ptsd No Nod...totally Screwed

[sjh4951]

Looks like my late husband never filed a NOD to his ptsd denial although he did submit new evidence within that time frame.

All this worry about the va not accepting the amended 214 and now I find it's the lack of NOD that got my claim for accrued screwed up. Bill had a rep for his claim...why did the vet rep not tell us that a NOD was needed???? How were WE suppose to know that a NOD was needed??

Not to mention the last denial stated that Bill had one year from that date to submit and now I'm being told that that was an administrative error and the date was actually 6 months prior to that. All this down the drain because proper procedure was not followed?? I'm so upset.......all those years he (and my children and I) suffered from ptsd and this is how it ends, all over because of one missing form? For all I know he did send it and it was shredded...regional is Columbia so who knows?

Anyone have any advise........I'm not ready to give in or up.

[sjh4951]

"Surrvivor guilt relative to his Vietnam combat experience. Doctors letter states:He has carried a number of diagnoses but I have been working him on dealing with the signs and symptoms of a Dissociative Disorder. Many times he has dissociated into a personality state relative to his Vietnam combat experience. He suffers trememdous surviror guilt relative to the loss of two comrades, which he continues to believe were the result of his failure to act against what could be conceived as direct orders. The mental health problems that he has suffered becasue of his combat experience are certainly aggravating and complicating his overall psychological dysfunction.

HIs second doctor sent a letter which states "Mr.XXX is totally and permanently disabled and has been for (15) years. His Vietnam experience was a significant cause of his PTSD and other diagnoses."

Did the VA disregard these opinions because he did not have proof of stressor?YES, THEY DID, AND THEY STATED THAT.

Or did the VA fail to even consider these important medical opinions?IT APEARS THEY CONSIDERED THEM BUT CONTINUED TO STATE THAT IT WAS SECONDARY TO CHILDHOOD ABUSE BASED ON ONE TREATMENT REPORT (THEIR WORDS) DATED APRIL 1993. HOWEVER, THEY SAID THEY WOULD ACCEPT, AS PROOF OF COMBAT, ANY COMBAT MEDAL.

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthre...#ff0000"]I AM TRYING TO CONTACT THE POSTER ON THIS SITE.

These are old posts at the Leatherneck site as to the Rockpile-and it looks like the dates of 2 Marine deaths there might correspond with your husband's Rockpile stressor- hard to know-was he in a convpy in support of Recon forces?YES

The Leatherneck site has mre up to date forums and could perhaps help you find some info as to the Rockpile incident.

But the men he had survivor guilt over might not be the men who died at the Rockpile-THEY WERE. BILL WAS LANCE CORPORAL..SAID HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONVOY POSITIONS. SAID HE TRIED TWICE TO TELL CO THAT THE AREA HAD NOT BEEN SECURED BUT CO WOULDN'T LISTEN. THE TWO MEN KILLED WERE IN FRONT OF BILL. HE FELT THEY DIED BECAUSE HE HAD MADE A BAD DECISION. THIS IS IN HIS MEDICAL RECORDS REPEATELY.

I worked at a Vet Center with the PTSD Vietnam Combat Group-

Many men felt at some point able to reveal stressors that even their wives didnt know of-the SSA records could certainly have some key information that might help narrow his main stressor down to time and place.

I assume your husband's full Unit designation would also put him into H & S company-

But I could sure be wrong-

http://www.grunt.com/scuttlebutt/marine-co...0000"]WILL CHECK

This site might have some info and names as to the 3rd MARDIV in Quang Tri-Hue Province-

If there are vets there whose dates correspond with your husband's dates in Quang Tri this could possibly lead to a buddy statement.HE NEVER SITED THE DATES THAT I CAN TELL. WILL CHECK HIS STRESSOR LETTER AGAIN.

As to the two names he mentioned- if I were you I would try all sorts of different spellings and then see if that might bring them up on the Wall or if there is any Marine site with these names on it.DID THIS AGAIN THIS MORNING..NOTHING

The medical statements you stated here are quite significant- they do not prove the stressor but still- how did the VA disregard these-BECAUSE NO COMBAT CITATIONS WERE ON BILLS 214. THE VA STATED MANY TIMES THAT THEY WOULD ACCEPT CITATION SHOWING COMBAT BUT IT TOOK FOREVER TO GET THE AMENDED 215..JUST CAME TOO LATE.

