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"secret Denials" By Regional Office

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broncovet

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Heads up for Hadit Members! I have sent this letter to Congressman Bob Filner, hopefully to be included in the Congressional Record of the hearing on March 3. Has anyone else had "Secretly Denied" claims or appeals?

House Committee on Veterans Affairs

Attention: Mr. Bob Filner: Veterans testimony for record for March 3 “Shredder” hearing

I am a disabled U.S. Navy Veteran who served in the Vietnam Era from 1970 until I was honorably discharged in June 1974. During my military career, I was promoted multiple times and was awarded the Good Conduct and National Defense medals.

In 2002, I applied for Veterans benefits in Cleveland Ohio. The Attorney General has some things to say about the Cleveland RO, and not very much of it is good. According to the VA, as reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio, is in the “bottom 2” of the lowest compensation of any state, http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/04/...k_vasil_of.html

If that is not enough, the “October Incident” put Cleveland in the “bottom 3” of the worst offenders with 55 shredded documents. In spite of being near the bottom in both these categories, the Cleveland RO manager was recently promoted to the Central Office.

There is a big “brain drain” at Cleveland due to the fact that the “Tiger Team” siphons off top Rating Specialist talent leaving Ohio Veterans holding the bag with the lowest skill level of all Regional Office Rating Specialists. .

However, the Cleveland Regional Office has responded with some of the most creative ways of denying claims in the entire VA. During the past 7 years, the VARO has selectively shredded evidence faked claim dates, and spoilated my claim Here are some of the examples of how they did just that:.



    1. Secretly” denied Claims. In 2002, I applied for hearing loss, depression, tinnitus, and TDIU. In November 2002, Cleveland denied the hearing loss claim, and “forgot” about the other claims. (They “forgot” about the other claims by shredding key evidence) Even tho I successfully appealed with the BVA in 2004, and was awarded a “complete grant of benefit sought”, the RO insists the other claims were secretly denied because they contend that in 2002, I applied for “merely hearing loss”. According to an IRIS email, Cleveland AGAIN secretly denied my TDIU claim by “closing” my TDIU claim in 2007 without any decision rendered until the following year. .
    2. Secretly” denied appeals. On March 10, 2004 I filed a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to a disputed zero percent “award” of benefits. (A zero percent “award” of benefits nets the Veteran the same compensation as a denial) Rather than process this NOD, the RO denied the appeal by “interpreting” my NOD as a “claim for benefits”, thereby completely circumventing the Veterans appeal rights.
    3. Secret Denial through Delay.” The RO can, and has, effectively denied Veterans benefits with an endless stream of red tape delays until the Veteran dies. In spite of being awarded a “complete grant of benefit sought” by the BVA in 2004, the RO continues by contending the Veteran filed for “merely hearing loss” in 2002, contrary to the medical and factual evidence.

I have lost all trust and confidence in the Cleveland VA. On Dec. 18, 2008 I filed a request for “Special Claims Handling” because of shredded documents. It seems that they shredded my request, as they have no record of it, even though I have a Post Office Certified letter receipt for it.

In 2004, I lost my home to foreclosure because the RO shredded my hardship request and delayed my claim still longer. I would just like the benefits to which I am entitled. My Veterans claim has been unreasonably delayed more than 5 years AFTER being awarded a” complete grant of the benefit sought” by the BVA.

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Berta

It sounds like that is the guy from the Big apple, that you mentioned in your post.

I do not claim to be any type of law expert..I am merely a "victim of the VA who refuses to give up". I feel like Daniel fighting 100,000 Goliath's...some of who are dressed up in clothes like me who are offering to "help" me when really they are Goliath's helpers who are there to make sure I don't succeed.

As long as I tell the truth, the VA can't hurt me...or at least they cant hurt me anymore than what they have already done.

I lost my home and car to foreclosure in 2004 because they "forgot" to process my TDIU claim. They contend, as recently as 2007, that I had sought "merely hearing loss" in 2002. When I showed them the letter stating with my application, "The military is a noisey place and I have a noise induced hearing loss and I have not been able to get and hold a job."

