ptsd Wrong Envelope!

[OIF 03]

I made a post in sucess stories, (3)which was a mistake because I only meant to post once, anyway another member suggested that I post here to get a better response from some of you elders out there. I was denied all three of my claims today and I am devastated. PTSD, Back, and Tinitus. I am a Iraq vet that was in Baghdad from 03 to 04 when all the poop was starting to hit the fan. I have obviously learned from this site that my first recourse is NOD which I will file tommorow. The specifics of my claim are on the success stories site but I will write them hear so I can reach as many people as possible. My PTSD was denied for these reasons

1. I failed to check off the box that said that I had physcological problems when we first came back.

2. I was previously treated for depression prior to ever going over to Iraq

3. My accounts of my combat were vague according to them and they can't be substantiated

4. I never received any combat action badges thus I was never in combat.

The ironic part is that some of the same soldiers that were next to me when the bullets were flying have been compensated, and the VA doctor that examined me diagnosed me with PTSD along with a private doctor that I have been seeing on and off since my return!!! I am very confused and hurt by there decision because it makes what I went through come into question and I can't have that. Any help in how I should attack my appeal would be greatly appreciated. OIF 03

[Berta]

Hoppy- good post!-

Do you see this vet's claim as possibly a claim due to aggravation of a pre existing condition:

"ORDER

Service connection for schizophrenia is granted based on

aggravation of a

pre-existing psychiatric disorder."

from: http://www.va.gov/vetapp07/files3/0724969.txt

VA doesnt connect dots well- I hope this vet is not locked into a PTSD claim when it might be better to claim the PTSD as due to the pre-existing depression -aggravated by the servce nexus-OR- request SC depression---due to pre existing depression as aggravated by service.

Does that make sense?

Edited January 17, 2008 by Berta

[OIF 03]

Berta,

After reading Hoppy's message and your concerns about my preexisting condition I am starting to get a little worried that if I have to go the pre-existing condition route, if my VA rep is savvy enough to handle this for me. He said he wants to handle the appeal because that is his job but quite frankly I was not crazy with his effort during my initial process. I never tried to hide the fact that I suffered from depression before the deployment because it is in the very medical records that they quoted on my denial. I have lived with that my entire life but my problems definitely arise from experiences in Iraq. I am meeting with him on Tuesday to go over the denial and I will see the course of action that he suggests. In the mean time, I am putting together great evidence together that I was indeed in combat situations to include pictures, newspaper articles, and numerous buddy statements.

Thanks,

OIF 03

[john999]

The VA is saying the PTSD stressor letter is not specific enough. When you write that letter you want to talk about blood and guts. You want to describe in detail the situation you were in where the bullets were flying and you were crapping in your pants with guys around you getting wounded or killed. If you can do that and there is some action report to back you up then you will be in better shape. All you need is one good event that will show you were in dreadful fear of your life and you want of go into detail. You need to back it up with buddy statements or some sort of morning report or after action report. Did you file within one year of discharge? If you did then I think you will win this thing, but the VA is a denial culture like the SSA. No one questions a denial but many may question giving a young vet 100%.

Also, you don't have to go for PTSD if it is going to be hard to back up. Depression or chronic anxiety can be rated just as highly as PTSD and is often much easier to prove if you have any record in service or filed within one year of discharge.

[OIF 03]

The VA is saying the PTSD stressor letter is not specific enough. When you write that letter you want to talk about blood and guts. You want to describe in detail the situation you were in where the bullets were flying and you were crapping in your pants with guys around you getting wounded or killed. If you can do that and there is some action report to back you up then you will be in better shape. All you need is one good event that will show you were in dreadful fear of your life and you want of go into detail. You need to back it up with buddy statements or some sort of morning report or after action report. Did you file within one year of discharge? If you did then I think you will win this thing, but the VA is a denial culture like the SSA. No one questions a denial but many may question giving a young vet 100%.

Also, you don't have to go for PTSD if it is going to be hard to back up. Depression or chronic anxiety can be rated just as highly as PTSD and is often much easier to prove if you have any record in service or filed within one year of discharge.

