Aaaaaaaaagggggghhhhhh

[free_spirit_etc]

05/28/2008

Thank you for checking on that and thank you for sending me a Copy of my husband’s C-file.

I previously requested a copy of the Medical Opinion dated October 19, 2007 that the Rating Decision dated October 22, 2007 indicates was evidence reviewed in making the decision.

I am not finding a copy of such Opinion in my husband’s C-file.

The closest thing I can find is a Medical Opinion that is written on a Report of Contact (Form 119). However, the copy of the report I received does not indicate the date it was written. The date MAY be on the second page, as the page I DID receive has (Over) written on the bottom.

As I only received a copy of the first page of this report, would it be possible for me to receive a copy of the remainder of this report?

Also, is it possible that the report the October 22, 2007 decision refers to was actually written in October 2007, rather than October 19, 2006?

The partial report I did receive appears that it was written in response to the Request for a Medical Opinion indicated in the file. This form also does not have a date, but the fact that it is asking for an opinion in regard to entitlement for benefits due to the veteran at the time of death would indicate the opinion was requested AFTER my husband’s February 2007 death.

I would like to request to be sent the remainder of the report, as I only received the first page of the report.

I would also like to find out if this is the report the October 22, 2007 decision is referring to. If not, I would still like to receive a copy of the Medical Opinion dated October 19, 2007 that the VA used as evidence in deciding my claim.

06/03/2008 01:31 PM

We have provided all information from Mr. Xxx claim file.

Could you forward a copy of the VAF 119 that you currently

have and we might be able to do further research.

06/08/2008 03:37 PM

I sent a copy of the VAF 119 that looks like the medical opinion the denial letter is referring to. I sent it by certified mail receipt number xxxx on June 6, 2008.

06/16/2008 09:23 AM

With regard to your request for copies of records, we must hve this request over you written signature.

06/16/2008 12:06 PM

Could you tell me if you did find the other side of the doctor opinion letter that was written on the other side of the VAF 119?

I indicated that I did not get the second page to that in the copy of the C-file I received on the 05/28/2008 post on this thread, and you asked me to forward a copy of the report to help with your research.

I would like to know if the second page of the report was located.

If I am required to submit another written signed request to get the second page of the report, I will do so. However, I would like to know if the second page has been located (or actually, as the page I received said “over” at the bottom of the page, it is most likely the back page of that report, rather than a second page of the original). I would additionally like to know if this is the October 16, 2006 medical opinion the adjudicator was referring to in the October 22, 2007 notice.

06/20/2008 10:14 AM

To be able to have someone review the file for that particular VAF119, Please provide us with the date on the VAF119 and we will someone review the file for the back page.

AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Free

Edited June 20, 2008 by free_spirit_etc

[free_spirit_etc]

Berta, I requested both at the same time. I requested a copy of his C-file to INCLUDE his medical records - and to SPECIFICALLY include his discharge physical...in June 2007.

After viewing his claim file in July 2007 - I sent a request for a copy of his discharge physical as a LIMITED request WHILE I was waiting for the C-file...since I was not able to view the discharge physical on my appointment, as it could not be found.

I am not sure they looked for it. They said I got to view the whole record - and if his discharge physical was of record - it would be in there.

When I received my denial letter in October 2007, I requested a copy of the medical opinion on which the denial was based.

I was told in February 2008 that I would receive a copy of that while I was waiting for the entire C-file.

I received the entire C-file in May 2008. It does not include his discharge physical - and it only includes the first page of the medical opinion - (which says "over" at the bottom.

I am still trying to get the second page of that opinion.

They told me to send a copy of the opinion I was referring to. I sent that. But now they said they need the date of the opinion to be able to find it.

The part of the opinion I received does not HAVE a date.

I did get his other SMR's - and copies of other medical records.

Free

Free- it seems they did send you the C file-

but when did you request the medical records?- they are separate from the C file-

It is the clinical medical records that any IMO doctor needs.

[free_spirit_etc]

Yes. I am aware of that...that it might not make anything better.

