Only Two Pages 1971 Claim

[gp747]

i filed a claim in 1971 and can only find two pages in my c-file one

is the denial and the other is some sort of diagnoses from va hospital

with a diagnoses of schizophrenic reaction schizo affective type and

alcohol addiction.

on the denial they ignored everything else but the alcohol and said was

due to own misconduct . how do you be schizo by your own will i think

i have reason to challenge this decision and have it vacated.

when i filed the claim was for nervous condition was not appealed at that

time. i later many years filed claim for same thing was denied and sent to

appeals denied there also.

i was homeless the first time and in a very unstable state the second time

and did not know laws about this stuff did not follow up did not know was

even being appealed.i have claims at varo now and will wait on outcome

but need to get prepared for any legal fight in case i am denied.

also when i was hospitalized in vietnam doctors made sure

on diagnoses was not due to own misconduct.

Lifting the Stay of Secondary claims for Alcohol and Drug abuse disabilities

What the Federal Circuit held in Allen

In Allen v. Principi, 237 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2001), rehearing en banc denied, 268 F.3d 1340 (2001), the Federal Circuit found that 38 U.S.C. § 1110 permits a veteran to receive compensation for an alcohol-abuse or drug-abuse disability acquired as secondary to, or as a symptom of, a veteran’s service-connected disability. According to the Federal Circuit, section 1110 precludes compensation only in two situations: 1) for primary alcohol abuse disabilities; and 2) for secondary disabilities (such as cirrhosis of the liver) that result from primary alcohol abuse. The Federal Circuit defined “primary” as meaning an alcohol abuse disability arising during service from voluntary and willful drinking to excess.

Prospects for further litigation on Allen

A petition was filed at the Federal Circuit to request that the full court (en banc) rehear the Allen case. This rehearing request was denied. General Counsel has since worked with Compensation and Pension Service and the Department of Justice to determine the feasibility of appealing this case to the Supreme Court. The Department of Justice ultimately decided not to pursue further litigation.

The effect of this decision on the stay

Since the Allen litigation is now complete, the stay of these claims is immediately lifted. Adjudicating cases under the Allen decision means that veterans can obtain compensation for alcohol or drug-abuse related disabilities where the substance abuse is secondary to a service connected condition, such as a mental disorder. In addition, substance abuse may be a symptom of worsening of a service-connected condition resulting in a higher rating for that condition. It is up to the decision maker to determine whether an alcohol or drug abuse disability is actually caused by a service-connected disability.

All inquiries on filing or reopening a claim for the above mentioned disabilities should be directed to your County Veterans Service Office or to the Dept. of WI. VFW State Service Officer.

what i need to know is could it affect my 1971 claim

Edited December 28, 2008 by skunk

[gp747]

Me, you and Rockhound have similar cases. Back in the 60's and 70's the VA rating decisions were a joke. I got a two page decision as well with no appeal rights or even a C&P exam. They just rated me on my military record and my two week stay in a VA hospital in 1972. I think some organization filed on my behalf while I was in the nuthouse. I don't remember. I had also filed for a discharge upgrade. I was kicked out for being a PD and then the VA decided I was schizophrenic, but only 10% even though I could not work at the time. I spent two months in a military hospital after Vietnam for observation and drug abuse. I was not a drug addict at that time, but I was acting pretty crazy. I took drugs to self medicate. I just felt like a ping pong ball. I was being batted around and I was batting myself around and did not know how to stop it.

i did not know a was filed in my behalf i do vaguely remember talking to some

guy from dav and they atre the ones listed as who filed

[gp747]

when i won my 30% bi-polar after fighting since 1971 off and on and living

a life of hell ,if they just would have been fair and rated me 50% i would havve

rested my case , even though i believe i would easily qualify for a 100% rating.

if they would have just met me half way ,i would have been satisfied . as i have said i am not looking for the jackpot or something i do not deserve. but looks like now i

will be at their heels until a very old age and even possibly after i am dead.

tying up the courts and bogging down the process and they wonder why they

cant get anything done . they make their own problems and it compounds

it for vets trying to get a claim through because of trying to beat someone out of a dime.i am set for the long haul and hope i can find an attorney who will fight

for me and go as high as the highest court as necessary.this need not be , but they bring it on themselves while we suffer.

[deltaj]

You need to review the following case: U.S. Court of appeals for the Federal Circuit 2007-7241 James C. Groves v. James B. Peake M.D., Secretary of Veterans Affairs decided May 1, 2008.

[john999]

Skunk

The case Delta is talking about should cast light on your claim. Maybe even cast light on Rockhoud's claim.

[gp747]

i am excited about this new information delta and berta brought up about

groves v. peake i know i have a legal option some where on my case and

i am going to have to have a lawyer to do this. i have pending claims at ro

but havve been touching base with lawyers . i want the ro claims to go through first.

[gp747]

i thought psychosis was presumptive i have been diagnosed in 1971 paranoia schizophrenia schizo-affective type and now bi-polar and understand these

diagnoses fit under pyschosis evaluation wikipedia i am posting ,looked up psychosis

in wikipedia . appears all are the same.

Causes

Causes of symptoms of mental illness were customarily classified as "organic" or "functional". Organic conditions were primarily medical or pathophysiological, whereas, functional conditions are primarily psychiatric or psychological. The DSM-IV-TR no longer classifies psychotic disorders as functional or organic. Rather it lists traditional psychotic illnesses, psychosis due to General Medical conditions, and Substance induced psychosis.

[edit] Psychiatric

Functional causes of psychosis include the following:

• brain tumors
  
• drug abuse amphetamines, cocaine, alcohol among others
  
• schizophrenia
  
• bipolar disorder (manic depression)
  
• severe clinical depression
  
• severe psychosocial stress
  
• sleep deprivation
  
• some focal epileptic disorders especially if the temporal lobe is affected
  
• exposure to some traumatic event (violent death, terrorist activity, etc.)
  

A psychotic episode can be significantly affected by mood. For example, people experiencing a psychotic episode in the context of depression may experience persecutory or self-blaming delusions or hallucinations, while people experiencing a psychotic episode in the context of mania may form grandiose delusions.

Stress is known to contribute to and trigger psychotic states. A history of psychologically traumatic events, and the recent experience of a stressful event, can both contribute to the development of psychosis. Short-lived psychosis triggered by stress is known as brief reactive psychosis, and patients may spontaneously recover normal functioning within two weeks.^[15] In some rare cases, individuals may remain in a state of full-blown psychosis for many years, or perhaps have attenuated psychotic symptoms (such as low intensity hallucinations) present at most times.

Sleep deprivation has been linked to psychosis.^[22][23][24] However, this is not a risk for most people, who merely experience hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations, i.e. unusual sensory experiences or thoughts that appear during waking or drifting off to sleep. These are normal sleep phenomena and are not considered signs of psychosis.^[25]

Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause symptoms of mania and psychosis.^[26][27]

[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psychosis&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: General medical">edit] General medical