TBI vet here, I think a miracle happened...

[eli]

I've been a reader here for years, rarely talk, took advice, filed my claim, was denied, appealed, you know the drill.  I'll try to give the basics of my story from hell.

During the Gulf War, stateside, I had an accident while we were loading aircraft and I was knocked unconscious.  Being the gentlemen that they were, my buddies carried me to the side and finished loading the aircraft.  Afterwards they laid me on the couch in the break room and I came to sometime later.  The accident wasn't documented,  But I did start showing up at the base hospital complaining of nausea, vomiting, headaches and sleep problems.  One doctor was so irritated at my complaints that she called my sup and told him to stop sending me to the ER and to tell me to suck it up.  I actually have a copy of her remarks in my file.  There was no way in hell I was going to admit to wetting the bed, but I was washing my bed sheets more often.  Several other odd things happened and at least one was documented thank God.  I had a seizure and wandered into a restricted area without my line badge on.  When I was addressed by the person in charge of the area I was incoherent and he told my sup to write me up for disrespecting him.  TG he did write me up, again I have a copy of this.  None of us thought, hey this is a seizure.

I finally had insurance and a great doctor.  An epileptologist, she said your MRI shoes major brain scarring, what building did you jump out of head first?  I told her about the accident in the military.  She said since you're a vet, get yourself into one of the new VA epilepsy centers of excellence.  At this point I'm averaging 55 seizures a month, can no longer work and have to file for ssdi.  Someone says why aren't you using vet benefits and why haven't you filed a claim.  "Huh?  You mean I have vet benefits?"

Fast forward...claim filed, claim denied, they say yes you have epilepsy but no record of accident.

I appeal.  Denied.

I track down one of my supervisors that was with me on the aircraft that night and he writes a witness statement re the TBI accident.  My current Epileptologist fills out the DBQ and writes a letter stating that I suffered a head trauma during the accident, that the spell I had (wandering into the restricted area) was indeed a seizure and that my epilepsy is the result of said head trauma.  Of course she didn't use the wording I tried to explain to her.  She's foreign and wrote it in medical terms.

They reopened my claim, new evidence?  This time my denial says we admit you had a head trauma accident but you haven't been diagnosed with a TBI and you don't show residuals of a TBI.  And the evidence wasn't good enough?

Me, last week when I got the denial....what???????????????????????????????????????  Although I'm not surprised.

 

Here's what  just happened, I mean ty Jesus, I just happened to see.  And please let me know if this isn't important.  Esp since these records are listed as evidence on my SOC.

VAMC Doctors notes, he's a Neurologist:

Year event type started:  1991

Frequency: 12 per month (my comment-> of the worst seizure type)

Injuries from events:  Head trauma

Traumatic Brain Injury: YES

Traumatic Brain Injury Severity/Loss of Consciousness: moderate 30 min to 24 hours

Type of TBI: closed

***If this is the diagnosis from my VA doctor then didn't VA screw up with their denials?

My last denial/SOC letter dated 11/21/17 says, quote:

Evidence:  Treatment reports VAMC Durham, for the period June 19, 2013 thru Sept 3, 2015

My 2/13/17 denial/SOC also lists the Durham records in evidence.

 

So yeah, I'd love some feedback on this situation.

I was planning on submitting 2 more IMO's stating I have a diagnosis of TBI when I submitted my form 9 from this last denial, assuming I'd be heading to BVA.

Oh dear hadit experts, whatever if anything does this mean????

Edited January 10, 2018 by eli
Clarity

[eli]

Bless you Berta, I will try to clearly walk through this.  I'm laid up with my laptop but I believe all of my files have been digitalized to my LAN at this point so easily accessible.

Yes I use ebenefits.

Re the status:

July 2012 I filed my original claim

Oct 2013 c&p done by non-qualified dr

Nov 2013 Letter of denial

Sept 2014 filed NoD

Jan 2016 SoC

When all that FDC stuff was going on I told them I was filing a claim as I'd gathered more and new evidence.  Ie the witness statement, the DBQ, medical evidence from other years.

The last of that evidence was submitted Jan 2017 online.

Feb 2017 They denied that claim.

Feb 2017 I filed a NoD

11/21/17 SoC that I uploaded.

Added note:  Dr. Anaise just called he's going to do my IMO.

Edited December 4, 2017 by eli
Updated info

[eli]

By the time I realized I had vet benefits, I mean I had no clue there were VA hospitals etc, I had been diagnosed by civilian drs.

