Section 1151 Question

[Berta]

A member from the old hadit board many years ago contacted me regarding a 1151 claim her husband just won at the BVA which the RO will have to rate.

It was good news but here is the question for anyone here with 1151 comp experience.

If a vet has 100% SC and then the 1151 is rated at 60% or more- that would warrant SMC under 1151 and retro from date of 1151 claim.

What if the vet is rated at 100% SC and only 30% for the additional disability under 1151?

Since 1151s are rated "as if" service connected -I see no retro on an award like the 30% in above scenario.

The VA has failed to properly rate my husbands 1151 disabilities since they awarded my 1151 DIC claim in 1998.

Even with my DMII AO award of last year making the disabilities all directly SCed, they still failed to rate them and consider SMC again.

I assume my pending claims will definitely rectify those errors but

I have no idea what happens when 1151s are less than SMC requirements and the vet already has a separate 100% rating.

So does anyone know if there would be any retro compensate under 1151 at all if a vet is 100 % SC and the separate 1151 is rated at only 10 or even 30?

Edited November 29, 2011 by Berta

[Berta]

I added some more info in our FTCA forum regarding constructive or implied denials of FTCA issues.

An individual,without having an attorney , can take certain steps to make sure their FTCA case is filed timely in a district court, within the 6 month period after the claim is denied by the VA counsel.

Still they need to continue to seek a malpractice lawyer. And they will find one if they have an IMO that reveals bonafide malpractice to a degree that would interest a lawyer.

I fought over a pending implied denial from the OGC diligently. I was in contact with the OGC directly and knew right away that something was wrong.

I found out what was wrong, sent them the info they should have had all along, and suddenly it all turned around for me.

This might not have happened if I had a lawyer and it added time to the case.

I had assumed that the entire C file and mec recs were at the OGC office in DC.

They were there but my most important evidence had been removed from these files by the Buffalo VARO before they sent them to DC.

I only discovered that after a few phone calls to VACO and the OGC.They thought they had everything too.They were stunned to receive what the RO had withheld from them.

FTCA issues are very serious business.Lawyers can prevent problems like this one because the VA will try to walk all over a FTCA claimant without a lawyer.

If the evidence however is prime facie -( indisputable proof of negligence/malpractice with resulting documented disability or death directly due to the negligence) then the claimant will succeed with or without a lawyer.(if they make sure the RO has sent them ALL of the medical evidence)