Denial Of Disability Claims

[Michael Enriquez]

i have put in a claim for a few different claims and these were denied due to nothing being in my medical records now I just received a letter from the VA stating that they are unable to locate my medical records for my period of service. My question is do I still have to prove my claim or what should my next steps be. The letter stated I had 30 days to respond back or the VA would be making a decision.

[jbasser]

That is what they do. Contact NRPC and request all records yourself. They likely will deny the claim so keep appealing. Dont let the time limits pass.

Do you have representation?

J

[Berta]

"from the VA stating that they are unable to locate my medical records for my period of service."

Say what? They must have had them in order to give you the 60% you have now.

I think Meg posted this info and I saved it. John is right, try NPRC first and also this one too if it has been some time since your last award.

Veterans Administration

Records Management Center

PO Box 5020

St Louis, MO 63115-5020

When I reopened my death claim years after my husband died, they said his records had been 'retired' and I think the above place in St Louis is where they found them.

Have you recently applied for SSA? That too can often be a place where service records are at temporarily.........

The local SSA office here ,years ago when they were working on my husband's SSDI claim, had all of his SMRs and VAMC records on a big dolly and I found VAMC records in the stack that VA told me never existed .

If you can get a vet rep with an office in or near your VARO, maybe they could check out what the VA said. The records might be still at this VARO. For sure they had them for the award you did get.

[Michael Enriquez]

I have submitted a request for my records from NPRC and the reply given was that the VA had my records I have the copies of paperwork from them and in one of the denied claims it was stated that the reason the claim was denied was due to nothing being in my records. I have started the process to get representation just getting all the information to send them.

[Berta]

Good for you!

If I were you I would send a copy of that NPRC statement to the VARO and put attention to and then use the initials appearing in the decision you got, that are in the upper right hand corner with a numeric code and ask them to locate your records there.

Maybe you could even do that via the IRIS system.

(Unless you can get a rep with an office contact in or near this same VARO who could put some pressure on them to fiind what the NPRC says they have.)

.As long as you keep the claim current and respond to them in a timely fashion,if they do award for any or all of the claimed disabilities,

your EED should still be the date of the claim.

Personally I would ask them to CUE themselves,in violation of 38 CFR 4.6, as they had your inservice records, per NPRC ,and failed to

consider them.

You are not the only claimant this has happened to.I wonder if the VA really made any attempt at all to find them.

"these were denied due to nothing being in my medical records now I just received a letter from the VA stating that they are unable to locate my medical records for my period of service"

This is VA double talk......they said 'nothing in your records',but how would they know that if they didn't have them and then they followed it up with 'unable to locate'.........

This crap really ticks me off.

We are unable to properly prepare a valid NOD, when VA itself has not provided a valid excuse for a denial.

VA had the records when they awarded the 60%,I assume, so they are the last entity in the chain of evidence,who had them and they need to cough them up.

(Boy....if VA claims fell under civil law procedures, I think civil law attorneys would have a hey day.....and I bet it would cause the VA to be far more careful with our stuff.)

If the VA cannot obtain your records they have an enhanced duty to assist you to find them......

[john999]

The "SMR's are silent on this issue" is the VA's gambit they used on me when I claimed TMJ. The Army dentist did not record a DX when he treated me. The jerk did this on purpose I am sure so I could not claim it later. I was getting ready to go to Nam so nothing was going to stop my going even if I had lockjaw. All the dentist wrote in the record was "exam". Is this malpractice or what?

John

[GEEBEE711]

i have put in a claim for a few different claims and these were denied due to nothing being in my medical records now I just received a letter from the VA stating that they are unable to locate my medical records for my period of service. My question is do I still have to prove my claim or what should my next steps be. The letter stated I had 30 days to respond back or the VA would be making a decision.

I don't how to say this without sounding rude, because it sure is NOT my intent. Please re-read the letter again. Are you sure it says exactly (or close) "unable to locate my (your) medical records for my (your) period of service."? If so, this is indeed hard to believe. I received a letter very simulat to yours after I put in my claim, but they were requesting additional medical records (which I didn't have), and also stated "I had 30 days to respond back or the VA would be making a decision".

Again, my intent is not trying to be rude or condescending, Many times I need to re-read a letter more than once to get it's true meaning. If no error on your part, then the poster above is correct. How in the hell could they come up with your 60% rating without having your medical records?!?!

Edited February 6, 2014 by GEEBEE711