Hi all, First post so hopefully Im doing this right...
A VA ortho surgeon/spine specialist diagnosed me with Schuermann's Kyphosis and says that there is nothing that I could have done in the service that would have aggravated this condition.
At the time of diagnosis he would not listen to my story. He wouldnt even give me a chance to make a rebuttal in the initial meeting (when the diagnosis was made.) In a later phone appt. I interrupted him and told him to listen. Even though he made the diagnosis he says that he can not change it and that it is now a matter for C&P to decide whether or not it was aggravated or caused by my military service.
I had a bad fall on my pelvis and jammed my spine. Problem is that I was AF and went to a Navy ER and the records never got transferred or got lost. I also worked VERY hard lifting alot of VERY heavy items and have many complaints of back pain/problems in my SMRs. There is a notation in the records of my very first visit to the VA (5 yrs prior) of the fall and there is a notation of the fall in my SMRs that say that they are awaiting x-rays from a fall as I described but there is no follow up and there are many missing records of visits to the Dr. for this fall. My SMRs also show that the records that were transferred to my forwarding base were incomplete/lost.
I had a recent C&P exam and the examining doc would not acknowledge and would not even let me talk about the problems in relation to my thoracic spine which include severe muscle spasms, 7 out of 10 pain on most days and literally zero flexion. He also (acted like) was in the dark or had no information concerning the compression fracture at t-12 (minor at 7degrees) and a whole slew of other problems in my thoracic region (enough for a diagnosis of schuermann's).
At the C&P exam the doc raised me from 10% (which I have been since my initial award in 06) to 40% for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine... my original claim was purposely vague for "back condition" to include both the identified lumbar pain/problems at my time of separation as well as the unidentified thoracic issues.
To clarify, I have three main questions;
1. Is Schuermanns Kyphosis compensable or not?
2. Seeing as how the thoracolumbar spine is all rated as one disability does the name for the rating actually mean anything
3. Can they actually say that my military service did not aggravate this condition? I could walk upright when I joined and moved like an old man at the time of my discharge... and I still do.
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AMMOroadkill
Hi all, First post so hopefully Im doing this right...
A VA ortho surgeon/spine specialist diagnosed me with Schuermann's Kyphosis and says that there is nothing that I could have done in the service that would have aggravated this condition.
At the time of diagnosis he would not listen to my story. He wouldnt even give me a chance to make a rebuttal in the initial meeting (when the diagnosis was made.) In a later phone appt. I interrupted him and told him to listen. Even though he made the diagnosis he says that he can not change it and that it is now a matter for C&P to decide whether or not it was aggravated or caused by my military service.
I had a bad fall on my pelvis and jammed my spine. Problem is that I was AF and went to a Navy ER and the records never got transferred or got lost. I also worked VERY hard lifting alot of VERY heavy items and have many complaints of back pain/problems in my SMRs. There is a notation in the records of my very first visit to the VA (5 yrs prior) of the fall and there is a notation of the fall in my SMRs that say that they are awaiting x-rays from a fall as I described but there is no follow up and there are many missing records of visits to the Dr. for this fall. My SMRs also show that the records that were transferred to my forwarding base were incomplete/lost.
I had a recent C&P exam and the examining doc would not acknowledge and would not even let me talk about the problems in relation to my thoracic spine which include severe muscle spasms, 7 out of 10 pain on most days and literally zero flexion. He also (acted like) was in the dark or had no information concerning the compression fracture at t-12 (minor at 7degrees) and a whole slew of other problems in my thoracic region (enough for a diagnosis of schuermann's).
At the C&P exam the doc raised me from 10% (which I have been since my initial award in 06) to 40% for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine... my original claim was purposely vague for "back condition" to include both the identified lumbar pain/problems at my time of separation as well as the unidentified thoracic issues.
To clarify, I have three main questions;
1. Is Schuermanns Kyphosis compensable or not?
2. Seeing as how the thoracolumbar spine is all rated as one disability does the name for the rating actually mean anything
3. Can they actually say that my military service did not aggravate this condition? I could walk upright when I joined and moved like an old man at the time of my discharge... and I still do.
Edited by AMMOroadkillLink to comment
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