TBI incident 1991 USAF

2005 seized and drove off into desert - civilian diagnosis of seizure disorder

civilian mri and eeg in 2010 - diagnosed with epilepsy

told by civilian epileptologist to get into vet epilepsy center

My VA MRI was done in May of 2014.  I was going to the VAMC closest to me but the neurologist there said, and it's in my file..."this vet is too severe for me to handle, I'm transferring her".  I ended up at the VA Epi ctr of excellency at least by 1/7/15, that's the date of the tbi quote by neuro there I was talking about earlier and then they did an eeg in july 2015.

I apologize for my poor typing, im in bed typing one handed, :P

 

[eli]

And yes ma'am I have copies of nearly everything, lol even originals files from when I was on active duty, like work schedules. :)

[eli]

Hopefully this works.

 

 

Edited January 14, 2018 by eli
uploaded file

[eli]

So now I have knowledge that the VA epilepsy ctr neuro stated I have a TBI from an in service head trauma and the raters ignored the evidence.

I have proof my C&P wasn't by a qualified dr.

I have an IMO coming that says I have a tbi.

I have 2, possibly 3 more drs appts in the next 2 weeks that may change the existing DBQ's from saying head trauma to TBI.

Do I file the form 9, lay out all this info and wait for my BVA hearing?

Is my case so insane that I should contact an attorney?

[eli]

1 hour ago, Berta said:

They said TBI was denied and a re-opened claim for epilepsy was denied.

What was the date of this exam:

“Year event type started:  1991

Frequency: 12 per month (my comment-> of the worst seizure type)

Injuries from events:  Head trauma

Traumatic Brain Injury: YES

Traumatic Brain Injury Severity/Loss of Consciousness: moderate 30 min to 24 hours

Type of TBI: closed”

Date of exam: 1/7/15

Can you make out the doctor’s signature (name?) as he/she could be googled to see what expertise he had)

I know exactly who the Dr. is. (M.D. Neurologist, epilepsy specialist)  I'm almost afraid to admit he's the director of the epi center.

“Added point of interest.  I am also one of the TBI vets that received a C&P by an unqualified doctor.”

 

Did you receive a letter from VA telling you that you were one of the 25,000 vets they buggered on the flawed exams?

 No ma'am and as a subscriber to Ben Krause and Chris Attig (facebook and their websites) I found out about the tbi scandal and have requested a C&P eval several times to no avail.

If so is it possible that the above C & P exam came after that letter but the VA disregarded the newer favorable TBI  C & P exam?

My c&p exam was 10/1/13.  Travel, much less leaving the house, causes seizures.  I even had a seizure during the c&p exam.  I will say this...want to see va workers move quick? have a seizure.  She pushed some button and the place went nuts, which just turned the complex partial into a full blown tc! 

Something sure is wrong here.

 

Others will chime in as well……….and I will go over the decision again….

 

The part of the decisions we needed is pages 21/22

 

The Evidence list is on page one of the decision.

 

I should have specified just their rationale (pages  21/22- of the decisons not of the pdf pages) and the evidence list- but that’s OK-

They always send us a bunch of the regulations ( hoping we don’t read them or understand them)

 Thank you for clarifying I edited the upload and will make sure future uploads aren't so bloated.  Do you want the other decisions?

Something is definitely wrong here.

It looks to me as if they never even read those reports in the evidence list.

 

They did mention the lay statement which is Probative, but stated –words to the affect that the Buddy cannot opine on a medical issue.

 TRUE! But the raters are not allowed to opine on medical conditions either..

 

“Listing “ medical reports as evidence does not mean they actually considered them because they made no specific referral to any of them at all , not any medical rationale whatsoever, as to why those reports were ignored.

 But they did verify they have them.

I will be searching ing a CAVC or OGC precedent you might be able to use against them but a simple CUE  ( asking them to CUE themselves- info in our CUE forum on that)within the appellate period, might turn this around real fast.

It looks like a beauty. I agree it is a Thank You Jesus moment.

I've been told by at least 2 civilian epileptologists that I should be dead.  Yes, it is by the grace of God I'm here, found you guys years ago and have made it through all of this.

And I hope by entering ASKNOD's  (asknod) name here , he might have a google alert set up , and catch this and he will also show up here on this one.Alex Graham.

I bought Ask's book should I try hollering at him?

Btw Berta, I pray God blesses you and everyone here for being so supportive of vets, tyvm.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2017 by eli