Need Help For Nephew

[kkp]

I have a difficult question concerning my nephew.

To start with I have known him all of his life. and can verify he seemed perfectly normal growing up.

He Joined the national guard in wv and was sent to Fort Dix for basic training, This was in 1978.

After four weeks he had a break down. Most of us have witnessed this,and I know many of you didn't hold these kind of type of trainees in very high regards, as I myself didn't until recently.

To the best of my knowledge he has only had one job since his discharge. He received counseling continuously since getting out and been admitted on several different occupations through the years.

By being in the national guard I didn't know if he would qualify for help from the va. Some one took him to the va in Dublin Georgia in 1990.Appearntly He qualified for medical help, And has been receiving medical treatment through the va since. I will add he has been admitted in their mental ward on several occasions. He still lives with his Mother who is getting old and can't last much longer.

I have tried to get him to file a claim for disability for five years, and he always promises me he will. I live in wv and it is when I am visiting my sister that he tells me this.

two years ago I realized He didn't have the ability to do this on his own so I took him to a s.o. for the American legion. Naturally he didn't think it would do any good to file a claim, but when I showed him his va medical card, an the fact he had been receiving care through the va for the last fifteen years he agreed he should file a claim. As it turned out he had filed a claim in 1990, and his claim was denied.

It is really pitiful what happened. He dose not have the mind to do anything on his own,and his family is not very well educated, so they were no help, and his rep is in la la land.

I finally ask his sister to fax me everything he had on his case. He had his denial from 1990. and what the va need to proceed with his case. (he doesnt remember filing a claim, nor did he have a rep) When we filed the knew claim the va told him since the claim had been denied he needed new evidence to reopen his claim. The va also sent him a letter in Feb. and April 2007 telling him what he need to send them. I don't know what his rep did with all this info but there's no record of any action on his part. My nephew had neatly stack every piece of paper he had received from the va in a drawer, but didn't have the least idea what they were.

I know this is a long post and it still may not make a lot of since, but boy does he need some help.

With what I have posted My question is would he qualify for using a Lawyer. I want to help but don't know where to begin. The va wants proof of treatment from his discharge to date. Of course He was treated by the va MHC since 1990. These records are easily attainable. He was institutionalized several times through state run organizations from the date of his discharge to 1990. Its clear to me that his rep is not going to help, and his family is inept, and I am to far away.( by the way My nephew told me recently he would be going to IRAN soon) Like I said earlier, This Vet.(and I mean vet in every since of the word needs help) needs help.

any advice would be appreciate, thanks KKP

[Berta]

I would have him sign a SF 180 (I will attach one) asking for all of his inservice medical records (even though there does not seem to be any) including his entrance exam and his complete discharge physical.

On the SF 180 I suggest asking also for any disciplinary reports and any other other personnel records available.

Then again- I am now rethinking what I just posted- the VARO itself should certainly have all of this stuff-

can he or you with his permission and this needs tro be OKed with VA- go to the RO itself to see his c file?

Is he on SSI or SSA benefits? that SSA office gets all military records so they too might have some inservice SMR stuff-

His entrance exam and discharge physical and anything else regarding any potential service nexus would be needed by an IMO doctor anyhow-

"it boggles the mind how the VA could say there was a lack of evidence"

yeah John- then again this is what they told me many times and four years and now are working on my claim and reading it all-

It was the way the election notice the rep handled that probably buggered this up-

If VA says you sent no evidence and then they send a VCAA election notice and you elect to have them decide on what they have-

they will gladly deny as they already said you sent nothing-

then again- a DRO review indicates that the VA will review the claim again- but if he gets a sameo sameo - what good is that-

another denial based on no evidence-

This vets c file should either be looked over real good at the RO or he can request a copy of it-

something here really does not sound kosher-

Did he mail in any evidence himself or did he depend on a vet rep to do it?

"He was sent to Fort Dix for basic. He was there for four weeks three of which s spent in a mental hospital"

with proof of that what more would he possibly need for a nexus.

cant find my 180 disk yet here it is on a pdf at NARA:

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-...d-form-180.html

[Hoppy]

This is my take. The evidence that is lacking is a report saying that the psychiatric condition by any name did not predate service or was aggrivated by service. The VA intrepreted his failure to complete basic training as clear and convincing evidence that he had a significant chronic disability before entering. They probably did not even develop the claim any further. The presumption of soundness can be rebutted even if the condition is not noted or even known to exist if the medical evidence is clear and convincing. Before you put a lot of work into this try and understand what type of medical evidence you can develop. Get a report from a shrink saying that he did not have a pre-existing condition and that boot camp caused or aggrivated the schizophrenia. This claim will be can only be won with strong medical evidence.

