degenerative arthritis Im Sc 100% & Smc/s Over 10 Yrs- Varo Just Requested A C&p

[carlie]

Well, I just sent out this email and sure hope I get a helpful reply.

If I do not have a reply by Friday morning I am going to my VA Regional Office

in person and try to get to the bottom of this.

carlie

Under Secretary
Veterans Benefits Administration
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

March 31,2015

Your Honorable Allison A. Hickey,

My name is Carlie. I am an honorably discharged US Army veteran.

I am in receipt of service connected disability at the 100 percent rate along with SMC/S, adjudicated to be permanent and total by both the Social Security Administration and the VBA.

Service Connected conditions by the VBA are as follows:

Major Depressive Disorder 100%, effective date March 23, 2004

Seizure Disorder 40%, effective date 1978, day following separation

Impaired Hearing 0%, effective date over 10 years

Bronchitis,Chronic 60%, effective date over 5 years

Degenerative Arthritis of the Spine 30%, effective date over 5 years

Ear Disease 10%, effective date over five years

Superficial Scars 0%, effective date April,26 2005

Traumatic Brain Disease 10%,effective date over 5 years

Bursitis 0%, effective date over 5 years

Tinnitus 10%, effective date over 5 years

SMC/S, effective date March 23,2004

DEA & Chapter 35 benefits granted, effective date 2004

Full Commissary and Base Exchange privileges, etc.

ALL of the above conditions are of record with my VAMC and Vet Center,as being static in nature, with no improvement for over ten years.

Today I had an appointment at Bay Pines VAMC, with my psychiatrist.

While I was in this appointment I received a telephone message stating,

"Ms Carlie this is XXXXX calling from the Compensation and Pension Department here at the VA. We've received a request from the Regional Office to get you scheduled for an evaluation for your service connected disability. If you could please call me as soon as you receive my message, my number is XXX XXX XXXX, extension XXXXX. Thank you."

I listened to the message above as I was walking from my psychiatrist appointment, to the hospital next door for a thyroid ultrasound appointment.

I then came home and called my psychiatrist and am waiting for a return call.

I need your help as I feel this unneeded and unjustified C&P examination, is just plain emotional torture from the St.Petersburg, Fl. VA Regional Office.

I have no claims open for additional benefits or claims that are in process or under appeal. All of my prior claim issues are of record as being fully satisfied and closed.

I can not understand this additional C&P examination request made by the St.Petersburg VA Regional Office. I feel that this is doing nothing wasting resources another veteran could be utilizing and traumatizing me and probably many more veterans that are already sick, physically, mentally and of the VBA process as a whole.

I already have concerns and horrible anxiety in even attending yet another additional C&P examination.

All that needs to happen is that I get assigned a C&P examiner that's in a foul mood, got a ticket on their way into work, has their own stress such as a sick child or family member and BOOM !, I get a letter stating my benefits are revoked.

This really should not happen as I have received continuity of care from Bay Pines VAMC and St. Petersburg Vet Center, for decades.

As I stated, this should not happen, but knowing what I do know, I do know that it is a big possibility.

So here I sit with my anxiety at a very high level, getting ready to take some of my VAMC RX's anxiety medication's.

I ask this, at a time when there continues to be a huge back log, VBA and VHA are under the gun so to speak, with the media on a daily basis, when resources are limited . . .

WHY, is the St.Petersburg Regional Office, requesting this additional C&P exam.

Going by the regulation below, they should not be requesting this examination, so about all I can conclude is they want to torment veterans.

Is it possible for you to help me with this situation.

The last four of my social are XXXX.

My phone number is XXX XXX XXXX.

My address is:

Carlie

XXX - Helpavet Ave

Sinkingin, XX. XXXXX

This issue is time sensitive.

Thanks you for any help or direction you might be able to provide.

Carlie

38 CFR - Clearly states:

§3.327 Reexaminations.

