Simple Claim For Vietnam Injury Now A Cue?

[NSA-Saigon-ET]

Edited June 8, 2011 by NSA-Saigon-ET

[john999]

You should ask the BCMR to award you a PH for this injury. If the VA denies your CUE I would hire a lawyer and take it forward all the way. Your claim is very well put together.

[NSA-Saigon-ET]

Well the mail just arrived today an d there is a reply from the good folks in Wash. DC who are supposed to do records corrections.

They want to pass the buck over to the NPRC again for my purple heart request.

I have already written to NPRC twice now and the have been no help.

They did send me my actual hospital records which I want to use for my purple heart verification in the first place.

Now I can't get anyone to actually look at the information!

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzz! No wonder we tend to go postal!!

I will ask my Congress person for help next week on this.

I have posted the edited reply for your amusement!

-donald

[john999]

That makes no sense at all! The BCMR is supposed to correct records. If they can't award you the PH I don't know who can. I can understand them wanting the records to verify the information, but they make the corrections. Some clerk made a mistake.

[carlie]

NSA,

You attachment contained,

"The diagnostic code for this injury is 5284. The compensation ratings are 30%, 20% and 10%.

WAS this the diagnostic code and schedule in 1994, when the original claim was made ?

The veteran endured 40 years of pain resulting from this wound when wearing leather shoes or boots. The constant pressure and chaffing of the wound area caused blisters, throbbing pain and usually caused a limp. The right foot itself is weaker than the left and would become fatigued very quickly when walking/hiking for any length of time. The veteran has experienced these conditions almost daily since 1969.

In 2008, the veteran has taken to wearing sandals almost 90% of the time.

The veteran is asking for an initial 20% disability rating from 1994. The condition has become lessened since 2008 when the veteran was awarded SSDI and began only wearing open heeled shoes such as sandals or flip-flops 90% of the time and only rarely wearing sneakers when appropriate.

The veteran believes a drop in disability to the 10% level would be appropriate since October, 2008. That is the effective date of his 100% SSDI disability award.

NSA - you are screwing yourself here !

Also - is there both an entrance and exit would of the shrapnel ?

Any muscle damage involved ?

1994 VA Rating Decisions –pages 1-5

2008 statements from vet in support of claim

1994 Vet. Statement supporting claim –pages 1-4

2003 Rewrite of Vet. Stressor statement original submitted 1994 pages 1-6

2009 Feb.3 VA Rating Decisions –pages 1-5

2009 Aug. NPRC document-3rd Field Hosp. patient record pages 1-16

[NSA-Saigon-ET]

NSA,

You attachment contained,

"The diagnostic code for this injury is 5284. The compensation ratings are 30%, 20% and 10%.

WAS this the diagnostic code and schedule in 1994, when the original claim was made ?

The veteran endured 40 years of pain resulting from this wound when wearing leather shoes or boots. The constant pressure and chaffing of the wound area caused blisters, throbbing pain and usually caused a limp. The right foot itself is weaker than the left and would become fatigued very quickly when walking/hiking for any length of time. The veteran has experienced these conditions almost daily since 1969.

In 2008, the veteran has taken to wearing sandals almost 90% of the time.

The veteran is asking for an initial 20% disability rating from 1994. The condition has become lessened since 2008 when the veteran was awarded SSDI and began only wearing open heeled shoes such as sandals or flip-flops 90% of the time and only rarely wearing sneakers when appropriate.

The veteran believes a drop in disability to the 10% level would be appropriate since October, 2008. That is the effective date of his 100% SSDI disability award.

NSA - you are screwing yourself here !

Also - is there both an entrance and exit would of the shrapnel ?

Any muscle damage involved ?

1994 VA Rating Decisions –pages 1-5

2008 statements from vet in support of claim

1994 Vet. Statement supporting claim –pages 1-4

2003 Rewrite of Vet. Stressor statement original submitted 1994 pages 1-6

2009 Feb.3 VA Rating Decisions –pages 1-5

2009 Aug. NPRC document-3rd Field Hosp. patient record pages 1-16

Hi Carlie,

To answer your question "No". the original claim had no diagnostic code in any of my documents.

The code shows up in the 2003 decision which I have attached that page.

The compensation codes are from current tables.

The injury was a 5 inch laceration to the right heel area. It looked to be a crescent shaped area where the shrapnel ripped the boot and peeled the flesh back. The doctors cleaned it up and saw that my tendon was ok and sutured it back together. I was then hospitalized to make sure gangrene did not set in to that area.

Regards,

-donald

[NSA-Saigon-ET]

Hi all and to Carlie,

I have decided that your suggestion to re-open my claim using 38CFR 3.156 would probably be safer for success than to file a CUE. The use of the new and material evidence regulation will give me the reversal and earlier EED from the original claim.

There is a clause in the regulation that says the regulation does not apply when the veteran does not submit adequate documents for the VA to retrieve the record needed to verify the claim. However in this case it does not apply.

The original statements submitted by me in 1994 does mention my foot injury and that I received treatment at the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon. Then again there is a typewritten statement filed in 2003 which also notes this injury in greater detail. Also one of my USN physicals shows a right foot injury with treatment from 3rd Field Army Hospital. I don't believe the VA can weasel out of this claim saying they didn't know about the injury. Besides they even mention the alleged injury in the rating statement and never asked me about it specifically before rating it.

Even if they do then I still have the CUE to fall back on if I want.

I have rewritten the appeal that I want to present in my upcoming local hearing. I may have to polish it a bit but it is pretty complete at this time. I have attached it here for anyone to read. It may help others in its form which I hope kinda "connects all the dots".

My goal is for them to read it and come to the same conclusion that I have presented.

Comments appreciated!

-donald

DRO- Right foot Shrapnel injury.doc