Carl the Engineer

I have 5 DD214's. The VA will only put two on my letters. I filed a claim to have all of them added and they said they can only put two. I guess you only need one to get benefits, so there is that. But then it dosent show your complete body of work. And, I do have one DD215 (amended DD214) which is very special to me. About 6 months after basic AIT, I recieved a DD215 for my "Expert" rifle badge during basic. Hamslice

Tbird, Thanks, a good read. I did learn something. Chronic. I see now why some of my claims were denied as I could show the injury happened while on duty, but I did not have any follow through or additional action. Therefore, acute. Just another one of those VA things a Soldier should know while on active duty, and not just learn about years after they leave service. Hamslice

rfvst, Not sure what your asking here, but, If you are getting your current HBP meds from the VA, just contact your VA clinic and tell them your meds have changed and they will either have you come in and they will change them after you see a VA doc or PA, or they could just set you up and send you the new ones. Happens to me all the time. Second, and more important, is that you should be filing a claim(s) for anything related to your heart as secondary to you already service connected hypertension. If your HBP and or the drug you were on caused any additonal injuries, you should redieve more compensation. And dump any VA rep who tells you he/she dosent want to deal with your situation anymore. Thats a crock! Just sayin, Hamslice

82, Not only is every state different, but each county will have at least two different departments, sometimes many more. I am a cop in a small town in the sticks. I'm 80% (none of it mental health), and know one knows or asks. My chief knows that I have a VA disability but does not know any of my specifics. I was 60% when I applied and it was not on any of the applications, etc. I even went to the police academy at 60%. I have lived here all my life and maybe that had a lot to do with it. The town asked me to go to the academy after I got out of the Army and then hired me. So, theres that. My suggestion would be not to lie, as that is a sure fire way out the door as a cop, but to only answer truthfully any questions they ask., to include PTSD etc. I doubt that that is a question they would ask. A lot of LE jobs require a PT test to get hired. This test is a lot easier than the military (Army) pt test. 1.5 miles in 15 minutes etc. Anyway, I passed it at 48 years of age, however, I would not be able to pass it now. But dont have too. LOL.. Hope this helps and good luck, Hamslice

Yeppers, That's the VA's "Duty to Assist" in motion right there! Hoping for the best for you and a speedy resolution, Hamslice

Only if you were making a claim for comp in 03. Did you and was it denied in 03? Hamslice

I can tell you for a fact that a dog can smell it in a woman's huha. And you can get it out with a search warrant and a willing ER doc or nurse. Just sayin, Hamslice

Buck, What I meant was if you go in for a C&P for plantar faciitis and tell them you can't hear out of your left ear and show them a report from your doctor, the examiner is not going to look at your ear. Also, if your medical record from your doctor shows something the the examiner does not find, I don't think the C&P examiner is going to say he or she saw it. I had a report from a foot doctor saying I had hammer toe, which I don't, and the examiner marked no in the box on my foot exam. I'm not fighting that one. I don't know why my doc put that in the record, unless it was to get a correct code for my insurance to pay. Another whole subject there. Again, just my opinions, and I too have had very nice C&P examiners. Just not a lot of time with them. Hamslice

If they service connect it, it will be rated at 0% as it is controlled by medicine. I am SC's at 0% for hypertension. You might get a 10% rating, but I doubt it. This is a good thing. Not bad. Once you are rated for hypertension, then claim heart disease secondary to your hypertension. If your HBP has caused any additional damage, you can get rated for that. The VA will not search for or make any assumpions on there own. I found that out. I claimed heart disease secondary to my 0% rated HPB and was awarded 30% for enlarged left ventricle (by x-ray). The x-ray showing the enlarged left ventricle was from 2008 when I claimed HPB. Only after I found out from this site that HBP and heart disease are seperate, did I file for heart disease secondary to HPB and won in 2016. If I knew in 08 what I know now, I would have had another 30% for the last 8 years. The VA does not volunteer any of this info, so remember, you are on your own. And this site of course, Hamslice

