Detroit Varo Caught With C_files In Shred Bin

[71M10]

Greetings all:

If your from Michigan you might want to read this story from over on VA watchdog

http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfoct08/nf101308-1.htm

If your from the great state of Michigan not only do you get one of the largest backlogs by number and percentage you get to wonder if your stuff was sent to the shredder.

I'm glad that I saw my c-file at a C&P last week, Not sure everything is in it but at least the whole thing isn't in a shred bin.

Really makes you wonder how much of this is incompetence and how much is planned and deliberate.

Best regards,

Tyler

[Cheri0310]

If hadit members want to be proactive on this, we need to find veterans who have claims in process with the Detroit VARO. Any one of these veterans could, and should, call the FBI and the US Attorney's office and make a formal complaint. Having a claim in process would give them standing. The same can be said of veterans with claims in process at any other VARO, but with the scandal brewing in Detroit, a Michigan veteran would have a much better chance of getting action.

These are criminal acts. When the various VARO directors and other supervisors gave employees the "nod and a wink" they were engaging a criminal conspiracy. The directors, supervisors, and all the other employees need to be questioned under oath! I doubt very seriously that some low level employee would be willing to go to jail to protect his supervisor. I still wonder why some of those employees didn't blow the whistle. Someone should have felt badly enough about what was happening to drop a dime.

Folks, take a look at Jim Strickland's explanations of the VA claim process. He says, accurately, that the VA has all the cards in the deck. They are the judge, jury, and unfortunately sometimes, the executioner. The VA controls the entire process. The COVA is a legal joke. The Congressional veterans committees are hardly much better, i.e. "Thank you for contacting the committee. We appreciate your interest in veteran's affairs. yada yada yada yada." My point is that every time we get a chance to expose VA incompetence and lawlessness to a disinterested third party, we put another little crack in the wall they have built to avoid responsibility and accountability.

Each time the true situation becomes a wee bit clearer to the general public, the closer we are to real reform. Maybe, just maybe, one of these cracks will bring the whole wall tumbling down. Maybe it will be this one. We can only hope.

Berta, (not wishing you any further BS with the VA) I see that the NY VARO is suspect also. I would love to see someone with your drive and knowledge catch that VARO destroying claims/documents. I believe I read somewhere that you submitted your husband's autopsy report 12+ times, yet it was never acknowledged. Where are those 12 copies? We read everyday here on hadit about claims being decided and/or denied without documents that were submitted and resubmitted. Now granted not every story we hear is true, but are all these veterans liars? I don't think so!

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the VA gets original documents in most cases. If that is correct, and the VA is shredding the documents, they cease to exist. The entire concept makes me sick to my stomach!

My husband is a Michigan veteran with a claim that is currently being processed through the Detroit VAMC. They have already "lost" my H's in service medical records. I would love to be able to take some action for the benefit of all vets but we are so 'new' to this process that I would have no idea where to start......

[vaf]

"I fear we will see a lot more records go missing since the law is changing on the claim dying with the veteran. Since waiting a person out will no longer work they will need to find more reasons to outright deny (missing records)."

That is quite a comment-ZIM10 ---I forgot about the new way death claims are to be handled-

Berta, I must have been asleep at the wheel. What is the "new way death claims are to be handled," and when does it take effect? What happened???

[71M10]

If hadit members want to be proactive on this, we need to find veterans who have claims in process with the Detroit VARO. Any one of these veterans could, and should, call the FBI and the US Attorney's office and make a formal complaint. Having a claim in process would give them standing. The same can be said of veterans with claims in process at any other VARO, but with the scandal brewing in Detroit, a Michigan veteran would have a much better chance of getting action.

Excellent Idea! However Im not willing to paint a large set of crosshairs on my forehead. I think most of us realize what would happen once you were identified as the person that sicked DOJ on them. Jimmy Hoffa would be found alive on a beach in Brazil before your claim would see the light of day.

Best regards,

Tyler