Trying to understand veteran father-in-laws benefits with his complicated situation

[Angie]

I'm trying to help out my father in law get setup with better health care. He was a Marine in 1955. His wife, bless her, has a hard time wrapping her head around how to get more help. She looks after him and her 92 year old mother (the lady really has her hands full!). 

Here's what i know:
-His feet were damaged by frost bite, because they did not give them insulated boots in winter. And he was given shoes that were 1 1/2 size too small. 
-The above is NOT on record. 
-He received surgery at the VA hospital for his hip and they put the bone back in wrong (which makes his leg crooked) and they cut something connected with his lymphatic system so now his legs and feet swell up with fluid. As a result, his active lifestyle (he was an avid cycler and lifted weights) abruptly stopped and he is now housebound and severely depressed. I was also told he signed something about not suing them for the shoddy work when his wife was not present. 
-He falls almost once a week. 
-We learned recently his wife should be receiving caregivers benefit, but she is not. We were given this info by an amazing nurse at the VA hospital. She told him she was told by the social worker she was not entitled and he told us the social worker is lying. 
-The nurse had suggested the above (she should get a caregivers benefit)as well, he should be on disability & we should file a case with a lawyer or Morgan & Morgan. 

What are your thoughts on where I should start? I also saw a youtube video about a benefit for an extra $340 with disability if you are housebound... but this was a result of his surgery at the VA hospital and not active duty...does that count? 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. We're worried about our parents and leaving them alone at this point. He needs 24 hour care. 

Thank you in advance, 
Angela

[pwrslm]

Is your father in law service connected, and if so, what %?

The first thing to do is start collecting service medical records. They are at the archives in St. Louis most likely, or if he is service connected the VA may have them. It may take some time, so do this ASAP.

Get him to write out what he did in the service, what units he was assigned to, duty station, occupation, and every story he tells about his combat tour (or record it, transcribe it, and have him sign it). Veterans statements are considered lay statements and are viable evidence in claims for disability. If he has any friends from back then, see if you can get lay statements from them to corroborate your father in-laws lay statements. Your mother should also write everything she can remember that he told her about his active duty/reserve service, and the disabilities that he experienced through all the years she knew him related to service. Lay statements are a powerful part of a claim.

Start collecting any private medical records related to any condition that should be in a claim for disability. Gather up all his papers if he is already getting disability and review them with us here to see what can be done for denials or if they low-balled his ratings.

This is all just prep work. Keep coming back, a lot of ppl here help out. Dont quit, no matter what.

Edited September 20, 2017 by pwrslm

[Berta]

" I was also told he signed something about not suing them for the shoddy work when his wife was not present. 
-He falls almost once a week. "

Whatever he signed might be in his C file. A copy of it can be requested from the VARO he deals with. I never heard of VA having any vet sign something like that. Just the thought that they even asked him to sign something like this means, to me, they were scared of a lawsuit.A copy of that would be good evidence for a 1151 claim.

If the FTCA Statute of Limits has passed ( 2 years after knowledge of VA malpractice) he can still file a Section 1151 claim and be compensated for any proven medical errors that have caused him aditional disability. We have considerable information on that in our FTCA/1151 forum.

The VA Caregiver program eligibility criteria is here:

https://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/resources/caregiver_eligibility_check.asp

I believe it only appies to post 9-11 veterans......

If we have more info ,such as what pwrslm asked, we can help more.

VA does pay compensation for 'Cold War Injuries" such as frostbite residuals, under this criteria:.

https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/cold-injuries/index.asp

Often the veteran  has to prove they were exposed to very cold temps .at a specififc place and time,in service .The link shows that VA concedes proper foot gear was not always available.

I did a thesis on D Day years ago for my degree-focusing solely on how the weather influenced General Eisenhower and the Germans regarding Operation Overlord ( Normandy) and the day the General picked.

I was able to get weather reports on the exact weather conditions of the area prior to the invasion and after via many google searches.

 But perhaps he was treated for frostbite at the time and that would be in his SMRs and would be proof of exposure.

VA does not compensate frostbite itsef- they compensate it's residuals that are mentioned in the VA link above.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2017 by Berta

[Angie]

15 hours ago, pwrslm said:

Is your father in law service connected, and if so, what %?

