Jump to content
VA Disability Community via Hadit.com

VA Disability Claims Articles

Ask Your VA Claims Question | Current Forum Posts Search | Rules | View All Forums
VA Disability Articles | Chats and Other Events | Donate | Blogs | New Users

  • hohomepage-banner-2024-2.png

  • 27-year-anniversary-leaderboard.png

    advice-disclaimer.jpg

  • donate-be-a-hero.png

  • 0

Checklist For Imo, Berta?

Rate this question


kate7772

Question

I am finishing up copying all pertinent materials to send to Dr. Bash for an IMO for my husband. However, I'm not totally sure what is pertinent. I want to be sure to send what is needed but not inundate the doc with a bunch of unnecessary stuff. Any tips on this and best way to arrange, etc.

Thanks,

Kate

Link to comment

4 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0


I went back to a precious post to answer your question:

"My husband was denied in Sept. 2013 for kidney disease, tinnitus and anxiety, irritability issues. We plan to file for a reconsideration as we hear that this is a faster way. We are currently working with a doctor that specializes is toxicity to get an IMO for the kidney disease, linking it to Camp Lejeune toxic water. Since the denial, my husband has been diagnosed by the VA with moderate to severe PTSD, helping to explain the anxiety, depression, etc. We are hoping to file a reconsideration for the anxiety issues as secondary to the PTSD. "

Since your husband has ,since the denial, been diagnosed with PTSD, the VA should be aware of that and information on his stressor.
PTSD is an anxiety disorder and anxiety cannot be found as secondary to PTSD.

Unless he falls into the new PTSD regs as to the first paragraph here, he will need proof of the stressor, as described in the next 2 paragraphs::


"If it is established through military citation or other supportive evidence that the veteran engaged in combat with the enemy and the claimed stressor is related to that combat, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, and provided that the claimed stressor is consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of the veteran's service, the veteran's lay testimony alone may establish the occurrence of the claimed in-service stressor. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(2). See also 38 U.S.C.A. § 1154(b) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(d); Gaines v. West, 11 Vet. App. 353 (1998) (Board must make a specific finding as to whether the veteran engaged in combat). To gain the benefit of a relaxed standard for proof of service incurrence of an injury or disease, 38 U.S.C.A. § 1154(b) requires that the veteran have actually participated in combat with the enemy. See VAOPGCPREC 12-99.

If VA determines either that the veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy or that the veteran did engage in combat, but that the alleged stressor is not combat related, the veteran's lay testimony, by itself, is not sufficient to establish the occurrence of the alleged stressor. Instead, the record must contain credible supporting evidence that corroborates the veteran's testimony or statements. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f); Stone v. Nicholson, 480 F.3d 1111 (Fed. Cir. 2007); Cohen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 128, 147 (1997); Moreau v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 389, 395 (1996).

However, corroboration of every detail of a claimed stressor, including the veteran's personal participation, is not required; rather, a veteran only needs to offer independent evidence of a stressful event that is sufficient to imply his or her personal exposure. See Pentecost v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 124, 128 (2002) (quoting Suozzi v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 307 (1997)). In other words, the veteran's presence with the unit at the time such attacks occurred corroborates his statement that he experienced such attacks personally. Suozzi v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 307, 311 (1997).'


We have info here on stressors and buddy statements:



I made a point in the link to the buddy/stressor post that an IMO doctor cannot really establish a stressor that must be proven.

We had an example of that recently here .... the doctor ( I could not determine if she was a VA doctor or this was a contracted opinion) stated the veteran had PTSD ,which in her opinion, was due to his combat experience.

The veteran however (who has since deleted a lot of his posts) had no combat experience.
He thought his claim for PTSD was in the bag.It doesn't work that way.
Perhaps he does have a valid stressor ,due to a non combat cause, but the VA might hold him to the statement in the doctor's report.
There are many valid non combat causes for PTSD.

The tinnitus might well be due to your husband's exposure to acoustical trauma in the military.. VA gave a reason for the denial on that, which an IMO doctor would have to overcome,with a full medical rationale.

For the kidney disease the IMO doctor will also have to give a strong medical rationale as to the Camp LeJeune water..

I prepared a cover letter for my 2 IMOs for Dr. Bash.

If I were you I would prepare a cover letter as well, to cover all of the issues.

Basically it is just a list of the enclosures an IMO doctor would need.

The veterans SMRs and 201 Personnel file if available.
Copies of all C & P exams for the claimed disabilities, to include the most recent one diagnosing PTSD.
Copies of all denials , because they include information the IMO doctor needs to overcome.
A stressor statement if one will be needed ,if he does not fall into the PTSD regs, paragraph one.

An IMO doctor can give an opinion on the stressor but he will still need prove it, if he doesn't fall into paragraph one of the new PTSD regulations.

Any audio reports that indicate possinle hearing loss or tinnitus or both.

A copy of the Camp Lejuene criteria at
http://benefits.va.gov/compensation/claims-postservice-exposures-camp_lejeune_water.asp

Any evidence whatsoever from legitimate web sites as to the affects of TCE and PCE on the liver.

