Information Overload

[broncovet]

According to this attorney, a major problem with VETS claims is they have too many 21-4138's, and just too much information.

His point makes sense. Given, that a rater will spend maybe 10 minutes reading the file, it is not real suprising they do not "read" your evidence when its buried in 10,000 pages of irrelevant stuff.

One huge, huge problem with this: The VA shreds your evidence, so you dont know what they have/dont have, so you submit things over and over..and they still dont have them, and other stuff the VA has 8 copies of the same evidence in the file.

When I read my RBA (Record before Agency), I was suprised at both what was in the file and what was missing, and I kept on top of what I sent!!! They had multiple copies of many things and were still missing critical evidence, probably because they shredded it.

In this attorney's ebook, he recommends limiting your evidence and 21-4138's. Obviously you want just the right amount of evidence..not too much nor too little.

http://www.attiglawfirm.com/

[free_spirit_etc]

That is interesting bronchovet. When reviewing my husband's claims, I see that his case got all the way to the BVA - and they sent it back to the RO because his DD214 wasn't in there. That held the claim up for at least another year. It would seem like it would be so much better if the BVA could just have had my husband send another copy of it. I know I sent numerous copies of my husband's death certificate and numerous copies of our marriage license, because the VA kept saying they didn't have it. And I know there were several copies of my husband's DD214 in the file when I received a copy of the file. But the VSO tried to tell me it wasn't in his file. The way my RO files things, it is kind of hard to tell what is in the file and what isn't.

I didn't send copies of hospital records for my husband's last illness. I never even bothered to get copies. My husband had already filed the claim and sent records from when his cancer was first diagnosed and when his cancer recurred. It would seem like it would be pretty obvious that the metastatic lung cancer listed on his death certificate would be the same metastatic lung cancer the record shows he was being treated for up to when he sent records about 6 months before he died.

But when the judge asked me if all the medical records were there, I hesitated, and said I think they are all there. I wasn't really sure what "all there" meant. All the records I thought were needed to prove my claim? Every record anywhere about my husband? The RO didn't ask for more medical records. To me, if the question is when his cancer started, or what caused his cancer - the first 6 years of medical records would be enough. But now I wonder if I was supposed to get more records. Or if I should try to get more records and send them. Or if the judge will think I was lying if I said all the records were there, but I didn't get all of the records. I didn't actually look at the C-file when I was at the hearing. My VSO had it. And it is HUGE. I mean several volumes. But now I keep wondering if I should send more.