Now We Wait!

[Chuck75]

The other day, the VA sent an insurance brochure and application form. Reading the details, if a veteran is over 65, the amount drops to $500 from a minimum of $10k.

Since I fall into the over 65 category, and have a significant currently not service connected condition, I was scratching my head as to why the VA even bothered.

Thinking back, past copies were sent to me when a service connection decision was made.

Then it slowly dawned on me that some event might have driven the "automatic issue" of the letter.

After considering the hassle, etc involved in using the 800 number, I decided curiosity was getting the better of me, and called.

The effort, naturally, involved the usual we're to busy to answer, call again at a later time, etc. replies, and required multiple tries (4) to finally get to speak to a real person.

I found out that a "Nehmer" award had been made, and "I should be quite pleased". The VAMC supposedly sent a letter out dated late last week. Unknowns are when the letter was actually mailed, and how long it takes

the letter to travel about 100 pigeon miles by "Snail Mail". The "Nehmer" claim involves a 100% condition and several years retro, as well as 20% of retro to the lawyer.

Things that may be left to fight about - - "staged ratings", secondary issues, effective dates, etc. The VA was blatantly not compliant with the Nehmer court order, and what happens as a result of that is still unknown.

The equal access to justice act bit, due to the current budgetary squabbles, is also up in the air. If eventually paid, this may eventually result in a refund to me. Unfortunately, this is just one part of several claims, that were denied.

Other claims still need to go through the appeals process, so "it's not over" yet!

[Pete53]

Chuck75

Sometimes I think it is never over with the VA.

[Berta]

WOW Chuck-that is extraordinary info to get from the 800#.

They usually don't reveal much about an award.

Did you formally re file this to get it under Nehmer?

I guess I mean is a new AO presumptive claim?

Or did they perhaps pull a past denied claim you had, never letting you know, and then they awarded under the new AOs?

This is odd.The VA pulled one of my claims for Nehmer without informing me in August right after the new regs came out.

But I didn't know this and filed a new AO IHD claim the same month.

I have had only one formal Nehmer letter so I don't really know what they are working on.

The 800 guy told me my CUE as well as the Aug 2010 formal claim is what they are working on.

This sounds like very good news from the VA- then again I never believed anything until I had the cash in the bank.

[Chuck75]

The original claim was filed (and approved) for presumptive DMII. The VA failed to do several things.

1. The VA entrance exam (several years ago) was fairly decent, except that the Examiner failed to check a box relating to A.O. Vietnam, etc.

2. Due to a peculiarity in the Veteran group assignments, the DMII approved claim placed me in group 2.

3. The VA failed to notify the Nehmer class action lawyers.

4. My VA and service records show evidence of IHD, and other records as well. They had denied a previous claim. The claim was refiled between the time the decision was announced, and before it was effective.

5. Within the last month, my lawyer wrote a letter to the VARO, reminding them of certain time limits in the court order, of which the shortest was 21 days.

The VAMC, VARO, and the VA clinic failed to correct things for several years. (Veterans don't know anything, don't-cha know!) Some months ago, I ended up contacting the Nehmer class lawyers,

and they sent a request to the VA for records. That sort of triggered several things. A C&P (last year) also had Nehmer related statements from the examiner. I also requested an "insurance audit" from the VAMC.

Since I currently have only one Nehmer claim up for decision, I was able to give the phone rep enough info that she could say a little bit more than usual, without

getting into trouble. Also, being nice and polite sometimes works wonders. The claim was recently transferred from my "normal" VARO to BayPines for decision, etc. as a Nehmer claim.

I can't say more-- Other than, like you, to me, cash in hand is the real determination.

WOW Chuck-that is extraordinary info to get from the 800#.

They usually don't reveal much about an award.

Did you formally re file this to get it under Nehmer?

I guess I mean is a new AO presumptive claim?

Or did they perhaps pull a past denied claim you had, never letting you know, and then they awarded under the new AOs?

This is odd.The VA pulled one of my claims for Nehmer without informing me in August right after the new regs came out.

But I didn't know this and filed a new AO IHD claim the same month.

I have had only one formal Nehmer letter so I don't really know what they are working on.

The 800 guy told me my CUE as well as the Aug 2010 formal claim is what they are working on.

This sounds like very good news from the VA- then again I never believed anything until I had the cash in the bank.

[Carl the Engineer]

Chuck

I got the insurance brochure letter and then the (brown or white) envelope the next day. I believe a rating letter triggers the insurance brochure..

Hamslice

[Berta]

CHuck-I have followed Nehmer since around 1990.And NVLSP.

In the late 1990s the ROs made multiple errors in adjudicating claims under Nehmer.

When NVLSP found out,they went into the ROs and ended up getting VA to release millions of improperly withheld retro money.

By Fall 2001 NVLSP had recovered about 8 million dollars in retro that VA had,up to that point, successfully withheld from vets and widows by their deliberate failure to properly follow the Nehmer court order.

Also VA had somehow eliminated the retro provisions of Nehmer in the Federal Register when Nehmer was won, and in this way they kept thousands of potential Nehmer vets and widows and vet reps in the dark.

I have been involved with VA long enough to state here that nothing happens in a vacuum.

Decisions are made by someone to others in ROs to deliberately sit on or continuously deny claims which have probative evidence in the C file.

In the case of Nehmer claims-they denied a court order in the past and this is why the part about sanctions has been written into the NVLSP Training Letter.

You sure did the right thing by contacting NVLSP.

I often wonder about DMII vets who also claimed heart disease from the DMII and were denied and now they have chance for potential proper award under the new IHD regs.

If VA didnt pull their older denial and if they have not contacted NVLSP themselves- how will they ever find out they could succeed under the new regs if they dont access web site like hadit or google AO and get some updated info on IHD?

[Guest terrysturgis]

Chuck75, reading between the lines, I think you did good. We'll have to wait and see but it looks like your journey is about over. Good luck. Terry