Your Recent Experiences With The Seattle Regional Office

[rootbeer22]

Folks:

I've had a First Time FDC claim in to the Seattle Regional Office for 6 months now and it's till in the "Review Stage"? I'd like to hear more from other Vets who have used or are using the Seattle Regional Office on what their experiences have been which includes both successes and major challenges to date with the staff and their processes? So far, I've read about their last OIG evaluation back in 2011 which talks about some issues that arose there - but nothing really unique to that office? However, that's been many years and I think it's time for a fresh look at what's happening there now with Veterans? My recent issue is that I asked for an in person review of my C-File months ago and did not hear back until finally last week. Then I received a letter giving me their published hours and an invitation to just come by and that someone from Customer Service would let me review my C-file? From my research, the Seattle RO has had the reputation of having some of the longest wait times for processing claims in the country - but I'm not sure if it's getting better or worse nowadays? I do know that they are a very large regional office and they process a lot claims annually.

Please let me and the group know about your experinces if your VA Disability claim is going thru the Seattle RO?

Edited November 18, 2014 by rootbeer22

[lotzaspotz]

I believe Alex Graham, aka asknod, deals with the Seattle RO. You should contact him. His blog is asknod.wordpress.com. He recently filed a writ of mandamus petition that describes a 20 year struggle for benefits and a link to it is contained there, and also in a recent post he made on hadit. He is a veterans advocate whose advice has helped so many of us here, and I also have his book. Priceless...

[retiredat44]

the big problem is you cant state the bastards lie but in publishing you will need real stories and facts... we know they lie with each individual story, but proof for publishing is another.... Now, we can show they drag their feet waiting for us to die off... I don't see they can hide that! I personally feel the low level clerks and decision makers actually play doctor without an M.D. license by determining what you have or don't have. Even if you have medical records from on duty. and by a process where you never have contact when you file acclaim it just goes into some file, and nameless faceless people rubber stamp very important life issues... we really never see our (accusers) is really a good name here, because they basically accuse of us lying, but from behind sealed doors, and we have little to no recourse, as they always have the last word in secret. yes, they can write a denial, but the denials come from people that are not doctors. The C&P doctors are there to catch you in gotchas with trick questions, that is totally unfair. it's really a crooked system! But publishing it isn't much different than another story or forum conversation. A real earthshattering event like the Phoenix VA story would have to be done. I am not making light of anyone's idea to publish a story, but it might just end up with al other stories on page 1,000 just before the classified section.

I do find that even if you have a hearing, you think you have covered everything, but they spend 50% of the time, wasting that precious hour with B.S. then Another 20% with a case like you a criminal, then by the time you tell your story, they have drained you of intelligent thought. And to top all of this of, you must keep buying IMO's, not saying you buy the doctor's off to write it in your favor but you have to keep paying many thousands of dollars out in a war between the VA doctors and neutral doctors, who is going to win when the VA has unlimited resources? They make you go out and buy dream teams of doctors and lawyers! That is just wrong!

Plus in my case the representatives at the VA I tried to get me to take my case when I moved and left my last Representatives 1,000 miles way, and they I come to a VA office and ask them to continue, or take over my case and it was like I was dealing with the same VA who says no to everything! They would even listen to me, they read me the riot act, and then after telling them they refused to help said they didn't know I had claims pending in San Diego VA. They totally wasted that hour trying to tell me the process I had been through for 25 year with all of my previous claims I have won and lost. I could see someone killing themselves after meeting that mean team working there who refused to listen. All I did was come to them last year, said I moved, and needed a new rep for my claims. They interrogated me and asked who helped me in San Diego, and I explained to them my rep was the American Legion, but I moved, yet they could not understands the whole concept of changing my legal representation because I moved. They acted like I was a nut who just brought in medical records and waiting my first claim, and never went through any process and had no clue. They read me the riot act and acted smug like they had just schooled me on the claims process using a blackboard and chalk. I left angry confused pissed, and wondering if it was worth living any more. There was no support, just the words of to the effect that unless I had the proper documents don't come back, which is exactly what they meant! They acted like the American legion was a hobo on some corner that I had given a bottle of wine to help me. I wish I had tape, video, audio so you could hear that meeting! I drove an hour one way for that abuse! Sorry, if this isn't the Seattle office, but is it the whole PNW that treats vets this bad, or just Salem? I was really misguided thinking the PNW could be any better then San Diego, it appears it's just as brutal, or much worse up here, in the VA claims system of the Pacific Northwest.

The VA hospital system treats us good, not perfect, actually they accidently cut into my pancreas leaving me with a fatal disease, but with the 1151 filed, not much else I can do, the doctors and nurses worked day and night to save me, and I am still here. But originally, on active duty I was forced to work the same chemicals that made me sick, and got sick again. Long after the doctors told my command I cannot work with chemicals. You would think it would be easy to win, but according to these people in claims I am a crook trying to steal something. They have no clue what it is to wake up in hell everyday wondering if it is my last, and reaching for the morphine. They try to get through the claims process on my own because I can't afford a dream team to fight those crooks!

[airborne82_11b2p]

I filed mid June and received 3 out of 5 issues resolved positively last week. Other two are deferred and have more exams scheduled.

[rootbeer22]

airborne82_11b2p:

Congrats...and I'm so happy to hear that you have good movement with you claim....when did you retire or leave the service? I think one of the keys for a quicker turn around is to have fewer than 7 contentions and to have only limited complexity of your case. I'm looking for all sides of the story both postivie and negative so I can give a good respresentation when I write my article. Was you claim an FDC or regular claim? Based upon your quick response, it has to be an FDC, or atleast, I would think so?