John,

Since I have had such a great response to my situation I am going to write the entire the decision so the experts out there can possibly help me with my course of action.

Service connection for PTSD requires medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 CFR 4.125(a); a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptoms and an in-service stressor occurred. If the evidence establishes that the veteran engaged in combat with the enemy and the claimed stressor is related to combat, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, and provided that the claimed stressor is consistent with the circumstances, conditions,, or hardships of the veteran's service, occurrence of the claimed in-service stressor may be established by the veteran's lay testimony alone. If the evidence establishes that the veteran was a prisoner of war under the provisions of 38 CFR 3.1(y) and the claimed stressor is related to that prisoner of war experience, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, and provided that the claimed stressor is consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of the verteran's service, occurrence of the claimed in-service stressor may be established by the veteran's lay testimony alone. (38 CFR Sections 3.1 (y), 3.304(f), 4.125(a) The available evidence is insufficient to confirm that the veteran actually engaged in combat or was a prisoner of war. Your DD214 and personnel file do not show that you received any medals, honors, or badges that confirm you were exposed to an in-service stressor.

We attempted to obtain records from Dr. Traboulse without any success. A review of the service treatment records fails to show treatment for a pyschiatric disorder during service. The available medical evidence is insufficient to confirm a link between current symptoms and an in-service stressor. Treatment records from CHBA document extensive treatment for depresion prior to entering active duty as well as post-service. Although treatment record dated May 29, 2007 from CHBA and the report of your examinatin at the Newington VA Medical Center give a diagnosis of PTSD stress disorder, that diagnosis is based on unsubstantiated history provided by you relating to alleged stessors that occurred in service. Statement you made was so vague that they are incapable of verification. Thus, there is no credible supporting evidence that a stressor occurred during service leading to PTSD. Although evicence shows that you served in support of OIF and you have a diagnosis of PTSD, evidence does not show that you were awarded combat medals or participated in combat and you stressor worksheet and letter do not contain sufficient detail, such as names, dates, places, which would enable us to corroborate your claimed in service stressors, and in the absence of corroborated in service-stressors, service connection in not warranted and this claim is denied.

There you have it, if anyone can decipher this I would appreciate it.

OIF 03

[Berta]

I wonder how the rep you have would consider this suggestion-

Could the claim be amended to state that your PTSD is secondary to and/or aggravated by your documented pre -existing condition of depression.

Such as -

"This claim is amended and re chacterized as a claim for service connected of depression, a pre-existing condition ,that was aggravated by events during the veteran's military service and has caused additional secondary and diagnosed PTSD."

I think the PTSD diagnosis locked you in-

VA will compensate any and all mental conditions under one rating-

but depression is different from PTSD-

please feel free to copy my suggestion here and ask your rep to consider-if you feel he /she might be interested in that approach-

I saw a few claims at the BVA and I wanted to scream-

the veteran had honed into requesting SC for the wrong type of disability.

When a veteran claims a specific disability such as PTSD or whatever-

the focus of VA is solely on the disability they claimed.

If the vet was misdiagnosed -it gets even worse-

I worry about all of you new vets-

a vet could have residuals from TBI- and yet they could have a PD diagnosis and even claim PD due to service of they dont get good rep advise-

that PD claim would go down the toilet fast when the reality is they might have TBI and maybe the VA doesnt even know that yet-as TBI is difficult to diagnose sometimes-

The VA has recently spent Millions for better state of the art equipment to fully evaluate TBI in veterans- and are proposing new regs for better comp rates-Thank God-

I just dont want to see you locked into the PTSD if there is better chance on the potential claim of aggravation of pre existing condition.

[Pete53]

Actually, I think it would be a good idea to notify the VARO that you are filing the claim based on your current diagnosis and you do not want PTSD considered thereby bypassing some of the inflexible roadblocks the VA has put up to deny PTSD Veterans.

I have told this time and time again but even combat Veterans have a hard time with PTSD. Not saying that you don't have PTSD but in my experience almost all who have PTSD have some form of Depression which is a much easier go at the VA.

I know that this is my opinion but it is backed up by experience.