Filed Complaint Against Regional Office After Losing Evidence 2Nd Time

[georgiapapa]

Well I have either shot myself in the foot and put my current claims on the real slow track or I will get some action going on my claims. I simply reached my breaking point with my local VARO and I sent a written complaint to the VA through IRIS requesting an in person meeting with the person in charge of my local VARO. I advised that if the meeting could not be arranged, I wanted telephone numbers, names and addresses of the Inspector General of the Veterans Administration and the Director of the Veterans Administration. I am ready to fly to Washington if necessary if that is what it will take to straighten out the mess my claim is in due to the incompetence at my local VARO.

I filed claims for AO multiple myeloma and Peripheral Neuropathy secondary to multiple myeloma in 2011. I submitted all of my evidence via certified mail in 2011 and my VARO lost the evidence. As a result, I hand delivered copies of my entire evidence package to my VARO in May 2012. Although I had the first six pages of my evidence date stamped, which is all they would date stamp, the "Evidence Received" section on my Ebenefits indicated the VARO did not receive any evidence unti August 19, 2012.

I had my C & P exam on September 12, 2012 for my claims. I received a copy of the report and the VA examiner indicated in her report that I had multiple myeloma and she also indicated my peripheral neuropathy was as likely as not secondary to my multiple myeloma. Sounds good but read on.

Based on the C & P report, I thought everything was back on track with my claim until I received a letter from my VARO today requesting evidence in support of my claims. The requests were for evidence I had previously submitted in 2011 and 2012. Also, they asked for evidence showing that I had received medical treatment for my current "skin condition" which they indicated was multiple myeloma, within one year of my last exposure to agent orange. Although I submitted approximately 100 pages of doctor reports, lab reports, diagnostic test reports, IMOs, military records of Vietnam service, etc; the morons at my VARO think that multiple myeloma is skin cancer and must manifest itself within one year of exposure to agent orange. Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer in the bone marrow and has nothing to do with the skin. It also does not have to manifest itself within one year of agent orange exposure. The VARO has myeloma confused with melanoma which is a skin cancer. It is hard for me to believe the VA has persons working on AO claims who do not have a working knowledge of the AO diseases.

The letter I received today from my VARO also had a list of the evidence they claimed they had received from me. According to their list, I had only submitted five documents or about a dozen pages rather than the approximately 100 pages I actually submitted on two previous ocassions. They don't even show my diagnosis letters or my IMOs yet they sent me for a C & P exam. Now they have given me to October 25th to submit my evidence, for the third time. In my IRIS complaint, I asked for the in person meeting with the person in charge of my VARO to take place before October 25th.

I am sorry for the long post but I had to vent to people who understand exactly how I feel. I do not mind waiting my turn, I just don't like being sent back to the end of the line because of the mistakes and incompetence of my VARO.

If anyone has any comments or suggestions, please let me know.

Georgiapapa...

P.S.- I have three other claims I plan to file for IHD, mental health disorder & a scar rating for a service connected shoulder injury but I am holding off until I can straighten this mess out on my current claims.

[broncovet]

Wow, Berta.

You posted,

"But other steps I took are not appropriate in your case.They didnt want me to take the next step I told them planned to do either."

I would like to know what the "other steps" are. I have written letters until I am blue in the face. The VA AND the BVA has never addressed my allegations of document mishandling.

I have multiple pieces of credible evidence that the VA shredded a big portion of my claim in the period 2002-2007 which resulted in the net loss of 5 years of retro. Neither the VARO nor the BVA addressed my allegations. They did try "throwing me a crumb" hoping I would "shut up", however.

Im not biting on their "crumb". I deserve an effective date of 2002, not just 10 months from 2007.

I think the VA is trying to delay me until I die.

I have lost my home waiting on the Va because of their shennannigans.

I am considering a MFR based on "new and material" evidence...to let the BVA know I am dead serious about these document mishandling allegations. MFR's go to the chief judge, and he is unlikely to risk his high paying job by "looking the other way" to my document mishandling allegations, because I will document the chief judge received it, and then I will take it to the CAVC if he fails to respond.