This is my opinion, for what it is worth. There is very little time during an C&P exam for the examiner to hit all the checks he or she needs to hit. The examiner is going to check what the VA wants them to check. They may or may not read what you give them, but keep in mind the VA already has what you have, unless this would be new and then you would need to send it to the VA seperately anyway. The down side is, you may piss off the examiner by interupting or telling the examiner what he or she should be doing. Remember, your examiner will probably be a NP and not a doctor. All of mine have been. And again, you're already behind the time clock when you walk into the examiners office. My last C&P was for four claims all together, and done by an NP. She had all she could do to get through the questions on the computer in the time allowed. I do not beleive she would have read anything I gave her. I did look at the exam questionaires before I went and mentally followed along. She actually wrote more in the report than I saw her do, but she was probably doing a lot in her head by memory. She did use the proper equipment. I realize you want to win and fight, but, again, in my opinion, when in front of the C&P examiner its not the time to fight. All of my ratings have not been favorable, but after reading the decisions, all but one have been just. I do have one I am going to appeal, and the exam from the C&P is what I think will win it for me. FWIW, Hamslice

Well I can tell you about a jailer who, against policy, let a inmate use his cell phone. And then the cell phone dissapeared. And finally the inmate went to the hospiltal to have said cell phone removed from his rectum. Probably a good time to change carriers. Just sayin, Hamslice

I work in emergency services, but not health, but get to listen to the radio all night long. The following 911 calls are not unusual; "50 year old female stepped on a toothpick and is unable to remove it. She has walked down to the first floor and will meet you in the lobby". "75 year old male with flu like symptoms". "62 year old male with blister on knee that has not healed in the last four days". And my favorite and lately most popular; "32 year old male who has drank too much". This one is non age or sex related. Everyone of these calls were unnecessary and a spouse, friend or neighbor could have taken them the the doctor or ER. All are at night and could have waited until the next day, etc. And all of these "rides" were paid for by one of the assistance programs available, i.e., tax dollars. FWIW, Hamslice

The thoracic and lumbar spine are rated together, seperate from the cervical spine. And unless you have bedrest episodes, then you will be rated by range of motion. Your 20% for you lower back is probably from ROM. The rater being consistanf or inconsistant with tthe Veteran, I believe, is the examiner can't say either way (without more Info) without speculation, etc., and you win in that instance. Benefit of doubt. I dought the VA changing your rating on your lower back, will have any effect on your SSDI. I think that is done. After my wife got SSDI, we have not heard boo from anyone at Social Security over the last three years. Keep plugging away, Hamslice

I believe you are correct in that you get 50% for sleep apnea with a cpac. My buddy has and got that. You will have to appeal the non service connection for OSA with a private doctors opinion to counter the VA examiner. Do you have private medical records and or service records for your OSA? Anyway, hope this helps, Hamslice

I believe in the free market along with the guaranties that were promised. I know it's an anamaly but that is the way I think it should be. That said, there are great VA clinics and hospitals and terrible VA clinics and hospitals. A true Choice program would make bad clinics and hospitals clean up their acts or they would close. To say we must keep the good and the bad so we don't lose them all is a terrible way to operate. Competition is the key, without it you get what we have now, bad VA clinics and hospitals. It can take years to get rid of bad VA people, but I have seen doctors fired in one day from civilian hospitals. Big difference when your job is on the line. I like my VA hospital (Iron Mountain) very much, but don't go there a lot, so can't say what everone else thinks about it. FWIW, Hamslice

63Charlie, I recommend you shut off your computer for a year. (377 days) Or you'll be scheduling a mental health exam by the end of the year. LOL. Just sayin, Hamslice

skidmark, I see this is your first post. Maybe more info on what you are currently rated at and if not what have you claimed etc., then we might be able to see what can be done. VA is notorious for denials and low-ball ratings. Hang in there, its a long fight, Hamslice

