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VA Disability Claims: 5 Game-Changing Precedential Decisions You Need to Know
Tbird posted a record in VA Claims and Benefits Information,
These decisions have made a big impact on how VA disability claims are handled, giving veterans more chances to get benefits and clearing up important issues.
Service Connection
Frost v. Shulkin (2017)
This case established that for secondary service connection claims, the primary service-connected disability does not need to be service-connected or diagnosed at the time the secondary condition is incurred 1. This allows veterans to potentially receive secondary service connection for conditions that developed before their primary condition was officially service-connected.
Saunders v. Wilkie (2018)
The Federal Circuit ruled that pain alone, without an accompanying diagnosed condition, can constitute a disability for VA compensation purposes if it results in functional impairment 1. This overturned previous precedent that required an underlying pathology for pain to be considered a disability.
Effective Dates
Martinez v. McDonough (2023)
This case dealt with the denial of an earlier effective date for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) 2. It addressed issues around the validity of appeal withdrawals and the consideration of cognitive impairment in such decisions.
Rating Issues
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Tbird, -
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Are all military medical records on file at the VA?
RichardZ posted a topic in How to's on filing a Claim,
I met with a VSO today at my VA Hospital who was very knowledgeable and very helpful. We decided I should submit a few new claims which we did. He told me that he didn't need copies of my military records that showed my sick call notations related to any of the claims. He said that the VA now has entire military medical record on file and would find the record(s) in their own file. It seemed odd to me as my service dates back to 1981 and spans 34 years through my retirement in 2015. It sure seemed to make more sense for me to give him copies of my military medical record pages that document the injuries as I'd already had them with me. He didn't want my copies. Anyone have any information on this. Much thanks in advance.-
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RichardZ, -
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Caluza Triangle defines what is necessary for service connection
Tbird posted a record in VA Claims and Benefits Information,
Caluza Triangle – Caluza vs Brown defined what is necessary for service connection. See COVA– CALUZA V. BROWN–TOTAL RECALL
This has to be MEDICALLY Documented in your records:
Current Diagnosis. (No diagnosis, no Service Connection.)
In-Service Event or Aggravation.
Nexus (link- cause and effect- connection) or Doctor’s Statement close to: “The Veteran’s (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service”-
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Tbird, -
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Post in ICD Codes and SCT CODES?WHAT THEY MEAN?
Timothy cawthorn posted an answer to a question,
Do the sct codes help or hurt my disability ratingPicked By
yellowrose, -
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Post in Chevron Deference overruled by Supreme Court
broncovet posted a post in a topic,
VA has gotten away with (mis) interpreting their ambigious, , vague regulations, then enforcing them willy nilly never in Veterans favor.
They justify all this to congress by calling themselves a "pro claimant Veteran friendly organization" who grants the benefit of the doubt to Veterans.
This is not true,
Proof:
About 80-90 percent of Veterans are initially denied by VA, pushing us into a massive backlog of appeals, or worse, sending impoverished Veterans "to the homeless streets" because when they cant work, they can not keep their home. I was one of those Veterans who they denied for a bogus reason: "Its been too long since military service". This is bogus because its not one of the criteria for service connection, but simply made up by VA. And, I was a homeless Vet, albeit a short time, mostly due to the kindness of strangers and friends.
Hadit would not be necessary if, indeed, VA gave Veterans the benefit of the doubt, and processed our claims efficiently and paid us promptly. The VA is broken.
A huge percentage (nearly 100 percent) of Veterans who do get 100 percent, do so only after lengthy appeals. I have answered questions for thousands of Veterans, and can only name ONE person who got their benefits correct on the first Regional Office decision. All of the rest of us pretty much had lengthy frustrating appeals, mostly having to appeal multiple multiple times like I did.
I wish I know how VA gets away with lying to congress about how "VA is a claimant friendly system, where the Veteran is given the benefit of the doubt". Then how come so many Veterans are homeless, and how come 22 Veterans take their life each day? Va likes to blame the Veterans, not their system.Picked By
Lemuel, -
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Question
pacmanx1
Guard Officer Exposed as SEAL Fraud
September 06, 2010
Sun-Sentinel
MIAMI -- With the distinctive Trident insignia pinned to his uniform and a copy of the SEALs credo on his office wall, Florida National Guard 2nd Lt. Douglas Sofranko was known at the Ballard Armory as a onetime Navy Frogman, a proud member of one of the world's most elite and toughest combat forces.
