Berta's Lawsuit For Destroying & Postage?

[Guest jangrin]

Berta,

Have you ever heard anything back, or have they responded to your lawsuit for destruction of your property and your postage, regarding IMO reports and costs for correspondence to VA over the past few years while waiting for the VCAA letter?

Jangrin

[Berta]

I haven't heard a thing.

The District Counsel who got my SF 95 is the same one who found they had committed CUE in my offset.

Odd that you mentioned this- I have been getting my VA paperwork in order and found my older CUE on that offset- I should have pursued it when the BVA denied it.

Since getting my remand , my claim went into active appeals status and there has been movement on it daily since the remand occurred.

If the VA acknowledges my IMOs and my other evidence , then the lawsuit is a moot issue.

Jangrin-you reminded me- I will call VA counsel today and see what's up.

I really dont expect the VA to cough up $4500 -----past years of experience have taught me that I have to do whatever I can think of to get them to read my evidence. I think this charge made them read my evidence.

This might help someone out there-

Yesterday I went through an enormous file of rating decisions and SSOC etc from 1995 to 1998.

I pulled out many socalled VA "expert" doctors opinions that denied my past claims many times.

I won those claims but when I read over the expert stuff that they used to deny them- it was

ludicrous stuff, not medically sound at all---

In those claims I had no IMOs-never gave a thought to getting any---

I carefully broke down each medical statement they had made with medical evidence in the med recs, and their own regs, excerpts of treatices from the standard medical community, and anything else I could think of.

My vet rep told me many at the VARO still remember those days because I did everything I could think of to get them to read my evidence. They think I am difficult to deal with. I sure am-I send them their regs every time they misapply the law. I got denial after denial in the 1990s and yet I ended up proving the claims anyhow.

I should correct that- the medical evidence proved those claims.

As long as the VA can ignore bonafide medical evidence, they can continually deny a claim.

Also- getting a copy of my c file was the best thing I ever did.

I am still shocked at what was in there- all the 'lost' stuff, even a sensitive medical report of 1995 that proved my Sec 1151 claim-a claim they strung out for 3 more years and said they had no such report at all.

It was right there in the c file with all the other evidence that disappeared when those claims were in progress.

[Guest jangrin]

Berta,

Do you think that if you had recieved the VCAA letter back when you filed the first claims for Rod it would have made any difference in how your claim was handled by the VA? Could it have cut the initial time frame for an iniital rating and eventual appeal?

I am even more convinced that the VCAA letter triggers ALL activity on the claim. I believe there is something about the VCAA letter and signed election form that holds the raters to a time table of sorts. I think the Vets who have gotton the VCAA letters claims seem to go smoother than thoose who have not recieved this notice.

If the Veteran or spouse does not get the VCAA letter within about 45 days of filing their claim, they should really fire off a letter to the VA RO and call and bug the SO for the letter. It must state in the letter what the veteran needs for evidence to succeed in having their claim awarded.

My husband has finished all the standard stuff requested by VA and had his VA disability exam. Its eight months since filing and the exam doctor said he should hear something in the next three months.

We'll see, so far so good. You know the standard AO DMII with ALL the secondaries.

Jangrin

[Berta]

Yes- I believe you are absolutely correct Jangrin.

The VA knows that without the VCAA letter-the veteran does not have a specific statement as to what evidence they need.

Therefore the VA can deny and set up the appeal route to the BVA.

The Remand rate of my VARO -41 % as of last year- is based in a great degree to remands due to these VCAA violations.

The BVA cannot decide the claim as the RO has failed to tell the veteran what they need to award the claim.

I have been on the phone with VA counsel since my last post. We discussed many issues of VA case law and -as I always say here- these people are really on the ball-

If the VA properly addresses my IMos within the next 6 months- I will drop my property damage claim-as I told the lawyer-

because it means they have acknowledged my evidence.

We went over the benefit to me of a proper award under Nehmer.

It was clear to VA counsel that there was a probative reason behind my SF 95.

As long as the RO can ignore my evidence, they dont have to pay. He was surprised at the difference in benefits when one gets direct SC death compared to Sec 1151 death.

There is the question of honor too- I told him every time I get my DIC check I realise it is because the VA killed Rod. There is no honor in that and my 2003 claim was due to the fact that I discovered how they killed him and why they did not give him appropriate medical care.

I want a DIC check due to Agent Orange death.That would be the Peace with Honor that Rod deserved and I will relentlessly contiue to pursue that.

I am glad I called him because they never had a SF 95 like this before and he now fully understands the point of it.

If counsel fails to act upon my SF 95 after 6 months, I can file suit in federal court.

I have every reason to expect that the VARO will resolve my claim by then and the SF 95 will be moot.

Otherwise I will certainly will file suit in federal court.

(PS_ I have been waiting for months to get copies of a 646 from my POA.)

A 646 is the final statement of support for a claim that POAs who do not have an office in Washington DC often send to VARO in support of the appeal.

POAs usually send 21-4138s to the VA in support of claims and evidence submissions.

My POA only sent one in when they heard I got a remand- they gave me no support on that and were surprised that the remand occurred.

In 3 1/2 years they had never sent the VARO any 21-4138s in my behalf which is VERY unusual. I made over 30 submissions of medical evidence.

A 646 is not mandatory but my POA said (in email) that one had been prepared the day before my claim was transferred to the board. This bothered me because if one reads my appeal, I clearly stated how VA case law had been broken and my rights were violated.If my POA prepared a 646, they should have jumped right on these errors and supported that the transfer to BVA was illegal.

I was told that one was prepared but they have still failed to produce a copy of it.My new vet rep and his new contact at the VARO had again promised me a copy of it.

If they did not prepare it,they too have violated my rights.

There is a way to pursue that through the state of New York -who pays them.

This claim is under the Nehmer class action lawsuit and the minute they award SC death, they owe more money that I realised when I filed the claim.

This is the single significance reason my claim has been screwed up from the git go- not only by VARO but even by my own POA.

It is exactly what I went through in the late 1990s.Ignore the evidence - so the RO doesnt have to make the award.

Edited October 6, 2006 by Berta