Tbi Re-Examination?

[Military_Mind_99]

Has anyone had a TBI re-examination or has heard of whats going on? (my VARO is Saint Paul, MN)

1. I claimed Closed Head Injury to include scar (DC 7800) in 2004. It was processed under BDD in San Deigo. DENIED

2. In 2012 I requested to reopen the exam because I had found some STR's which proved the incident occurred (the Marine Corps lost my STR's during my deployment). The incident was non-combat. I was given a TBI exam by a NP at the Minneapolis VAMC and DC changed under 8045. DENIED.

3. June 2015 I get a call from the St. Cloud VAMC for a C&P exam. I assume its for my skin condition because I had a follow-up exam because they didn't make it static. Wasn't till I got there I was blasted with a ton of questions instead of examining my skin what it was for. I did not ask to reopen or anything with TBI.

I had my exam pulled and was found a positive opinion for TBI and Post Concussion Syndrome and looking through the facets, possibly 10/40 percentage. No mention of painful scar (anyone know if they would put this in addition too or just lump it in). Also I'm curious whether how far back they would go, because before exam there was nothing in ebenefits, but now I see there is a reopened claim with the date of 5/8/15.

[wes1]

I was one of those 300, My file was up at the BVA and immediately remanded to the regional office in Milwaukee because I live in Wisconsin, I live on the Minnesota, Wisconsin border and go to the Minneapolis VA hospital for my treatment and they sent me to an outside contractor (DR. Steven Trobiani in Maple Grove M.N.) who this time found that ( More likely than not ) that I do have a TBI that is responsible for my seizures, migraines, tremors and some mental health issues. I had that C&P 3 months ago and the RO refused to release the exam to my attorney under the Freedom of information act. If you have had your C&P you can get that information if you go to the information office in the basement of the Minneapolis VA. My claim has been transferred to the RO in St. Paul M.N. .  When I called the 1-800-827-1000 the first time they told me they couldn't talk to me and would have to have a supervisor call me back because I was a sensitivity level 8, whatever that means. When I never got a call back after a week I called them, I managed to get a supervisor on the phone and he explained that I would need another 3 C&Ps plus a medical opinion. When I look on E-Benefits Mobile the claim date has been reset to 10/17/15 and gathering information with no completion date.  I hope this information helps you.

[Reddit]

UPDATE

Well, I found out that my medical opinion was favorable for the TBI but, the ATL person think I might still end up with 0 percent.  But then I talk to Peggy and she said that it has been move back to gathering of evidence and that they need some question answer so it went back out??????? don't know what's going on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[USMC_VET]

Sounds like my TBI examinations... I was a greenhorn with the VA had no idea (and thats being generous) as to how duplicitous they are. I went in because a friend of mine told me to just register with them. i went through some "this is how the va works" class and they had all the OIF/OEF vets stay to take a TBI examination.

 

It was the multiple choice questions, if you say yes to one or all of these sort of deals on certain questions you had to go to what i guess they call "Level II" testing.

 

thats when they talked ot me in person. i told them when i was hit with the IED, i dont know if i passed out, i do remember seeing all the dirt lift off my cammies slow motion and thinking "this is cool", next thing i heard, since i was the driver, was being yelled at to drive, drive, drive since we were in the middle of an ambush. i dont know how long i was out, if i was out. i just remember those two little things. I dont remember anything about that day or the week after. They told me since i was unsure if i lost consciousness and since if it was less than a minute (how do i know how long it is if i dont remember it?) then i didnt have TBI. I forgot about (which is funny for my fellow tbi folks :) ) and then when i was on my third state and 8 years later when they called for one of those registries they asked if i had TBI, i told them the same thing the Level II folks told me, nope you dont. which is also what ive told the VA and on all my C&P exams fro mheadaches to ptsd. well turns out someone in the VA in my first state right after my PTSD DX made a TBI DX, no one ever told me and the VA never noted it in my records, etc.

 

So now i am working on a TBI case. currently drained after a proposal to reduce fight, ongoing battle to get my c-file and another fight for a dro hearing on my headaches.

 

none of the Level II folks were even medical folks just were fill ins who had checklists....

to keep things honest i found out i was wrong.

reviewing the files that i finally got after months or requestin ghtem it was in fact, according to the report, a neural psychologist that interviewed me.  maybe he was not dressed as a doctor, or maybe he just reviewed the answers i gave the non med folks or maybe my memory is just bad.  all could be true.  either way the report shows that it was a nueropsych that did the report and said i didnt have TBI.  I think that may have been due to the fact that i didnt report loss of conciousness or post amnesia, because well i didnt know that i had that until talking with people recently.  never talked to old buddies about that day until the last year.

Either way i dont think my TBI claim is going to be fruitful but i am going to try anyways.  The VA's opinion is that any TBI symptoms i have are actually behavioral and related to PTSD.  maybe they are right, i dont know.

[Military_Mind_99]

Update on deferred rating for date on onset tbi/migraines:

I apologize if this topic is somewhere else in the forums but I got my call back from a VA supervisor (sensitive 8) from the call center. I was told in March my file was referred to OGC - Office of General Council. I have no attorney and my VSO is about as clueless as I am at this point. Anyone know more about this process and should this be a good/bad thing?

[Military_Mind_99]

Update: I filed an NOD 11/2015 for the TBI Examination not addressing my scar. NOD completed and added...

scar, above right eye brow  30%

painful scar, above the right eyebrow

10%

Edited June 16, 2016 by Military_Mind_99