Hadit Elders - You Were Right

[elliottme2]

;) The battle has begun. I talked to my DAV rep today and he said the my claims for pes planus, back, shoulder, neck and shin splints has been decided. I was denied on my back, shoulder, neck and shin splints. I was granted for pes planus but at 0%. For the life of me I can't figure how I was granted 0% for pes planus. It was noted on entrance exam but the doctor at the c&p said it was aggravated by the military plus the history of it in my smr plus have been seen by the VA since I got out and they made me custom orthotics plus sent me to physical rehab. I am shocked right now. Even my 4 year old can play connect the dots. I guess I shouldn't assume the VA is smarter than a 4 year old.

Ok...so what do I do now. I have not receive my official letter yet I am just going by what my DAV rep told me this morning.

I feel like the slow kid in my class just sucker punched me.

[rentalguy1]

I would just like to remind the readers that a request for reconsideration does not stop the NOD clock, and before advising someone to go that route it would be wise to learn what RO that vet uses and how backlogged that RO is. If the turnaround time on a reconsideration at that particular RO is 3 months then it would be ok to go that route. If the timeframe stretches out to 6 months or more, it would be wiser to spend that time gathering evidence and filing a NOD.

[rentalguy1]

Actually, I just thought about this some more. Correct me if I am wrong on this. I take it you are not in dire straights for the disability compensation in order to meet your monthly financial obligations. I also take it that you do not have specific diagnoses for the conditions that you filed. I also take it that you do not have a clearly nexus for each condition to a event that occurred while you were on active duty.

If all of these things are correct, then my advice is to not appeal this. You would only be denied again without all of the aforementioned items. Even if you did get all of the evidence required, you could wait years for a final adjudication in your favor, and still not have the earliest effective date preserved because the newly presented evidence would change the overall picture of the disability at a date later than that which you initially filed.

The first thing you need to do is receive their decision letter. It will tell you exactly what you need to prove your case. The next step is to gather all of that evidence; cross all the t's and dot all the i's. Then, once you have a bullet proof case, file to re-open a finally adjudicated claim. It will start the process all over, but you will get a quicker decision, and you will not lose any retro money because the effective date of claim would be the date of the new evidence, regardless of whether you file a appeal or a claim to reopen.

[carlie]

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-....69&idno=38

§ 3.160 Status of claims.

The following definitions are applicable to claims for pension, compensation, and dependency and indemnity compensation.

(a) Informal claim.

See §3.155.

(b) Original claim.

An initial formal application on a form prescribed by the Secretary. (See §§3.151, 3.152).

© Pending claim.

An application, formal or informal, which has not been finally adjudicated.

(d) Finally adjudicated claim.

An application, formal or informal, which has been allowed or disallowed by the agency of original jurisdiction, the action having become final by the expiration of 1 year after the date of notice of an award or disallowance, or by denial on appellate review, whichever is the earlier. (See §§20.1103 and 20.1104 of this chapter.)

(e) Reopened claim.

Any application for a benefit received after final disallowance of an earlier claim, or any application based on additional evidence or a request for a personal hearing submitted more than 90 days following notification to the appellant of the certification of an appeal and transfer of applicable records to the Board of Veterans Appeals which was not considered by the Board in its decision and was referred to the agency of original jurisdiction for consideration as provided in §20.1304(b)(1) of this chapter.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501)

(f) Claim for increase. Any application for an increase in rate of a benefit being paid under a current award, or for resumption of payments previously discontinued.

[27 FR 11887, Dec. 1, 1962, as amended at 31 FR 12056, Sept. 15, 1966; 55 FR 20148, May 15, 1990; 58 FR 32445, June 10, 1993]

[elliottme2]

Can I wait for disability maybe but if I was able to get 30% I would have been able to quit my part time job which I do need financially. My part time job is a position where I stand all the time I am there which is killing my feet which in return hurts my back. I have in my medical record a specific diagnoses for moderate pes planus and shin splints. I hurt my back which is labeled the thoracic region while moving boxes and I hurt my shoulder which was diagnosed as a strain muscle. For my feet and shin splints it is noted many times in my smr.

I definetly am going to wait to see what information led them to their conclusion. Maybe it is something that can be easily proven.

Actually, I just thought about this some more. Correct me if I am wrong on this. I take it you are not in dire straights for the disability compensation in order to meet your monthly financial obligations. I also take it that you do not have specific diagnoses for the conditions that you filed. I also take it that you do not have a clearly nexus for each condition to a event that occurred while you were on active duty.

If all of these things are correct, then my advice is to not appeal this. You would only be denied again without all of the aforementioned items. Even if you did get all of the evidence required, you could wait years for a final adjudication in your favor, and still not have the earliest effective date preserved because the newly presented evidence would change the overall picture of the disability at a date later than that which you initially filed.

The first thing you need to do is receive their decision letter. It will tell you exactly what you need to prove your case. The next step is to gather all of that evidence; cross all the t's and dot all the i's. Then, once you have a bullet proof case, file to re-open a finally adjudicated claim. It will start the process all over, but you will get a quicker decision, and you will not lose any retro money because the effective date of claim would be the date of the new evidence, regardless of whether you file a appeal or a claim to reopen.

[robert51]

How long does appeals take? I read on here a really long time.

it took me 4 1/2 years to go from 10% to 100% IU PT and that included 2 IMO they make you work very hard for it..

[rentalguy1]

please let us know what they say in the decision letter. We can probably teach you how to connect the dots and get you going down the right path