I'M GOING TO POST A LENGTHLY DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENTS RE; DENIALS, NEW EVIDENCE, ETC; I'LL TRY TO BE VERY BRIEF BUT PER CLAYTON KLEMM AT AMERICAN LEGION (WASHINGTON) THERE IS NO NOD TO THE PTSD DENIAL. MAYBE SOME OF WHAT I POST COULD POSSIBLY BE CONSIDERED AN NOD...IF AND WHEN YOU GET TIME, PLEASE CHECK AND GIVE ME YOUR OPINION.

THANKS FOR GOING TO ALL THAT TROUBLE WITH LEATHERNECKS, ETC; I KNOW THAT YOU ARE SWAMPPED WITH QUESTIONS FROM OTHERS.

[sjh4951]

Ok..

July 11, 2004 Original claim file date. Evidence sent.

Feb.18, 2005 first denial..gave until July 27, 2005 to send new evidence. Gave 1 yr. to appeal.

Feb. 24, 2005 Bill sent "re-quest to re-open". This was obviously a mistake as claim was still open but all rep said for him to do was send his 214 again as they must not have considered it. She said put a rush on it....he had until July!

Mar. 11, 2005 Bill e-mailed VA to question and disagree with new claim date as they were now saying that his claim date was Feb. 18, 2005 instead of July 11, 2004. I have the e-mail.

April 27, 2005 Receive second denial which now states Feb. 24, 2005 is his claim date. Also states "denial is confirmed and continued. Gave 1 yr. to appeal.

July 21, 2005 Bill continues to send new evidence in the form of "request to re-open"

August 9, 2005 Bill sends more evidence and requests to re-open

Nov. 17, 2005 Bill sends letter to Decision Review Officer re: Cancer but includes evidence regarding PTSD but does not mention in the header of the letter any disagreement re: PTSD

Aug. 26, 2005 Third denial received. States PTSD remains denied. Also says now they don't show Bill having a rep. and

says "we continue to deny service connection for PTSD becasue there is no verifiable stressor of record which is necessary to link current symptons...will accept following medals, etc. Gave 1 yr. to appeal.

Nov. 2, 2005 Bill contacts congressman to help for cancer, but not for PTSD. VA accepts letter from congressmen as NOD. Bill again includes a study regarding the PTSD but no mention of ptsd in letter to congressmen..

Mar. 2006 VA scheduled appt at Dorn Clinic for the cancer. Bill went.

March or April 2006 Amended DD215 arrives! CAR now on it. I did not send it to VA. Bill bedridden. Not working on claims.

May 2006 VA scheduled another appt. at Dorn for the cancer. Bill too sick to go. No appt. ever scheduled for PTSD.

May 30, 2006 Bill passed away.

July 2006 I file DIC and also asked for accrued for the PTSD that I thought was "pending" from the August 26, 2005 denial. I sent the amended 215 with the CAR. I get ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE from the VA until I end up appealing both issues in March of 2007. In April of 2007 I receive a denial for the PTSD which states the new evidence doens't warrant a different decision and the vet had no claim pending for PTSD at death. I even called them at one point to check status of accrued ptsd and they said I wasn't even in the system. That's while I just through up my hands and appealed.

[Berta]

With the CAR- it seems to me that VA would have to concede stressful events- as long as you can somehow overcome them as to their belief that his PTSD was due to childhood abuse.

Somewhere-maybe in the SSA records they got that idea and hooked onto it to deny the DIC claim.

I see this as more important-at this point- then even trying to prove a stressor because VA often concedes stressor with the CAR or the CIB or PH.

Were these private doctors who these opinions came from?

Could they be contacted for more detailed opinions?

As someone mentioned- if you could prove your husband was too ill to file a NOD in time-perhaps the VA would accept that.

An independent medical opinion from a psychiatrist who has a PTSD background and who could access all of his medical records- could potentially persuade the VA medically to

reconsider the NOD filing date (if the records show how ill he was in the NOD period and also a strong IMO would possibly be able to overcome the bases of the VA denial as PTSD due to childhood trauma.

You mentioned Workmans Comp I believe and that he had been in law enforcement-

did any of these factors come into play in the VA decision?

His SSA records might reveal a stressor with more detail as well as reveal a better psychiatric assessment of his PTSD.

The bad part about IMOs is that they are not only costly-mine cost $4,000 for 2- but I feel that anyone getting an IMO should have a good idea of what the outcome-for all that cash-would be.