There are sites for that but we dont know the specific liver damage he has .

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/tce_pce.html
http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/camp_lejeune_final.pdf
http://jhs.pharm.or.jp/data/57%286%29/57_488.pdf

But it is the specific type of liver damage he has, that an IMO doctor would have to associate directly with the Camp LeJeune water problems.

The denials and the C & P exams are very important for an IMO doctor to have in your case.

We dont know what the denials said so it is difficult to guess what you need, but others will chime in if I forgot something.

I read my timeline and cover letter and enclosure list I had prepared for Dr. Bash , for 2 separate IMos he did for me,but unfortunately it would be no help if I posted it.

Maybe someone else here has a cover letter and list of what their IMO doctor needed to have.

I did tab some specific records and documents that I wanted him to pay special attention to,so that it was easy for him to refer to them as I mentioned them in the timeline, referring him to the Tab and specific number on the tab.












Link to comment
  • 0

Thanks Berta,

We are only getting an IMO for the kidney disease. We have already filed a reconsideration (which VA listed as new, likely to avoid an earlier date) for the PTSD and Tinnitus. I think we are covered there with new and material evidence and a diagnosis by VA (Psychologist, Clinical social worker specializing in PTSD, Clinical Nurse specialist and Psychiatrist. All his tests have come back in the 75-85 range for PTSD and severe depression (which is why I am doing most of this work.) His stressor was combat and references to the stressor included.

The kidney disease and specifically as it relates to Camp Lejeune is the one we are most worried about. Hopefully Dr. Bash can bring it all together. I did forget to include the criteria. Glad you mentioned it.

Thanks,

Kate

Link to comment
  • 0

"When describing his military experiences, he fell apart, also something he never did before starting on this journey. He had never discussed any of this until starting counseling early this year. Now, he seems to dwell on it."

"It was denied because we did not include any evidence. Had a totally worthless VSO that just basically reduced the claim to one sentence. Nothing else. No surprise it was denied. When we attempted to do a reconsideration after the PTSD diagnosis, it was opened as a new claim. This was a year before the kidney issues and needing to reduce his hours. So, obviously not caused by the kidney issues!"

"Yes. Discharged in 1967"

Was he incountry, Vietnam? And when was he sent to Vietnam?

It seems that even with the last denied and then re=opened PTSD claim, he might not have revealed his inservice stressors.

Under the 2010 PTSD regulations, VA needs proof of stressors, unless he has decorations, awards, etc that are consistent with 'proximity to and fear of hostile activity'

or proven by his MOS in Vietnam and/or proven by evidence of his stressors.

The IMO from Dr. Bash tht you popsted here was very good as to the Camp LeJeune situation (Bad Water).

If that claim is awarded it is possible any USMC vet with that type of award could be depressed or anxious due to the potential SC disability due to Bad Water at LeJeune....and could claim an MH issue as secondary to that..

However, what I see here does not seem to involve a stressor.

My husband was USMC Danang 65-66 and he had quite a list of stressors.So I assume that with the 1967 discharge they might well have been in Danang at the same time during the war and it was a horrendous time to be there...well any TDY there was horrenedous....

I also assume your husband had to have been Ops Starlight and Rolling Thunder based on his discharge date.

Also Admiral Zumwalt changed the 3rd MAR DIV to 1st MAR DIV around this time..... it is good to know that because I dont know if all USMCs DD 214s replect that important identification.

Amd I also assume your husband had multiple stressors .The VA only will need proof of one.

Did he geta VCAA letter for the original PTSD claim or for the re opened claim,specifically telling him what he needed to succeed on this claim as evidence?

Was he awarded the Presidential Unit Citation ( I assume his unit got that but could be wrong)

Did he every apply for a DD 215, because his DD 214 sure might be wrong.

I did many thesis on Vietnam when I was at AMU and found many unit historys on line. Vietnam has been completely declassified.

If he needs proof of a stressor it might be easier than one thinks to find proof of it in the Morning reports and/or unit histories on line.

Then again he needs to read my posts here on Stressors and Buddy statements....

What I see is that there still might be evidence he needs to send to the VA........

In this link here in June I gave you some stressor and Buddy letter info.

By 1968 when my husband was discharged from the USMC, they were all herded into a big room and told to list their awards and stuff on the form (for their DD 214s).The Marines being discharged just wanted to get the hell out of there, and they didn't really know what awards they might have got.

About 26 years later, because he filed a DD 149, my husband found out shortly before he died that he had more awards that he thought on his new DD 215.

You did say you husband had been 'combat' in that past thread. His DD214 might not reveal that at all (or even his MOS) Almost every Marines in Vietnam usually was in some form of combat or incoming situation, during Vietnam War regardless of their MOS. Specially during Ops Starlight and Rolling Thunder......aka Hell on Earth.

Something is missing on the PTSD claim and I think it is a stressor

Edited by Berta
Link to comment
  • 0

I think I posted this in the wrong thread........sorry about that.......

Link to comment
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Guidelines and Terms of Use