Vaco Review Due To Contacting Sec Bob Or Ms Hickey ?

[Berta]

Is anyone here getting a VACO review ,due to writing to Sec. Bob or Mrs. Hickey?

I was told yesterday,that they will have my claims by tomorrow. at VA Central and the director told me yesterday,I will have a contact person there by Thursday, in her next email or call to me.

This is both good and bad for some claimants.

It sure puts our situations into the hands of the upper echelon.

However, this could end up being the next hamster wheel too.....

Who will do these reviews?

Lawyers from OGC or from the BVA? They are all in the backlog too.

I did have a VACO review for my FTCA matter. it involved both, the legal aspects of my case as well as the medical aspects.

It was quite thorough after an initial screw up

My RO removed my prime evidence from the C file prior to sending it to the OGC,who in turn obtained a faulty initial VACO medical review. I raised a ruckus immediately when I discovered what the RO had done, and not long after that, OGC called me up to begin negotiations.

Prior to all of the the Regional Counsel had been willing to settle with me based on a Peer Review report that fully supported my charges of malpractice on the SF 95 I filed.

SF95 filed December 1994

RC and Peer review report dated March or May of 1995. I just read it but forget the dates..

Since the VA (OMLA and the RO here in NY)then told me the favorable report "Never existed" (and of course they lied ---I used it for my AO IHD award)

I had to do my whole FTCA case without it.

So MAKE SURE when you get a contact person from VA Central, that they have everything they need to fully opinion on your claim.

I found another CUE in one of my decisions yesterday while speaking to the Director, and I bust out laughing and interrupted her to tell her of it.......plus she forgot and I reminded her ,to deal with 2 other issues I had regarding basic VA case law that they screwed up.

I could not get a copy of the bogus medical review they did that I asked for a few days ago, , because as she said, the 10 volume file was already in transit to VA Central. yeah right

Has Anyone else here been transferred to VA Central due to their emnails or letters to Sec Bob and/or Ms. Hickey?

I am absolutely thrilled to know my files are going to someone in DC who can read ,but I am concerned that this could be a new hamster wheel tactic, in order for the ROs to stall........

Still a VACO review is binding and worth the time that could actually save in the tradition appeals process.

A matter I had longer ago was resolved immeiately by the OGC, sending them an order to pay me. and when an RC here in NY caught a CUE himself in one of my clais, he too ordred them to immediately pay me.

My point here is, if you have a strong a valid complaint as to an improper way the RO handled your claim, by all means contact Sec,. Bob and/ or Ms. Hickey.!

They need to hear from any claimant who either been denied basic 101 VA rights or whose VARO has not properly handled their claim.

This all might become a new hamster wheel if VACO gets a lot of review requests but in the long run , it will shorter the RO,BVA, back to RO, BS and the DRO SSOC transfer to BVA BS anyhow.for many claimants whose claims were not handled right by the RO.

And, more importantly, the VACO will begin to see ,in our individual C files, just how stupid some of these GS level clowns really are.

As I told Ms Hickey, the Under Secretary...we claimants didn't cause the backlog..the VA did.

And the cause ,in most cases, came primarily from the Regional Offices.

I referred her to the BVA annual reports to Congress...regarding thousands of remands , that cause a re-do of what the ROs should have done right in the first place..

So I am getting a VA Central review.

To get a medical opinion that addresses the favorable VACO medical Opinion I already have.

for the 1151 claim and wjhy my Rights were violated under Relative Equipoise

and

an opinion on my CUE claim as to why ,although they granted 20 additional months under accrued, and cited my accrued claim in the Evidence,still applicable to any issue I have,

they said I had already been paid all of the accrued.

I was paid for 6 months only.

As we hung up I told the director to expect my next new claim coming soon.

I am working on that today. As simple as my pending 1151 claim....except my RO cant read.

....

.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Berta

[free_spirit_etc]

Berta,

No. I didn't get referred for a VACO review. But my issue with the VA was pretty simple (I hope). It was to act on the award the BVA had granted.

I am not as familiar with the process with the VA, but I do know SSA instructs offices to seek opinions from General Counsel on matters that involve legally complex matters. If this is similar, I could very much see the RO referring your claim to someone who has a better ability to understand the legal issues you have raised. But then, again, since you already have medical opinions from the previous VACO review that support your 1151 claim, it seems like the RO would have granted the claim. And since the record shows you only received 6 months of the 20 months of accrued you were entitled to on the CUE, it doesn't seem like it would take a great amount of legal expertise to subtract 6 from 20 and arrive at 14.

[ketchup56]

Yes.Currently files are being reviewed for a eed claim varo oakland refuses to award dating backto 1983. Im in email contact with the director from Oakland varo Julianne Boor with all my correspondence being cc'd to keep a paper trail. You must have a paper trail because these people will feed you so much BS. Files are currently per director with the OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL in Washington. I feel much better because these people can read or at least give better reasons and basis for their denials to better counter their reasoning. I feel confident because my evidence speaks for itself on my issue.

[Berta]

I sure agree with that.....

A Tip for anyone getting this type of VACO review....

The director of my VARO only gave me the name of the person ( on leave until today) who she sent my files to.

(they say sent "ten volumes of files".like it is our fault we have to add so much to the paperwork...when they screw up our claims).

Get their name,from the VARO director and their email but if they wont give you the email ,then use their first name, then period, then last name, @VA.gov and you can email them, to make sure they get sent what they should have.

Don't forget , I met the MF employed by my VARO years ago....

MF ...the Mysterious Force ( who removed ALL of my critical evidence from my files at the RO ,prior to sending them to the General Counsel's office for my FTCA case. Good thing I had no lawyer and dealt directly with the OGC lawyer.That is how I found out they were missing a lot of evidence. But I do not advise NOT having a lawyer however for FTCA issues.Make sure they have everything too...as VA could well hold back stuff from them )

I gave House VAC testimony on that, years ago and told Shinseki things would get worse with VA....

And they sure did .

Edited March 18, 2015 by Berta

[ketchup56]

I concur on all you just mentioned. I'm sending an email back to the director as you advised to get that general counsel contact information. In the interim im typing up my arguments on form 9 and its long. That's how bad there reasons and basis for denial is. Varo Oakland used an outdated ruling Brokoski v Shinseki (2009) stating because I didn't identify the benefit sought on my 1983 claim it was denied. However that ruling has been knocked down many many times by va's failure to consider Roberson v Principi, Moody v Principi and Szemraj v Principi and as of late Harris v Shinseki and Charles v Shinseki. Now remember folks they never sent me final notice in 1983, never did secure my str's (still missing today)as requested on the application for benefits in 1983. The evolution of the pending claim doctrine explains this scenario in full details yet they use outdated reasons and basis to deny legitimate claims. I will fight this till my breath with instructions to my daughter's to do the same in my demise.These people do this on purpose to make you give in.Not me. Berta I would like to send you by email this soc for thoughts and a promised good laugh at their reasoning.