Did the VA-in the decision-say what medical evidence they used to come up with the childhod trauma as cause of his PTSD?

If you have libraries in your area with scanners-perhaps you could cover the personal stuff on the decision and have them scan the decision onto a 3 1/2 disk and then you could download it here.It would be the part where they list the evidence they used and then their full reasons and bases for the decision.

The VA come certainly come up with some negative crap and overlook or misinterpret strong evidence.

Many here know what I mean-

The Statement of the Case that contains their rationale is what has to be attacked word for word- with evidence that shows they are wrong.

[sjh4951]

With the CAR- it seems to me that VA would have to concede stressful events- as long as you can somehow overcome them as to their belief that his PTSD was due to childhood abuse.THEY STATED "DUE TO A TREATMENT REPORT DATED APRIL 1993, YOUR PTSD IS SECONDARY TO CHILDHOOD ABUSE".....ONE LETTER THEY USE, BUT TOTALLY IGNORE THE OTHER'S REGARDING HIS SURVIVOR GUILD DUE TO TWO COMRADES THAT WERE KILLED IN VIETNAM.

Somewhere-maybe in the SSA records they got that idea and hooked onto it to deny the DIC claim. NO, I TALKED AT LENGTH WITH THE DETERMINATION BOARD..A SUPERVISIOR..HE GAVE ME PERMISSION TO GIVE HIS NAME AND NUMBER TO THE REP IN WASHINGTON. HE ALSO STATED THAT HE'S BEEN ASKED MANY QUESTIONS RE: VA BUT NEVER HAD A REQUEST FOR AN AWARD LETTER WITH DIAGNOSES. THEY ONLY USED TWO YEARS WORTH OF BILL'S MEDICAL TO RATE AND THAT STATED PTSD, SEVERE, DUE TO UNKNOWN CAUSES, PLUS SOME OTHER THINGS, DEPRESSION, DISSASOCIATIVE DISORDER, THINGS LIKE THAT.

I see this as more important-at this point- then even trying to prove a stressor because VA often concedes stressor with the CAR or the CIB or PH.

Were these private doctors who these opinions came from?YES, AND THEY GIVEN DETAILED OPINIONS.

Could they be contacted for more detailed opinions?YES

As someone mentioned- if you could prove your husband was too ill to file a NOD in time-perhaps the VA would accept that.I WILL TRY THAT ROUTE HOWEVER HE WAS STILL SENDING NEW EVIDENCE AND IF HE COULD DO THAT, THEY WILL SAY HE COULD HAVE DONE THE NOD. THE POINT REALLY IS THAT HE DID NOT KNOW HE WAS REQUIRED TO, I THINK, AND ALSO AFTER RE-READING THE DENIAL IT STATES "IF YOU WANT TO APPEAL" AND HE DIDN'T FEEL HE HAD ENOUGH TIME LEFT TO APPEAL SO THAT IS PROBABLY THE REAL REASON THAT HE JUST KEPT SENDING NEW EVIDENCE TO TRY TO KEEP HIS CLAIM ACTIVE.

An independent medical opinion from a psychiatrist who has a PTSD background and who could access all of his medical records- could potentially persuade the VA medically to

reconsider the NOD filing date (if the records show how ill he was in the NOD period and also a strong IMO would possibly be able to overcome the bases of the VA denial as PTSD due to childhood trauma.CHILDHOOD TRAUMA PER HIS MEDICAL RECORDS CONSISTS OF "DAD USED TO SLAP ME UPSIDE MY HEAD AT THE DINNER TABLE" AND I SOMETIMES GOT THE BELT. THIS IS NOT CHILDHOOD ABUSE IN MY OPINION. BACK THEN PARENTS DID WHAT THEY DID. TODAY THEY ARE ARRESTED.

You mentioned Workmans Comp I believe and that he had been in law enforcement-

did any of these factors come into play in the VA decision? NO, THEY PRETTY MUCH HIT ON THE CHILDHOOD ABUSE THING.

His SSA records might reveal a stressor with more detail as well as reveal a better psychiatric assessment of his PTSD.I HAVE ALL SS MEDICAL RECORDS. NO MORE INFO THERE THAN IN THE RECORDS FROM HIS "C" FILE.