They fired back with another decision saying that I did not file a FORMAL claim for TDIU. In my NOD I explained that it is unnecessary for a Veteran to file a "formal" claim, one poster on another Veterans website pointed out that a Veterans claim for benefits can be written on a napkin. (The poster was a retired rating specialist for the VA) There is no truth to their suggestion that a Veterans claim Must be formal in order for the Veteran to receive benefits due to him. Rather, it is the Regional Office Responsibility's "Duty to Assist" the Veteran to move his(her) claim from an "informal" claim to a "formal" claim, that is, by sending the Veteran a letter detailing what the Veteran must do, and what information he must supply to MAKE his informal claim formal. Of course, if the Veteran fails to do what is required, then the claim will be denied.

Im not giving up. I am going to keep fighting for me and other Veterans.

Edited by broncovet
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I have seen the interoffice note that stated, "deny this vet, he missed his C&P".

Well, it never happened, this vet has only missed 2 appointments.

Once because the Highway Patrol closed down all traffic and once because I was recovering in a hospital from spinal surgery that the VA refused to consider.

The appointment in question was cancelled by the C&P clinic a week before the appointment was to take place.

And NEVER rescheduled.

sledge

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The VA is supposed to infer anything that sounds like a claim-

but TDIU is different-

I learned this from years of experience with TDIU claims-

VA will only infer if your rate is 70 SC or higher.

If they dont without good cause-they have broken the 38 CFR regs and their own M21 handbook guidelines.

If a vet however is below 70% the vet MUST formally apply for TDIU via the 21-8940.

If the vets 8940 is denied and they continue to appeal -they will most surely be TDIU by the time the VA stops farting around with the claim.

which could take months or years-

In this way also -the veteran has protected their Earliest entitlement date for TDIU.

Date of the TDIU form if the medical evidence warrants TDIU as of that date it is filed-

and even up to one year more retro in many cases where the vet received SSA solely for the TDIU conditions,and the SSA award date EED was back at least one year from the day the vet filed the TDIU form.

Yeah that vet has a radio show here in NY which is one long ludicrous rant against the VA on tape-not a single constructive thing offered and he is continuous litigant and files RICOs alot.He doesnt use PC and he sent me a Wannabee that cost me considerable time to deal with.

He then insisted my interpretation of the vets decisions were wrong.

I wasnt wrong. VA knew they had a wannabee on their hands.

This man does appear to help vets- at least he might have-

but maybe he is just a wannabee vet's advocate windbag.

I told Mike not to refer him to me anymore.

Need to add -it is the estblished policy of the VA to consider a vet for any claim benefit they are qualified to receive.

It is also the policy for the VA to award unemploability to any veteran whose unemployability is due to service.

That is what they are supposed to do- still I think it is few and far between to have a vet rated lower than 70% and then have VA award TDIU.

They have done that but it is very rare.

Still that means they should send the TDIU form to the vet and then th EED is the dy the vet returns the form if they grant it.

This could cost a vet retro unless thy themselves file the TDIU form.

Edited by Berta
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Berta

Thanks, again for your insight.

When I sought TDIU in 2002, I was not Service connected at all..I was applying for SC. So, I had no idea whether or not 70% SC was applicable. I am not even sure I understood what "unemployable" meant except my Rehabilitation counselor (through the state, not the VA) used that term, after I had spent about 2 years going through Voc Rehab. I was ineligible for VA voc rehab, then, because my claim was being processed and appealed from 2002-2005, so I had no VA benefits or rating, until 2005.

Incidently, my rating in Aug. 2005, was 0% hearing loss, 10% tinnitus, 30% depression, and NSC pension, that is, unemployable but apparently due to NSC conditions. Nowhere in the decisions did it say that my unemployabilty was due to __________ condition which was NSC. It seemed like a "slight of hand" trick.

In other words, the VA admits that I am SC, as above. They also admit that I am unemployable, largely because I did not have "substantial gainfull employment" since 2002. However, they said I was only entilted to NSC pension, not TDIU and did NOT state any conditions or reasons why I was ineligible for TDIU, but awarded the lesser benefit of NSC pension. There is a "gap" there..between 40% combined rating and 100% TDIU with them suggesting there are other reasons, which are Not service connected, for my unemployability, however, if there are reasons for my unemployability which are not related to service, I do not know what they are. At least two of my regular MH docs

over the past seven years, have opined that my unemployability is due to SC conditions. However, the C and P doc, who saw me for less than one hour and "reviewed" what my regular docs said, offered a completely pro-VA anti-Veteran medical opinion, which was cited by the VA in denying my application for increase in 2008.

I appreciate your ongoing comments and help.

I think you are right about the Veteran from the big apple.

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