learn something new everyday on this website. Interesting info provided by Carlie.

ranger11bv, When I filed, I just filed primary claims for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus. Like you, my MOS (Artillery Field Batteryman) was listed on the "highly probable" list. After my C & P exam, I received a rating of 10% for hearing loss and 10% for tinnitus. My C & P examiner did question me about occupational and recreational noise exposure since my discharge from military service. There is no definitive test for tinnitus but the C & P examiner did ask a few questions regarding my tinnitus. Good luck to you. GP

bassrunnin, It could be a few days or it could be weeks. Hopefully, it will be days. Since you have a rating of 50% or higher, you are now in group 1 in the VA healthcare system and you no longer have copays for your VA appointments or VA prescriptions. Make sure you request reimbursement of all VA copays you paid back to the effective date of your 70% award. You can do this through the business office of your local VAMC. Good luck with your IU claim and keep us posted. GP

Sounds like you are good to go Rick. Good Luck. GP

13Bcannoncocker, I am old Vietnam cannoncocker myself. 105 Howitzers. Firing the howitzers caused my hearing loss and tinnitus. Never had hearing protection in Vietnam, only our fingers in our ears. GP

You are welcome.

Good luck to you.

13Bcannoncocker,, If you can get on ebenefits, keep checking your "Benefits Summary Letter" found under "Downloadable VA Letters." Any change in your rating status usually shows up on this letter before you receive the BBE. Also, keep checking your direct deposit account for your retro. Good luck to you and thank you for your service. GP

Bigchief, I would definitely have the specialists complete the DBQs before you leave service and submit the DBQs with your package. I would also submit the buddy statements supporting your claims. Make sure you have good contact info for your military buddies and medical specialists too if possible. You never know when you might need another statement or need clarification of an issue later. To my knowledge, there is no particular format required by the VA for your claims package. Just try to organize the documents so they will be easy to access and easy to reassemble if the package is dropped or disassembled. I prepared a Table of Contents in my packages and numbered each page. If my package had 200 pages, I numbered the pages 1 of 200, 2 of 200, etc. The VA often takes apart claims packages so I wanted to make sure the package would be easy to reassemble. If you have an assigned VA claim number, you should make sure you put this number on every page of your evidence. If you do not have a VA claim number, I would suggest placing your social security number on every page. Make sure every page has your name on it. I would also highlight anything on the pages that you consider to be important to your claim and want to be noticed by the VA. I am an old Vietnam vet so I have no knowledge of the pre-discharge program and can not answer any questions regarding the program. Good luck to you and thank you for your service. GP

Buck, You are right. If you have been 100% P & T for 10 years, your wife can collect DIC regardless of the cause of your death. You could get run over by a truck and she would still get DIC. What are you doing up so late? Don't you know old vets like us go to bed at 8:00 pm every night so we can get up early and milk the cows, slop the hogs and feed the chickens. GP

richmc, Sounds like you have a great counselor. Good luck with the voc rehab program and your pursuit of a BS degree in graphic design. GP