Got The Envelope

[mrsvet28]

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My last post got messed up I was busy with my granddaughter- shes so cute its all about her!

This is the whole BVA and 1999 paper /need all your views as always , B) Thanks and Bless you all for your opinions

Edited January 11, 2009 by mrsvet28

[Ricky]

I agree with Clown man and Berta. However, in response to Clown mans suggestion that, in order to prove "continuity", ongoing medical treatment is required.

Altho there is no doubt in my mind that the VA would use this excuse to deny claims, I find that evidence not compelling in these examples:

1. Veteran seeks mental health treatment, however, that treatment is not effective, so Veteran seeks other treatment or discontinues it altogether. Is the Veteran required to undergo ineffective treatment to keep his claim alive?

2. Veteran seeks treatment, but the very conditions that he is suffering from causes him to discontinue treatment. Example..Veteran is seeking PTSD treatment, but depression from PTSD causes him to be "flaky" and forget his appointment. So, the VA "kicks" him out of the system for failure to show for appointment.

3. Medications..Since some meds interfere or conflict with others there is often a dilema: Should the Veteran take his depression med OR his pain meds..because these meds are not always compatable with each other, and when the Veteran takes both, sometimes he gets messed up worse than with no meds at all. Should the Veteran have to choose whether to be in pain or crazy, and then have the VA deny his claim because he had to make a difficult choice...a choice he had to make while depressed/stessed.

I understand what you are saying. However, as I indicated in my previous post if you are trying to climb the hill with a subjective disability (chronic pain, mental issue) then you have to make sure your have the medical evidence to support your claim. The only way to do this is through continuity of symptoms verified by the appropriate medical expert. It is different from a physical disability. It should not be different but it is and if you want your claim to sail through a slow and clogged up system then that is the way to do it.

[Ricky]

mrsvet - take look a this link: http://www.avapl.org/pub/PTSD%20Manual%20final%206.pdf

I do not understand why the docs did not expand axis IV a bit to show the social and economical problems your hubby has. This is an excellent area to stress the effects of PTSD. a couple of your docs simply listed: Severe ---- which really does not fit here.......

anyway take a look at the link and it will give you a good idea as to what the VA has instructed their examiners to do.

[mrsvet28]

Great link clown man, maybe mrsvet28 can give it to her attorney and let him earn his money. As you have stated continuity of symptoms is the key to granting service connection when their is no chronic disability noted in service(or the presumptive period), or when chronicity is questioned. This deals with the majority of claims filed after service. Many Vets file years after discharge with a problem and claim it was caused by military service, or an incident in service.

However with nothing in you SMR's or maybe only one or two visits for the claimed condition in service, which did not allow chronicity to be established. The Veteran is left with bridging this gap in time where there is no treatment for your claimed disablity. Symptoms are the essence of continuity, not treatment as prescribed by CAVA. A Veteran can accomplish this by simply writing his own lay statement describing symptoms going back to the event in service they claim caused the disabilty. If the symptoms are observable as to a lay person, then a lay person can write a letter in support of the vets claim, just don't try to make diagnosis in the lay statement's letter, only things anyone could observe should be written about.

This is where the continuity of symptoms comes in, as the VA has accepted this method of proving the second requirement of the three requirements for granting service connection. That being An event in service that caused or led to your disability. You could also use it to meet the third requirement being the nexxus, if your doctor has examined you for the symptoms, makes the diagnosis, and connects the two.

With PTSD they know it can be a delayed onset of years after the stressor/s before a Veteran may meet the criteria for PTSD. When the VA concedes to a stressor as being verified you have met the 2nd element for service connection,of an event in service that led to your disability. However with no treatment for it in service, or after service for many years possiblly, you have to show them some history either through the mediacl reports over time where you received treatment, or continuity of

symptoms.

written either by the Veteran or lay people who know the Veteran and have observed symptoms in them since the event in military causing the claimed disablity. this would apply to any claim mental or physical disability, it's just that mental and chronic pain disorders are for the most part invisible, as this makes a quantifible method for coming to a diagnosis close too impossible and is scrutinized much closer than other diagnosis where you get a yes, or no answer through tests that are accepted on a whole, where the test for mental health and chronic pain are all over the place with diffrences of opinions.

Thanks lets see what I have here:

In Nov. 2 1968- he came home - in Jan 2 1969 he didnt know what was wrong with him- his Mom took him to Doc. he diagnosed him with anxiety and gave him Librium - more than once/ I believe that you had to be diagnosed within 3 months of return back then/ they called it anxiety- because I don't think they penned it PTSD yet- this is in the records

At the same time he was being treated by same Doc. for edema to his knee and leg for injuries he got there when he was blown out of a truck- he couldnt recollect where they took him during his time when it happened somewhere in DANang - they told him about filling out papers for a purple heart he remembers,vaguely

but got discouraged when 2 officers were writing themselves up and laughing about it.

So I believe that covers he got treatment upon coming home in 68.--but it was called anxiety, so I guess that wasn't considered PTSD.

