diabetes How To Enforce A Bva Decision.

[jamescripps2]

I am a Vietnam era US Army Veteran. In October, 2005, I filed a claim with the VARO in Nashville Tennessee for several diseases associated with my Agent Orange exposure during my military service,1967-1970. My claim was denied at the VARO so I appealed to the BVA in Washington DC. The VARO had also denied me a C&P exam, although I had asked for the C&P exam, in writing, many times. I have never been afforded a C&P exam.

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On November 2, 2009, The BVA rendered a partial grant. Despite being denied access to a C&P exam and based upon my overwhelming evidence I was granted service connection for type II diabetes and chloracne as due to herbicide exposure. Coronary artery disease was also granted as a residual of the diabetes. (BVA decision here) http://www4.va.gov/vetapp09/files5/0941553.txt

Three issues on the appeal, peripheral neuropathy, a hand and foot fungus, and ED were remanded back to the VARO, via the Appeals Management Center. The remand directs that a C&P be preformed and that the claim be re-adjudicated.

The AMC remanded my claim back to the VARO. The BVA decision also ordered that the claim be given expeditious treatment. The BVA’s order for the C&P exam was ignored by the VARO and no exam was ordered. My file was sent back to the AMC by the VARO on March 26, 2010, with no C&P exam having been ordered or performed. There was also no re-adjudication at the VARO as ordered by the BVA. Due to ineptness of the VARO my claim will once again be in limbo for a long time due to the backlog. When the matter finally does come up for consideration it will again be remanded back to the VARO for lack of a proper C&P exam.

My wife and I have been forced to survive on my small Social Security Disability check for more than thirteen years now. It required more than four years to get a favorable decision at the BVA level. The financial strain has been tremendous. The VA has even garnished my SSD check for medication co-pays that I can’t afford to pay. The numerous medications, ( fifteen per month), are for the granted conditions, now proven to be service connected disabilities. We exist off of the Vietnam Veterans of America food program. I have asked the VA to separate the granted issues from the remanded issues and to please give me a rating decision on the granted issues. After five months, I still do not have a rating decision.

I have talked official at the Nashville VARO. They admit that the remand order was not followed and that I should have been allowed a proper C&P exam as ordered by the BVA. They also say that although they sympathize with me, there is nothing that the VARO can do to correct the mistake or to right the wrong that may cost me another year or more in poverty.

I am proud of my honorable military service, but I am ashamed of the VA whose employees are not held accountable for accuracy and proper handling of the veterans claims for the honorable veterans who have served this country! Any ideas as to how to resolve this matter would be appreciated. What are my options and where do I go from here?

[Berta]

Yes-good idea- and I thought I posted this in past reply to you Jim-

maybe not- this is the VA Fast letter that you can send them and cite as the basis for their CUE.

As Bradley Mayes says here in this fast letter :

"Delayed implementation of favorable BVA decisions is

inconsistent with the Department’s long standing pro-veteran position and

unnecessarily delays payment of benefits to the claimant."

The Fast Letter was supposed to correct the VAROs new practice of not honoring any partial grant from the BVA.

[Berta]

gee I couldnt upload it but it was posted here by someone else-:

http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=34769

[Pete53]

I would email President Obama and ask for help. In 1996 I emailed President Clinton and got help like I would not believe. My claims was settled within 40 days after my request.

How to send President an email

[broncovet]

James

I am in a similar position trying to get the RO to comply with a BVA order. So far it has taken me 6 years (The BVA decision was in 2004 and is still not fully implemented). This is just one more of the VA's "bag of dirty tricks".

I have been partially successful at getting them to implement it, but not the effective date. The BVA decision was in 2004, about a 2002 decision, but my effective date is 2007. I have gotten my benefits except about 5 years retro from 2002 - 2007.

My advice is not to get congress or the president involved. Altho I have a lot of respect for Pete and do not dispute that it worked for him, I think the chances of it working now are not so good, but do, be my guest and write the president if it makes you feel better. I have never gotten an answer from a president but have written them letters about 6 times, over the years, democrats or republicans..it doesnt matter. It used to be you could actually meet with the president..on certain days..if you were patient..back when Lincoln was president. ..and the president would give you about 5 minutes maybe.

Now, with 300 million people and 25 million Vets, I doubt that any president would read all the letters they get. Who ever reads them, if anyone, would only refer the ones to the president they thought were particulary helpful or important.

Other Vets advocates agree that it rarely helps to get congressmen involved, and often delays your claim further. Our congressman has been unable to get a Veteran I know a RO decision for his 1973 application. He will probably die before his decision.

What I do recommend is a Writ of Mandamus. You need to understand, from the get go, it will be denied, almost certainly. However, it will most definately rattle the RO's cage and get things moving. This is what worked for me.

[john999]

I think if your congressman or senator really wanted to help you they could do it. They simply don't give a damn usually. Send them a bag of money and their ears might perk up.

[jamescripps2]

My inital post that started this thread was actually a copy of a letter that I had already sent to President Obama, MR. Eric Shinseki, The Secretary Of The Department of Veterans affairs, and to the Assistant Commissioner of the Tennessee Department Of Veterans Affairs.

I never heard from Mr. Obama or Mr. Shinseki but I did receive a letter the very next day from the Assistant Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs. The next day I received a call from the AMC in Washington. My claim was hand carried through the rating team and then through the post determination team. In short order I was faxed an un-official copy of the rating decision on April 11, 2010. The rating decision is 100% P&T as due to AO exposure inside the Continental US for the conditions of Diabetes 20% heart disease 100% and they are still working on the chloracne. Retro is back to November, 2005. I received the official rating decision notice from the AMC on May 20, 2010.

Throughout the entire five year conflict with the VA I never hesitated to call upon multiple Congressmen, Senators, The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, The President of the US, and I even used the media a few times in order call attention to the rampent injustice. Had I not knocked out all of the stops and used every tool available to me, then used the entire arena to conduct the battle I really think that I would still be back at step #1. I never whined or spoke in anger. At all times, (well with the exception of once,) I conducted all business with the VA in a buisnesslike manner.

Thanks to access to research via internet, good fortune and guidance from above, and the post available at Hadit.com, I won the seemingly imposible claim in under five years. My most valuable tool, and the one that is most often overlooked is the,"search prior BVA decisions" at the www.va.gov web site. There you can see why the winners won and the loosers lost in similar cases to yours.

DON’T BE AFRAID, JUST BE YOURSELF.

BE WHO YOU ARE, SAY WHAT YOU FEEL.

THOSE THAT MATTER.. DON’T MIND!

THOSE THAT MIND.. DON’T MATTER!

I wish that Irish could have lived to have seen it happen.

Thanks

James