(a) General. Reexaminations, including periods of hospital observation, will be requested whenever VA determines there is a need to verify either the continued existence or the current severity of a disability. Generally, reexaminations will be required if it is likely that a disability has improved, or if evidence indicates there has been a material change in a disability or that the current rating may be incorrect. Individuals for whom reexaminations have been authorized and scheduled are required to report for such reexaminations. Paragraphs (b) and © of this section provide general guidelines for requesting reexaminations, but shall not be construed as limiting VA's authority to request reexaminations, or periods of hospital observation, at any time in order to ensure that a disability is accurately rated.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501)

(b) Compensation cases—(1) Scheduling reexaminations. Assignment of a prestabilization rating requires reexamination within the second 6 months period following separation from service. Following initial Department of Veterans Affairs examination, or any scheduled future or other examination, reexamination, if in order, will be scheduled within not less than 2 years nor more than 5 years within the judgment of the rating board, unless another time period is elsewhere specified.

(2) No periodic future examinations will be requested. In service-connected cases, no periodic reexamination will be scheduled: (i) When the disability is established as static;

(ii) When the findings and symptoms are shown by examinations scheduled in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section or other examinations and hospital reports to have persisted without material improvement for a period of 5 years or more;

(iii) Where the disability from disease is permanent in character and of such nature that there is no likelihood of improvement;

(iv) In cases of veterans over 55 years of age, except under unusual circumstances;

(v) When the rating is a prescribed scheduled minimum rating; or

(vi) Where a combined disability evaluation would not be affected if the future examination should result in reduced evaluation for one or more conditions.

© Pension cases. In nonservice-connected cases in which the permanent total disability has been confirmed by reexamination or by the history of the case, or with obviously static disabilities, further reexaminations will not generally be requested. In other cases further examination will not be requested routinely and will be accomplished only if considered necessary based upon the particular facts of the individual case. In the cases of veterans over 55 years of age, reexamination will be requested only under unusual circumstances.

Cross Reference: Failure to report for VA examination. See §3.655.

[26 FR 1585, Feb. 24, 1961, as amended at 30 FR 11855, Sept. 16, 1965; 36 FR 14467, Aug. 6, 1971; 55 FR 49521, Nov. 29, 1990; 60 FR 27409, May 24, 1995]

[carlie]

Oh what a crummy night I had - up and down about every 45 minutes.

I hope this stress doesn't put me in the dang hospital.

[Berta]

I hope it doesn't too Carlie.....after I emailed Ms Hickey I received many more emails from her as I replied to them. Same thing with my RO director, but then the phone calls started to come from her....no hard copy on phone calls. And they were very revealing calls.

I realized I had another battle with the VA, but this time, maybe I am jaded by all the battles I had in the past, I decided to just sit back and enjoy it.

The director sent my files to VA Central.And I found the contact person there who will decide the claims properly (I hope). The director told me all of the emqails back and forth would be in my C file...I doubled checked with VACO to let me know if they arent because I rattled off every single regulation they broke in those emails to Ms. Hickey and to the director.

The odd thing is that the R0 did a medical 'review' of sorts, that does not appear to have been done by any 'medically trained person and that went against a medical review I had at VACO, in 1996...by a top Cardiologist.

This regarded a 1151 medication issue that contributed to my husband's death, documented by the VACO doctor in 1996, with a full medical rationale, as one part of my FTCA case.

Another Peer Review supported my other charges.

In light of Tomah and (at Fox News Dr. Peter Johnson said they definitely caused the death of the marine, whose father testified at the recent unusual Field H VAC hearing,) he urged survivors of th Tomah med scandal to SUE....

he is right, but what if they file under 1151 instead of FTCA and someone at the RO level, with a VHA,VBA peer review that could be favorable to their case, pulls some crap like I got recently and tries to over rule a high level VA Review by a real doctor?

I couldnt belive what happened to me in 1997.

I settled with the OGC for wrongful death and then sent my settlement info to my VARO for my 1151 DIC claim, which they had denied.

The dopes denied the 1151 claim again.I had settled with the USA under VA OGC auspices and these clowns could not even read the settlement.

I called Tim, in DC, the lawyer who I dealt with at OGC and told him the VA settlement was off and we needed to negotiate again.

he was exasperated and asked me what happened.

