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

[free_spirit_etc]

"do I have grounds for a CUE claim. ? if not, should I at least win my current appeal?"

What level of appeal? Have you filed your NOD? What reasons did you give for appealing?

You might want to start reading some of the BVA cases for your condition. I have seen a couple of them denied, but that was because the veteran had a pre-existing condition. In one case, the veteran was only in the military for 52 days before he was discharged because of his back. He filed a claim 50 years later. In another case, the veteran stated he had no back problems when he entered the military, but the records showed that he had diagnosed back problems since the age of 12.

But on some cases, the BVA still granted SC even when a doctor opined it was congenital. And actually several doctors have opined that though some people have a predisposition for the condition, it requires trauma (either acute trauma, or repetitive stress) to make the condition disabling.

I wouldn't think the doctors who treated you while you were in the service thought it was pre-existing or congenital, because if they had, they would be trying to discharge you pretty quickly, to make sure you didn't aggravate it in service.

It would seem that since your job required heavy lifting (which caused you no problems), they couldn't fall back on the "it wasn't aggravated beyond the natural progression of the disease" excuse.

I am not sure if the argument is even the exact terms the doctors used to describe the injury are so important. No matter what they called it, your back didn't hurt when you entered the service. Your back did hurt while you were in the service, immediately after you experienced a trauma to your back. Your back still hurt when you left the service.

But then again, on second thought, the exact terms used could be VERY important, because the condition you have now was actually diagnosed in service. So it would be hard for them to argue that you have a different spondylolysis and a different spondylolylisthesis now than you had then.

I wonder about the notation about old seat belt injury the second doctor made (even though he put a question mark after it). Do you remember if he asked if you had been in any other accidents? Because it seems like you were saying the second doctor indicated your back had been broken, but not in that accident. Even then, it would seem like if they thought at that point that you had a pre-existing condition that might be further aggravated, they would have been wanting to get you out before you injured your back again.

Edited September 16, 2013 by free_spirit_etc

[63SIERRA]

As I recall, the first doctor I seen, told me my back was fractured, and put me in the brace, to immobilize me . I could still walk, but not much else. Abt a week later I was scheduled to see another doc on ft, hood. When I saw him, he said it looked like my back was fractured, but it didnt happen a week ago in his opinion. Thats abt as far as it went. I was kind of in shock, and didnt know what to think. The doctor did not really say too much more, or ask me anything, and I think he put me on light or no duty, and profile for a month or 2.

When I joined the army in 1990, I dont recal them ever xraying my back, . they made me walk like a duck, check for flat footedness, hop on one leg, rub my belly while patting my head, yada, yada. but no xray. I am certain there was no knowledge by me or them of any back issues, because I would have known, and I did nt.

I dont see how the VA can wiggle out of this anymore, with the evidence that has come to light.

Im going to mail in the sick call slip to the service officer tommorow, that I found today, where went on sick call a few months after the accident complaining of back pain, and pain shooting down my legs., (definite nerve geting pinched.).

Hopefully the overwhelming evidence, will get someone with half a birds brain at the VA attention, and stop the nonsense.

What else could they possibly want, a friggin autopsy?

[63SIERRA]

ok, heres the notes on the sick call report that the doctor wrote as his diagnosis.

under specific reasons for request

24 yo c/o LBP X 7 D s/p mvc. Plain films show selerotic Pars defect L4 and poss l3 spine fracture.Please eval for chronic vs acute.

ok now the radioligy report.

Limited bone scan dated dec 1993

after IV admin of 26 mci of ppm technetium, MDP, delayed images of the lumbsar spine and obliques of the anterior and posterior pelvis are obtained. These images demonstrate normal tracer uptake throughout the lumbar spine and anterior and posterior pelvis. no abnormal uptake suggestive of acute spondylolysis or of an acute L-3 vertebral compression fracture is seen.

Impression : Normal limited bone scan of the lumbar spine and anterior and posterior pelvis. This would suggest that the abnormalities seen on the patients radiograph is chronic rather than acute.

now this is confusing to me. I know what chronic means,. and I know what acute means. The way that the report reads to me, is that first he says everything is normal, then he says, that there are abnormalacies,found on xrays, but they are ongoing, and not a sudden incedent. how can it be both? To me thats like saying, sir, I find nothing wrong with you, but, your back conditon has been ongoing, not recent one time injury.. WTH???.

[63SIERRA]

Why the big focus on whether it was acute or chronic? he is a doctor, not an attorney trying to establish a timeline of when exactly it happened. At that time, I was active duty, just trying to get a diagnosis and treatment. I wasnt suing anyone, trying to get medical boarded, didnt get rear ended by the post generals ole lady, (I dont think anyway).. So I dont understand why this doctor completely disregarded the diagnosis to focus on when it happened. Am I just shellshocked here?> is it me, ? Or does it seem strange to anyone else. ? On one hand he said he didnt find anything , then on the other he admmitied some abnormalities were found on xrays.

Edited September 17, 2013 by 63SIERRA

[63SIERRA]

ok moving right along. Here is the most recent report from a civillian doctor, a chiropractor, a highly regarded, well respected, top notch straight shooter in my area.

Your rib cage is positioned 30.0mm backward, relative to your penis, and you have lost 3.2 percent of your normal low back curve.

L-5 Grade 1 Spondylolysis thesis with moderate degenerative joint disease.

[63SIERRA]

more notes from same Doctor,

Your low back is shifted 12.7 mm to the right , you have a mid low back tilt angle of 5.2 degrees, and a lower tilt of 0.8 degrees.

This abnormal position of your low back puts increased pressure on your spinal discs, muscle,s bones and nerves. also this condition may lead to premature spinal arthritis and disc disease. SADD.

I had spoke with the doc, abt the curve in my spine, that I usually lean to the right to take some pressure off my lower back and alleviate some pain, and he said its quite common, and peopl usually dont even realize they are doing it. over a long time, it curves the spine,