December 6th Vba Judge Expects Answer

[Josephine]

Hi,

Sorry to be such a nuisance,

I spoke with the AMC and was told that my file is with the Rater and keeps going back to a Superior for guidance or whatever they do.

The Judge at the BVA is expecting the answer to my claim on December 6th.

Does anyone know, what is next.

The claim should be winding down, too many errors and too many years.

The hardest thing to get the AMC to tell me that my claim is re-opened to 1978 due to New and Material Evidence.

If I should win, being that the Va. issued me a Pension stating 100% disabled due to anxiety and depression as of 1983 and unemployable.

Can they rule any less than the 100% which have already given me.

Next question, would they have to pay me back to my first filing date of 1978.

I have waited all of my life, just to get a claim read.

Opinions Please,

Josephine

Edited December 1, 2006 by Josephine

[Hoppy]

Josephine,

It sounds like you went to the RO and talked to a councillor and he pulled up on his computer the outcome and gave you a printout that it was "not well grounded". There should have been a decision mailed to you. There should be a decision in the c-file. Have you got a copy of the c-file? When they made the determination that it was not well grounded they are saying there is no reason to look at the evidence because there is no evidence of a service connectable condition.

This does not sound good for a claim date of 1978. The phrase "not well grounded" is used in denials of a claim. In the old days when they determined a claim was not well grounded they just closed the file and sent out a denial. Personality disorders and immaturity were not considered service connectable so they called them "not well grounded". Now if they failed to mail the denial I am not sure if that leaves the claim open or if it is a CUE. The problem on a CUE is that you would have to prove that had the claim been developed based on the records at that time it would have been awarded. Considering all the reports from that time period indicated a personality disorder it would be difficult.

I guess the next question after you get service connected would be whether or not a denial was mailed in 1978 and how would that impact the claim date. The bottom line is that it sounds like a decision (denial) was made that the claim was not well grounded.

It my case a decision was mailed and I did not receive it because it was mailed to the wrong address. I had two claims going at the same time. One was at the BVA. So when the denial letter was sent on the second claim it was returned to the RO and sat unopened on a shelf at the RO. The entire year I went in and asked what was going on with the second claim every three months. They told me my claim folder was at the BVA thus nothing can be done on the second claim. Eventually a councillor went up to records and found the unopened denial and handed it to me over the desk. I should have filed a form 9 immediately explaining that I did not receive the denial until a year after it was mailed. Instead I followed the idiot’s instructions to re-open the claim by filing new evidence. It cost me $50.000.00. By the time I got a new SO he did not want to fight for the lost claim date because he said the failure to file a form 9 when they handed me the denial over the desk could not be circumvented, too much time had gone by.

Actually my claim is very complex because the VA refused to schedule a C&P for five years when I eventually got an exam it was a slam dunk and would have been a slam dunk if they scheduled a C&P. Additionally there are two secondary conditions with yet different filing dates, The medical evidence shows the secondary conditions had existed for decades prior to my filing of the claim for the original condition that also existed decades prior to my filing it. I had also been on a NSC pension for five years for all these conditions. There is one last argument that they could take the claim date back to the NSC award date. Berta would know more about this than me. The big issue is getting service connected for the condition then fight the earlier effecdtive date at that time. Keep all your records. My opinion !!

Edited December 2, 2006 by Hoppy

[john999]

Josephine

If you submitted new and material evidence you effective date is going to probably be the date the VA received the new evidence. This is how they screw vets out of retro. You could have a claim on appeal for 10 years and if you submit one piece of new evidence and the VA grants the appeal they will put it all on the new evidence. They did this to me. Old appeal+ new evidence means effective date of new evidence.

Service connection is the goal. Everything else is secondary until you get SC.

[Hoppy]

Josephine,

More thoughts. There is a lot of case law about the failure of the RO to review evidence when requested by the veteran. Your case is a little different in that the case law were for claims that were not determined to be not well grounded. The VA might have felt that not only did they have the right to call it not well grounded they had the right to not review the medical reports you requested because they determined it was not well grounded. Additionally they might have felt they did not even need to send a denial on a not well grounded claim.

