degenerative arthritis 20% - Moved the Football Another 10 Yards

[Julie1975]

Good morning, Mark!

Absolutely nothing new on my NOD. It's still showing an estimated completion date of Oct 15 - Jan 16 which is around the one-year mark. Sigh...

[MarkInTexas]

Julie,

I think the Houston VARO makes up their own rules and procedures as they go along.  My NOD conditions are still MIA, and I'm getting an error that information on my conditions is currently unavailable.  I'm holding out for the rumor you heard about eBenefits opening up the Appeals page again on the 20th.

Have a great week!

Mark

 

[MarkInTexas]

Update:  Received my SOC today from the Houston VARO.  It was for just the one condition, and none of the others are listed.  It matched up with what eBenefits showed, and I received my retro in my bank account this morning based on the increased amount since June, 2010.

One thing that I noted was that they mentioned this condition in my back was prexisitng prior to service, and mentioned medical records from 1977 when I was 16 years old.  The only problem is that I didn't submit any medical records from prior to military service, and in 1977 I was only 9 years old.  All I can figure is that they have somebody else's medical record in my file or they were busy in a copy/paste mode and missed something, because I didn't have it prior to service.

They did acknowledge that my entrance exam showed clear, and that my separation examination noted the condition existed.  I may NOD later after I get a copy of my C&P from the VA on this examination, and I'll unload on the "mystery medical records" from 1977.  I don't think I have any records going that far back and my doctor from my youth has been dead 21 years at least, and I only just filed in 2010, but irregardless I didn't have degernative arthritis prior to service.

I guess I need to press them to get another copy of my C-File to see what medical records they are looking at this time.

One other thing in the middle of this I realized is that I was never offered a DRO hearing.  Not sure if that is standard to offer that or not.

Now, I'll defer to the folks out there who have dealt with this.  How would you proceed on the back condition to possibly obtain a rating increase?

Also, what about my other conditions?  Is this common for the others to hang out there, when an SOC is issued for just one out of the many?  What should I expect next?

Mark

 

Edited September 17, 2015 by MarkInTexas

[R3dneck]

That sounds like a CUE to me. Possibly Berta can weigh in more on it.

[Chuck75]

Update:  Received my SOC today from the Houston VARO.  It was for just the one condition, and none of the others are listed.  It matched up with what eBenefits showed, and I received my retro in my bank account this morning based on the increased amount since June, 2010.

One thing that I noted was that they mentioned this condition in my back was prexisitng prior to service, and mentioned medical records from 1977 when I was 16 years old.  The only problem is that I didn't submit any medical records from prior to military service, and in 1977 I was only 9 years old.  All I can figure is that they have somebody else's medical record in my file or they were busy in a copy/paste mode and missed something, because I didn't have it prior to service.

They did acknowledge that my entrance exam showed clear, and that my separation examination noted the condition existed.  I may NOD later after I get a copy of my C&P from the VA on this examination, and I'll unload on the "mystery medical records" from 1977.  I don't think I have any records going that far back and my doctor from my youth has been dead 21 years at least, and I only just filed in 2010, but irregardless I didn't have degernative arthritis prior to service.

I guess I need to press them to get another copy of my C-File to see what medical records they are looking at this time.

One other thing in the middle of this I realized is that I was never offered a DRO hearing.  Not sure if that is standard to offer that or not.

Now, I'll defer to the folks out there who have dealt with this.  How would you proceed on the back condition to possibly obtain a rating increase?

Also, what about my other conditions?  Is this common for the others to hang out there, when an SOC is issued for just one out of the many?  What should I expect next?

Mark

 

Even of the back condition was preexisting, the VA is required to determine if the condition was increased in severity by military service, and to what extent.

The entrance exam showed that no such condition existed on entry, and did on exit. As a result, the condition and severity of it are a result of service.

You do need to get a copy of your claim file from the VA, and likely challenge any incorrect information if it's to your advantage to do so.

This looks like another example of the VA trying to ignore or downplay more favorable evidence, and going with older less favorable evidence.

Back injury is fairly common, and the VA has had a decades long reputation of trying to minimize compensation for it.

The concern to me would be that the VA has an opening, due to the so called 1977 records, to claim that the physical condition of the veteran

was misrepresented at the time of the entrance exam.  As I remember, the Vietnam era exams included a checklist of existing conditions to be filled out by the enlistee. A draft board exam (for the army) was actually more detailed on paper than the typical enlistment exam.

I remember having to list a bunch of childhood typical things as history, and an examiner after reading, remarking that I should not have still been around.

 

Edited September 17, 2015 by Chuck75

[flores97]

Markin, that definitely sounds like a CUE to me as well, I would DEFINITELY file a NOD immediately, pointing out the erroneous records that stated you were 16 in 1977, and point out that you submitted no medical records prior to your enlistment.  I would draw attention as well to the fact that your entry exam was clear, and your separation exam noted the condition.  I would also file a FOIA request on the "1977 medical records" that they used to make their assumption,  but as Redneck said earlier, hopefully one of the senior members experienced with CUES will weigh in as well. Chuck75 also made a great point, EVEN IF the back condition was preexisting, they still have to take into consideration that service would have worsened it considerably.