Can`t Do Anymore

[Cavman]

I have worked and worked on my appeal and new claims, both submitted in September this year. Now I can`t think of anything else to do. Since finding Hadit I`ve been encouraged and taught how to supply evidence and have done so. Its a strange feeling not having anything else to work on except waiting. Anyone else have this feeling?

Cavman

[Tbird]

here's a link to a phone log we made up for checking your claim.

http://www.hadit.com/vaclaimsphonelog.pdf

you may also want to read thru this http://www.hadit.com/supplies.htm

also spend this time looking through the main site http://www.hadit.com

and don't foget you've gathered a lot of knowledge so stick around share what you can and offer an encouraging word to the brothers and sisters behind you.

when you get your decision we wil go from there.

[Berta]

"Its a strange feeling not having anything else to work on except waiting. Anyone else have this feeling?"

I have had this feeling for a long time----

I still access evidence for my claim if needed but they have so much already.

I am willing to get another IMo of a different approach-to some of the medical evidence so it is not redundant to the 3 others I have. Have a manila folder with the pertinent med recs and have ready whatever else this doctor would need. This IMO can be done in a matters of a few days- as this opinion is based only on really needing a few medical records. Copies of the other IMOs with the request cover the rest of the stuff.

I wanted to get this addiional IMO months ago-then again- I don't have a decision to fight about yet-

CAVMAN I know what the VA needs and after all these years claims involved in helping vets -I certainly sent them the right stuff-yet they have only used part of one submission I made as to the med entries.

They said my interpretation was wrong on these medical symbol entries so I referred them to MediconLexis -the same text they use.

The brief IMO I got from the former treating doctor supports that how I interpreted the medical symbols was correct.He was the doctor who put these symbols into the VA records.

Not a single other piece of my evidence to include the IMOs has ever been addressed.

VA counsel has the files and the result of his input to all this will be very interesting-

I can take more steps but I don't know what steps to take-

depends on the RC.

Ron Abrams of NVLSP wanted to know how all this was going----due to the Nehmer decision-

he said to call him as soon as I got a denial- but I wanted to call him with a favorable decision-

As soon as I get a result from VA RC I will contact him.

Many vets here certainly have the right approach - they continually do all they can to support their claim and anticipate anything negative that the VA could possibly do.

I am a civilian but I sure imagine you were all well trained to look out for the land mines- much like a VA claim-anticipate the weakest parts of the claim and try to bolster any evidence to overcome the weak parts.

And by all means- if they fail to be specific in a VCAA notice let them and your vet rep know it.

They should underline or highlight somehow in that notice what you need to succeed.

We get keys and clues from the VARO-

in their decisions and in the VCAA notice.

In remands they list the specific remand reasons- and although the remands are directed to the VARO- a vet on remand should follow through too on each point the BVA has raised -with more evidence.

I dont get this- in the past when Rod and then I got denials ,they gave 60 days to respond to the SOC with more evidence-my responses and much of my evidence was read in the 1990s.

Rod's first claim after we got married was denied, and then they awarded on receipt of the NOD I prepared-with evidence.(not really a denied claim -they tried to lower his comp when he went into Voc Rehab and got a job at the VA)

But these days they have never read any response I made to their SOCs.

These days the VARO in Buffalo seems to pick and choose what stack claims they will actually read.

I think some vet reps there are helping them decide who goes into what stack.

Cavman-I know the frustration of not knowing what to do next,when you feel there is not anything left to do-

I would hate to spend another 2 thousand bucks and then have them ignore that IMO too.

[Cavman]

Berta:

You mentioned the SO a few times and reminded me about a letter I typed up Friday night notifying him that he is no longer needed. I am planning on mailing it today along with a copy to the VARO. He won`t even answer an email and has only contacted me once in a year and a half at my request. I have only called him twice and he never remembered me. I had to find out my rating decision back in September and tell him what it was. He also stated I would never get more than 50% for PTSD because you had to be climbing the walls to get more. I am not comfortable with him or the AL office there having POA regarding my future livlihood. I have done everything anyway. I also thought later if I decide to use a SO, maybe going to the VVA being I am a Nam vet. Whats yours and others thoughts on this subject? I`m just in no way impressed with the AL SO`s here.

Cavman

[Berta]

The AL usually has a good reputation- but then again so does the DAV yet I got a real winner at that org years ago.

I was one of the VVA's first associate members -they are very good -none around here though-

I have a state division of veterans affairs-

So far they have had numerous complaints from me due to their lack of knowledge on VA case law as well as other documented errors they have made.

They were very unsupportive until I got my remand which they would not offer support for.

Then they changed the two reps that handled my claim.

They now seem concerned that I filed an FTCA claim recently over my missing IMOs.

I would stay away from any state division of vets affairs and county vet reps,if I were you-

I thought the state division was much better than it really is.

Then again my new vet rep seems very supportive and knows a heck more than his boss does.

Cavman ---every single vet org has good vet reps-

we just dont know who they are- they are probably the ones who are always overwhelmed.

I wish I never left the DAV- I had a heck of a time with them but at least they did show support on paper for my claims.(21-4138s) and sent this all to the RO.

It was the fact that they told me ,in 1995, I had no basis for any claims-and I had to rattle off VA regs that showed I did.My NSO treated me like dirt-by phone but he did support my claims on paper-

My POA -in over three years cannot produce a single piece of paper-to support my claims- no 21-4138 at all ,not even the claims themselves -that all disappeared-and might well be the reason my IMos were never seen by the VARO.

However, the new vet rep (same POA) has sent in 3 or 4 21-4138s already in my behalf.

It isn't the org, it is who you get who works for the org-

I see some excellent and aggressive work done by vet reps in some BVA claims.From every org.

PS stay away from VSOs who work at the VAMC's-

we did have a very good one here at the VAMC but he left and the other VSO guy was a mess.

I BSed with him for a while and determined right away he didnt have a clue-

The VA signs their paycheck- so I keep that in mind- too-

I am expecting a call from someone who I think is a new VA VSO- someone on the base gave him my number-

(which I did not appreciate)

that is all I need - a VA paid vet rep asking me how to work claims.

It might be about something else though.

Edited December 10, 2006 by Berta