I would imgaine to get the best results - it would be best to keep the inquiry pretty specific. It is my understanding that most often the Congressperson just forward what you send them - and the VA answers those questions.

My husband sent a Senator Inquiry - about the closing of his claim. Though the VA still maintained the claim had been closed and reopened, (and was not on appeal) - at least they ANSWERED the Senator - and stated that it HAD been closed and the reasons. They totally ignored my husband's own inquiries into the matter.

So it seems like if you are trying to at least get an answer - a Senator can help.

In this case, I might ask the Senator / Congressman to inquire

1. As to whether the evidence I sent by certified mail June 6, 2007 was timely submitted in response to my June 7, 2007 VCAA notice.

2. If I can receive a copy of the second page of the medical opinion that was used to deny my claim.

3. If the VA would try to obtain a copy of my husband's discharge physical...which should at least get a specific response as to whether the discharge physical can be found - instead of all the general run-around telling me I have received the entire record, but that neither admits or denies that his discharge physical is in his record.

(And I do think this is an important factor in my claim - as we are claiming for post-service diagnosis of an illness - but the evidence of my husband's physical condition at the time of discharge is missing.)

I might also ask the Congressman to resubmit my claim for burial benefits - in hopes that the VA won't lose this one.

I was hoping that if I kept my inquiry pretty specific - that I would have better results than if I just rattled off every problem I have with the VA.

Free

Anyone thinking about getting a Congress person involved ---- be careful.

Yes............... it may help at times --- but it can also grind you claim to a halt.

I've seen it happen fairly often often.

Example:

Vet's been thru years of trying to get some issues straightened out.

Vet feel's and many times is --- getting no where.

Vet calls, emails or writes Congressperson.

Congressperson's AID read's or listen's to the vet..... ha, ha, ha.

Aid sends VARO a standardized letter about vet, very brief, but after all it is on Official

Letterhead you know.

VARO sends Congressperson standardized 5 or 6 page response, which only contains

any and all negative answers vet has already gotten, it at times,will not list the evidence

that is positive towards granting the claim , it will sat things like we sent vet a

release form to sign and that the veteran has yet to return it etc.....

well guess what -- it is on Official Letterhead, you know.

I am in no way stating this ALWAYS happens - But I AM stating I know positively

this DOES HAPPEN.

jmho,

Hope this helps a vet.

carlie

[free_spirit_etc]

I think this is an important factor. I don't expect much help from a Congressional Inquiry into actually being awarded benefits.

I would imagine even indicating that they had not considered such and such evidence, or that I should be awarded benefits based on this or that - would most likely just result in a letter explaining how they made whatever decisions they did based on law.

However, I would expect a Congressional Inquiry to be helpful in matters such as the procedures invovled in processing claims - and whether they are following those.

I imagine if I ask the Congressman to help assure that my resubmitted claim for burial benefits gets processed and not lost - that the Congressman will get a letter informing him that they are processing the claim. But I also expect that it will be processed this time - and NOT lost.

I would expect that if I ask a Congressman to inquire as to whether I can get the second page of the medical opinion used to deny my claim - they will actually LOOK for it - instead of just telling him I got the whole record and that I have to send them the date of a form THEY did not put a date on before they can help me.

I am hoping that if I ask them to acknowledge that the evidence I sent June 6, 2008 was within one year of the June 7, 2007 notice - they will be able to acknoweldge that.

And I am hoping if I have a Congressman check on the status of my multiple requests for extension of time to submit evidence based on the VA's FAILURE to send ME the material I needed for almost a YEAR - that they will AT LEAST grant the extension or deny it - rather than act like I never asked.

So I AM hoping that an inquiry will help me - not so much in getting benefits granted, but in getting the VA to at least answer the questions that have been asked.

I might also ask the Congressman to check on the status of the money the VA reclaimed from my bank account in August 2007 - though a VA transmission to STOP the reclaimation process, as I was entitled to the payment as a surviving spouse, was placed in my record in June.

Again, I imagine the Congressman would get a letter telling him they are diligently working on it. However, they might also be motivated to actually diligently work on it at that point.