Many of the documents I have resubmitted have "VARO" date stamps on them, along with employee initials. They cant say they "didnt receive them". Some do not.

The reason I have these date stamped and initialed documents is because, when I requested a copy of my c file, the VARO mistakenly sent me the originals, not copies, instead. They sent me a lot of "internal" documents I know I was not supposed to get...such as the "rating sheet" for previous decisions signed by the RSVR. I am certain the VARO does not even have copies of their old decisions because, 1) I requested copies of my old decisions and they did not respond, and 2) the copies I got from the VARO were stamped "File copy".

Edited September 29, 2012 by broncovet

[broncovet]

The VA thinks I am too stupid to figure this all out or not persistent enough to follow through. They are wrong. Sadly, many Veterans never know they are victims of document shredding or mishandling. They often just "resubmit" their evidence, and then "settle" on a false effective date of when they sent in the documents the second time or third, or 4th time.

The Va has made their position clear: They are going to continue shredding and mishandling...beleiving the 2008 shreddergate embarrassment "blew over" after a few hearings where the Va promised not to do it again, and to put "controls" in place to keep it from happening.

[Berta]

Broncovet, those other steps I took are not appropriate to post.

Some involved, like you mentioned, regarded "internal" documents .

How I handled most of that situation rested on my husband's personal experience and really wont help anyone else.

I did mention telling my story to the Press to VACO and that CBS had already contacted me regarding part of it during Shreddergate and I had proof of that.

It is quite a story that no one really knows. Except the VA itself and me.

Veterans have gotten some claims attention with going to the press.A good example is a little article in a NY newspaper some years back that caught the attention of me and 3 other advocates about a veteran's claims problems.

We absolutely pounced on the VA.

The vet got their money!The vet got an enormous retro check in mere weeks after we raised hell.. I think this was 2 years ago.

I called the editor and the article writer and the vet's vet rep. Other NY vet advocates got involved too. Of course I had to keep in mind the Privacy act when talking to the vet rep.

But the story was public information.

I rattled it all off with a story link here when it occurred and how it was resolved.

No sense in ever getting really angry with the VA. The best thing to do is take action instead.

[broncovet]

Berta

I think this is the most frustrating part of the VA. There is no one we can call to solve our problem. If we have a complaint about a product we buy, we can call customer service and if they cant handle it, we can email a vice president. But the VA...no...they make sure we have no one to call. Iris emails get a generic reply like:

"Thank you for your service". The Va is committed to prompt resolution of your complaints. It will be forwarded to your regional office and ....

blah, blah, blah.....nothing ever gets resolved.

I have taken action...letters...emails...even a Writ of mandamus.

Mostly, the Va patted me on the head like a little boy and said..."gee were sorry about your oowie. Now here is a quarter and go get yourself an ice cream cone. Maybe that will make your owie feel better..next time be more careful and you wont get oowies."

I think you know who to complain to. I submitted a complaint to the VAOIG...they had gotten so many shredder gate complaints, they sent me a

"form letter" email, that had hand written at the bottom, "Tell them you were shredded".

Yea, right. This would be like if we complained to the cops that the neighbor was dealing drugs to go to him and ask him to stop selling drugs..sure..that will solve the problem.

[john999]

I sent complaints about the VA to the VA and they lost the complaint.

[stillhere]

That is a good one John! As more than likely true!

Papa, I wish there was someway to help you along but getting all wacked out over it is surely not going to help your health. Please take a deep breath and calm done and try and be the spirit of those that will win in the end.

I live in this big ass dump area and I can tell you it is very hard to get anyone to even deal with listening to you. Here they are more worried about getting to work and, then they start worrying about getting home. I know from experience of years of working with them and now have 3 brothers working there!

While there are some good folks there they are really hard to find.

If you need me to realistically help you in anyway please PM me and I will try.