I believe in his buddy statement signed and notarized by a fellow he was there with, they experienced the rocket and mortar attacks and explained the truck incident.

My question to them as it has been: they didnt bother to verify his stressor - when they had it for 63 days before the first SOC- second, it took them from 98 till 02 to schedule a PTSD- CP exam- then from 02 to 07 for the next one- they never even had his leg looked at even though he has showed his PRC docs- and now there doing it 11 years later-

we had a BVA docket # since 05'- but couldn't get a DRO hearing till 07'- when I had to keep on it thru Congressional letters and Senators-SINCE 2004-

our C-file disappeared for 7 months and took a bus to St. Pete!!!! when I received a call from a very conscious clerk that I had communicated with various times- he discovered it wsnt in Philly-this held us up for six months or so, when they recovered it- ( I only called and was looking for another copy of the Cfile filing out the Privacy Act papers- thats when we found that) not that it matters to them/ IT JUST CAUSED ALOT OF UNECCESSARY STRESS!!!!

DUTY TO ASSIST- NOW THERES A JOKE - BEFORE THAT WELL-GROUNDED CLAIM/ basically after 11 years I learned something new everyday!!

The lawyers feel this is the connecting link as you all have stated, we were thrown off by the whole leg issue afters all these years--now a CP exam

I babbling about all of the screwups / but am focusing on the now !!!

MY STATEMENT IS; WHEN YOU GET TO THE END OF YOUR ROPE

TIE A KNOT, AND HANG ON !!

Peace to you and yours -

[mrsvet28]

mrsvet - take look a this link: http://www.avapl.org/pub/PTSD%20Manual%20final%206.pdf

I do not understand why the docs did not expand axis IV a bit to show the social and economical problems your hubby has. This is an excellent area to stress the effects of PTSD. a couple of your docs simply listed: Severe ---- which really does not fit here.......

anyway take a look at the link and it will give you a good idea as to what the VA has instructed their examiners to do.

Thanks for the link --just read it--

In the case studies of June 2000- it appears that the cp examiners weren't up to snuff! I believe my other half was part of that whole synopsis- in his 07' CP exam-as I mentioned before- the examiner couldn't have read the c-file -because she asked me-who treated him at the VA in 2000-I replied"if you read the file why are you asking me this' / i said I know my rights THEN SHE HAD ME DETAINED TO SECURITY FOR HIS ENTIRE EXAM-believing I was aterrorist or something -plus I had a camera which I carry for videoing etc..in a federal bldg. oops!! I replied" but you all have camera phones--that whole story was posted here back then--his MMP TESTS are always the same/ overexaggerated they call it - but they are consistent he doesnt do computers or want to-and he cant focus that long -or see the screen- gets very high BP etc..-

as far as the Axis IV --social and economically the VA put him on the NSC pension- when we were homeless and -3x- before the counselor was finally in the office- which is only for 2 hrs.- once a week,

then I applied for Social Security for him- set up the exams etc..they know the last time he has been able to work , because they gave him the NSC- they know about the SS diability for PTSD- they know all of this which is why I filed for IU with them- do you ever get sick of going over and over everything we have done to prove and then you gotta prove it more--Peace to you and yours

[john999]

I have read in the VBM that if a VA social worker notes evidence that a veteran may be unemployable due to a SC condition that is enough for an inferred claim of IU. So VA workers other than PH.D's and MD's do have weight to their opinions. If you have a emotional problem and you want compensation increases you need to show that you are getting treatment somewhere. It does not have to be the VA. The VA assumes that if you have a serious medical issue you will be in treatment for that problem. If you have a mental issue they assume that you will getting treatment and probably medications. If you are not doing these things even for good reasons the VA looks with suspicion on your claim. If you have chronic pain, or emotional problems they assume you would be seeking treatment, or if you are not your condition can't be that bad. I did not seek treatment from the VA for 20 years, but I was in treatment from a private doctor for those 20 years until I finally started to go to the VA.

If you stop treatment then they assume you may be better, so stay in treatment.

[mrsvet28]

Mrs. Vet:

You asked me to look and I did. It appears that the VARO has accepted proof of stressor and that your husband needs a diagnosis of PTSD so unless I am missing something than you are close to a decision that should grant Service Connection for PTSD.

Is your husband working and does he get Social Security? I am sorry if you have already posted the answers I just read a lot of stuff on Hadit and want to make sure I am not confusing you and someone else.

So the only thing lacking is a diagnosis of PTSD which should not be that hard to get if he has it.

So take Clown Mans advice and get your hsuband some help which is a twofer 1 deal. You don't have to go to VA to get a diagnosis for PTSD either.

Thanks for looking- he is on SS disability for PTSD since 03'- and he has 3 IMO's that say PTSD-and the VA admitted he had PTSD in their SSOC -and then no verifiable stressor(which they had but never verififed it) now they verified the stressors and say various psych. diagnoses-/ but the # IMO's say PTSD the current one as of 11/08 ,/ and they fill the PTSD meds./ so if they fill the meds. for PTSD/ how can they say he doesn't have it?