ptsd Dro Timeline?

[Prospector]

I served from '68 to '72. I filed for severe hearing loss, tinnitus, and PTSD in 2007. I received 30% on the hearing and tinnitus. They denied the PTSD for lack of proving stressor incident. At that time I had no idea where to get copies of my ships logs as I had assumed they would get them. I did not file a NOD. I continued to be treated for PTSD by the VA for the next few years. As my condition seemed to be worsening, my Dr. asked why I was not receiving compensation so I could retire and alleviate some stress? In June 2012, I found the official logs of the incidents and re-filed. After a C&P exam they awarded 50% PTSD for a combined rating of 60% in September 2012. I filed a NOD immediately and had another C&P in June 2013. In July they raised the percentage to 70% PTSD and a total of 80%.I then filed for IU and also another NOD on the original claim. In Jan 2014 they denied the IU. They also showed I had withdrawn my NOD to the original claim. (I contested this and in August they put the NOD back as active) I also have a rare cancer that was stage 4 when found in 2010 by the VA (not Service connected) Unlike most cancers, this is very slow growing but has no FDA approved treatment here in the US. (When found the VA told me to go home and get my affairs in order as they had no treatment for it)

I went to Germany for 3 treatments in 2012 which halted the progression of the cancer. It did not cure it, but bought me some time.

When I filed with SS for disability retirement, I filed for PTSD and when asked did I have any other conditions, I told them about the cancer. They looked it up and told me this cancer was on their automatic list and they could grant it immediately.

The VA in their IU denial stated that I was IU, however since SS granted disability on the cancer, it was not service connected so they had to deny. I filed a NOD explaining I did not file with them or SS for disability on the cancer, but for PTSD. Along with the NOD I submitted a letter from the chief VA psychologist who was treating me who explained the severity of my PTSD and the added depression from the cancer diagnosis aggravated my PTSD symptoms and according to his treatment notes he advised retiring to alleviate stress for the last year before I actually retired. October 8th, I received a phone call from the DRO. She asked if I would take another C&P exam and then a hearing. I agreed. I had the C&P exam on Monday October 27th and the DRO hearing was scheduled for the following Thursday October 30.

The C&P examiner volunteered at the end of my exam "you have taught me something today. I had an earlier exam today claiming depression and I could not see it. Yours is real. I feel it."

Her words, I seen no reason the VA to deny you benefits.

When I met with the VSO prior to the hearing, he was not even aware the DRO had scheduled another C&P exam. He tried to see if they had received it yet. They had not. We explained what the current exam Doctor had quoted and pointed out on the prior C&P exam June 2013 which raised it to 70% the Dr. had said I had already retired due to the Cancer at the time of the exam.

This was incorrect. I did not retire until the month after that exam and retired due to my service connected disability PTSD.

He went next door and spoke with the DRO and came back and asked would I settle for an informal hearing. I agreed.

The VSO introduced us to the DRO and then went mute. My wife presented the case to the DRO explaining the above info and showing her the letter (which was supposed to have been in my file along with the NOD) to the DRO. She asked who this Dr. was that wrote the letter (It was on official VA letterhead and showed his official capacity with the VA and his credentials)

My wife explained who he was. It was obvious she had not reviewed my file prior to the hearing.

She said this would depend on what the C&P report said (we did not tell her what the C&P exam doctor had quoted to us)

She also stated it was good this hearing was informal as she could move forward with her decision and notification should be forthcoming sooner since she would not have to wait for a transcription of the hearing.

Does any of this mean anything?

[Chuck75]

Have you contacted NVLSP?

http://www.nvlsp.org/

[Berta]

You had stated:

"I was not in country in Vietnam"

But that is why I asked what ship you were on.

Broncovet is talking about the Agent Orange presumptives for those sailors exposed to AOwhile in the 7th fleet-Pacific.

The ships grows and recently

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/list.asp

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/index.asp

Most recently posted by Chuck:

Best to check the recent list first and then the okder lists to see if VA co ordinated these lists.

"Berta, a "Tort" has a 2 yr time limit. The first delays in treatment and failure to run the correct tests to identify the cancer has been over 2 yrs."

Correct. The Statute of limits ( 2 years) starts when the malpractice is discovered by the veteran (or their survivor).( I will post the actual way the law is worded in the FTCA forum)

That is why I mentioned the other Remedy, filing a 38 USC Section 1151 claim.

"I spoke with 4 different attorneys who practice tort law. Three of the 4 said I should keep trying to find representation as I had a case, but they were not interested. The fourth one to turn me down, I pushed for an answer why they were turning me down for representation. Their explanation: With all the press about the VA right now, they have plenty of cases. They are looking for the,,," etc...

yeah, 20 lawyers turn me down years ago so I filed FTCA and 1151 and won both of those cases myself.

There are many attorneys these days with expertise in VA malpractice. I know many vet lawyers, sure hope I don't know these lawyers you mentioned.

They are not going to get big windfalls from the Phoenix situation,in my opinion..