My claim might grind to a halt - but it isn't moving very fast anyway. I wouldn't even mind slower - as long as it stands a better chance of actually being done correctly.

Free

Carlie,

(I had to truncate your post to make mine fit.)

I don't doubt what you have stated, especially with the VA; I just want to make a comment. I handled approximately a dozen congressional inquiries while I was in the Army and upon receipt of each of them, people jumped through hoops to obtain the necessary information to resolve the issue within seven workdays (usually). In almost all the cases I personally saw, the documentation we sent the congressperson mirrored what we had sent the soldier. The decisions we made and were disagreed with by the solider(s) were based on law, not regulation (e.g., ceiling on reenlistment bonus, qualifying criteria for an allowance, etc.). The reply was not standardized and it often was impossible to state something positive when the soldier was outright not entitled to what he/she claimed.

On the other hand, I have seen plenty of cases discussed on Hadit where there was "Something rotten in Denmark"...err...the VA. Anything the claimant can do to rectify his/her claim (even protesting outside the VA with signs as one vet did) is warranted.

In closing, my thoughts on this issue apply to me--I had a DRO appeal denied because there was no cue and I did not submit new and material evidence. Obviously, nothing I said here changes the validity of your experiences and observations. I just wanted to point out that there are occasions when an organization can report only the negative aspect of a situation.

Ron

[Ron II]

Hi Free,

I (a non-expert) agree. As I mentioned, "On the other hand, I have seen plenty of cases discussed on Hadit where there was "Something rotten in Denmark"...err...the VA. Anything the claimant can do to rectify his/her claim (even protesting outside the VA with signs as one vet did) is warranted."

I wish you luck and success.

Ron

[Berta]

Your claim will definitely need an independent medical opinion -

I requested my husband's medical records right after he died and got them within a few weeks-

the VA is slower these days but I absolutely had to have them to even begin to present my claim man years ago and glad I had them for me present claim as my IMO doctor had to have them too.

The medical records are requested separately from the C file-

If the VA has a written request from you and they have been stalling on sending the medical records- you have to pressure them to send them out-

This in my opinion would possibly be smething a Congressman could help with-to see why your request was not honored.

Was it a question of your standing as a surviving spouse-

as I mentioned before- I had no problems getting my husband's medical records a decade ago.

The VA knew I was his surviving spouse.

A few years ago when I needed a clear copy of some blood chemistry reports when I re-opened my claim( the copy they sent me was only a partial xeroX- it took months to get a legible copy of this record because the VA (I dealt with the same VA I sued under FTCA) demanded I send them my administrative legal papers from the court house-proving I was the surviving spouse.

I had copies of the papers they needed and sent to the Records Access Officer.

Then ,after many weeks passed-she said they needed something with the court house seal on it so I had to go to the county court house to get that-

this was all ridiculous for a copy of a medical record that was illegible (and of course critical to my reopened claim)

MANY months passed with more hold ups until I got the legible record-

my point is-I guess things have changed since I first requested Rod's records a decade ago-

now it seems they need to have proof of a survivors legal standing before they release them-

How have they acknowledged the request you made for your husband's medical records?

Have they asked for anything that shows you were executor or administrator of his estate before they will release them?

Since you will need an IMO for this claim-which no doctor wil write without complete medical records, a COngressman might be able to help when you tell them when you requested the medical records and that VA has failed to send to you what you must have in order to get an IMO.

If the VA did ask you for some legal papers, as they asked me for-not for my first request but just for the clarified record-

and you fully complied with that request- make sure you tell the COngressman that too.

[Berta]

PS-forgot to add-

you should have received a VCAA letter long ago and I would think it specifically spelled out that you needed medical evidence ( they often say independent medical opinion to widows )in order to support your claim.

Send the Congresserson a copy of the letter whch also supports that you requested his medical records (send copy of your formal request for the medivcal records with your signature on it),

send copy of anything else the VA requested-if they did- to prove you were surviving spouse and should get copies of the medical records, and tell the Congressman that you cannot obtain an independent medical opinion without them.

Have you tried to get a vet rep who has offices in or near the same RO you deal with?