Whatever Happened To

[mrsvet28]

WAS JUST THINKING -HAVENT HEARD MUCH LATELY ABOUT BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT -SEEMS LIKE IT VANISHED-- DOES IT STILL STAND IN APPEALS PROCESS- HAVENT READ THEM LATELY :)

[jbasser]

Yes it still applies. It gets over looked often.

J

[Hoppy]

The reason it gets overlooked is because there are too many dots to connect. Your average undertrained RO raters don't seem to be able to figure it out. I have two claims that were awarded by DRO’s who weighed the evidence for the claim with the evidence against the claim applied the benefit of the doubt rule.

At the time I was represented by a service officer who had been a veteran's rating specialist for the VA for 20 years prior to becoming a service officer. Due to well-planned stall tactics and idiotic denials It took many years for me to get to the DRO. My service officer and I used to argue as to why a slamdunk claim was taking so long. The RO claimed that there was evidence against my claim when in fact the evidence could not be substantiated. Years later I was awarded based on the benefit of the doubt as applied by a DRO. However, I always thought that the DRO used the benefit of the doubt rule to cover up the absolute absurdity that the RO thought there was evidence against my claim.

In the arguments I had with my X. rating specialist now service officer representative I took the position that the raters were corrupt, grossly incompetent or had just committed fraud. My service officer would take the position that the raters were so undertrained that is why he jumped sides and became a service officer. He just couldn't take working with all these undertrained rating specialist. I'm sure we might have a couple rating specialist on the board who would take offense to my position. However, it took me eight and a half years to get what should've been a slamdunk award for a life-threatening vascular disease. My employer who was city government terminated my employment and then determine that could not participate in vocational rehabilitation because an independent rehabilitation specialist hired to defend an ADA claim determined that there was no way to safely accommodate my disease. Equal opportunity employment commission agreed with the independent rehabilitation specialist and I was out on the street. During which time I had to file bankruptcy, became homeless and otherwise not a happy camper.

From time to time I have gone on this rant here on hadit over the last 13 years. Something for any defenders of rating specialist to chew on it is that my claims were awarded by the DRO with no new evidence.The delays and stall tactics resulted in an award of 6 1/2 years of retro-with no CUE’S or other misapplication's of law.

What is even sicker is that I'm now representing another veteran whereby the rater has taken a position against the claim based on diagnostic tools that were so unreliable they were considered in applicable for continued use and replaced. The rater also stated in direct conflict with the medical evidence that the veteran had not been treated post service for the condition which he sought to have service connected. These are the same type of tactics they used in delaying and denying my claim. The raters just like to make decisions playing Dr. rather than get an opinion from a Dr. One of the reasons my claim took so long was that they refused to schedule a C&P exam and also defended my claim by citing evidence-based the same broken, unreliable, obsolete and otherwise discarded diagnostic tools that they used and are continuing to use against veterans 10 years later.

Edited November 2, 2009 by Hoppy

[john999]

The VA has their thumb on the scale.

[halos2]

Whatcha mean peeples?? The VA always replys with the Benefit of Doubt Rule, yesum it doubts that the Veteran will ever be given the benefit of doubt on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd...try when submitting his/her claim. The rule they believe is meant to be broken ALL of the time by the raters, with their constant denials.

Hoppy you are so on the top of this one with your educated responses, and validated personal experiences. I too am so damn sick and tired of some flunky dening my Dr's statements...WTF when did they go to medical school?? NOT!! Yet they can get by with a system so corrupt to screw the vet and give bonus's to those who do the most screwing.

These are peoples lives, not game playing. If I was healthier I would try for one of these positions...BTW I never see them posted...seems they always go to family members or friends who work there too.

[Wings]

The reason it gets overlooked is because there are too many dots to connect. Your average undertrained RO raters don't seem to be able to figure it out. I have two claims that were awarded by DRO’s who weighed the evidence for the claim with the evidence against the claim applied the benefit of the doubt rule.

At the time I was represented by a service officer who had been a veteran's rating specialist for the VA for 20 years prior to becoming a service officer. Due to well-planned stall tactics and idiotic denials It took many years for me to get to the DRO. My service officer and I used to argue as to why a slamdunk claim was taking so long. The RO claimed that there was evidence against my claim when in fact the evidence could not be substantiated. Years later I was awarded based on the benefit of the doubt as applied by a DRO. However, I always thought that the DRO used the benefit of the doubt rule to cover up the absolute absurdity that the RO thought there was evidence against my claim.

In the arguments I had with my X. rating specialist now service officer representative I took the position that the raters were corrupt, grossly incompetent or had just committed fraud. My service officer would take the position that the raters were so undertrained that is why he jumped sides and became a service officer. He just couldn't take working with all these undertrained rating specialist. I'm sure we might have a couple rating specialist on the board who would take offense to my position. However, it took me eight and a half years to get what should've been a slamdunk award for a life-threatening vascular disease. My employer who was city government terminated my employment and then determine that could not participate in vocational rehabilitation because an independent rehabilitation specialist hired to defend an ADA claim determined that there was no way to safely accommodate my disease. Equal opportunity employment commission agreed with the independent rehabilitation specialist and I was out on the street. During which time I had to file bankruptcy, became homeless and otherwise not a happy camper.

From time to time I have gone on this rant here on hadit over the last 13 years. Something for any defenders of rating specialist to chew on it is that my claims were awarded by the DRO with no new evidence.The delays and stall tactics resulted in an award of 6 1/2 years of retro-with no CUE’S or other misapplication's of law.

What is even sicker is that I'm now representing another veteran whereby the rater has taken a position against the claim based on diagnostic tools that were so unreliable they were considered in applicable for continued use and replaced. The rater also stated --in direct conflict with the medical evidence-- that the veteran had not been treated post service for the condition which he sought to have service connected. These are the same type of tactics they used in delaying and denying my claim. The raters just like to make decisions playing Dr. rather than get an opinion from a Dr. One of the reasons my claim took so long was that they refused to schedule a C&P exam and also defended my claim by citing evidence-based the same broken, unreliable, obsolete and otherwise discarded diagnostic tools that they used and are continuing to use against veterans 10 years later.

x

x

x

This is a good rant Hoppy!! Have you found any contemporary case law (other than VCAA) that authorizes C&P Exams in the first instance of claim? I looked and looked, but other than citing the VCAA (codified law yr 2000), I could not find VA regulations for C&P's outside of certain implicit health directives. Hope you are feeling confident about kicking some butt. Keep up the good work! ~Wings

[Testvet]

WAS JUST THINKING -HAVENT HEARD MUCH LATELY ABOUT BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT -SEEMS LIKE IT VANISHED-- DOES IT STILL STAND IN APPEALS PROCESS- HAVENT READ THEM LATELY :)

The Judge in my BVA case plainly stated that my IMOs versus the VA doctors statements left my case in relative equipose and he decided the case in my favor I would imagine that would be giving me the benefit of the doubt the fact all of my doctors were board certified cardiologists and one psychiatrist a retired Army Colonel and the quacks the VA used were not board certified cardiologists not one of the 4 C&P exams were done by a cardiac doctor......

but reasonable doubt at the VARO level is non-existent I think they operate on the basis that all claims are fraudulent until proven otherwise