But Sofranko, 33, a Coral Springs resident, was living a lie. He is not a former SEAL, having washed out of the grueling training 14 years ago.
"It was just stupid of me," said Sofranko, whose resignation of his commission and from the National Guard was effective Tuesday. "I know how I feel about people who falsify military careers, so this was just really stupid."
Sofranko's resignation comes as most of his fellow South Florida-based Soldiers in the 1st Battalion of the Guard's 124th Infantry Regiment are away on a year-long mission to Iraq. Sofranko was ineligible for deployment because he had not finished an officer's leadership course.
He was assigned to the rear detachment office, on active duty supervising supply clerks and training staff, and doing a good job, according to National Guard officials.
"It is an unfortunate situation that he got into that type of trouble," said Lt. Col. Peter Kaye, commander of the Guard's 53rd Brigade Combat Team. "He started a tall tale. But once confronted with it, he was forthright."
Fabricating histories of military service, and embellishing stories about exploits in battle, is not new. Over the years many people have been caught lying about what they did in World War II or the Vietnam War.
Faking a career with the legendary SEALs takes particular hubris. In the 16 to 18 months required to become a SEAL, candidates are put through punishing physical and mental training that includes distance swimming, underwater demolition and sleep deprivation.
Yet many people do boast of being SEALs when they are not.
"We average one to two calls a week about someone making claims of being a Navy SEAL," said Lt. Cate Wallace, of the Naval Special Warfare Command. "The bulk of the claims are unsubstantiated."
Added Wallace: "I can't believe people think they can get away with it. The SEALs are a tight-knit group. They look out for each other."
The unraveling of Sofranko's deceit began several weeks ago when other members of his Guard unit became suspicious.
Eventually, those suspicions reached reporter Mark D. Faram, a staff writer for Military Times. His story included an admission from Sofranko that he had lied, and sparked the National Guard investigation.
Citing privacy laws, Guard officials said they could not disclose what type of discharge -- honorable, general under honorable conditions, or bad conduct -- Sofranko received.
After joining the Navy, Sofranko did begin the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL course with class 209 in Coronado, Calif., in August 1996. But he was dismissed weeks later, he said, when he failed to pass the underwater swim course.
His class graduated without him in February 1997.
After leaving the Navy in 1999, Sofranko enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard the following year. Two years later, Sofranko received a general discharge under honorable conditions for unsatisfactory participation, meaning he missed too many drills and other training periods.
"He showed up to drills here and there," said Sgt. Matt Jones, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard who reviewed Sofranko's performance records during the year and 10 months he was enlisted there. "He did not have what we call a good year."
But Sofranko's military ambitions endured. In April 2007, after moving to Broward County and despite his poor record in Pennsylvania, he applied for a waiver to join the Florida National Guard.
"These waivers are granted routinely," said Lt. Col. Sterling Heymen, the Florida Guard's top personnel officer. "Young people make mistakes."
Once in the Guard, Sofranko applied for the Officer Candidates Program. He completed the training, and was commissioned a second lieutenant on Aug. 17, 2009.
Because he had not completed the leadership phase of his officer training, however, he was not eligible to deploy in February with the 1st Battalion to Kuwait, where they are providing security for convoys running in and out of Iraq. More than 2,500 Florida Guardsmen, including more than 600 members of the 1st Battalion, are in or near Iraq. They are due to come home in December.
Asked why he claimed to be a SEAL when he wasn't, Sofranko said, "I don't know. It just started as a little comment, but instead of correcting it, it just kept going."
Sofranko said he has been in contact with several Guard Soldiers and apologized for his actions. "Most have really been supportive," he said. "Most wanted to forgive me."
Sofranko and his wife have two children, ages 14 and 10. His biggest worry now, he said, "is, what are my kids going to think?"
My intentions are to help, my advice maybe wrong, be your own advocate and know what is in your C-File and the 38 CFR that governs your disabilities and conditions.
Do your own homework. No one knows the veteran’s symptoms like the veteran. Never Give Up.
I do not give my consent for anyone to view my personal VA records.
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