Mariano V Principi

[Berta]

decades ago we used to say the VA was on a fishing expedition when they would make sure they got a doctor to go against a fully probative claim.

This case at the US CAVC is why I am still pissed at the so called DRO review I had-

and I am not pissed at the DRO- anewby at that time- I was her first DRO case-

but at what my rep tried to sell me.

Mariano clearly states that the VA is cautioned against obtaining an additional medical opinion when the claim already has unrefutable medical evidence.

In my case I raised the issue that

1. VA had already misdiagnosed heart disease, the extent of HBP, and strokes that my husband had -as documented by the OGC in 1997

2. so it was more than likely they failed to diagnose and treat DMII as the etiology of all of above in time to prevent my husband's totally disabling CVA and CAD

and I had 2 IMOs fully supporting my claim-sent in 2004 to the VA)that the VA kept ignoring but my rep said he would make sure they were in the c file and he would make sure the DRO considered them.Sept 2005 DRO conference.

(not a review-I asked the last Denovo sameo sameo decision to be CUED by the VA and this is how I got the conference)

He (my rep) said he thought he would come out of the DRO conference with an award for me.

The doubled edged argument I raised was persuasive as well as borne out by unrefutable medical rationale in the IMOs.

We discussed this by email and by phone.

The SOC in Dec 2005 said this never happened.

The VA maintained I had supplied no medical evidence at all( there was much more in addition to the IMOs) and they would have to get an "expert" opinion.

The DRO mentioned the "lengthy" conference with my rep but never mentioned what he said he did- he claimed he highlighted my argument with the IMos and the fact that VA already admitted to malpractice in the other instances.

Again they remained completely ignored and never even listed as evidence.

This is crap-when I brought up the SOC to the rep-- he acted -after knowing me for almost 20 years- like Berta who---

When I complained to his boss -the boss said the VA had rejected the IM0s.Say what?

You cannot reject what you dont acknowledge.

When I pointed out the VA cannot reject bonafide IMos from a real doctor- like the renown Dr. Bash-

without giving a complete medical rationale of their own in order to attempt to reject-

(and I sent him the regs) I got no reply-

I also sent him info as to who Dr. BAsh was -they never heard of him before-

In 2006 upon receipt of the third IMO-

the Division director wrote to me that I could expect the same treatment of this IMO as the other 2.

(Can he spell state court Litigation for negligence ?)

Mariano V. Principi and other cases and even the regs themselves show that the days of VARO fishing expeditions are over-

but then again I think these vet orgs give them a pole and some bait-

If the VA sends me some SOC full of VA medical crapola I can deal with that and get even another IMO-

If the VA ignores my 3 IMOs - this is something a claimant has to fight back on-

and if the rep org allows this to occur-

the claimant has to take them to task on it. Big time.

I am talking about IMOs that fully meet the VA criteria and thus cannot be rejected on that account.

I wonder if the rep took the IMOs out of my c file-before the conference (he was surprised at all this and never heard of a claimant getting the RO to react on calling a CUE on themselves regarding a de novo review-)then I think he lost them,or never replaced them in the c file (In Dec the VA said they didnt have them) and figured he would just give me some BS that he did present them to the VA.

When the claim went to the BVA I got it back within weeks.

The division refused to help me on that -even when I told them the regs the RO broke and that it would have to come back to the RO-

this same rep then filed a 21-4138 in support of the remand- AFTER he found out the claim was remanded- it was already back at the RO when he filed this CTA (cover his butt) 4138 after I told the main office that their refusal of help was wrong- the claim was remanded due to my letter to the BVA with appropriate case law cited.

I am just livid over all this but anger for me- has turned into action-

anger only clouds our thinking-

it is action that gets results.

MAriano V Principi- a good read-

Edited June 14, 2007 by Berta

[Berta]

I just remembered something in regards to Mariano V Principi-

The director of my vet org in writing told me to expect another VA medical opinion-

this was before I complained to the Gov of NYS.

I have 3 IMos for and one VA expert against BUT it contained some probative support for the claim- she couldnt tell time and suggested the glucose readings could have been in the evening-but the VAMCs do this stuff early in the AM and 7 AM is 19:00 hours in mil time so obviously she was wrong there-

My second opinion from Dr, BAsh (none have ever been read yet but are in ratings now) totally knocked down the VA IMO-

I too sent response to knock it down in some other medical ways that Dr. BAsh didnt need to use.

My 4th IMO can coorborate my clinical findings and evidence on that-

It really ticks me off that even the director of my POA suggests a fishing expedition-

Since I received this letter last year- the VA has done nothing whatsoever to suggest they will seek another VA med opinion.

I wonder what this outfit tells other claimants- seems like they think they wrote 38 CFR and I bet a dollar to a donot they never even heard of MAriano V Principi.

I regret I gripe about these personal points in my claim situation-

I am an action person and not really a griper at all-if you knew me -

I just hope if one single veteran or widow can relate to all this-they will make sure they get the representation they really deserve.

Switching around to other orgs is not the best answer because they all have good reps as well as lousy ones-

but the lousy ones need to be identified with legitimate and documented complaints.

If we have to buy what the VA is selling as to telling VA we can only hire attorneys if the NOD was filed ON or after June 20th-

AGAINST the proposed reg as published in the Federal Register-

which I already griped about to DC and will again today-

there are thousands of us still forced to remain with vet reps so I say-

since they get paid a tidy sum- make sure they are repping you with proper info and attention to your claims.

I am going to print off my own post here-

because I forgot that statement from my POA director-about a POA's suggestion as to their crystal ball view of VA policy-against all established VA case law-and I want my lawyer-if needed -to fully assess the letters and emails I have received from my POA-

if my claim gets buggered again.

As I told the Governor- they have absolutely no right whatsoever to opine on my medical opinions, reject them before the VA ever sees them and they have no power whatsoever to do a rewrite of what is within 38 CFR.