Tearing The Va Down (brick By Brick)

[myround0]

The VA watchdog will be doing an examination on the VA in the coming weeks. It is titled tearing the VA down Brick by Brick. I feel the VA Offices are pretty good, my suggestion would be tearing the VA down Officer by Officer. The buildings aren't causing the problems, its the people working inside those offices. They have been allowed to run a muck and they continue the same muck running, and will do, regardless of the building they are in until they are held to a standard that will cost them their jobs...

[RSG]

I think Berta, nailed that......nough said.....tnx,RSG

[Stretch]

A bunch of Generals and an Admiral got together and called themselves the VDBC (Veterans Disability Benefits Commission) after appointment. The VDBC spent a few years figuring out where the VA problems were.

These guys had some excellent ideas, but when it came to their idea of giving Disabled Vets a 25% increase in pay, then the VDBC was buried a forgotten the minute its time was up.

The VA looks at giving Disable Vets a fair shake, as a conflict of interest. I am going to try a fight EED with mental tolling. I have work to do...

[broncovet]

Berta..

What is an "EP book" that you mentioned in an earlier post?

You were discussing "deliberate denials" with no basis in fact in order to "pad the EP book" for the RO bonuses.

I think you are on to something there.

In my case, my audiologist opined, "Veterans hearing loss is most likely due to noise exposure during incurred during military service"

The RO denied SC for hearing loss anyway, contrary to this probative evidence.

It was overturned upon appeal, but that took years. While waiting for this appeal, my home was foreclosed upon.

While I was did get some justice upon appeal, I can never get back my home, and, worse, my family. (The wife left, in no small part, because I was broke and unable to maintain substantial gainfull employment)

[Berta]

Bronco vet what I mean by the EP code is the code the VA takes an as 'end product 'code when they have completed a claim.

This also has been discussed at many hearings at the H VAC.

The EPS are somehow added up to justify how much work on claims has actually been done annually- then at some point this total is instrumental in deciding what RO directors get bonuses and how much they get-

As in your case and for the 6 years my claim was at the Buffalo RO- everytime the claims were denied they took a EP-making it appear they completed our claims,

I would think one claim could appear open and then be denied many times ,in many successive years - reflecting that it appeared as more then one EP every year -when the fact is it was the same claim.

The unconscionable part of this apparent padding of the books is that it affects vets like you-who lose so much in the time it takes for an award.

And obviously-if the VA took the time to read our evidence the outcomes would be better-and much sooner.

It must be nice to work at a VARO-

open the C file, ignore the probative evidence, whip out a denial letter, and then feel the satisfaction of putting an EP code on the claim so that the diirector can get a nice cash bonus-

any training you got in 38 CFR and the claims process has no significance at all-and your own performance appraisals show you get the work load 'completed' fast.

They turned the VCAA into a Scam-as I told Congressman Filner by phone and by mail-because they manipulated the VCAA in ways in which to deny claims faster.

"Follow the money" as Deep Throat said-

and if the incentive for piss poor work is removed (the bonuses) then maybe the work will improve.

Bart Strickland (NVLSP) and other lawyers have relentlessly made this point to the H VAC- the " hamster wheel" of the claims process- deny remand deny remand etc-is based on a work ethic involving quantity not quality.

It doesnt matter if the claim is handled wrong and the evidence is never considered- as long as the claim gets closer to the BVA-the EP code can be envisioned.

I recently wrote to Chairman Terry -I dont see how or why the BVA is putting up with this RO crap-

we gripe about the backlog at the BVA but that is sure not where the backlog started.

The BVA is working as fast as they can- look what they have to work with- a claims file that can be very voluminous, stacks of stuff in the C file that no one at VA has probably never even read yet, and they take the time to make the decision they wrote as concise but as complete as it can be.

The first thing the lawyers at BVA look at is the VCAA letter the vet got- the BVA web site bears out a big gripe I have made countless times to the H VAC -and to anyone else who would listen-such as lawyers who rep vets-

if the VCAA letter was improperly prepared, it is often prejudicial to the vet and right there-the case must be remanded.

This shows that even the most important regulation we have, the VCAA which heightened our DTA (Duty To Assist) rights- has been manipulated to favor the VA and to allow them to deny many claims they should not have denied.

Many vets and widows got what I got- a lousy VCAA letter that was generic and contained no Response form-not even listed as an enclosure- thus they could say I never responded- with the form that I never got.

My Vet reps tried to get me (to include the state director)to accept the VCAA letter I got as a proper one.Obviously they would not question the RO about it.

It took me years to get a rep to even read it in my POA file and he immediately said it was NOT proper at all.

I had the background to overcome that prejudicial error but what about the vets who get what I got and never know what to send to VA or respond with?

These prejudicial errors in my opinion are well calculated to occur at the regional levels.They get the claim out of the ROs hair for years as it sits at the BVA.

[john999]

They say a fish rots from the head down. I don't think the VA's problem is just a few bad apples. I think it comes from the top. The idea is to limit compensation and other costs. If a few thousand vets get crushed in the process no big deal. The government made promises to take take care of disabled vets, and now when presented with the bill they try and sneak away from the table.

[Notorious Kelly]

If your enemies don't suffer, the war will never end.