Buck, I think you did what you were supposed to do with your wife calling ahead of time and telling you to go to the non-VA ER. It will probably get paid eventually. I would not pay as you will wait even longer. The sad part is the ER can make a legal claim against you before any of this gets fixed and even when it does get paid, your case will appear on the court records forever. Even when the debt is satisfied, etc. When I was on active duty, and as a remote Soldier, I had Tricare Prime which paid 100% for everything. My daughter had surgury and the hospital sent me a bill for $8000.00. After a year of telling thier finance office that I did not have to pay anything, they finally took me to court. At court, the judge asked the hospital guy what the deal was and he told the judge I owed the hospital $8000.00. Then the judge asked me what the deal was and I told him I was on active duty and had Tricare Prime and that meant everything was paid for by the military 100%. The judge asked the holspital guy if that was correct, and he said yes, and the judge said case dismissed. However, it still shows up on the state run website for court cases, which anyone can access. Like when you apply for a job, etc. And in the online case it does not say what happened, but that the debt was satisfied. After a year, kind of makes me look like a deadbeat. FWIW, Hamslice

Bump for the weekend crowd.......... Hamslice

I am about half way through going page by page going fast. I have seen a couple things I haven't seen before. However, there is a lot of duplication in there. Some 3 or 4 times on some docs??? No smoking gun, yet. LOL, Hamslice

OK experts, Need a little help here. I claimed left ankle/foot pain secondary to my right foot plantar fasciitis. I was granted service connection, but at a 0% rate. I went to my podiatrist and told him my left ankle was unstable and had pain and he prescribed a foot brace, etc. All of this is in the claim. Anyway, why not comp ($) for pain? From my letter; 1. Service connection for left ankle achilles tendonitis (claimed as left ankle pain) as secondary to the service-connected disability of right foot plantar fasciitis. Service connection for left ankle achilles tendonitis (claimed as left ankle pain) has been established as related to the service-connected disability of right foot plantar fasciitis. A noncompensable evaluation is assigned from May 10, 2016, the date we received your claim. We have assigned a noncompensable evaluation for your left ankle achilles tendonitis (claimed as left ankle pain) based on: • A diagnosed disability with no compensable symptoms Note: In every instance where the schedule does not provide a zero percent evaluation for a diagnostic code, a zero percent evaluation shall be assigned when the requirements for a compensable evaluation are not met. {38 CFR §4.31} The provisions of 38 CFR §4.40 and §4.45 concerning functional loss due to pain, fatigue, weakness, or lack of endurance, incoordination, and flare-ups, as cited in DeLuca v. Brown and Mitchell v. Shinseki, have been considered and are not warranted. A higher evaluation of 10 percent is not warranted for limitation of motion of the ankle unless the evidence shows: • Moderate limitation of motion of the ankle based on dorsiflexion less than 15 degrees or plantar flexion less than 30 degrees; or, • Painful motion of the ankle. From C&P exam; LEFT FOOT: Is there pain on physical exam? [X] Yes [ ] No If yes, (there is pain on physical exam), does the pain contribute to functional loss? [X] Yes [ ] No This is one of the recent cases where at everytime the rater asked for a clarification from the examiner and when she responded it went to a different RO. Go figure. Thanks for any help, Hamslice

Winner, winner, chicken dinner...!!! Good job, Hamslice You may be finished, but always be prepared to the VA sneak attack. Them bastards..

All, I did get my CD today. 1650 pages in pdf. Wow. I had to get ready to go to work, but took a quick peak and the first pages are my C&P from my last claim and page 1650 is from basic training. Brought the CD to work. If I have some dead time, I may take a couple more peaks. I did have time to download into my storage drive at home so I do have a copy. Might go to Office Max and have them print the whole thing for me. Easier for me to look at and read, however, I agree with Buck, you cant beat "find" in the pdf format for looking for certain things fast. Hamslice

Scott, I stop at my CVSO (County Veterans Service Officer) and she had me sign a 21-4138. I what I got today, it looks like she faxed it to: To Department of eterans Affairs. F ridence Intake Center, Janesville So, it looks like she faxed it to Janesville. However, the CD came from St Louis, if that means anything.

All, I know we get a lot of "how long to get my c-file" questions, so I like to post my results for the record. In 2013 is was about 3 months and that was a paper mess. Lots of duplicates and in no order whatsoever. Now, I put in a request October 14, 2016 and I see on eBenefits its closed with a February 15, 2017. So, thats 4 months, 1 day. Not sure what I am getting in the mail, but from recent posts, some say it could be a CD. I will report on what I get in the mail and let everyone know. And, if its a mess or not. Another win, small, but a win, Hamslice