ptsd Nehmer No Pending Claim

[RDT]

I received an IRIS respond that stated "No indication of pending claim being a Nehmer case,Veteran is already rated for heart condition.

I am rated at 10% for hypertention tied to PTSD and 10% for coronary artery disease tied to PTSD.

I filed a seperate claim in 2000 for service conection of CAD tied to Agent Orange, I believe this is a seperate case of Nehmer & IHD tied to agent orange.

Was filed again in 2006 2008

Can anyone guide me on what to do to move forward,

Thanks

RDT

[stillhere]

one other thing the VA might be doing is saying that your heart is already being compensated for. Whether it is PTSD or whatever if you are being compensated for it then that is it.

Just like in my case I was being compensated since 2005 after my MI secondary to my DM2. I can not be compensated again because I was also in Vietnam and exposed to AO. Maybe that will clear this up for you.

of course as Berta mentioned you could ask for and increase. now that will be based on the condition of your heart now and not whether it is associated with AO or PTSD.

It is kind of like a body part can only be SC ONCE.

[Berta]

"Can I send my claim and records to the the Attorney that are in charge of Nehmer to see if they can get my C-file and fight this claim. Seem the Oakland VA will not release my file."

I would send an IRIS request for complete copy of your C file and send the IRIS as complaint and tell them that your request has not been honored since (and give date of the first request)

NVLSP lawyers only handle a limited number of CAVC cases and are not able to handle individual claims at the VARO or BVA level.

However you could email them at the Agent Orange email addy in our AO forum and tell them you dont know if this older claim was denied or is still open.

Tell them about this too:

"I have attached a copy of the request to release information form that was mailed in to the VA for compensation for heart disease in 2000. The VA never ask for any additional information after that was mailed in and the claim was never decided."

They might put you into the AO data base -I don't know.They would need proof that there was a 2000 claim for heart disease.

However I still think your best bet is to get a vet rep= there are probably reps from the big vet orgs either in or near your VARO building.

They could push for the C file copy as well as see what the story is on the 2000 claim.

Why didnt you question the fact that they never adddressed the heart claim during the appellate period?

[stillhere]

I received an IRIS respond that stated "No indication of pending claim being a Nehmer case,Veteran is already rated for heart condition.

I am rated at 10% for hypertention tied to PTSD and 10% for coronary artery disease tied to PTSD.

I filed a seperate claim in 2000 for service conection of CAD tied to Agent Orange, I believe this is a seperate case of Nehmer & IHD tied to agent orange.

Was filed again in 2006 2008

Can anyone guide me on what to do to move forward,

Thanks

RDT

RDT and Berta,

In your/his very first post he states above " I am rated 10% for hypertension and 10% for CAD coronary heart disease!

It does not matter if it is PTSD or AO you are rated SC! The VA did in fact address it in your claim.

Am I the ONLY one seeing this or missing something???

[Berta]

"I never received a rating in 2000 for CAD. That claim was never addressed and left open.

I only received the 10% compensation tied to my heart from PTSD in 2009 . No awards today that deal with IHD and Agent Orange."

I assume, if there was a formal 2000 claim filed that included request for SC for CAD that VA should have rated-then maybe it would fall under Nehmer in a staged rating from 2000 filing date up to 2009 SC for CAD.

This is a confusing situation.

Then again my claim is similiar-

no rating whatsoever for IHD over 6 year period yet med recs revealed IHD as well as FTCA BVA Central report and my IMOs.

My 1151 award for DIC was also based on misdiagnosed IHD and Ischemic CVA.No rating at all for the heart disease.

My 2010 award for direct SC was due to DMII from AO causing IHD CVA, and death.They refuse to rate the DMII but still no rating for IHD and the CVA rating is wrong.

I filed CUE claim on the 1151 rating decision in 2004 and they pulled the CUE from the BVA stack and sent it to Nehmer as well as my August 2010 IHD claim AO claim.

This could be a basis for a CUE claim like mine but still I am confused here as there was no decision on the 2000 claim to find a CUE in.?????

As I understand this,

"That claim was never addressed and left open." I dont understand how it could still be open.I assume the granted claim was a re-open.???

[RDT]

Hi Berta,

After my heart attack and 5 way bypass, my wife and myself were most concern with treatment and trying to get my health back. The claim was file,but never followed up on after they requested the release of information. My wife said she called the VA and was told there was no compensation for heart disease tied to AO. We sent a letter in written to the VA and ask why a decision had not been provided to us. We never received a responds., so we gave up and just focus on the medical help.

I have a box of my records and they are my medical records from being wounded in Vietnam until current.The only claim files I have are what they have sent me, not the whole C-file.

Seem if they requested the release of information form that there should be a claim in my C-file so where,if they did not mis place the claim. I have a C&P schedule for 01-07-2011 for my heart . My hospital records form December 2009, show IHD, CAD, Hypertension, PTSD, Hyperlipidemia,Unstable Angina, Peripheral Neuropathy, and injection fraction at 52%.

They should rase my 10% higher. Always a battle with the VA.

I am just trying to get IHD tied to AO in my file so that my wife can receive DIC when I die from IHD & Cad. This is my only concern, thinking that this was all tie to Nehmer and had to be awarded thru them.

Thanks

RDT

[Berta]

As I understand this you do have IHD SC rating at 10%- and have requested higher rating.

Regardless of the % or cause of any SC disability- if it is listed on a death certificate as causing or contributing to death, the death should then be service connected.

For example my husband's death cert reads cardiac ischemia with cerebral ischemia contributing.

He died 16 years ago.

I was awarded Direct SC death DIC a few months ago as a consequence of proving he also had DMII which caused the CVAS and heart disease.

had I lost that claim I would still have a valid direct death DIC claim under the new AO IHD regs.

I commend you for thinking of your wife. My husband was worried about me getting DIC the AM of his death.

I always advise an autopsy should be done on every vet.

Not only is an autopsy more detailed than a death certificate, but it could even reveal a SCable condition that contributed to death yet the veteran had never claimed but the surviving spouse could or the autopsy could support a pending claim the surviving spouse had been substituted as claimant for.

For example. My husband had never been diagnosed for or treated for DMII.

I was able to prove he had untreated and undiagnosed DMII and it caused IHD and CVA which caused his death.

One word in the microbiopsy of his heart slides in the autopsy also proved he had diabetic cardiomyopathy.

If that was the sole evidence I had (I had plenty more) then at least I had an independent medical examiner;s findings that definitely proved he had DMII and its consequences of IHD and CVA.

AO never appears on a death certificate - any SC condition regardless of the rating -if a contributing or main causal factor to death- calls for DIC award if it appears on the death certificate.

But some SCs dont cause or contribute to death.