The VA has already memorialized vie the media after Phoenix, their defense, saying the primarly very elderly vets, who died while waiting for appointments "would have died anyhow"...the same thing they tried to pull on me.It didnt work,. My husband was only 47 when the VA killed him and had almost 20 years left of working history but for their malpractice.

Work history and age factor into VA crapola when they fight FTCA cases.

"If a case goes to court they have to pay a medical specialist to testify and the last one they used on cancer charged them $250k for the testimony. Due to the fact my cancer is so rare (117,000 active cases in the US as of March 2014) it would require a specialists testimony, so would most probably go to litigation. They all encouraged me to keep looking till I found someone to take my case. To date I have not found one."

There are many attorneys these days with expertise in VA malpractice. I know many vet lawyers, sure hope I dont know these lawyers you mentioned.

They are not going to get windfalls from the Phoenix situation,in my opinion..

who are these lawyers?

This widow proved that her husband died as a result of a neuroendoctine tumor :

"The examiner concluded by stating that

“because islet cell tumors can be indolent and asymptomatic

for many years, it is impossible to exclude the possibility

that [the veteran] already had a neuroendocrine tumor while

serving in the military.”

Is it possible, and would a doctor be able to opine on something like that as far as any documented manifestations of this tumor ,in your SMRS?

The case reads as follows: in part

"Inasmuch as VA regulations do not include neuroendocrine

tumor as one of the diseases for which service connection may

be presumed due to an association with exposure to herbicide

agents, and no specific determination has been made by the

Secretary linking this type of cancer with herbicide

exposure, a presumption of service connection is not

warranted. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a), 3.309(e) (1997)."

The widow had independent medical opinions.

"As the Board finds the evidence of record to be in relative

equipoise as to the etiology and the date of onset of the

cancer, service connection is warranted for the cause of the

veteran's death.

ORDER

New and material evidence having been submitted to reopen the

claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of

the veteran's death, the claim is reopened.

Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the

veteran's death is granted. "

http://www.va.gov/vetapp98/files1/9807119.txt

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this next case :

Furthermore, the July 2005 and April 2008 private opinions also support the possibility of a link between the Veteran's fatal cancer and his exposure to Agent Orange in service. While the medical opinions do not provide a definitive opinion relating the Veteran's neuroendocrine carcinoma to his herbicide exposure, the January 2008 VA examiner explains that the probability of a relationship is difficult to determine given that this particular type of tumor, as well as the presentation of this tumor are very rare, and that there is no precedence for this presentation. Indeed, the private medical opinions, as well as the January 2008 VA medical opinion, are unable to address the probability of an existing or non-existing relationship between the Veteran's neuroendocrine carcinoma and herbicide exposure, raising the spectre that the Veteran's cancer is at least as likely as not related to Agent Orange or of lung origin.

In a claim for VA benefits, "a Veteran need only demonstrate that there is an 'approximate balance of positive and negative evidence' in order to prevail." Gilbert, 1 Vet. App. at 54. Entitlement need not be established beyond a reasonable doubt, by clear and convincing evidence, or by a fair preponderance of the evidence. Under the benefit of the doubt doctrine, when the evidence is in "relative equipoise, the law dictates that the Veteran prevails." Id.

Based on the foregoing, the Board finds that there is reasonable doubt as to whether the Veteran developed metastatic neuroendocrine cancer of the uvula and nasopharyx as a result of herbicide exposure in service. To the extent that there is any reasonable doubt, that doubt will be resolved in the appellant's favor. Accordingly, the Board concludes that service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is warranted.

ORDER

Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.

http://www.va.gov/vetapp11/Files3/1126881.txt

I jhave niot found a successful case for your disability froma veterabn yet...but one can search all BVA decisions:at

http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/bva.jsp

I advise searching under neuroendocrine tumor and then under Carcinoid because I think BVA named some of the IMO doctors in these award, if you pursue this for possible service connection.

The C & P is good for the PTSD claim.. Diagnosis and stresssor...I see nothing to worry about there.

If you feel you should pursue the 1151 claim ( FTCA settlements are offset against VA 1151 anyhow in 99% of all of these cases.)

everything you need to know is in our FTCA 1151 forium and I will bump up a few good posts in that forum here.

You will definitely need copies of your SMRS (to rule in or our potential direct SC,) and copies of all of your post service medical records , and you will need a strong IMO.

I had no IMO for my FTCA,1151 claims.

But when I re opened for an additional disability ( no diagnosis, no treatment.at all) ..claiming DMII due to AO , that I believed contributed to my husband's wrongful death I hired Dr. Craig Bash who we have done many radio shows with.

His IM0s ( he did two) and I had a Neuro freeby and prepared the cover letter with all of my research, for him...cost me 2,000 each...

The fee would have been much higher I am sure, but I did a lot of leg work first for this opinion, and my award reaped 6 figure benefits, not to mention the refund of my FTCA offset.

he did not need the SMRs in this case and ,unlike many IMOs he does, a lot of the medical evidence had already been well established.

In other words, it sure didnt take him long to do the IMO, after he read everything from the VA.and my detailed cover letter.

He might not have the expertise you would need for this type of cancer claim and could refer you to someone else.I am not sure.

