Bva Service Connection Notice

[bergin c/o]

got the brown envelope yesterday . they granted service connection for joint disease . left and right hips. I have had other posts before . but in review I am 42 years old and am a desert storm vet. after returning from desert storm like many others my joints hurt . most pain was in my hips . at 32 I had my right hip replaced and last year I had my left done . the doctors found no reason for the joint damage ,other than desert storm . being this young and having joint damage of am old man was unheard of. I originally filed a claim 10 years ago but became frustrated at the system and gave up. with the help of this forum and the great advise they all have given .I renewed my claim . i think if it was not for this forum i would have given up again , but when they denied me at the regional level,you guys pushed me to back to my doctors and get them to write the medical opinions.to follow through . this has been an anchor for a long time now i am waiting for a call to get a rating. the waiting wears you down . i have been trying to add my wife as a dependant for a year now , they are so backlogged , but it will come through. i have also noticed when i dealt with the vso they just tell you to get more evidence, more doctors letters, but never explained what to get . this board was huge in explaining what to get ....thanks again !!!!!!!!!!

[Berta]

WOW, Congrats Bergin I know you waited a long time and hopefully the RO will implement the BVA decision ASAP.

That too can take some time,however.

"I originally filed a claim 10 years ago"

Was it for the exact same condition?

If it was, it is always possible you could recover some retro on that with a CUE claim..

"the waiting wears you down" so true, so true, and in my opinion the long waiting periods exacerbate the disabilities that veterans have.

As a civilian and widow of a vet , I think the VA claims process gave me PTSD.

Or at least it gave me PMS

(Pissing and Moaning Syndrome)

"I have also noticed when i dealt with the vso they just tell you to get more evidence, more doctors letters, but never explained what to get"

Good thing we have the whole nine yards on what an IMO should contain here at hadit in our IMO forum.

The VSOs should read it. They often don't have a clue on the IMO criteria.

This is Wonderful news Bergin and yes the dependent's allowance will come through eventually too.

You WON! No cash yet but I hope you and the wife can celebrate this Victory and relax a little now.

Edited August 20, 2013 by Berta

[bergin c/o]

talked to my vso tonight . he said we did win at bva and now it will go back to the RO for a rating . he said they could low ball it and we would be in appeals for a higher rating . they could low ball it pending another exam or even rate it off the last exam , a middle of the road percentage . he said it will be a 3-5 month wait to see ,what they do . but at least we are almost at the end

[bergin c/o]

oh one more thing . I had been turned down in 2005 for the same condition . they vso at the time was telling me to get more doctors notes treatment records . so I had tons of ya he has degenerative joint disease letters . the thing he left out was I needed nexus letters. they read my statements and turned them in . if I had know about this board then I think things would have turned out different ....once I finally got nexus letters I was able to reopen the claim with new and material evidence

[FormerMember]

That's the problem you encounter with VSOs. They have training in which forms to use. They have training in what to do next. What they lack is the judicial knowledge of what is actually needed to win. VSOs have known full well since Caluza v. Brown (1994) that the three elements were required. In point of fact, it has been required since the War of 1812 in practice. It wasn't summarized as a legal concept for Veterans until the VCRA of 88 let us use federal precedent. The COVA rapidly set their own cases to use to cite this concept as soon as it came up. Mario Caluza will be remembered forever even though he lost http://asknod.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/cova-caluza-v-brown-total-recall/. Just imagine if you'd stumbled in here in 2003-04...