Finally Something Positive

[usdart]

I have an appt Frday with a new VSO.

Turns out my old VSO was not very knowledgeable and and mis-handled alot of Claims.

So, I am headed to Office Depot to get a folder to organize my paper work for him and the VA.

Page 1. DD214

2. Awards and decorations

3. Description of The Sanctuary Counter Offensive

4. etc etc

Well, you get the idea. I want this to be searchable and make sense. We can also reference pages as we write Evidence letters etc. Kind of like a book report....

If someone has a good organizing method I would like to hear about it please.

[Philip Rogers]

Great idea! However anything more than a page or two and the reader gets bored or distracted, even at the VA. I'd suggest a single page, outlining your claim, highlighting where the evidence can be found in your document. More than a few pages and they may put it aside and move on to a more simple claim, for now. jmo

pr

Somewhere you should add a statement similar to: "I am requesting the maximum benefits allowed by law, in addition to any and all benefits earned, both known and unknown, to me, at this time."

[Berta]

I suggest getting a pack of manila folders, some highlighters and some tabs that stick on the folder labels.

Most of my claims have had multiple folders and I marked on the tabs what they hold.

You stated:

“I want this to be searchable and make sense “and PR had a good suggestion...keep it simple...

(I should talk, I have two file cabinets packed with VAOLA regarding over 2 decades of my claims as well as my husbands claims.)

Still it pays to keep it simple with anything you send to the VA.

Your new VSO is going to be concerned as to the same things we have discussed here already.

You need to establish a nexus to your service for your stressors and in my opinion that will take a strong buddy statement,maybe even more than one.

Getting organized can alleviate a lot of stress . For most of my claims I prepared a Battle Plan....(VA isn't the enemy however, time is)

I used a copy of a photo of my VARO in the middle of the page and then used war maneuver symbols all around the VARO photo,symbols I learned in military school , to make it fun....

The maneuver symbols stood for tactics I needed to use.to advance.

They all involved the most important thing every claim needs: Documented evidence!

I wrote that list down along with the symbols and checked them off as I accomplished my tactical 'missions'

This was for a claim for DMII due to AO that caused my husband's death.

He had never been diagnosed or treated for DMII by VA, his sole health care provider for decades.

The first tactic I used was to read the VA Diabetes training letter.I printed it off and put it into a manila tabbed folder (I have used it many times since for vets here or local vets)

The next tactic was to see if I could find a dentist to review his dental records,but I couldn't find a dentist ,with enough expertise to be willing to do that.

His dental records revealed a manifestation of diabetes.(That took many hours of research to be sure of that)Manila folder number 2

Next tactic was to find a former VA Neuro doctor ,who had made an entry in the med recs that had been crossed out)and see if he would give me an IMO.(That too many months but his brief free IMO was given much weight by the BVA)

Another tactic was to make overlays of an autopsied heart and brain and compare it with a diagram to my husbands autopsy and MRI results as evidence of untreated DMII.

In my manila folders I had ,in order by date, copies of med recs from the VA that had entries that lent to a finding of diabetes,in my lay opinion, and I had to prove them all.

Before I was willing to obtain any IMOs, I needed to be sure my investment would be sound.

Dr. Bash did 2 IMOs for me. I won that claim.

The BVA was the sole VA entity to even read my IMOs and evidence.

On my war plan I added from time to time other avenues to pursue for evidence.

I ended up with more evidence than I needed.All of above and more got its own tabbed manila folder.

I kept a copy of his VA medical records separately, adding copies to these folders as needed.

Thats OK on the additional evidence I found because I have had subsequent claims that evidence was needed for.

It can take an Extraordinary amount of stress and time, that many claims take, to finally succeed.

But hard work pays off.

For the 6 years that claim took, I went through my war plan every week so that nothing was overlooked in my quest for the evidence I needed.

The internet is far better today then when I filed that claim and certainly is the best way to find a buddy.

If TET is your main stressor, I am sure there will much TET info on the net as the anniversary of TET approaches us.

Your VSO might well suggest that you write to JSRRC yourself.....instead of waiting for VA to do that.....

and ,as one of of members correctly said, the key to proving a stressor is in the details.....

if you were in the same unit at same time of the after action report you mentioned, please show that to your VSO, as maybe that could even be enough proof of stressor but hard to say........dont know what action it involved....

or a copy of that report maybe enough for JSRRC to clarify.

You have gotten great advise here from everyone.....and I am glad you feel comfortable with a new VSO.

The last tactic I used was to obtain an IMO from Dr. Bash.

He told me in mere minutes after reading some of my evidence that I could succeed on this claim.

(My former vet rep told me it didn't stand a chance.)

We must NEVER give up!

Edited January 22, 2014 by Berta

[justrluk]

Congratulations. This is a step in the right direction. Stay organized/stay focused.

[usdart]

I suggest getting a pack of manila folders, some highlighters and some tabs that stick on the folder labels.

Most of my claims have had multiple folders and I marked on the tabs what they hold.

You stated:

“I want this to be searchable and make sense “and PR had a good suggestion...keep it simple...

