ptsd Questions Regarding My Bva Decision

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Hello Veterans,

I would like to seek any advice from any veteran that may have been down the same path which I am writing about. I am going to try and make this as clear and to the point as I can, but as you know when your dealing with VA its usually a long and complicated mess.

I have been back and froth with my RO and BVA since 1983. I have an ongoing claim on my lumbar compression fracture of L2L3and PTSD due to numerous remands and vacates from BVA. Vacates were due to RO not sending me to Neurologist and Orthopedic Surgeon. The PTSD was vacated because they would exclude the testing for PTSD when I would go in for my mental C&P end of it.

In 2008, RO sent me again to a bogus C&P exam excluding have the Neurlogist and Orthopedic Surgeon again. Also had me come back three weeks later and have a nurse run me through supposed testing for my lumbar case. I received the statement of the case and filed an NOD due to the nurse they sent me back to lied about what testing she performed. Couldn't have done the testing she said I did due to just previously going through prostate surgery. They ignored my NOD and gave my lumbar L2-3ompression fracture and extra 10%. I was rated at 20%. They had to go back to 1994 to reimburse me.

In 2009, I received a new C&P for PTSD. I received the exam from the Dr. He was very thorough and I received more testing than I should have but he wanted to make sure all bases were covered.

AXIS I: 1. pain disorder associated with psychological features and a general medical condition(at least in part related to his 30% service connected back concerns

2. PTSD/anxiety disorder not otherwise specified

3. Dysthymic disorder

4. Intermittent major depressive disorder, recurrent

5. Alcohol dependence, in remission

AXIS II: Likely personality disorder traits including avoidance

AXIS III See medical records

AXIS IV Chronic medical conditions and unemployability (by decision of Social Security)

AXIS V Global Assessment of Functioning 51

The examiner remarks it is as least as likely as not that my PTSD, depression, pain and mood disorder are service connected.

I received the RO's decision in May 2010 and they kept me at 30% lumbar and did not address my complaints of still not having the Neurologist or the Orthopedic Surgeun to do my exam as well as the followup bogus exam from the nurse.

They also gave me 30% for pain/mood disorder and did not take in account my PTSD. I filed another NOD casue I did not want this to go to BVA for a final decision. They sent it anyway irgnoring my NOD. They never sent me anything to say they had sent it to WA BVA. I received a letter in July from BVA saying they had my case and since these issues were on remand since 1994 they would expedite it through.

So I took some advice and wrote a formal request for reconsideration and sent in all additional information as well as stuff I felt that the RO neglected to sent along with my file to help my case.

Last week I received my decision from BVA

They granted me PTSD

They granted me no more than 10% for Radiculopathy(which I didn't even know what that was, did not ask for it)

denied me any more than 30%on lumbar L2-L3 (In my fromal request for reconsideration, I requested they vacate this decision due to the RO not following the demands of BVA decision.BVA toally ignored there own demands to RO)

They only remanded the issue of Pain/Mood disorder back to RO because I sent BVA a copy of that NOD that the RO just happened to not get just before they hastily got my case off to BVA. BVA believes I should have received due process and want RO to address my NOD. What is funny is in the same NOD , I addressed the Lumbar issue due to RO not following BVA demands.

Now my questions...

1. If they granted me service connected PTSD How long will it take RO to come up with a percentage and what will the rater base it on?

2. Since this Pain/ mood disorder decision has ben remanded back to RO. Can I have them address pain/ mood disoder as two seperate diagnosis codes and rate me seperately on both?

3. How do I appeal the denial they gave my on my lumbar at BVA since I did remark in my NOD the fact of them not following BVA demands on getting an Orthoprdic surgeon and a Neurologist to do my C&P exam. This is all on the same NOD that BVA is remanded only for the pain/mood disorder. Who would I appeal to BVA or RO on this one?

4. How does BVA get passed not following their own remand and denying me on the lumbar issue?

Okay..I know this is confusing..I hope there is someone who can give me some answers to this ongoing struggle. I have had lawyers involved in the passed, but since it had been takinf so long for any real decision they have just dropped me. So I am going it alone. Thanks for your time and interest.

Also I filed for IU a couple months ago. I read on this site that even though I did not make up the percentage I could still possibley receive it. I have been on Social Security Disability since 1996. I was also deemed and Voc Rehab failure in 1994 by the VA.

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I have been fighting VA since 1983 on my compression fractures and yeah I guess it is time to take it cava. I am going to seek out an attorney. The BVA says I have 120 days to appeal that. My brain tells me it should be overturned since it was the BVA who ordered RO to give me the entitlement of a C&P exam with a Neurologist and Orthopedic Surgean. I can't believe BVA all these years have been remanded this Lumbar issue(1994) back to RO to follow their orders and this time after RO still does not allow me that kind of C&P exam. To have BVA just totally ignore their past remands and just deny me knowing that they themselves are going against their own orders. Just pisses me off. I think they just want me to drop the issue due to going back so far...but dammit I won't.