My RO was immediately ordered to grant my 1151 DIC claim.

The survivors of the Phoenix deaths. hopefully wont deal with the same BS I did.

Dr. Johnson said 2 of the vets overdosed by VA died while still in the VA parking lot.

he echoed what is all over the net, that 33 deaths ,so far, were caused by prescribed VA meds.

I guess my long point here has turned into a rant but my point is that More vets and survivors who have had ridiculous problems with the VA, problems that should have never happened like what you are going through, need to email either Sec Bob or Ms. Hickey because this is the first time anyone at VA Central has ever heard from a multitude of claimants,

put through the VA wringer, for no good reason at all.

I have been tossing around a title for my book on the VA.

I think it will be

PTSD from

Vietnam

(with a big red line through the word Vietnam and then)

the Veterans Administration.

I think if one doesn't have PTSD when they file their claims, they might well get it from dealing with the VA.claims process.

I thought I was going coo coo on cocoa puffs crazy when I read my initial AO IHD Nehmer death decision.

They said the veteran had served in Vietnam but his SMRs revealed no IHD.

WTF?

These were teenage kids serving in Vietnam....none of them probably had evidence of heart disease.in their SMRs. Most of them enlisted , in good physical condition, within maybe a year or so before they went to the Nam.

rthe 'old man', the commander of my husband's platoon was the oldest person he knew in his unit, only 25 years old.

I raised a royal ruckus and in 3 weeks they reversed under the CUE I sent by Fax ,IRIS, Phone, email etc etc etc.

Awarded the IHD and also awarded the 2 CUE claims that had been at my VARO from 2003 to 2009.

I know they will straighten out your situation.

But it just makes me sick that you have to dealt with this.BS.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Berta

[Gastone]

I think any time a Major SC rating is attributable to a Mental Health issue the VA is always Diary Dating your C-File for verification of no improvement. VA Clinicians all seem to be of the same mind, Mental Health issues can be successfully treated and while not necessarily being cured, can show significant improvement. As I recall, there was something in VA Regs about not screwing with Vets over 55 in regards to re rating out of the blue. Do you think there are some "Unusual Circumstances" at play here? Has one of your VA clinicians misreported improvement in any of your Mental Health or regular medical issues?

Semper Fi

Gastone

[carlie]

Thanks again to all for the encouragement.

Berta - seems like it never ends.

Being that I have absolutely no claim issues in process or under appeal,

there would be NO justifiable reason for anyone at the VARO even taking a

look-see at any of my medical records.

I mean, I do think they are supposedly so busy handling the backlog and current

claims - to be just poking around reading random medical records without any reason

to trigger such an exam.

Even at that I'm pretty darned sure that all of my medical evidence of record

only continues to support the evaluations I have.

Heck the effective date of my SMC/S is back to 2004, that's a bit more than

10 years and I am over 55 years old.

Anyways, I've been just trying to make it thru today, waiting to hear more from either

of the two that emailed me or one of their staff members.

As of this moment I have heard nothing further.

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day and hold more information / answers for me.

Again, I will update as soon as I find something out.

Thanks again to all for your kindness, encouragement and support.

[Buck52]

§3.343 Continuance of total disability ratings.

(a) General. Total disability ratings, when warranted by the severity of the condition and not granted purely because of hospital, surgical, or home treatment, or individual unemployability will not be reduced, in the absence of clear error, without examination showing material improvement in physical or mental condition. Examination reports showing material improvement must be evaluated in conjunction with all the facts of record, and consideration mustbe given particularly to whether the veteran attained improvement under the ordinary conditions of life, i.e., while working or actively seeking work or whether the symptoms have been brought under control by prolonged rest, or generally, by following a regimen which precludes work, and, if the latter, reduction from total disability ratings will not be considered pending reexamination after a period of employment (3 to 6 months).

Ms carlie I don't think you have any thing to worry about!

hang in there things will get back to norm!

...........Buck

[MRRRR5]

Totally unbelievable but no surprised; good luck to you and I hope they clear this up promptly as it makes absolutely no sense at all.