63Sierra - New Member Looking For Guidance

[63SIERRA]

Troy I would like your opinion on a claim. I was in an on post car accident while on active duty. The civillian wife hit me in the rear with her car, into the back of my car at a redlight, she had break failure. her husband had did a not so good break job on thier car the day before. I was in alot of pain, and went on sick call. I was diagnosed initially with a fracture pars and spodylolysis and put in a back brace and put on a dead mans profile . I went back in a week, saw another doc, and he said back was broke, but not in accident. He put on the medical record . " old seat belt injury " with a question mark behind it. like he wasnt sure. So ok, I was on active duty for abt a year after that. with frequent visits to sick call with back pain complaints. all documented. So when my tour was up, I filed for several different contentions, with back condition as one of them. The va deny me in 1996 said the back condition know as pars defect, with sponylolisis is a congenital defect, and no related to millitary service. I didnt think to much of it at the time, burt recently started research. I looked thru my active duty medical records, and another doctor diagnosoed my back condition as spondylolysis thesis. I recently went to a chiropractor, and his diagnosis is L-5 spondylolisis thesis. He showed me the xrays and told me my back had been jacked up for a long time, and would take years to get results, and there basically were not alot of good options. He told me what happens is the pars bones, that hold the vertebre in thier proper alignment, can fracture from either blunt force inpact such as car accidents. or if they are weak for whatever reason. Then it lets the vertebre shift forward, out of alignment. Then u start getting nerves pinched an pain, such as I have now, and have been having since the accident while on active duty. So I sent the chiropractic diagnosis to the VA. I also sent a copy of the in service medical record where the doctor diagnosed me with spondylolysid thesis. Which is alot different that just spondylolysis. I had never had, nor complained of any back pain, or problems anytime before the on post car accident. I have had pain and problems with my back ever since the accident, and recieve pain meds from the va for it even now. So my questions are, being I filed for a back condition as a generic term, and the VA assigned the wrong diagnosis, and denied me on that wrong diagnosis,. do I have grounds for a CUE claim. ? if not, should I at least win my current appeal?

2. How can I find out, exactly what evidence the Va had at the time they adjudicated my claim , in other words, how can I find out if they had access to the medical slip where the doctor clearly wrote. " sponylolislis thesis. (I have sent the va a copy with my appeal, so they have it now, but I want to know if they had it then.

Edited September 16, 2013 by 63SIERRA

[63SIERRA]

looking back and reflecting on this whole situation, with the information the army docs had, Im starting to think that they should have recommened a medical discharge, for my back issues, rather than just let it ride, and let the injury worsen, as it surely has. Kind of like they just turned a blind eye. If they recognized and new it was a weak area, why not say,, Sir, if you dont find another line of work, you problems will get worse. Soldiering. especially in your MOS, heavy truck mechanic, and Squad leader, is tough because u have to set the example. Private barney snuff cant be doing more sit ups than his sarge, or out run him. Carrying those big chains around the motorpool, climbing up, and jumping down off big truck, ., not good for your back..

No mercy or no sense. ... is all that I can say.. I literally broke my back for my country, and they are denyiing me.

God dont sleep though,like my momma used to say. It will all come to light, .

[63SIERRA]

I am learning something that asknod says in his book. That it is better to seek SC on a more general term - like back condition - than it is for a more specific diagnosis like " spondylolisthesis due to car wreck." Granted, you need to have a diagnosis for the condition to be SC, but when you ask for a SC for a specific condition from a specific cause - then they can get you caught up into arguing whether it is one condition, rather than the other, or whether it was caused by this or that - and lose site of the fact that no matter what you call it, and no matter what caused it - my back did not hurt when I went in and it did hurt when I went out.

good point, and thats something I have going for me, I claimed back condition. no specifics. Va decided on pars defect,with spondy.

[carlie]

I am learning something that asknod says in his book. That it is better to seek SC on a more general term - like back condition - than it is for a more specific diagnosis like " spondylolisthesis due to car wreck." Granted, you need to have a diagnosis for the condition to be SC, but when you ask for a SC for a specific condition from a specific cause - then they can get you caught up into arguing whether it is one condition, rather than the other, or whether it was caused by this or that - and lose site of the fact that no matter what you call it, and no matter what caused it - my back did not hurt when I went in and it did hurt when I went out.

good point, and thats something I have going for me, I claimed back condition. no specifics. Va decided on pars defect,with spondy.

This does not work for many conditions, but it does for a "back condition", because

as time goes by the "back condition" and the continuation of the disease progress

going thru different stages and

be referred to under different terminology, by different medical providers.

EX: DDD, DJD, Arthritis, Osteo, etc . . .

Sooner or later it will be evaluated under a specific DC.

JMHO

[63SIERRA]

The va has to have intensive training sessions for the ROs that are denying these claims, some of the tricks they use, are very crafty. most individual cant just dream up some of the stuff they come up with to deny claims. Its almost like they hire cockroach lawyers, to find ways to deny the claims. The fallacy that the benefit of the doubt goes to the veteran, is so far off,. Thier whole attitude and way of looking at and dealing with claim,s is that every vereran is lying, fabricating, whining, fudging, concocting, misleading, and on and on. Its beyond pathetic. And it has to be coming from senior leadership at the VA. like Tom Cruise said in TOP GUN. everything leads to money. They know when they approve a claim, over many years it will add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. War is expensive, and they should be more picky where they send us, and what for. So I dont want excuses, I want results, just like I delivered.

[63SIERRA]

This does not work for many conditions, but it does for a "back condition", because

as time goes by the "back condition" and the continuation of the disease progress

going thru different stages and

be referred to under different terminology, by different medical providers.

EX: DDD, DJD, Arthritis, Osteo, etc . . .

Sooner or later it will be evaluated under a specific DC.

JMHO

thanks Carlie, Im going to keep that on the top shelf of my battle plan, it makes great sense, because like my current primary docotor told me, back condition never get better, they get worse. He told me that right out the gate, .

[free_spirit_etc]

"looking back and reflecting on this whole situation, with the information the army docs had, Im starting to think that they should have recommened a medical discharge, for my back issues, rather than just let it ride, and let the injury worsen, as it surely has. Kind of like they just turned a blind eye."

This might work in your favor. It seems like if the military doctors thought your condition was pre-existing, they would try to get you out pretty quickly before you aggravated the condition.

Most of the BVA cases I read where they stood firm on the congenital part were ones where as soon as the person injured their back, they decided it was pre-existing and got them out of the military quickly.

So, I would think the fact that they did not medically discharge you then would work in your favor.