Okay. So my DH got his big white envelope. Here's the background of his disability: He was in an jeep accident back in the military, severely burned, especially his arms, shoulder, and head (both his ears were burned off and most of the back of his scalp - they did reconstructive surgery and did a decent job, but the scars are still very noticible. His shoulder joint was partially burned away, and he very narrowly missed having both hands amputated. He spent a year in the Burn Center at BAMC. He recovered (miraculously) and stayed in to eventually just get out a few years later with a regular honorable discharge in 1985.
His friend said go to the VA, and to the VA he went. He got rated at 50%: 10% + 10% for 2nd degree burn scars, and 30% for left shoulder condition. He was young and happy to have 50%, so he didn't question anything about it. He didn't even know he had access to VA healthcare, he just went on his way.
25 years later, he filed for an increase, only because a buddy asked him how long it had been since he'd been evaluated. "25 years!! Get ye to the VSO!!". That's what he did, but in addition to the scars he filed for loss of motion in both his hands.
So here we are with the decision today.
They ADDED 30% for 3rd degree burn scars on his head.
They ADDED 30% for 3rd degree burn scars back, neck and chest.
They Increased from 10% for 2nd degree burn scars to 30% 3rd degree burn scars on his left arm.
They Increased from 10% for 2nd degree burn scars to 20% 3rd degree burn scars on his right arm.
They said that his Left Shoulder Condition had not worsened, that it was DJD and is not changed, and remains at 30%.
They denied both of his claims for his hands (even though they admit in the narrative that both hands suffered 3rd degree burns). They state that there was no evidence in the record of any injury to the hands. (uhhhh....)
In addition, we saw that they did not receive or consider an IMO from a board certified doctor
and they did not receive or consider evidence that his hands had been un-usable for a period of time.
So here are my questions:
First of all, can he file something about the VA missing that his burns were 3rd degree back in 1985? He had no instructions that he could appeal. There's surely no way that his burn scars changed from 2nd degree to 3rd degree over the 25 years.... If they're 3rd degree now, they were that back then. Plus, how the heck did they miss the scars on his head??? If they had just appeared magically, they wouldn't be SC now, would they?
Second, how does he disagree with the examiner's findings on his shoulder? When the examiner (NP) told him to reach up with his left arm, he said it hurt. He said do it anyway. DH had tears rolling down his cheeks. It's even stated in the decision that he was in pain throughout the examination, but that he had little loss of ROM due to pain. They also state that he was guarded in his movements.
The same thing happened with his hands - the examiner made him squeeze a grippy thing and told him to squeeze as hard as he could, regardless of the pain. DH squeezed until there were tears in his eyes. Ergo, no loss of grip, no range of motion.
I feel like we're looking a gift horse in the mouth, but at the same time, it feels like he's been cheated.
Any thoughts or advice? Thanks! And if you think I'm being greedy, say that too, okay?
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hedgey
Okay. So my DH got his big white envelope. Here's the background of his disability: He was in an jeep accident back in the military, severely burned, especially his arms, shoulder, and head (both his ears were burned off and most of the back of his scalp - they did reconstructive surgery and did a decent job, but the scars are still very noticible. His shoulder joint was partially burned away, and he very narrowly missed having both hands amputated. He spent a year in the Burn Center at BAMC. He recovered (miraculously) and stayed in to eventually just get out a few years later with a regular honorable discharge in 1985.
His friend said go to the VA, and to the VA he went. He got rated at 50%: 10% + 10% for 2nd degree burn scars, and 30% for left shoulder condition. He was young and happy to have 50%, so he didn't question anything about it. He didn't even know he had access to VA healthcare, he just went on his way.
25 years later, he filed for an increase, only because a buddy asked him how long it had been since he'd been evaluated. "25 years!! Get ye to the VSO!!". That's what he did, but in addition to the scars he filed for loss of motion in both his hands.
So here we are with the decision today.
They ADDED 30% for 3rd degree burn scars on his head.
They ADDED 30% for 3rd degree burn scars back, neck and chest.
They Increased from 10% for 2nd degree burn scars to 30% 3rd degree burn scars on his left arm.
They Increased from 10% for 2nd degree burn scars to 20% 3rd degree burn scars on his right arm.
They said that his Left Shoulder Condition had not worsened, that it was DJD and is not changed, and remains at 30%.
They denied both of his claims for his hands (even though they admit in the narrative that both hands suffered 3rd degree burns). They state that there was no evidence in the record of any injury to the hands. (uhhhh....)
In addition, we saw that they did not receive or consider an IMO from a board certified doctor
and they did not receive or consider evidence that his hands had been un-usable for a period of time.
So here are my questions:
First of all, can he file something about the VA missing that his burns were 3rd degree back in 1985? He had no instructions that he could appeal. There's surely no way that his burn scars changed from 2nd degree to 3rd degree over the 25 years.... If they're 3rd degree now, they were that back then. Plus, how the heck did they miss the scars on his head??? If they had just appeared magically, they wouldn't be SC now, would they?
Second, how does he disagree with the examiner's findings on his shoulder? When the examiner (NP) told him to reach up with his left arm, he said it hurt. He said do it anyway. DH had tears rolling down his cheeks. It's even stated in the decision that he was in pain throughout the examination, but that he had little loss of ROM due to pain. They also state that he was guarded in his movements.
The same thing happened with his hands - the examiner made him squeeze a grippy thing and told him to squeeze as hard as he could, regardless of the pain. DH squeezed until there were tears in his eyes. Ergo, no loss of grip, no range of motion.
I feel like we're looking a gift horse in the mouth, but at the same time, it feels like he's been cheated.
Any thoughts or advice? Thanks! And if you think I'm being greedy, say that too, okay?
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