In any event if you get service connected my thought would be to get a really old shrink who has been around since the 60's and get them to write an opinion that had they reviewed the evidence of record in 1978 he would have made a diagnosis of anxiety disorder. This would definitely show the VA the errors of their ways. This is not impossible. I was diagnosed with personality disorder in 1968. After discharge I started seeing a shrink in 1971 who told me that personality disorders were bogus diagnoses used by military shrinks. The shrink I saw in 1971 was a WWII veteran and had worked at the VA. When I was fighting my claim I tried to find the shrink. I guess he had died. I could not find him. Then I tried to find his records. I was being treated in a clinic on campus where I went to college. Unfortunately the school threw out the records.

The congress eventually figured out that the idea of "not well grounding" a claim without a post service medical report was a bad idea and tried to pass laws to cause the VA to get a post service medical report prior to a denial.

John

The interesting thing here is that they did not review the existing reports at Josephines request.

[Josephine]

Hoppy,

I have a copy of my C-file, but there is no records of my filing in 1978 or 1992. This is a top secret Va mission.

All of my psychiatric records in the military state - headaches, nervousness and irratability with no personality conflicts. How do you figure that?

No personality conficts?

Administration was determined to keep me from getting benefits that he placed that code of 460 on my DD 214.

I have all of my medical records from 1965 and this is only a few months after discharge and all have the diagnosis of nervousness, anxiety, depression and headaches and the phychiatrist that I was seeing in 1977 states anxiety with depression.

DR. S began treating me with Librium in 1967 for my nerves.

He treated me from 1965 - 1979.

I did go to Dr. K a Psychiatrist in 1976 and 1977. Same diagnosis.

Dr. P just picked up where they left off.

He has been treating me now since 1979.

Dr. Smith, my first physician, is still alive and has told me that he would write me a letter any time that he can see his medical records.

He treated me for nervous anxiety and depression and headaches for the first 12 years after service. He did graduate from Harvard Medical School.

Would this shut the Va up?

If I can just get the Va to service connect me for the illnesses that they have already given me a pension for. I would be happy and then I would go back for the rest.

Without my psychiatric records, I had no reason to file a claim. I thought that the Va. had them.

I told the Counselor to get them. I gathered up all of my medical records for the Va. from 1965 to 1978.

The BVA at least agrees that the psychiatric records are new and material and never acquired by the Va.

If one figured up just how much the Va. would owe me in back pay if they had to pay me at 100% from 1978 to date?

What happens if you fall within the presumptive period?

The Navy discharged me taking Librium and Caffergot with $ 15.36 cents and gave me one day to leave.

They demanded all of my uniforms, passes and everything and made sure that I signed a paper for them that they took them. I have kept all of those papers since 1964.

They could have at least bought me a bus ticket home.

You would have thought that I had Article 15"s. but as the BVA is seeing. I had absolutely none!

Sounds more like a dishonorable discharge to me instead of Honorable.

Thanks,

Josephine

Edited December 2, 2006 by Josephine

[john999]

Josephine

I had many Article 15's . I was unable to adopt my behavior to military conditions after returning from Vietnam. I was just incapable due to anxiety, depression and panic attacks and phobias. I did spend two month in a military nuthouse and two weeks in a VA nuthouse when I got out so that is why I was granted service connection. They threw me out even though they knew I was sick. I have been in therapy for 35 years constatly since my discharge. If you have the evidence of being given psychiatric drugs in service , and continuing treatment since you should win SC. People with personality disorders don't experience anxiety and depression. That is part of their diagnositic criteria. All those PTSD cases who got tossed out on personality disorders were deliberatly shafted based on the criteria of a personality or character disorder.

[Josephine]

People with personality disorders don't experience anxiety and depression. That is part of their diagnositic criteria. All those PTSD cases who got tossed out on personality disorders were deliberatly shafted based on the criteria of a personality or character disorder.

John999,

I know exactly what you are talking about.

The Navy threw me out on the streets also.

Thanks,

Josephine

Edited December 4, 2006 by Josephine