I do not think the fact that he was hospitalized in the military does anything to rebutt the schizophrenia predated service. Schizophrenia is considered a severly disabling chronic condition with only minor swings in the ability to function. Nowdays it can be considered congenitial or developmental.

The way I would attack this is to find out exactally what evidence the military and the VA had that shows he had the condition prior to entry. His statement in 1990 was that he had his first break in the military. If you can find an adjudication rule in the M21 preventing the the VA from routinely dismissing mental breakdowns during the first month as clear evidence that the condition predated service this would be significant. There actually are M21 instructions of this type for other disabilities.

I know a guy who was diagnosed as schizophrenic while in "A" school about six months after entry and he was service connected. They seem to ignore service connection for people discharged from boot camp. There might be a technicality that allows the military to claim non responsibility for psychiatric conditions diagnosed in the first 30 days of training. It would be interesting to see if the original decision or the exit reports from the Air Force site such a loop hole. Or, do they just deem such cases as clearly predating service.

Be carefull paying for reports. I would try to get into the VA doctors who are treating him for reports. I had a friend who told a doctor he needed a report for the VA for his PTSD. The shrink told him he was trained by the VA and could write PTSD reports. The shrink wanted $700.00 in advance. My friend payed him the money. After several appointments the shrink gave him a letter indicating that he had childhood PTSD and that the military did not contribute to his current condition.

I know this post sounds like you have an uphill battle. However, until you address the medical issues you will have an uphill battle. Additionally, I think you will have difficulty getting strong medical opinions indicating that this type of disability was the result of military service. In recent years there are neuro psychiatrists who are convinced the disease is the result of genetics or birth trauma and they think they can perform neurological tests on adolescents and predict the onset of schizophrenia later in life "with certainty". Talk to some doctors.

[john999]

I was service connected for schizophrenia. It is not hard to have it service connected. It is easier than PTSD. A person can have the potential or predisposition towards schizophrenia but having a break with reality is a different thing. I believe the military did just assume the condition pre-dated basic training, but the actual psychotic break did not pre-date it. The military was just trying to save money as they have done in thousands of other cases of mental illness. I would not give up on this claim and I believe that the hospital records and diagnosis while in basic is evidence of service connection. The problem is that a claim was not made within a year of discharge. Now the VA has room to say that his present condition is due to other factors. I know the small amount of time in service is a problem but this needs the attention of an expert. I still believe that this is a case for a lawyer since the vet is not competent to do his own claim. I would not trust this to some VSO. Terry Higgins was service connected for schizophrenia and still has a claim in for an earlier effective date. The problem for many vets with serious mental problems is that they are not competent or lack insight into their problems and don't believe they are sick. This vet was let down by the system and by those who should have gone to bat for him. I commend KKP for doing it now. It was probably due to ignorance that his closer relatives did not know to push this thing hard right after discharge. I was service connected because I filed a claim within one year of discharge due to help from a private psychologist. Even so I was low balled and was not in shape to file an appeal at the time. It took many years to get a decent rating. If a vet had a heart attack in Basic training would this be service connected? I think it would even if he had heart disease before he enlisted. What is the difference except a discrminatory attitude towards those with mental illness? If the military did more than a very basic psysical exam the vet might have been spared his breakdown. He was presumbed to be sound and the military has a burden to prove basic training(which is suupposed to be stressful) did not aggravate a pre-existing condition. I know a vet who was discharged honorably but it was noted on his discharge physical that he had schizphrenic symtoms. He was service connected thirty five years later so it is not impossible.

[Hoppy]

"I was service connected because I filed a claim within one year of discharge due to help from a private psychologist."

John,

This is exactally my point on this claim. You had a shrink helping or pushing you. It will take strong medical evidence to overcome the reasoning (what ever it was) used for the lack of a rating at the time of discharge.

kkp,

Another idea would be for kkp to start reading BVA cases and see what logic is being used in these decisions. There should be some cases similar to this. Look for any arguments that they use specifically to deny claims when the onset of symptoms and discharge occurs in boot camp.