diabetes Aortic valve /ihd

[treysnonna]

My husband has had diabetes diagnosised in 2001.   In 2008 he found out he had heart valve problems.  He filed secondary service connected to diabetes.  Boots on ground in Vietnam.  They denied the claim.  Said it was not related to diabetes.  In 2013  he had to have that valve replaced and they found coronary artery disease.  We filed that claim.  Approved it 60%.   But what should the date of benefit start.  And we did not get the 100% for thr three months.  

[treysnonna]

I'm so sorry you had to go thru all of that,Berta.  Must have been very time consuming and upsetting.  You must be a very strong woman God bless you.

[Berta]

Yes, it was horrible. He was a decorated combat vet  with two Honorables.It is easier to use this link than the search feature because there is so much here on DIC,:

http://benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/types-dependency_and_indemnity.asp

The link leaves out DIC under Section 1151, 38 USC (death by VA)

There is plenty of info here on those types of claims.

[Berta]

To clarify this info...diabetes itself does not cause death, the complications of diabetes can cause death.

Somewhere here available under a search is the VA DMII training letter and what it says as to kidney disease and many other complications of diabetes.

DMII can affect heart,brain, eye sight, kidneys , and cause many more ratable complications.

It was the VA's 1997 Training letter on Diabetes that helped me prove that years of VA medical records containing no diagnosis or treatment of this disease, contributed to his death.

That was on our pre-2005 hadit board. The newer Diabetes training letter  is here under a search.

 

[treysnonna]

Berta 

back again on this ihd thing.  It was approved in 7/14.  Now ther is another claim on ebenifits, which we did not  file.  It says coronary heart disease RFE.  Now my husband got a call for a c&p  exam.  It is not at the va in Pensacola, where he is usually sent.  I guess it is at one of their contractors office.  I assume that they are trying to link his kidney failure with his heart disease.  But we did see something on the old paper work that says,"since there is a likelihood of improvement, the assigned evaluation is not considered permanent and is subject to future review exams. So my question is if the heart don diction gets better will it also stop the kidney claim?   Now my husband had aortic valve replacement and that is when they found the cads in left ventricular first diagonal branch  had 40 to 50%.  Right ventricle showed mild disease and luminal irregulaties.  He had aortic stenosis which had fused two leaflets together.  My point is could the stenosis af the aortic bye considered ihd.  I have had other people it is.  They reopened  the claim where we had claimed the aortic valve secondary to diabetes before ihd was put on the presumptive list.  Then closed it.  Now they are  doing totally new claim? Go figure.  I do remember seeing somewhere on the va site where Nemertea was looking into a lot of mistakes with these claims for ihd, that they found a lot of mistakes.  

[treysnonna]

Should we call nemur

[Berta]

  "They reopened  the claim where we had claimed the aortic valve secondary to diabetes before ihd was put on the presumptive list.  Then closed it.  Now they are  doing totally new claim? Go figure.  I do remember seeing somewhere on the va site where Nemertea was looking into a lot of mistakes with these claims for ihd, that they found a lot of mistakes."

It is possible that they have re opened the claim they closed due to the IHD award. But we need to know if that is actually what has been re opened. Do you have a vet rep?

You could send them an IRIS asking what claim is re opened and why the last claim was closed (I assume you mean without any decision) ???

Was the aortic valve claim specifically stated as due to either the DMII (the 'closed claim'or

or formally claimed due to the IHD....since getting the IHD award?

But then again it seems they are looking into a renal disease claim due to the DMII.  That is what might be the re=opened claim.

As I mentioned in the past posts on this, I feel you will definitely need an IMO/IME to support any secondary claim for SC for the aortic valve issue.

If any C & P has been done on either way the claim is being looked at - Aortic valve disease secondary to IHD, or secondary to DMII, by a doctor who is not a cardio doc nor an endocrinologist , the C & P,if not favorable,  could be overcome by an IMO/IME, if in fact there is medical evidence of the medical nexus as secondary.

I bet there are hundreds, no ....probably  Thousands ,of claims denied by  C & P examiners who had no expertise at all in the field of many disabilities , yet the claimant never tried to obtain a strong IMO and simply walked away from the claim or spent endless years of denials.

My former vet rep ,when I asked him at a double DRO hearing ,to make sure my IM0s were in the record,(2005)

seemed absolutely shocked that I had obtained these IMOs because this state POA office had never even advised any claimant to get an IMO. ?????

(He said he gave them to the DRO but the SSOC indicated either he or the DRO was lying and the BVA had no problem using them-I sent them again to the BVA) to award that specific claim.

I am not suggesting anything I have not done myself when I suggest a claimant get an IMO/IME because that is often the ONLY way to succeed.The cost ,if the outcome is successful will be eventually absorbed by additional VA comp that might otherwise never arrive.

Nehmer lawyers only handled claims regarding a review of the proper EED.

VAROs were supposed to sort out all past denials for specifically IHD, Parkinsons and Hairy Cell B cancer claims, under the 2010 Nehmer decision.

They missed sending some of those claims to NVLSP  and then it was up to the claimant to get in toucvh with NVLSP. I posted their AO email addy here for that many times.

The past denials of IHD, Parkinsons and Hairy Cell B.in many cases, warranted a very favorable EED under Nehmer 2010.