How to ace any C&P Exam

[FormerMember]

This is an important guide everyone should read.

https://asknod.org/2016/11/02/how-to-ace-any-va-compensation-pension-exam/

[Vync]

That VSO probably had trouble downing a 10 lb cheesecake

[FormerMember]

Let's be realistic. I do not believe anyone could fake a PTSD comp. and pen. exam for any number of reasons. If your stressor(s) are flaky, they're going to run you through the Minnesota Multiphasic and a few other 'put the round peg in the square hole' tests. Anyone trying to pull the wool over the shrink is going to step on his necktie on one facet or another because s/he will be constructing something out of whole cloth. Bob Walsh's Vet, Keith Roberts, was unfairly, as far as we can determine, convicted of this in 2004 and did several years in jail. Turns out he was unfairly accused and was somewhat exonerated by virtue of actually having two stressors-not just the one he claimed. The witnesses OIG found admit they were never queried as to Mr. Robert's presence. It was a trumped up trial with very shaky evidence. It was done illegally with no due process. It had its desired effect and all the VSOs used it to scare the wits out of Vets for years. This is where a lot of the negative admonitions come from nowadays when your DAV rep says 'Don't rock the boat. Come back in ten years and I'll get you that 10% for tinnitus. Right now, just hold your water and take the 0%. We don't want to appear greedy. Besides, they may reopen your psoriasis claim and reduce you.'

I wrote the blurb for humor since several of you have brought me such rich stories. Like Berta, I had a fellow who came to me in 2008 and I built his claim on falsehoods. He said he'd never used drugs other than to sniff some white lady and never shared his straw as he had an obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness. Turns out I got scammed. I found out he was former junkie biker and bragged about how he'd scammed the VA out of a 60% rating for hepatitis c. All it takes is one to spoil the apple barrel. As Berta says, I believe the majority of you have legitimate claims. However, I do see many "reach" to connect a disease or injury out of ignorance. Sleep apnea has become a problem claim for many, regardless of whether it is a legitimate claim, because so many have begun to claim it. 50% for using a cpap device is a mighty big temptation for some. If you gain a hundred pounds after discharge and begin snoring, there may be other reasons for it besides PTSD. 

I've been attacked over my 290% of claims by several VSOs I've had the occasion to encounter. Most argue I'm still technically at 100% since you cannot go over that. Many think I lied or cheated to get them. I can assure you that a doctor diagnosed each and every one and stated with complete confidence they are secondary to or a direct result of injuries received in the military. Had VA given me my legitimate ratings in 1994, I would not have kept filing to get to the magic  160% for SMC S. As it turned out, I finally won and then won via the second path I was constructing. My filing for 100% on just my porphyria was done to set a precedent for all that follow. Before I did, most never got past 40% for phlebotomies. VSOs ignore or are unaware of 38 CFR 3.350 and Special Monthly Compensation. Or, they are extremely ignorant. I think VSOs should have to take the Agent's test to serve in the capacity. I believe it would help Vets as well as protect us against Vets with bogus claims-however few they may be. 

Filing or teaching how to file a claim is serious business. I try to impress that here on Hadit. You have the power to wreck a Vet's claim when you offer poor advice. Having the OIG on your ass for teaching how to scam the system is not what you want. Considering the OIG can't find their own ass with a methane detector set on 'high', your (or my) chances of being convicted of that crime or even being accused of it are slim to none. If the OIG can't find 45 dead Vets were disenfranchised at the Phoenix VAMC for an appointment scam, I'd say I'm safe. Nevertheless, there is a substantial body of evidence that Vets on the verge of separation from the service have been reading our boards because they are filing more and bigger claims that most of us older Vietnam-era Vets did when we were discharged or retired. Knowledge is power but with it comes the duty to be honest and forthright. I will never believe anyone who was motivated sufficiently to sign up to serve his or her country in war would purposefully do so with the express intention of filing fraudulent claims. There will always be a few but it is statistically insignificant. Most make a stab at it, fail and cease their efforts when they realize the enormity of the task and the time involved (sometimes measured in decades) to prevail. Being inherently lazy, they move on to some more lucrative scam like faking a fall in a Safeway store.  Some who win smaller claims like tinnitus or hammertoe might be emboldened to file for Sleep Apnea based on a sincere belief (right or wrong) that it is related to service. If you're heart's pure and the record supports you, you'll prevail eventually.

VA doesn't make it easy for obvious reasons but by the same token, they shouldn't make it hard for extremely obvious cases. Always remember that a VSO's duty to serve is to the VA-not you. Unlike a VA attorney or Agent, they profess their allegiance solely to the Veterans Administration. That's why they get free rent, free telephones, free heat, free electricity and free coffee at VAROs and VAMCs across the fruited plain. That should be printed on a disclaimer when you sign the VAF 21-22 giving them your POA. Remember also, VSOs have fought to keep legitimate attorneys out of this since the War of 1812. Congress let us begin doing this in 2007 over their loud objections and Vets have finally begun winning in substantial numbers-but not by cheating.

Green smoke. Cleared in Hot.

[Buck52]

Ain't that the truth Alex!