ptsd New Claims

[Cavman]

I have filed a couple new claims including tinnitus and gerd/barretts esophagus while I am waiting on decision on my appeal for higher PTSD rating. Was that a wrong thing to do? Will the VA get this all screwed up and can it hinder my appeal decision?

Cavman

Again, I want to so sincerely thank all of you for answering. You all have helped me tremendously. Too bad all vets don`t know of Hadit.

[betrayed]

I have filed a couple new claims including tinnitus and gerd/barretts esophagus while I am waiting on decision on my appeal for higher PTSD rating. Was that a wrong thing to do? Will the VA get this all screwed up and can it hinder my appeal decision?

Cavman

Again, I want to so sincerely thank all of you for answering. You all have helped me tremendously. Too bad all vets don`t know of Hadit.

Hell yes..................its got mine all screwed up

[Vike17]

Cavman,

For the most part when submit additional claims while you have other issues pending, such as an appeal in your case, it will ultimately slow down the entire process. In your case your c-file will continiously be on the move from the Appeals Team to the Pre-Determination Team to the Rating Team and then back to the Appeals Team until everything has been decided. Keep in mind that the VA will work and decide your new claims first before they will work on your appeal. In the long run it wasn't a wrong thing to do by any means. You needed to protect the earliest effective date, right? It's just gong to take a bit longer for everything to get resolved.

Vike 17

[john999]

I filed a new claim while I had another on appeal. The VA got the evidence all mixed up. They had a dentist report in my psychiatric file. I was claiming TMJ along with the nervous disorder that was on appeal.

They help up my appeal while waiting for reports from dentists that were for the TMJ. Keep it simple for these morons.

[betrayed]

I have a book written by a x va examiner, he said something along the lines if you need to add additional claims to file a ammeded claim, I will lookit up later and post the exact verbage. What Vike 17 has said is what has happened to me.............

[betrayed]

FROM THE BOOK The Veterans Survival Guide: How to File and Collect on VA Claims

http://veteranssurvivalguide.com/

good book! I am not pushing it but as we know knowledge is power, there is lots of knowledge on this board but there are some good books out there and this is one I bought (and one of the best) and surely wish I had b4 I filed my first claim.

AMMENDING AN ORIGINAL CLAIM page 47

When you want to add to the list of injuries or diseases claimed in your original application, you are filing what is know as an ammended claim for injuries or diseases that occured in the service. You do not submit a second original claim on VA Form 21-526 for those medical problems. It is preferable to submit your claim on VA Form 21-4138. Statement in Support of Claim, rather than stating the request in a personal letter. The statement requesting service connection for these additional injuries or diseases should be simple and to the point.

About the Author John D Roche

My involvement as a veterans’ advocate started six years before retiring from the United States Air Force. On behalf of an Air Force widow I successfully argued that the death of her husband in the county jail was service connected.

Immediately after leaving the Air Force in 1969, I joined the VA as a claims specialist. During my three years with the VA, I completed their 1560-hour formal training program and gained considerable insight as to why so many claims were denied. Having worked thousands of claims there was one fact that was common to almost every claim. Veterans did not know how to prove up their claim; they relied on the VA to do it for them.

It did not take long to realize that many of these policies were not in the best interest of the veteran. For example, there was the policy of completing 25 case actions per day in order to be considered a satisfactory claim examiner. Merit pay increases depended upon maintaining this assigned level of production. Completing 25 cases a day was not a problem. The problem was trying to look busy for a couple of hours because you finished early. Mastering the skill of looking busy I would review pending claim files from cover to cover.

It was on one such occasion I discovered the rating board failed to consider medical evidence previously submitted by the veteran. The rating boards would only review evidence of record submitted after the last rating decision. It was to be presumed all previous rating actions were correct since the veteran did not challenge the decision. “Top Sheeting,” as this practice was known, did not allow for a review of evidence before the last rating decision. This discovery was not appreciated and I was verbally reprimanded.

My decision to leave the VA was fostered by policies that contradicted the reason I accepted the job. The plus side of my three-year association with the VA was I knew how the system worked. This knowledge was the corner stone for the thousands of veterans I assisted and helped during my 13 years as a county veteran’s service officer. Health reasons caused me to step down as an active advocate in 1996.

Through this book I can continue sharing my experiences and knowledge with all veterans, past, present, and future

[Josephine]

It was on one such occasion I discovered the rating board failed to consider medical evidence previously submitted by the veteran. The rating boards would only review evidence of record submitted after the last rating decision. It was to be presumed all previous rating actions were correct since the veteran did not challenge the decision. “Top Sheeting,” as this practice was known, did not allow for a review of evidence before the last rating decision. This discovery was not appreciated and I was verbally reprimanded.

I filed my first claim for benefits in 1978 and turned in all my private medical records. Counselor wrote me that I was not service connected with no chance to challenge the decision.

I re-filed in 2002.

This one is certainly true. When I received my Statment of Case, the medical records from 1965 - 1979 were not included.

The Va. send me a notice that they did not have these medical records and that I needed to send them to them.

I wrote them back, they already had these records.

They still did not recognize these records and failed to address them.

They sent me for a C&P examination the next month and the doctor and myself spend an hour locating those medical records in my claims file.

The DRO ask the doctor to evaluate me from 1979 to date. He stated impossible and then he started looking and messed up their plans.

The doctor evaluated me from 1965 to date with a More Likely than Not.

The DRO did not expect this and send me a Form 9, when he wrote me about the C&P and the story goes on.

I filed out the form -9 and now I am at the AMC.

Josephine

Edited November 5, 2006 by Josephine