ptsd C&p Exam

[Navywife55]

Hello All,

This exam note is updated in my husbands chart.

Request

The veteran had a PTSD examination on 2-5-14. An opinion was requested regarding the veteran's claim of MST; however the opinion was not provided.

Please review the claims file, with special attention paid to the ID circumstantial marker evidence of a potential MST stressor. Please provide an opinion, based on this evidence and the veteran's personal statement of the stressor, as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the MST stressor occurred and has resulted in current PTSD symptoms.

Tab a: Veteran's stressor statement

Tab b: Veteran's personnel records to include court martial proceedings for drug charge

Response

The c-file and ? electronic medical records were reviewed. He served from 77-80. He was court martialed for drug charge

PTSD was first diagnosed in 2007 and has been a consistent feature of his clinical record since that time. The trauma was not explicitly described through at one point he refers to recurrent surges of fear about water. a psychiatry note reads:

"He notes that while he was serving in the Navy he got caught selling drugs, he was court marshalled and sent to the brig for 30 days. He reports nightmares that usually relate to the events that happened to him while in the brig, events that he wish not to elaborate on today." This is broadly consistent with the veterans' wife Statement of Support of claim. The C&P examiner relates his stress saying "reportly the MST attempted rape occured while on the USS Saratoga: the veteran did not report the event as he felt "shame" and "fear" of further "trouble" as he was court martialed due to drug charge.

There is no evidence to support or refute the veteran's claimed MST found in the service-era records. I cannot provide the requested opinions without resorting to mere speculation.

This exam note was not by the C&P examiner that he had on 2-5-14

Any advise is most helpful.

[jbasser]

What type of discharge does he have?

J

[Navywife55]

General under honerable conditions

[Berta]

My question too.........

Has the VA made a Character of Service determination yet?

Regarding this statement:

"There is no evidence to support or refute the veteran's claimed MST found in the service-era records. I cannot provide the requested opinions without resorting to mere speculation."..

I believe he will need more proof of the MST incident. The examiner could not make a nexus statement.

"He notes that while he was serving in the Navy he got caught selling drugs, he was court marshalled and sent to the brig for 30 days. He reports nightmares that usually relate to the events that happened to him while in the brig, events that he wish not to elaborate on today."

Does he have any streesor that VA knows of that occurred prior to this incident?

Could a different PTSD stressor have caused the drug sale incident in the first place?

Edited March 11, 2014 by Berta

[63SIERRA]

I would suggest he try and get another CP exam and he needs to go make his case. If he feels ashamed to tell anyone in person, he can make an audiotape of what happened and submit it. The CP examiner cant yank things out of thin air. Its a longshot to begin with, and then going in there and saying I dont want to talk abt it, isnt helping his case. He needs to fight for it.

Like I said either try to submit supplement evidence and say he wasnt prepared emotionally for the questions and it caught him off gaurd, or try to get another CP. He could also submit records from the mental health provider he is currently seeing.

[Navywife55]

The stressor was MST due to while he was in the brig he was sexually assualted, Sexually harrassed several times.

To my knowledge they have not mentioned anything about Characarter of Service.

I'm not aware of any stressor prior to the incident. I've asked him numerous times about the drug charge as he was 19 at the time of the occurance and he only tells me that his roommate asked him to give a duffle bag to a guy that would be coming by to get it, states he never looked in the bag. He gave the bag to the man, the man gave him an envelope to give to his roommate. He said he was later called in to be questioned about it as he was being charged for drug tracifficling. I did not know him at the time and this is what he told me over 15 yrs ago when we met.

During the time of being married to my husband I had noticed things that didn't seem quite right to me and when I started asking question I got the cold shoulder with him become very withdrawn, and depressed. I told him he needed to talk to someone and get himself some help. I had no idea things that came out was bottled up inside my husband.

So I turned to this site for any help I could get which has been alot. Thanks to all who post their experiences.

[jbasser]

I know of 1 case that really helped. He needs to see a Pshyc doc and he may need hypnosis or at least SP. He cannot make the responses up since he is not in control. This would help.

J