About 10 years ago I heard of NOVA. I went on the net and got some info on attorneys in our state that are affiliated with them. Just two members in our state. So has anyone heard of NOVA and is this a good start for an attorney? I have been unemployed since 1994. I put in a claim for IU prior to just getting this decision from BVA. I have filled out the initial paperwork...I listed all the employers I had but I believe only one of them is still a business and I think that one has changed hands since I was there. I am on SSD since 1996 and VA Voc. Rehab. who initially tried to help me back in 1983 had wrote me a letter in 1994 and said they can no longer feel I could benefit from their program. When I filed for IU I was only at a 50% rating but after the BVA decision recently..I should be rated higher...but now just the preverbial waiting game and your right about how it may go when they go back with the PTSD and rate it....I think they will do their dammdest to keep me from getting much of a rating due to my IU I filed. I suppose I will have to take an C&P exam for my IU claim and now I am beginning to really worry that they will schedule an exam but I will not get the info. I have read of those kinds of things happening on this website....just another thing to worry about.

[vaf]

My husband had lumbar issues rated as lumbar sprain when they should have been rated under more favorable rating criteria for intevertebral disc syndrome. We had to appeal the Board decision to the Court, and at that point, we were solicited by attorneys who wanted to take the case, due to their fee being paid by the government under the Equal Access to Justice Act. We picked a veterans law attorney who has done a wonderful job for us in negotiating a joint remand from the Court (which is a "win," as the Court normally doesn't grant claims, it just decides whether the Board followed the appropriate process in place, and if not, the Board gets it back to weigh it properly).

The $50 filing fee at the Court can be waived if you complete a form for economic hardship.

Sometimes, the only thing you can do is go to Court, at which case you take it out of the so-called "non-adversarial" VA disability claims process within the VA and enter the adversarial judicial process which is outside of the VA system.

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VAF,

How did you go about getting this attorney...do they also get a fee as well. Are you saying that you can get an attorney through this way if your at an certain income level?

I contacted an attorney through that NOVA website yesterday. They only have two attorneys that are affiliated with NOVA in our state. Work at the same legal office.

Their office called and asked about all initial info and the attorney is supposed to get back with me. I just hope I am doing the right thing, but my case has just been drawn out at a ridiculous pace. I think that by now they should have allowed me due process. I don't understand how BVA can make a judgement to deny my claim and go against their own orders. They were the ones who kept remanded the claim back to RO because of their decision. Crazy!!!

[Chuck75]

Obviously, a lawyer specializing in VA claims is needed. I'd suggest that the lawyer must be authorized to practice in the VA system, as well as the federal district court as a minimum.

Generally, a VA claims lawyer gets paid (by law) 20% of any retroactive payments. The 20% is deducted from the award by the VA, and sent to the lawyer. $100 is deducted by the VA from the lawyers payment as a handling fee.

In addition, the lawyer can also be paid by the government, based upon an "equal justice" set of laws. The key is that the client has an income below a certain amount, (Much higher that you might think.)

Besides all of this, A lawyer handling a VA claim is entitled to recover "reasonable expenses". The expenses may be billed to the veteran, and I'm sure that there are guides somewhere as to what is reasonable.

The lawyer I deal with considers the expenses to be paid by part of the 20%, and any "equal justice" payments.

Lawyers asking for more than the 20% exist, and the additional money is dubious as to the legalities.

The internet can be used to find a list of VA lawyers in a given area. NOVA and other groups (Profit, Non Profit) specializing in VA claims are web searchable.

VAF,

How did you go about getting this attorney...do they also get a fee as well. Are you saying that you can get an attorney through this way if your at an certain income level?

I contacted an attorney through that NOVA website yesterday. They only have two attorneys that are affiliated with NOVA in our state. Work at the same legal office.

Their office called and asked about all initial info and the attorney is supposed to get back with me. I just hope I am doing the right thing, but my case has just been drawn out at a ridiculous pace. I think that by now they should have allowed me due process. I don't understand how BVA can make a judgement to deny my claim and go against their own orders. They were the ones who kept remanded the claim back to RO because of their decision. Crazy!!!

[vaf]

VAF,

How did you go about getting this attorney...do they also get a fee as well. Are you saying that you can get an attorney through this way if your at an certain income level?

I contacted an attorney through that NOVA website yesterday. They only have two attorneys that are affiliated with NOVA in our state. Work at the same legal office.

Their office called and asked about all initial info and the attorney is supposed to get back with me. I just hope I am doing the right thing, but my case has just been drawn out at a ridiculous pace. I think that by now they should have allowed me due process. I don't understand how BVA can make a judgement to deny my claim and go against their own orders. They were the ones who kept remanded the claim back to RO because of their decision. Crazy!!!

Your income level has nothing to do with anything other than the $50 filing fee required to send your appeal to the Court. If the $50 fee poses a hardship for you, then there's a form you can fill out that asks for a waiver.

Once your appeal reaches the Court, you will get a lot of mail from lawyers who watch for new cases, and then approach the veteran in an attempt to have the veteran hire that attorney for the Court appeal. Under EAJA, the attorney is paid by the government. In our case, once the appeal was joint remanded back to the Board, my husband had to sign another agreement with the attorney which included a fee agreement. If the claim is granted, the attorney would receive a percentage (usually around 20%) of retro compensation due the veteran. However, at the Court, the veteran does not pay, as the Court does not normally grant appeals. They review the process the Board took, and either agree that it was proper, or decide that it was not and then will send it back to be re-done properly.