Jump to content

Ask Your VA Claims Questions | Read Current Posts 
Read VA Disability Claims Articles
Search | View All Forums | Donate | Blogs | New Users | Rules 

  • tbirds-va-claims-struggle (1).png

  • Donate Now and Keep Us Helping You

     

  • 0

Mental Health Records And Claims

Rate this question


cowgirl

Question

  • HadIt.com Elder

I was told mental health records arent automatically accessed by the raters when a claim is submitted. I am concerned, just put in for mdd increase and tdiu here. [saves VA another cp if they're able to access current mh records now. thanks, cg

Edited by cowgirl

For my children, my God sent husband and my Hadit family of veterans, I carry on.

God Bless A m e r i c a, Her Veterans and their Families!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Answers 10
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters For This Question

Recommended Posts

  • HadIt.com Elder

Just asking a quick question if you please. I have a reconsideration in for increase and wonder.

Do I need to add permission on a VA form for the raters to read my mental health records?

I heard that and dont think its sounds practical,m but I want to make sure its all ok. thanks , cg

For my children, my God sent husband and my Hadit family of veterans, I carry on.

God Bless A m e r i c a, Her Veterans and their Families!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HadIt.com Elder

As weird as it seems maybe so in the land of all the forms and Hippa crap.

Veterans deserve real choice for their health care.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HadIt.com Elder

x

x

x

CG, Outpatient mental health records, generated while active duty are stored with the treating facility a number of years: some are retired to St Lois, many are destroyed.

VA Adjudicators/Raters will have access to all VA Mental Health treatment records. The veteran is not always priveledged to receive copies of "sensitive" Mental Health records. Although your service officer or attorney may be able to obtain copies, the veteran is not routinely sent copies.

USAF 1980-1986, 70% SC PTSD, 100% TDIU (P&T)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HadIt.com Elder

Well, darlin, just because they may actually have your mental health records is NO sign that they will take the time out of their day, seeing as how they are so busy with the breaks that they must take, along with the social gatherings and the federal holidays and the water cooler conferences and the weddding/engagement/baby/promotion parties/showers/etc.

What with all this important activity going on, they just don't have time to read all that stuff that those greedy veterans send in to them.

Kinda like the THREE packages of my Social Security award determinations that I sent them for my TDIU claim...........I even got in my car and drove to Waco, TX, to hand-deliver the third copy.

Never a mention of them, not even in the list of "evidence" that they used to make my denial decision. The rater even stated that they had NO evidence in their possession that indicated that I was totally disabled........and my SSA decision goes so far as to state that my disability (100% according to the SSA's doctors, all three of 'em) was caused by my injury in the USMC.

I sometimes think that we'd be better off not sending them a darn thing, maybe by doing that, we wouldn't piss em off so much (what with them having all that heavy paper to schlepp around).

"It is cold and we have no blankets.

The little children are freezing to death.

My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are-perhaps freezing to death.

I want to have time to look for my children and see how many of them I can find.

Maybe I shall find them among the dead.

Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad.

From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Chief Joseph

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cowgirl,

Just my opinion that they would have full access to your Mental Health Records, as the few people I have recently talked to said they didn't have to give any special permission for records for their PTSD claims.

I have to ask for and receive permission to get my own Mental Health Records, but the raters do not. lol

Go figure.

Donewsome

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HadIt.com Elder

cowgirl,

I wouldn't think the raters would need " Special Clearance", to read

your "Confidential Records", but maybe they think they do.

You know with all the laws etc. Being that we all seem to have the

same problem with having our medical records read by the rater,

perhaps for the sake of maybe, you should give them special

permission to read them.

Just my thoughts,

Betty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Tell a friend

    Love HadIt.com’s VA Disability Community Vets helping Vets since 1997? Tell a friend!
  • Recent Achievements

    • kidva went up a rank
      Explorer
    • JME earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • JME earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • JME earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • JME earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Our picks

    • These decisions have made a big impact on how VA disability claims are handled, giving veterans more chances to get benefits and clearing up important issues.

      Service Connection

      Frost v. Shulkin (2017)
      This case established that for secondary service connection claims, the primary service-connected disability does not need to be service-connected or diagnosed at the time the secondary condition is incurred 1. This allows veterans to potentially receive secondary service connection for conditions that developed before their primary condition was officially service-connected. 

      Saunders v. Wilkie (2018)
      The Federal Circuit ruled that pain alone, without an accompanying diagnosed condition, can constitute a disability for VA compensation purposes if it results in functional impairment 1. This overturned previous precedent that required an underlying pathology for pain to be considered a disability.

      Effective Dates

      Martinez v. McDonough (2023)
      This case dealt with the denial of an earlier effective date for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) 2. It addressed issues around the validity of appeal withdrawals and the consideration of cognitive impairment in such decisions.

      Rating Issues

      Continue Reading on HadIt.com
      • 0 replies
    • I met with a VSO today at my VA Hospital who was very knowledgeable and very helpful.  We decided I should submit a few new claims which we did.  He told me that he didn't need copies of my military records that showed my sick call notations related to any of the claims.  He said that the VA now has entire military medical record on file and would find the record(s) in their own file.  It seemed odd to me as my service dates back to  1981 and spans 34 years through my retirement in 2015.  It sure seemed to make more sense for me to give him copies of my military medical record pages that document the injuries as I'd already had them with me.  He didn't want my copies.  Anyone have any information on this.  Much thanks in advance.  
      • 4 replies
    • Caluza Triangle defines what is necessary for service connection
      Caluza Triangle – Caluza vs Brown defined what is necessary for service connection. See COVA– CALUZA V. BROWN–TOTAL RECALL

      This has to be MEDICALLY Documented in your records:

      Current Diagnosis.   (No diagnosis, no Service Connection.)

      In-Service Event or Aggravation.
      Nexus (link- cause and effect- connection) or Doctor’s Statement close to: “The Veteran’s (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service”
      • 0 replies
    • Do the sct codes help or hurt my disability rating 
    • VA has gotten away with (mis) interpreting their  ambigious, , vague regulations, then enforcing them willy nilly never in Veterans favor.  

      They justify all this to congress by calling themselves a "pro claimant Veteran friendly organization" who grants the benefit of the doubt to Veterans.  

      This is not true, 

      Proof:  

          About 80-90 percent of Veterans are initially denied by VA, pushing us into a massive backlog of appeals, or worse, sending impoverished Veterans "to the homeless streets" because  when they cant work, they can not keep their home.  I was one of those Veterans who they denied for a bogus reason:  "Its been too long since military service".  This is bogus because its not one of the criteria for service connection, but simply made up by VA.  And, I was a homeless Vet, albeit a short time,  mostly due to the kindness of strangers and friends. 

          Hadit would not be necessary if, indeed, VA gave Veterans the benefit of the doubt, and processed our claims efficiently and paid us promptly.  The VA is broken. 

          A huge percentage (nearly 100 percent) of Veterans who do get 100 percent, do so only after lengthy appeals.  I have answered questions for thousands of Veterans, and can only name ONE person who got their benefits correct on the first Regional Office decision.  All of the rest of us pretty much had lengthy frustrating appeals, mostly having to appeal multiple multiple times like I did. 

          I wish I know how VA gets away with lying to congress about how "VA is a claimant friendly system, where the Veteran is given the benefit of the doubt".   Then how come so many Veterans are homeless, and how come 22 Veterans take their life each day?  Va likes to blame the Veterans, not their system.   
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Guidelines and Terms of Use