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Caluza Triangle defines what is necessary for service connection
Tbird posted a record in VA Claims and Benefits Information,
Caluza Triangle – Caluza vs Brown defined what is necessary for service connection. See COVA– CALUZA V. BROWN–TOTAL RECALL
This has to be MEDICALLY Documented in your records:
Current Diagnosis. (No diagnosis, no Service Connection.)
In-Service Event or Aggravation.
Nexus (link- cause and effect- connection) or Doctor’s Statement close to: “The Veteran’s (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service”-
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Tbird, -
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Post in ICD Codes and SCT CODES?WHAT THEY MEAN?
Timothy cawthorn posted an answer to a question,
Do the sct codes help or hurt my disability ratingPicked By
yellowrose, -
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Post in Chevron Deference overruled by Supreme Court
broncovet posted a post in a topic,
VA has gotten away with (mis) interpreting their ambigious, , vague regulations, then enforcing them willy nilly never in Veterans favor.
They justify all this to congress by calling themselves a "pro claimant Veteran friendly organization" who grants the benefit of the doubt to Veterans.
This is not true,
Proof:
About 80-90 percent of Veterans are initially denied by VA, pushing us into a massive backlog of appeals, or worse, sending impoverished Veterans "to the homeless streets" because when they cant work, they can not keep their home. I was one of those Veterans who they denied for a bogus reason: "Its been too long since military service". This is bogus because its not one of the criteria for service connection, but simply made up by VA. And, I was a homeless Vet, albeit a short time, mostly due to the kindness of strangers and friends.
Hadit would not be necessary if, indeed, VA gave Veterans the benefit of the doubt, and processed our claims efficiently and paid us promptly. The VA is broken.
A huge percentage (nearly 100 percent) of Veterans who do get 100 percent, do so only after lengthy appeals. I have answered questions for thousands of Veterans, and can only name ONE person who got their benefits correct on the first Regional Office decision. All of the rest of us pretty much had lengthy frustrating appeals, mostly having to appeal multiple multiple times like I did.
I wish I know how VA gets away with lying to congress about how "VA is a claimant friendly system, where the Veteran is given the benefit of the doubt". Then how come so many Veterans are homeless, and how come 22 Veterans take their life each day? Va likes to blame the Veterans, not their system.Picked By
Lemuel, -
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Post in Re-embursement for non VA Medical care.
broncovet posted an answer to a question,
Welcome to hadit!
There are certain rules about community care reimbursement, and I have no idea if you met them or not. Try reading this:
https://www.va.gov/resources/getting-emergency-care-at-non-va-facilities/
However, (and I have no idea of knowing whether or not you would likely succeed) Im unsure of why you seem to be so adamant against getting an increase in disability compensation.
When I buy stuff, say at Kroger, or pay bills, I have never had anyone say, "Wait! Is this money from disability compensation, or did you earn it working at a regular job?" Not once. Thus, if you did get an increase, likely you would have no trouble paying this with the increase compensation.
However, there are many false rumors out there that suggest if you apply for an increase, the VA will reduce your benefits instead.
That rumor is false but I do hear people tell Veterans that a lot. There are strict rules VA has to reduce you and, NOT ONE of those rules have anything to do with applying for an increase.
Yes, the VA can reduce your benefits, but generally only when your condition has "actually improved" under ordinary conditions of life.
Unless you contacted the VA within 72 hours of your medical treatment, you may not be eligible for reimbursement, or at least that is how I read the link, I posted above. Here are SOME of the rules the VA must comply with in order to reduce your compensation benefits:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.344
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Lemuel, -
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Post in What is the DIC timeline?
broncovet posted an answer to a question,
Good question.
Maybe I can clear it up.
The spouse is eligible for DIC if you die of a SC condition OR any condition if you are P and T for 10 years or more. (my paraphrase).
More here:
Source:
https://www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation/
NOTE: TO PROVE CAUSE OF DEATH WILL LIKELY REQUIRE AN AUTOPSY. This means if you die of a SC condtion, your spouse would need to do an autopsy to prove cause of death to be from a SC condtiond. If you were P and T for 10 full years, then the cause of death may not matter so much.Picked By
Lemuel, -
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Question
allan
UNDER THE RADAR: MORE MISHANDLED VA DOCUMENTS
VA whistleblower says he found ten boxes of old mail and a widow's claim from September of 2007.
by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org
http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfmay09/nf050609-1.htm
For the past few weeks, the emails have been coming in hot and heavy from a whistleblower at the Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA) of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA).
This employee works at a VBA Regional Office (RO) in a Southern state and is raising hell about more document mishandling.
But, the emails haven't just been sent to VA Watchdog dot Org. They are being sent to the VA's Office of Inspector General (VAOIG), VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, and just about every other high-ranking VA official you can think of. (When you work for the VA you know those email addresses.)
I reported about this whistleblower on the Under the Radar page on April 2 with the following entry:
An employee of the Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA) who works at a Regional Office in a Southern state reports more document mishandling. The employee has found VA forms with veterans' personal information lying in the parking lot... and has documented many instances of a veteran's personal information being sent to other veterans. Management refuses to take action. VAOIG has been notified... but has not responded to request for investigation.
The employee's emails have been almost nonstop since that time.
Last week the employee wrote:
The mail keeps backing up so bad .. there is right this moment a stack of 3000 writeouts (2009) stacking up in Triage. They have been sitting in a unused desk for months. We have 500 pieces of returned mail and a box (6000 pieces) of returned mail-COLA. It has been collecting for months in a box under a table. Why do we keep making the same mistakes - because the supervisors / management do not pride themselves on their work / responsibilities or the VA organization. Now, if you ask them to put a table of food together, well then, smiles and dedicated caterers emerge. Character!
And this:
There are thousands of brown folders in the FAB. These folders do not have C-file numbers, no association to C-file. The mail inside is probably not date stamped and has no control. If a claim was pending in the past, this mail was not with the file when a decision was made on the veterans claim. I have found additional service treatment records (STRs) and other evidence not associated with the veterans C-file. Example: I reviewed a file where the veteran filed a claim on Feb 07. The mail in the brown folder was not date stamped.
Now, the email I got today:
To: His boss
Subject: 10 boxes of old mail
I would like to take on this project. I request to take custody of the boxes of mail found in the mail section, yesterday. I will review and get the mail to the files. I will still maintain production.
If someone moves those boxes, that evidence would be lost, trashed. It has happened before, and no one cares enough to go through it. This could impact vets and widows.
The response from this VBA employee's boss was a blow-off that indicated "someone" would take care of it ... and the boss indicated it was not "active" mail. However, I think a person, like this employee, in the VBA who works with the mail every day would know what is active ... or what might be active. At the very least ... check out the boxes and find out if anything is active.
The employee continued:
Today I received an informal claim from a widow. Nothing extraordinary about that. Except, this informal claim was filed in 2007. A claim date stamp 9/19/07. I just received it today. Widow is elderly and she never received a letter from us, or a 21-534 form. Also, I checked, she is not receiving benefits.
Was this claim lost? Misfiled? Or, stuck in a box of paperwork someone considered not "active."
This VBA whistleblower has put his career on the line.
So, who's listening? VAOIG? Secretary Shinseki? All the others who received the emails?
What about Rep. Bob Filner or Sen. Daniel Akaka, our Chairpersons of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees? The term "oversight" comes to mind.
It is obvious that the VBA still has massive document mishandling problems. But, what will be done about it?
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
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