Legal Reviewing Rating Award

[tom91]

I've been following up on my claim related to hearing. They shared with me this week that the lawyers/legal group is reviewing the rating. On my previous claims, they informed me at one point that the claim was sent to the rating board and later the approval board. What does it mean by the legal area reviewing the rating? Is that what they mean by the rating board or ...?? Anybody experienced this?

[Josephine]

Tom,


Here are some paragraphs from my BVA case, concerning records located at a later date. Is this what happen in your case? I was granted service connection by the BVA Judge and paid back to 1992.

In this case, the evidence received since the RO's June 1992

denial of service connection for chronic anxiety with

nervousness includes some duplicate copies of previously

considered treatment records.

Such records were considered in the previous denial and are not new and material.

Also added to the claims file since the previous 1992 denial were

additional service treatment records not previously of record

and private and VA treatment records which show continued

treatment for psychiatric complaints.

The service treatment records are new in that they reflect

inservice treatment for psychiatric symptoms which were

determined to preclude further military service.

These documents include inservice assessments as to the veteran's

psychiatric complaints.

This evidence is considered new in that it contains information that was not considered at the time of the 1992 decision, and it is material because it purports to show treatment for psychiatric disability during service which was not objectively shown by the evidence previously.

Edited October 26, 2008 by Josephine

[tom91]

Update on my case - They approved my tinnitus but denied the claim for hearing loss. They also did not refer back to 1991 where the dr. stated I had a hearing loss. As for the tinnitus, the VA letter states that during the course of previous claims, there was no evidence to make it sc and therefore was denied. New evidence stems from a civillian dr. stmt/exam and was verified by the examiner. It further states that records show I complained of hearing high pitch sounds in my service records, as well as 'While this could be a complaint of tinnitus, the examiner did not diagnose tinnitus'. The examiner notes that my hearing tests at discharge were essentially normal but a shift in thresholds had occurred compared to enlistment which indicates history of military noise exposure.

My thought is there is a claim here for back pay to 1991. As indicated in my previous notes, the dr. placed a note in my smr's at discharge that I showed hearing loss and required further evaluation but that did not occur.

Do you think I have a valid case?