His and Jihn Dorly's contact info is here somewhere and they gave it out on the show we did last week at the hadit radio blog....to the right of the main page here.

Edited November 29, 2014 by Berta

[broncovet]

If I could summarize Berta and most Vets success with VA its three words, "Never give up." If 4 attornies turned you down, then try 40 more. Its not really suprising. VA attornies are often VERY busy, and cherry pick their cases as to the ones that make the most money in the least amount of effort. Many people sometimes have to apply for a job a 100 or more times before they get hired, so dont give up just because you did not meet that attornies "market niche and expertise". Most often, its not a reflection on you, its just they like to stay in the area of VA law that they know.

We do that. Why do you have Windows XP or Windows 7? Is it because they are superior to Apple or Mint? Probably not. Both Apple and Linux Mint are virtually virus free, and Windows XP or 7 are virus magnets. You chose that because you are familiar with Windows, and you may have never even heard of Ubuntu Linux, Linux mint, even tho among techies its a favorite operating system, and they are free while Windows cost about a hundred dollars.

http://distrowatch.com/

Edited November 29, 2014 by broncovet

[Berta]

FTCA Statute of Limits

http://www.hgdlawfirm.com/blog/2012/10/01/the-federal-tort-claims-act-a-primer/

SF 95

http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/civil/legacy/2011/11/01/SF-95.pdf

I have posted here how this form MUST be filled out....available under a search

Section 1151, 38 USC claims:

(cant bump this up)

cant bump anything up in the FTCA forum...but there is plenty as to 1151 in the 1151 forum:

http://www.hadit.com/forums/forum/125-1151-claims/

Since vets often file under both regulations, this is why 1151 and FTCA are in the FTCA forum and vice versa.

But they are separate issues.

All VSOs and vet reps are trained in 1151 claims. They cannot handle FTCA however and that is for lawyers.

Malpractice lawyers with VA expertise ( unlike when I FTCAed them) are able to advertise on the net these days and have contact areas for brief free consults sometimes, on their web pages.

[Prospector]

Berta and Broncovet, thank you both for the info. After the last denial and explanation by the attorney's office, I was going to file on my own. During my research I found the following successful appeal linking Carcinoid Cancer to SC.http://www.va.gov/vetapp06/files5/0631243.txt

I spoke with one of the top specialists (one of whom had recommended I receive the PRRT treatment, hence why I went to Germany), I showed him this case and asked what he thought. He replied he could not reasonably say I had the Cancer 40 years earlier and it had been dormant that long. He said if he wrote a letter it would probably hurt my case more than help. BTW he was a VA surgeon for 17yrs and the first time I saw him, he remarked "The VA will let you die." The VA told me up until the reversal of their decision to send me for treatment " Wait and Watch is an acceptable treatment for this Cancer" I always told them, according to the NCCN (supposedly what they are guided by) that is only true if your cancer is stable and not progressing. You have already shown the cancer is progressing and you are doing nothing. "Read your own book".

At my last visit in August with the VA Oncology, when I walked in, the Doctor thanked me for showing them there other treatments for this cancer and they can send someone to a clinical trial.

I told him the information I presented was in their own Fed Regs and the NCCN.

They have always said to me, "We have offered you the Standard-of-Care for your cancer".

The average oncologist will only encounter this cancer one or twice in a 40yr career. The national stats show 18% of this cancer is diagnosed at autopsy. In the US, the numbers have grown over 500% in the last 10yrs. Not that there are that many new cases, but Doctors are finally being taught to look for it.

This cancer does not respond to any known chemo agent or normal radiation treatments. Once it has spread (which is usually the case because Dr.'s don't know to look for it) they do not consider surgery. (This also is not true for this kind of cancer. Relieving tumor burden has shown to extend life up to 10 yrs)

The specialists in Neuroendocrine Cancer use embolizations to individual tumors, often remove excessive tumors and if possible the primary, Nano-knife procedures, and the PRRT (Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy) to relieve tumor burden and extend life. The VA will not consider any of these treatments even though they are listed in their own NCCN guide.

The Dallas and OKC VAMC's continued to offer me a pill chemo which has major side effects and by the chemo manufacturers own statement, is not recommended for my type of cancer.

I refused that treatment. When I told the VISN they were offering this, they asked "You did not take it did you". I told them I refused.

At the August visit with the VA oncologist, I could not help but ask why they had continued to offer this chemo when even the manufacturer specificallystates they did not recommend it. His answer " I guess they felt it was all they had". I said, just throw it at the wall and hope some of it sticks? He said he guessed so.

I would file the claim for TORT myself, because I have all the scans and reports that show the Cancer progressed within the time the VA refused to run the correct scans to determine whether further treatment is necessary, which very possibly could have been prevented. This according to the medical reports could have shortened my life by as much as 10yrs.

But according to the attorney's I spoke with, without expert medical testimony (which I cannot afford) it probably would be denied.

The attorney's I submitted to were some of the national advertised Tort Case attorneys. Never could get past their nurse screeners even after doing my best to explain this cancer and my case.

[Prospector]

I was never in the SE Asia Theatre.