The first thing to do is start collecting service medical records. They are at the archives in St. Louis most likely, or if he is service connected the VA may have them. It may take some time, so do this ASAP.

We had to google what "service connected means". According to his wife, everyone has told her his injuries are not on record. Sometimes relying on her word is not always the whole story, or she gets information a little mixed up, so I would like to look into these St. Louis archives myself... can you direct me how? I will also try contacting the VA (hospital?) or would his social worker know? 

Start collecting any private medical records related to any condition that should be in a claim for disability. Gather up all his papers if he is already getting disability and review them with us here to see what can be done for denials or if they low-balled his ratings.

Can you tell me if he has to be present to get medical records? This can be quite the hassle as he is housebound.
 

Thank you for your help!

 

 

Edited September 20, 2017 by Angie

[Angie]

7 hours ago, Berta said:

Whatever he signed might be in his C file. A copy of it can be requested from the VARO he deals with. I never heard of VA having any vet sign something like that. Just the thought that they even asked him to sign something like this means, to me, they were scared of a lawsuit.A copy of that would be good evidence for a 1151 claim.

If the FTCA Statute of Limits has passed ( 2 years after knowledge of VA malpractice) he can still file a Section 1151 claim and be compensated for any proven medical errors that have caused him aditional disability. We have considerable information on that in our FTCA/1151 forum.

So now i've learned that he signed this doc BEFORE the surgery. Regardless, i will try to find a copy. And it has been more than 2 years.

The VA Caregiver program eligibility criteria is here:

https://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/resources/caregiver_eligibility_check.asp

I believe it only appies to post 9-11 veterans......

If we have more info ,such as what pwrslm asked, we can help more.

VA does pay compensation for 'Cold War Injuries" such as frostbite residuals, under this criteria:.

https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/cold-injuries/index.asp

This is great, thank you.

Often the veteran  has to prove they were exposed to very cold temps .at a specififc place and time,in service .The link shows that VA concedes proper foot gear was not always available.

I did a thesis on D Day years ago for my degree-focusing solely on how the weather influenced General Eisenhower and the Germans regarding Operation Overlord ( Normandy) and the day the General picked.

I was able to get weather reports on the exact weather conditions of the area prior to the invasion and after via many google searches.

 But perhaps he was treated for frostbite at the time and that would be in his SMRs and would be proof of exposure.

VA does not compensate frostbite itsef- they compensate it's residuals that are mentioned in the VA link above.

If it truly is not on record that he lost the soles of his feet due to frost bite & His shoes were also too small and his toes are very curled as a result- then i guess his own transcript will have to suffice. And perhaps if i could get a copy of your thesis that may corroborate his time served. My father in law explained that Eisenhower was making cuts to the military and that is why they didn't have proper foot wear. 

Thank you for your help!

 

 

 

 

[Berta]

Some of my thesis docs are used,with my permission, by former professors I had ,at American Military School, as examples of how a thesis should be prepared. They are only available to the students taking the same courses I did.

The research I did was centered on how Eisenhower picked D-Day ,1944, from the weather reports which would not help your father in law, who served in 1955.---(dont know his exact dates however----or whether he served during WW II)

I used weather data from Hitler's weather man, also from the US Naval History sites, weather searches done in England and also this site, as to I believe their library collection.

https://www.ecmwf.int/

 

I started my research just with googling what were the weather forecasts near Normandy beach in June 1944 and used every search feature that popped up. until I got the info I needed.It took time as my citations and links had to be valid and accurate ( I had a USMC Major as my Professor for much of my 4 years at AMU and he demanded absolute perfection)

With your father in laws dates of service, and where he was, the weather for that period ,same time and place,  could be found.

It all takes time for research but I believe other vets in BVA decisions had done this type of cold weather research as well.It is worth the effort.

 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2017 by Berta

[Berta]

to add....

His DD 214 and also his SMRS and Military Personnel records will show where he served and when.

You stated he was a Marine 1955---1stMarDiv ,in spring 1955, were based at Camp Pendleton and 

3rdMARDIV in 1955 were headed for Okinawa.The Korean War was over in 1953 but I believe many service personnel were ( and still are) in S. Korea.

When you find out where and when he was,as to being exposed to extreme temps, (he might have served in Korea but we dont know)

 ,it will be easy for you  to research the  weather conditions as to  where he had served.

It just takes time to do that but might be well worth the effort.