Caluza Triangle questions

[Rootbeer112]

Hello everyone,

 

     I am seeing a lot on this site about having to have  the three steps of the Caluza Triangle to get service connected.

I have an NOD in for my PTSD and Migraines.

 

1.My Private psychologist diagnosed me with PTSD as did my VA Psychiatrist and Provider.

2. I sent in copies of stressors and the VSR even called an had questions about another Stressor that I didn't even have listed that I was involved in. The VA requested more information from my Psychologist and she sent in another 38 pages of treatment records for me.

3. My psychologist also sent in Nexus Letters saying it was more likely than not my PTSD was due to Military service as well as stressors, she also filled out DBQ's etc.

 

As it stands my NOD is out of Gathering of evidence and in review of evidence where it states initial review complete and my Appeal will be decided soon. My understanding is that if you meet the Caluza standards then you will be service connected, number one do I meet the standards with what I provided and number two is that correct that if you do meet the Caluza standards you will get service connected or no? thanks for the Help

[Berta]

It means You SHOULD get service connected.However, there are plenty of us here, with all the  right evidence from the git go, and we were denied until we fought back.

One of my denials is short and shows what I mean.

Husband was incountry Vietnam USMC Danang,1965-66.

I filed immediately under the AO IHD regulations as his survivor under Nehmer.

After my claim went to two other VAMC ,got lost at one, found, etc etc in early 2012 I get a letter from VA saying my husband's medical records showed no evidence of heart disease and the claim was denied. Say what? 

I whipped out a CUE ,probably the very next day and I I also filed as a complaint with IRIS stating that most of these Nam vets in 1965 were kids, my husband was 18 years old then and I bet none of them had heart disease listed in their SMRs. And I added that this was not a legal aspect or requirement of Nehmer 2010 regarding IHD.

 

The award came soon after that. I laugh at that denial now but some I got were not as funny.

Yes you can have all 3 Caluza elements, but you might want to pray that whoever works on your claim, is

literate.

[Rootbeer112]

2 hours ago, Berta said:

It means You SHOULD get service connected.However, there are plenty of us here, with all the  right evidence from the git go, and we were denied until we fought back.

One of my denials is short and shows what I mean.

Husband was incountry Vietnam USMC Danang,1965-66.

I filed immediately under the AO IHD regulations as his survivor under Nehmer.

After my claim went to two other VAMC ,got lost at one, found, etc etc in early 2012 I get a letter from VA saying my husband's medical records showed no evidence of heart disease and the claim was denied. Say what? 

I whipped out a CUE ,probably the very next day and I I also filed as a complaint with IRIS stating that most of these Nam vets in 1965 were kids, my husband was 18 years old then and I bet none of them had heart disease listed in their SMRs. And I added that this was not a legal aspect or requirement of Nehmer 2010 regarding IHD.

 

The award came soon after that. I laugh at that denial now but some I got were not as funny.

Yes you can have all 3 Caluza elements, but you might want to pray that whoever works on your claim, is

literate.

Berta,

 

    Hi that's what worries me. It seems like I have everything in order, even had a VSR call me a few weeks ago asking questions about a truck accident I responded to but never listed as a stressor and that was the only stressor he asked about. The main stressor I listed was an aircraft accident I was involved in and he just said yes we have all the nexus letters and DBQ's etc and all the other information they requested from my Psychologist, so I have no clue. I then asked how long till it would be completed and he said he would give it to the DRO and it would be done in about a week, but that was weeks ago so I sit and worry. I honestly don't think I will able to pursue it any more if I get denied again it is way to stressful mentally for me as well as my family if that makes sense.

[broncovet]

I agree with Berta.  I had the Caluza triangle in 2002 but got denied anyway, because VARO made stuff up as a reasons and bases for denial that were NOT in the Caluza triangle.  

Most Vets who win benefits NOT ONLY have the Caluza triangle elements, but they also persist on the appeals until they win.   

Those are the keys:

1.  Get the Caluza triangle.

2.  Persist until you win.  If you get denied (likely), you have to file a nod within a year, and it has to be on the proper form.  

[Rootbeer112]

9 hours ago, broncovet said:

I agree with Berta.  I had the Caluza triangle in 2002 but got denied anyway, because VARO made stuff up as a reasons and bases for denial that were NOT in the Caluza triangle.  

Most Vets who win benefits NOT ONLY have the Caluza triangle elements, but they also persist on the appeals until they win.   

Those are the keys:

1.  Get the Caluza triangle.

2.  Persist until you win.  If you get denied (likely), you have to file a nod within a year, and it has to be on the proper form.  

Hey Bronco,

 

    I am actually waiting on an NOD, my first claim was denied, I sent in new and Material evidence and they requested more information from my Psychologist which she then sent in another 38 pages of treatment records. I have all the Nexus letters, DBQ's etc, I am just waiting for a result and then I guess I will just decide what to do from there. This claim and appeal stuff gets very frustrating and I don't know If I will continue to pursue it if the NOD gets denied, it is very mentally taxing for me, and shouldn't be for anyone.

[broncovet]

One way to do this, which is my preferred method, is to turn it over to an attorney, then dont worry about it....do something else with your life.  This is almost as stress free as just dropping your claim.  Unfortunately, this does not work if you turn it over to an attorney and then "take it back", that is, if you REALLLY dont turn it over to an attorney but try to "manage" what the attorney does.  When I get a letter from VA, I email. my attorney and make sure she got it.  Then I dont care what she does with the letter.  

If you try to " micromange" the attorney, its even more stressful:  "Gee (attorney), why did you 'drop' sleep apnea and, by the way, why haven't you filed a writ of mandamus?  Oh, and I didnt get a copy of the the most recent c and p exam, so send it to me so we can decide if we will challenge that exam or not."   

 

[Berta]

Rootbeer -the VA is counting on us to get so fed up and frustrated that we give up.

When I finally got my first DIC award, I questioned it to the vet rep I had and he said 1151 DIC awards were different than other awards, and he thought that is why they didnt consider SMC. 1998

In 2003 my daugther, a vet herself, insisted I re-open my claim. She bugged me for months to do that. She wanted me to file for direct SC  death due to undiagnosed DMII.I didnt want to deal with them again.The 1151 claim had been miserable and the RO  even denied it after getting my FTCA settlement papers.They finally awarded because I raised hell with the OGC.( I called them and said they owed me more money so they got the RO to properly make an award.)

The DM11 claim , filed in 2003, took 6 years to resolve, and be awarded.It trumped the 1151 DIC and offered many ancillary benefits I did not have under 1151.

My daughter was right. But I didnt even want to file it at all. I was looking for more malpractice than I had found for the FTCA award.And I found more.

It was during the course of gathering my evidence for the 2003 claim, that I filed the SMC CUE and IHD CUE claims. The 1998 decision kept bothering me , the more I worked on the DMII claim.

My former vet rep (who didnt do squat for the 1151 claim), told me not to file a NOD on the 1998 claim.

He was wrong. I should have never listened to him.

I know how miserable and stressful all of this can be. Broncovet is right, to think about hiring an attorney.

Many vet attorneys will even assess the claim via email....