The bad part about IMOs is that they are not only costly-mine cost $4,000 for 2- but I feel that anyone getting an IMO should have a good idea of what the outcome-for all that cash-would be.

Did the VA-in the decision-say what medical evidence they used to come up with the childhod trauma as cause of his PTSD?YES, THE APRIL 93 TREATMENT REPORT (WHICH I HAVE A COPY OF) IT WAS WHEN BILL STARTED SEEING A DIFFERENT DOCTOR AND THAT WAS HIS INITIAL EVALUATION BASED ON PREVIOUS TREATMENT REPORTS. I ALSO HAVE A DOCTORS LETTER THAT STATES BILL HAD SOMEHOW ENTERWINED HIS POSITION AT POLICE DEPT. WITH HIS POSITION IN VIETNAM. "I HURT MY PEOPLE", THAT KIND OF THING. SHE DID STATE "PTSD DUE TO MILITARY SERVICE." I ALSO FOUND WHERE THE HOSPITAL HAD CALLED IN A VA DOCTOR FOR CONSULTATION BUT THAT REPORT WAS NOT IN BILL'S RECORDS OR C FILE. IT DID STATE THAT BILL MET WITH HIM FOR 30 MINUTES.IT GAVE HIS NAME SO MAYBE I CAN RESEARCH THAT BUT IT WAS IN 92 OR 93 SO MIGHT NOT HAVE ANY LUCK.

If you have libraries in your area with scanners-perhaps you could cover the personal stuff on the decision and have them scan the decision onto a 3 1/2 disk and then you could download it here.It would be the part where they list the evidence they used and then their full reasons and bases for the decision.IT PROBABLY WOULD BE EASIER TO TYPE IT..I THINK I ALREADY DID BUT I CAN DO THE SCANNER..WILL CHECK WITH LIBRARY THIS WEEK.

The VA come certainly come up with some negative crap and overlook or misinterpret strong evidence.

Many here know what I mean-

The Statement of the Case that contains their rationale is what has to be attacked word for word- with evidence that shows they are wrong.I DON'T SEE HOW THEY CAN BASE THEIR DECISION ON ONE SINGLE NEGATIVE LETTER BUT AFTER REVIEWING THE DIFFERENT DENIALS (BY THE WAY, SOME SAY HE HAS A REP AND SOME SAY HE DIDN'T WHICH MAKES NO SENSE) I THINK THEY CONCEDED THAT HE HAS PTSD BUT NEEDED HIS CAR WHICH TAKES IT ALL BACK TO THE FACT THAT THEY SAY HE HAD NO CLAIM PENDING AT TIME OF DEATH EVEN THO HIS LAST DENIAL..AUG. 26, 2005 GAVE HIM ONE YEAR TO APPEAL.

[Berta]

If the SSA is saying that his PTSD was due to unknown causes- that wont help prove he had PTSD

fom service but that statement CAN overcome the childhood abuse statement that VA made.

I ALSO HAVE A DOCTORS LETTER THAT STATES BILL HAD SOMEHOW ENTERWINED HIS POSITION AT POLICE DEPT. WITH HIS POSITION IN VIETNAM. "I HURT MY PEOPLE", THAT KIND OF THING. SHE DID STATE "PTSD DUE TO MILITARY SERVICE."

If VA did not use that as evidence at all-this could be critical evidence for your DIC claim.

[sjh4951]

If the SSA is saying that his PTSD was due to unknown causes- that wont help prove he had PTSD

fom service but that statement CAN overcome the childhood abuse statement that VA made.

I ALSO HAVE A DOCTORS LETTER THAT STATES BILL HAD SOMEHOW ENTERWINED HIS POSITION AT POLICE DEPT. WITH HIS POSITION IN VIETNAM. "I HURT MY PEOPLE", THAT KIND OF THING. SHE DID STATE "PTSD DUE TO MILITARY SERVICE."

If VA did not use that as evidence at all-this could be critical evidence for your DIC claim.I FOUND THAT LETTER(DATED 92) IN THE C FILE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE HIS FIRST DENIAL. ALSO, WOULD THE VA HAVE INFO REGARDING THE VA DOCTORS VISIT IN 1992 WHO SAW BILL WHILE HE WAS HOSPITILIZED?

ANOTHER THING..BILL INFERRED UNEMPLOYABILITY. THE VA NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED OR SENT ANY FORM TO BILL FOR TDIU. WEREN'T THEY SUPPOSE TO?