Early Medical Discharge

[banchie]

Hi! I had a vet move in across from me and he says he didn't know he had cancer when he enlisted. At some point he had a complete induction medical exam. Several months later while in boot camp the military discharge him on medical grounds of cancer. The VA claims even though he had the exam, the short time period served is not enough for benefits or connection.

Ever hear of a vet being denied after having passed an induction exam and serving in the military? The VA has got the guy believing he has nothing coming, even though he served for a short while.

[sixthscents]

Abe111 has pretty much said it, and well said too, but if the injury is CLEARLY service connected, then an LOD should be done (I have seen where it wasnt) and the VA SHOULD accept an LOD - BUT I have a claimaint right now where they are denying s/c WITH a signed LOD. And this guy was in for 14 years (Guard)... and the injury was during drill, and they are still saying since he was "IADT" he was not active duty...

No bull, right now this claim is ongoing, and has had a DRO review which UPHELD the decision.... It is clearly a case where the rater, and the reviewer are both "ijuts".. We even have a letter FROM his commander stating he was injured during P.T., on a drill weekend.

All this clearly in violation of stated CFR 38 guidelines and they will NOT admit they are mistaken. This is one of those black and white cases... and they still are saying no. Its going to BVA... unbelieveable.

So the point being if you get some idiot who has been a rater for a week, apparently all the LOD letters, and evidence makes no difference. Personally I'd start a LOD claim at the BVA now after the 1st denial I am so gunshy on this.

It seems to me (and this is only my opinion) that they are trying to deny s/c whenever it is slightly possible for a lot of these newer vets. I dont know why, and I'm not going to speculate, but I am seeing a LOT of it compared to say 3 years ago...

[yoggie2]

Hi! I had a vet move in across from me and he says he didn't know he had cancer when he enlisted. At some point he had a complete induction medical exam. Several months later while in boot camp the military discharge him on medical grounds of cancer. The VA claims even though he had the exam, the short time period served is not enough for benefits or connection.

Ever hear of a vet being denied after having passed an induction exam and serving in the military? The VA has got the guy believing he has nothing coming, even though he served for a short while.

I had a child hood friend who joined the army a year after I did and was found to have stomach cancer after 1 of service and was released from service with no Benefits what so ever, 2 years had a son a year old and married. Very sad thing to see your best friend at the age of 22 years old pass on... liked to killed me.. RC

[john999]

I think Hoppy has the right idea. If a troop jumps off the bus on his first day of basic and breaks his leg that is service connected. I know in the case of disease there is a question but I would fight it. The vet is supposed to have the benefit of doubt so how can anyone say with certainty when a condition occurred if it is discovered early in a soldiers service. We are not talking about eligibility for medical benefits. We are talking about an injury that happened in the line of duty. I had to fight for my service connection after the army, so I know they do not just give it away. Federal workers compensation has much more stringent rules than the military and even they concede that if it happens at work they are responsible. I would never just accept what the military or VA says the first time round. They are notorious liars.

[yoggie2]

I think Hoppy has the right idea. If a troop jumps off the bus on his first day of basic and breaks his leg that is service connected. I know in the case of disease there is a question but I would fight it. The vet is supposed to have the benefit of doubt so how can anyone say with certainty when a condition occurred if it is discovered early in a soldiers service. We are not talking about eligibility for medical benefits. We are talking about an injury that happened in the line of duty. I had to fight for my service connection after the army, so I know they do not just give it away. Federal workers compensation has much more stringent rules than the military and even they concede that if it happens at work they are responsible. I would never just accept what the military or VA says the first time round. They are notorious liars.

JMHO, every single thing can not be covered as bad as that sounds, I lost my best friend to cancer and my wifes Uncle receives 100% for Diabetic (1977)after 2 weeks of Basic training(the only work he's ever known) but I don't know, acts of god or nature, I can see if its was a broken bone off the bus but cancer other existing medical conditions like them less than 90 days of service had to be something wrong already? unless you were working with haz-mat materials in the military I really can't in good faith see a service connection. Not to hurt you if your in this situation its just my opinion.........RC

[Hoppy]

The burden of proving line if duty is not on the veteran. I know of several cases of claims involving medical conditions "of unknown etiology" where the symptoms clearly first occured while on active duty that were service connected. I think some of the cases noted on this thread involve conditions which were shown to have predated service. The last time I heard they also service connected injuries that occurred while on leave and weekend passes. The strict intrepretation of line duty did not fly. I hope they did not change this. I think what abe is talking about is better defined as clear misconduct rather than line of duty.

My position is that the military can provide long term disability insurance that exceeds work injuries and covers all injuries once you do meet that 90 or 180 day minimum. I worked for several employers that provided this type of coverage in addition to wages that were four times higher than what I was paid in the military.

Edited December 14, 2007 by Hoppy

[banchie]

Hi! I want to thank you all for your help and good suggestions. I will pass it onto him & wish him well. I really apreciate you alls help!!! I always feel like I am a brother here, and i am.