Dav

[windy city]

Yesterday I had a meeting with a DRO for one of my claims pending about 1/2 before the meeting one of the people in charge of the DAV office called me into his office telling me that it was not in my best interest for this metting to take place because it was going to affect my rating and this rater can look into my file I informed him that I requested the meeting because his people told me that this was the next step to take but he continued to say that I requested the meeting so we went back and foward until the point that this a###### made me mad that I decided to not have the meeting after all. Today I realized I made a mistake and should have gone foward with the meeting and not let this indivdual talk me out of it, In my heart I felt that this guy was working for the best interest of the VA and not me. I need advice on this one I am thinking in chaging organizations and try to request another hearing because I know that I cen get this claim s/c. before I left is office he told me that to not put anymore claims in because they can look into my chart so what am I suppossed to do not file secondary claims because of fear of the VA looking into my chart or trying to reduce my rating.

[Berta]

PS- (I think I am losing my marbles sometimes-you said DAV)

Joseph A. Violante, National Legislative Director

Disabled American Veterans

National Service and Legislative Headquarters

807 Maine Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024

(202) 554-3501

and he can be emailed via http://www.dav.org/

I sued a DAV NSO- I tried to sue in Federal court -because they are chartered by Congress- the judge insisted I was in the wrong court- but I got a scathy deposition from him- and the DAV had to pay a lawyer -and then I won my claims anyhow-so no damages-

I still feel that when Congress charters a veterans org-the onus should be within the federal court system to sue them.

But on the other hand there are plenty of good DAV NSOs-it is a state court can can assess liability of one of them as an individual.

(it was so funny- the DAV lawyer actually told me I should go to law school- and congratulated me on my FTCA case which had nothing to do with the lawsuit but also proved he did not support the Sec 1151 claim I had won)

DAV- this is a wonderful org at their highest levels- and they do alot of great things for veterans-I have been a DAV supporter for over 20 years.I get those DAVcertificates that say I am among the largest supporters in the state.You can tell them exactky where you want your donation to go- and it gets there-I know- I checked.

But those bad apples in their service department have caused their reputation to be damaged.They need to clean house.

Edited January 5, 2008 by Berta

[windy city]

PS- (I think I am losing my marbles sometimes-you said DAV)

Joseph A. Violante, National Legislative Director

Disabled American Veterans

National Service and Legislative Headquarters

807 Maine Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024

(202) 554-3501

and he can be emailed via http://www.dav.org/

I sued a DAV NSO- I tried to sue in Federal court -because they are chartered by Congress- the judge insisted I was in the wrong court- but I got a scathy deposition from him- and the DAV had to pay a lawyer -and then I won my claims anyhow-so no damages-

I still feel that when Congress charters a veterans org-the onus should be within the federal court system to sue them.

But on the other hand there are plenty of good DAV NSOs-it is a state court can can assess liability of one of them as an individual.

(it was so funny- the DAV lawyer actually told me I should go to law school- and congratulated me on my FTCA case which had nothing to do with the lawsuit but also proved he did not support the Sec 1151 claim I had won)

DAV- this is a wonderful org at their highest levels- and they do alot of great things for veterans-I have been a DAV supporter for over 20 years.I get those DAVcertificates that say I am among the largest supporters in the state.You can tell them exactky where you want your donation to go- and it gets there-I know- I checked.

But those bad apples in their service department have caused their reputation to be damaged.They need to clean house.

Thanks all of you for your response and support. When this guy called me into his office my wife was not even allowed to go into his office I guess he did not want my wife to witness everything he said so he can cover his a##. Now that I cancelled the meeting but I did not sign or wrote anything regarding withdrawing my claim, what is going to happened to my claim is it going to continue open or are they going to closed this case?

[Berta]

If a vet doesnt show up for a hearing-I feel it can be very detrimental to their claim-

if I were you I would definitely request another hearing and let the VA know what happened.

It isnt as bad as missing a C & P but still-

a hearing can alter a claim's outcome-

this was your chance to go one to one with them-

actually the DAV itself should correct this for you-

that is what they are there for-to fully prosecute your claim.

[Pete53]

I would put in writing with a copy to the DAV that I wanted my claim to continue and that you still want a hearing. I would also state that I did not attend the hearing on the advice and name the SO and that you did not dell that served your interests. This is what I would do and its still your claim and your decision to make.

[windy city]

I would put in writing with a copy to the DAV that I wanted my claim to continue and that you still want a hearing. I would also state that I did not attend the hearing on the advice and name the SO and that you did not dell that served your interests. This is what I would do and its still your claim and your decision to make.

I am thinking on changing organizations but I do not want to close that claim but I am worried because of the incident that happened the va will close my claim. Can they do that or are they going to send it to the next level? I really do not want to loose this claim especially that I have written statements from people that were on active duty with me and personnally witness my problems.

[Ricky]

Windy, they can make an immediate decision based upon the evidence they currently have. They can not just close it they have to make a decision and issue a SOC. Act quick to avoid this. I would type the letter as recommended and fax it to the RO and put attention: Please pass to the appeals team ASAP. That way you avoid the mail room which tould take several weeks to get to the letter and send it to the appeals team. Have the fax print out a copy of the event log which will have that you faxed x number of pages to phone number xxx on xxxx date. It is as good as a signed receipt as proven by a number of BVA cases that I hare read. JMHO