(I should talk, I have two file cabinets packed with VAOLA regarding over 2 decades of my claims as well as my husbands claims.)

Still it pays to keep it simple with anything you send to the VA.

Your new VSO is going to be concerned as to the same things we have discussed here already.

You need to establish a nexus to your service for your stressors and in my opinion that will take a strong buddy statement,maybe even more than one.

Getting organized can alleviate a lot of stress . For most of my claims I prepared a Battle Plan....(VA isn't the enemy however, time is)

I used a copy of a photo of my VARO in the middle of the page and then used war maneuver symbols all around the VARO photo,symbols I learned in military school , to make it fun....

The maneuver symbols stood for tactics I needed to use.to advance.

They all involved the most important thing every claim needs: Documented evidence!

I wrote that list down along with the symbols and checked them off as I accomplished my tactical 'missions'

This was for a claim for DMII due to AO that caused my husband's death.

He had never been diagnosed or treated for DMII by VA, his sole health care provider for decades.

The first tactic I used was to read the VA Diabetes training letter.I printed it off and put it into a manila tabbed folder (I have used it many times since for vets here or local vets)

The next tactic was to see if I could find a dentist to review his dental records,but I couldn't find a dentist ,with enough expertise to be willing to do that.

His dental records revealed a manifestation of diabetes.(That took many hours of research to be sure of that)Manila folder number 2

Next tactic was to find a former VA Neuro doctor ,who had made an entry in the med recs that had been crossed out)and see if he would give me an IMO.(That too many months but his brief free IMO was given much weight by the BVA)

Another tactic was to make overlays of an autopsied heart and brain and compare it with a diagram to my husbands autopsy and MRI results as evidence of untreated DMII.

In my manila folders I had ,in order by date, copies of med recs from the VA that had entries that lent to a finding of diabetes,in my lay opinion, and I had to prove them all.

Before I was willing to obtain any IMOs, I needed to be sure my investment would be sound.

Dr. Bash did 2 IMOs for me. I won that claim.

The BVA was the sole VA entity to even read my IMOs and evidence.

On my war plan I added from time to time other avenues to pursue for evidence.

I ended up with more evidence than I needed.All of above and more got its own tabbed manila folder.

I kept a copy of his VA medical records separately, adding copies to these folders as needed.

Thats OK on the additional evidence I found because I have had subsequent claims that evidence was needed for.

It can take an Extraordinary amount of stress and time, that many claims take, to finally succeed.

But hard work pays off.

For the 6 years that claim took, I went through my war plan every week so that nothing was overlooked in my quest for the evidence I needed.

The internet is far better today then when I filed that claim and certainly is the best way to find a buddy.

If TET is your main stressor, I am sure there will much TET info on the net as the anniversary of TET approaches us.

Your VSO might well suggest that you write to JSRRC yourself.....instead of waiting for VA to do that.....

and ,as one of of members correctly said, the key to proving a stressor is in the details.....

if you were in the same unit at same time of the after action report you mentioned, please show that to your VSO, as maybe that could even be enough proof of stressor but hard to say........dont know what action it involved....

or a copy of that report maybe enough for JSRRC to clarify.

You have gotten great advise here from everyone.....and I am glad you feel comfortable with a new VSO.

The last tactic I used was to obtain an IMO from Dr. Bash.

He told me in mere minutes after reading some of my evidence that I could succeed on this claim.

(My former vet rep told me it didn't stand a chance.)

We must NEVER give up!

Wow! Alot of useful advice..thankyou eveyone for the help.

What is JSRRC?

I was not in the TET Offensive. After TET, the last Offensive in Viet Nam Was 'The Sanctuary Counter Offensive'. This was done DURING the Nixon draw down in 1970. My first assigned Unit was 'Deactivated' and I was among those with 6 months more to serve in Theater so I was re-assigned to A Btry 2/35 23rd Arty 2 Field Forces to finish my 'senior trip'. I was caught unaware at 19 years old that War was like this until Then.

I tried to contact some others in my Unit with no results. I was only in the Unit for the 2 Months for this Operation so I did not make any friends and I can't even remember thier names 44 years later. My DD214 shows assignment to the unit at that time. awards and decorations state 'Sanctuary Counter Offensive". I have a good military description of the Offensive with my Unit noted in it. I was in an Artillary Unit and I was a Track Vehicle Repaiman for 155 SP Howitzers. I can prove time and place very easily.

I will wait and see what my new VSO has to say about my evidence and my Claim in general. He is supposed to be VERY good. That will be refreshing for sure.

[Berta]

"What is JSRRC?"

Joint Services Records Research Center

Contact info here:

Your VSO will advise you ,if he/she thinks you should contact them yourself.

[63SIERRA]

getting organized in a large tabbed binder, is empowering. You will feel more in control, because you know where everything is, and can back your claim up in a jiffy, by pulling paper. Paper is EVERYTHING. I used to have stuff everywhere in briefcase I had when exiting the army, file cabinets. folders, it was daunting and confusing trying to find anything. not anymore. The claim is likely one of the most important things in your life right now, treat it as such. your fighting for your LIFE.

Get organized. get effiecient. get paid.