To Berta, Please Help

[bigvic]

Well thats exactly what happened. the military diagnosed me with ilioinguinal nerve neuroma and ended up giving me three hernia operations. I recieved a medical discharge because i could no longer perform my duties. When I went to the VA they did the exact same thing and gave me another hernia operation. this all happened in the 70's and early 80's. After seeing over forty doctors that only would prescribe meds and send me home I got lucky and this nurse practitioner sent me for a CT-Scan and found that my problem was completely different than what I was originally diagnosed with without even looking at my med records. She sent me back for a full MRI and the main VAMC immediately called me in for surjury in 2002. I went from 10% to 100% permanent because I loss the use of my legs. My rating decision changed my original diagnoses to severe spinal canal stenosis.

I sent in a NOD on my rating decision of March 22 2003 because they gave me an effective date of April 2002. Went to a DRO hearing and was sent a denial for effective date of spinal canal stenosis with the loss of use of both legs. Well this pissed me off so I appealed the denial in the SOC mainly because they did not answer my question. I asked for the effective date for spinal canal stenosis only, the loss of use of both legs was not the issue and should have not been decided on because it was a special entitlement in my rating decision and asked them again to give me a decision on the effective date of spinal stenosis only.

I can't believe that they changed my wording in my appeal and denied me on it. With the medical evidence I sent in showing all my back pain complaints while they where operating on me for hernia's including giving me a spinal tap during one of the procedures I feel I've tipped things in my favor as far as them giving me an effective date of Sept 1980 instead of April 2002.

Your opinion please?

Bigvic

100% permanent, Severe Spinal Canal Stenosis

Edited April 21, 2006 by bigvic

[Berta]

"I went from 10% to 100% permanent because I loss the use of my legs. My rating decision changed my original diagnoses to severe spinal canal stenosis'

This could be the basis for an 1151 claim-

A misdiagnosis that caused you additional disability-

I dont know whether the VA (and 40 other doctors) were at fault- but it appears that only when the MRI was taken, the proper diagnosis occurred.

Do you receive Special Monthly Compensation for loss of use of your legs?

You could certainly file a Sec 1151 claim-there is no time limit-

You would have to prove negligence and medical error that was inconsistent wth practice in the standard medical community-

and also prove you have additional disability as direct result from it.

With so many doctors not picking up on the cause of your problems- the VA could say that this was an unusual situation and they as well as the 40 other docs were not at fault-

If you file this claim just basically state it as to the fact that the improper diagnosis prevented further timely treatment-and caused you the lose of use of your legs.

You will have to back this up so it is a good time to get all of your med recs in order and copy all the MRI results and tell them that the diagnosis was changed but too late to alleviate additional disability.

I see your point on the effective date on the stenosis-however- I dont see how it would go back to 1980-

They probaby used the date of your initial claim to determine that date.

Or they used this date:

"I went from 10% to 100% permanent because I loss the use of my legs. My rating decision changed my original diagnoses to severe spinal canal stenosis."

A Section 1151 claim might well draw them out more as to something that would alter the EED but the date of retro is almost always the date of the claim.

[bigvic]

Well Berta, there is one thing that I don't want to do is open a new can of worms. After twenty years of not being able to work and being homeless at times these people scare me. I had to depend a lot on family members whom after a time just thought I was being lazy until I got my award. I've lost two wives over this and had a lot of financial difficulties over the years. These days things are just getting back on track.

I only receive 50% for the stenosis and 50% for the loss of use of the legs. My point is there is a 40% difference between the original nerve neuroma and the new diagnosis of stenosis. I'm not claiming the loss of use of both legs because it was a special entitlement which affords me the other 50%. 10% is for tinnitus(left ear), 10% for depression, bilateral hearing loss 0%. In my rating decision it states that my claim for increased evaluation, and service connection for NEW issues was recieved on April 12, 2002. The problem I'm having is this is what I was complaining about since 1980. the very last decision in the rating decision reads like this...

7. Evaluation of ilioinguinal nerve neuroma, left neuritis, PO recurrent inguinal hernia is closed, and now rated under severe spinal canal stenosis, L4-S1.

Terrified....

Bigvic 100% Severe Spinal Canal Stenosis...

Edited April 21, 2006 by bigvic