Imos

[free_spirit_etc]

I know that if the VA seeks an IMO in regard to a claim, they have to send you a copy of the IMO and give you an opportunity to respond PRIOR to issuing a ruling on the claim.

Does anyone know if this is also true for the RO?

i.e.If the RO decides to seek a medical opinion in regard to my husband's cancer claim - do they have to send me a copy of that opinion and give me the opportunity to respond (and have a doctor respond) to that opinion before they decided the claim?

Or can they just get the opinion, decide the claim, and then I only have the opportunity to address the opinion through the appeal process?

Thanks,

Free

[68mustang]

"This has to do with another topic, which you provided some input. It has to do with asbestos exposure. Correct me if I misunderstood, but can I request a copy of the report the VA doctor turn in when I was denied my asbestos exposure claim? How can I request it? Thanks 68mustang "

You can send a letter to the Records Access Officer at the VA where the C & P was done- or even to the VARO- as they too get a copy of this report.

Put your C file number on the request.

Dont use the FOIA for this request-Freedom of info Act requests take too long and a vet has right to their records and does not have to invoke FOIA.

Free-

"So if I submit an IMO on the issue of as to when the cancer started - do they have to approve the claim or obtain a medical opinion that refutes it?"

The VA will either accept the IMO as probative medical evidence to award- or they will obtain a VA doctor's opinion to go against it-

not that all VA opinions go against all claims- but -that is most often the case-

However the VA must provide clear medical rationale to attempt to refute an IMO.

In my case -with 3 supportive IMos and considerable other medical information (plus the fact that I reminded VA I opined on my husband's death and proved it in 1998 so I do have some obvious expertise as a lay person) as long as they VA refused to acknowledge or read my IMos they can continue to deny the claim.

A claimant whose medical evidence is consistently lost or ignored by VA must take -at some point- strong action.

I did and now fully expect my evidence to be finally considered in the next decision.

I have an additional plan of action prepared if it isnt-

this is why I asked- if you have received a VCAA letter yet-

the VA is supposed to send them to every claimant PRIOR to any denial-

the VCAA letter will tell you exactly what the VA needs as evidence.

In many BVA remands of widows claims due to VCAA violation-the BVA stated that the remand is for a legal VCAA letter to be sent to the widow -advising her to get an IMO.

(I say widow and "her" -last night another Female Iraq servicewoman was announced as dead in Iraq. I dont mean to ever overlook that women are dying in service these days leaving widowers and children)

It seems to me (and I spend much time off the board on this issue) that

ONLY when the VCAA letter suggests an IMO- does the VA actually read and consider the IMO-

If the claimant never gets a legal VCAA the claim is in limbo for years-

Also Only if the claimant gets an election Notice- will the VA actually then begin working on the claim-it doesnt matter how much evidence the claimant has-

they dont get the election notice and therefore cannot respond to it- and then VARO turns around and says the veterans has failed to respond to them- and the claim is denied.

VCAA is perfect but- with the way VAROs have manipulated this prime DTA law- it has become the biggest scam since Nehmer retro.

You have made good points as to the growth rate but the VA-when a widow gives medical info and opinion-is quick to say the widow has no medical expertise

The issues you raised as to inservice etiology or beginning of this cancer-

would have to be stated by a medical doctor with full medical rationale and the expertise needed to opine on a cancer claim.

If the cancer can be proven as starting in service- it would not matter if asbestos exposure was a factor - and you are correct to approach this claim from two different positions-

any medical treatises can be given to the IMO doctor and he/she could use them in their opinion-a good IMO doc usuaully will have, however, their own medical references to support thier poinion but it does not hurt to send them what you have.

An IMO doctor-and there are plenty IMO docs on the web for all types of disabilities-mental and physical-will need all SMRs and all treatment records.

IMOs docs for claims that already received VA doc opinion- need the SOC and the opinion itself in order to combat it with their IMO.

An Independent Doctor cannot opine on anything they cannot fully support.It is often hard to determine what an independent medical opinion will actually be.

The good part -for IMOs- is that these doctors take the time to study every single piece of medical information they have.15 minute C & P doctors dont have the time to do that at all.

"So if all the info in the file supports the other info in the file - and I get an IMO that pulls it all together - does the VA pretty much have to grant the claim unless they seek a medical opinion that refutes the opinion and all the evidence in the file?

Technically- if the IMO and all evidence supports your claim- they have to grant the claim.

So that means the VA actually has to read the IMO and weigh it's value as evidence.

The VA cannot ignore an IMO but they can get a VA doctor to attempt to go against it.

Still -these opinions both have to be weighed as to probative value.

If they are in equal merit- both for (your IMO) and against (VA opinion)

the laws that are called Relative Equipoise kick in.

an opinion for that is equal in quality to an opinion against equals Relative Equipoise and the veteran or widow succeeds on the claim and is awarded benefits.

It is also called Benefit of DOubt.

The only problem with this is that VA owns the scale.

Quantity of medical evidence means nothing- Quality of medical evidence and opinions mean everything.

A supportive IMO that meets the criteria that I posted here under "Getting an IMO" is in many many situations the only way a widow or veterans can succeed on their claim.

If there is no way to prove asbestos exposure in your case, then the best thing to do is focus on the SMRs and how they revealed symptoms and manifestation of cancer beginning in service.

A good IMO doctor will look for those symptoms and be able to opine as to whether they indicated the beginnings of this type of cancer in service.

Berta, Thanks for the info. 68mustang