Pva Or Dav For Claim

[autumn]

who is the less owned by VA?

regarding my claims for MS and MS secondary issues and spinal injury and related issues, there's no question the VA is doing as little as possible and tossing me bread crumbs and dog bones hoping this will go away.

i'm on my 3rd PVA NSO in as many years regarding all this. and of course he says the same as all the others, like he's "going to do all this super work that should have been done years ago"

there is no question in my mind the VA can and does tell the PVA NSO's "what day it is" regarding some claims.

what experiences have some of had with getting fed up with your NSO service and jumping ship to another SO?

how negatively does that effect a claim?

[Testvet]

when I jumped after AL, DAV and PVA I jumped to a lawyer and less than 18 months later I was properly rated at SMC S, I spent from Dec 2002 to June 2007 trying to get my cardiac issues SC using VSOs some told me I would never get it SC others told me to start over and get my hypertension rated at 10% first and then go for IHD I was to stupid to quit and I kept the original claim active by filing appeals NODs asking for DRO hearings etc even my Congressmans military liason told me I needed to learn to accept NO for an answer that was in Aug 2007 in June 2009 I won and got back pay back to my PTSD effective date of Dec 2003.

I have no use for an VSO anymore I file my own paperwork and when it gets denied I let the lawyer handle it saves me new PTSD symptoms lol I think it was Berta who stated if you don't have PTSD before dealing with the VAROs you will have it before you are finished I truly think the nations VAROs could pizz off the POPE

[Philip Rogers]

I recommend none of them and suggest that if the claimant has any common sense, the ability to read, access to a computer/internet and can type w/one or two fingers, that they do it themselves. All the info you need is on the internet these days and no one will work your claim like you will. jmo

pr

[broncovet]

While I do agree with Test and PR, I also think there is "some value" to a VSO for "some Vets". Not everyone is as good at research as PR! For example "All" Vets do not necessarily have either computer skills, nor the resources to have a computer and internet that seek benefits. This is why they call them "homeless Veterans". They dont have the skills or resources to fight the VA.

For those, certainly a VSO is better than nothing. You would think most VSO's should at least have a 21-4138 form, and know the address of the RO to send a NOD. Many homeless Vets would would not know what a "RO" even is, much less the address of where to send one.

Of course, a rookie VSO who had no training would be of little use to someone like PR, Berta, or Carlie. Probably skilled researchers like Berta, PR or Carlie once HAD a rookie VSO, and that is what motivated them to learn the system.

Statistically, according to the Chairmans report, the PVA does a better job than the DAV:

The report card is on page 22:

http://www.bva.va.gov/docs/Chairmans_Annual_Rpts/BVA2011AR.pdf

In terms of denial rate, for 2011, here is how they did:

The attorney was the best with a 17.7% denial rate.

Next was the VVA who lost just 18.1% of the time.

The MOPH/AGents were tied for 3rd place at 21.7%

DAV 22.3%

PVA 22.8%

American Legion 23%

VFW 23.4%

STATE 27%

"Other" 28.8%

AmVets 31.8%

Your chances of a denial were nearly twice as good with an attorney as with the AM vets.

[Berta]

To add to that- the "motivation " factor is highly important.

I have seen that lacking in many claimants over the years who believe somehow a vet rep or lawyer can overcome their lack of evidence but they are not motivated enough to find it themselves.

I dont mean you Autumn but I sure got closer to my awards when I dumped my first POA many years ago and then my second POA dumped me.

Part of my motivation to succeed was to prove how deficient they were. As a matter of fact I emailed the lawyer from my former POA org recently to let him know I succeeded on my CUE claim that his vet rep had caused the need for many many years ago,when I believed what the rep said regarding a 1998 decision I had just receivedm which was legaly wrong and so was the advise the rep gave to me.

When I started out in VA 101 in the late 1980s ,the internet was nothing like it is now.

And everything a claimant needs is here at hadit, or probably has been linked here to other sites here long ago.

When any regulation changes, we post that info ASAP.

What we cant do is really assess all of the nuances of a claim.

A denial letter holds the keys to the eventual award if the medical evidence warrants it.

And often these days the only entity that can properly assess a denial is an IMO doctor.

In the late 1980s I was on Prodigy BBS and we had a former BVA lawyer ,Bill Smith, on the board with us.In those days IMOs were really hardly ever discussed. And many vets won claims without them.

This is a different VA than it was then. Evidence is skimmed over too fast or,worse yet lost, or ignored.

And VA is quick to say that the claimant does not have the medical background to support their own medical assessment that would warrant an award or higher rating. In that type of situation , their is no recourse for the claimant but to get a real doctor to opine on their evidence and then punch any holes they can into the C & P exam results that controlled the VA's denial.

Denial rationales are usually to the point.

They hold the keys to what must be overcome by evidence.

[Berta]

Autumn, I assume you get SC for MS now and claimed a higher rating to to secondary MS disabilities.

You had mentioned here in 2011 and also recently in June 2012 as having some IMOs.

Has the VA acknowledged receipt of these IMOs, particularily the one it appears you got recently from Dr. Bash?

If this IMO evidence supports a higher rating for your MS, or SC for the secondaries ,then you don't really need any vet rep in my opinion, but a rep could at least be a third party witness to the fact that VA received these IMOs and then, if they are not considered in a future denial, the Rep could challenge that decision right away.

[abean]

Our DAV rep is a worthless moron. I'm doing all work myself right now.