Ptsd claim

[DebbieS118]

Two years ago my husband was diagnosed PTSD from a veterans contract psychologist. Although he is 66 years old, and the Vietnam war has long been over for decades his symptoms did not appear until he became sober five years ago when he quit the alcohol. He never actively seemed help for his alcoholism because he was self medicating. The psychologist send him to a va psychiatrist for medication. Both doctors believe his ptsd was caused by the anxiety of being on standby to deploy to Vietnam for 5 months. He started drinking heavily while in Okinawa and by the time he  was discharged he was already an alcoholic.

To make a long story short, he filed a claim with VA. Of course he was denied. Did a reconsideration claim. Said he needed new/material evidence which was sent in. It was a dbq for ptsd. We received acknowledgment of the new letter stating it was indeed new evidence and claim would be going to rater. Got another denial of claim 2 weeks later saying they never received new evidence so reconsideration claim was denied.

Now what? This process is so frustrating makes you want to quit

[Buck52]

If he has all these records to prove his case..I believe he can win this claim.

if the Letter to request reconsideration was  timely filed it can be seen as a NOD 

Depending on when he first filed this claim,?

 he has 1( one) year to disagree with the decision from the time he receives it.

if he first filed Nov 2016 The all is ok because of the reconsideration filed on that date Nov 2017.

Although there are NOD Forms and he should have been sent one in the denial decision and how to file it,  but its not all necessary if he filed a reconsideration before the one year deadline.

As long as the VA knows  he disagrees with their decision within one year. then his claim should still be in the Appeals time limit.

[Buck52]

Note? to debbie

Please save all contact from the VA save all copies of evidence with dates and evidence ..do not throw anything away from the VA all these papers are very important to help with his claim.

  and also if he has not  you guys need to request his C-file from St Louis. 

C-FILE will have records in it that will help him prove his stressors  from medical documentations  where he was stationed and should have what he had to do as for as seeing the dead body's in body bags if he was helping with that....he will need to prove he did that  from In service records from  orders & morning reports ect,,ect,, or his MOS may help in the decision.

[Berta]

I agree that he will need at least one  proven stressor because he does not fall into the 2010 PTSD regulations.

" Question. Will submitting a NEXUS letter  for PTSD, from my VA Psychologist help my NOD if I have already submitted a Nexus from my Private Psychologist for PTSD?"

"PTSD RELATED TO FEAR OF HOSTILE MILITARY OR TERRORIST ACTIVITY

A veteran who is diagnosed with PTSD that is related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity does not need to provide stressor corroboration evidence as long as a VA psychologist or psychiatrist has diagnosed the PTSD and says that the stressor is related to the veteran’s fear of hostile military or terrorist activity. If a veteran’s stressor is adequate to support a diagnosis of PTSD, that stressor is consistent with the circumstances of the veteran’s service, and there is no clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, the veteran’s own statements may be used to establish the occurrence of the claimed stressor.

What is fear of hostile military or terrorist activity? The veteran must have experienced, witnessed, or been confronted with an event or circumstance that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of the vet or others, such as from an actual or potential improvised explosive device; vehicle-embedded explosive device; incoming artillery, rocket, or mortar fire; grenade; small arms fire, including suspected sniper fire; or attack upon friendly military aircraft, and the veteran’s response to the event or circumstance must have involved a psychological or psycho-physiological state of fear, helplessness, or horror."

https://www.hadit.com/will-submitting-nexus-letter-ptsd-va-psychologist-help-nod-already-submitted-nexus-private-psychologist-ptsd/

We have had many more discussions here at hadit on the 2010 PTSD criteria.

Please read my article on what a stressor is:

https://community.hadit.com/topic/46586-what-is-a-stressor/#gsc.tab=0

 

 

[Buck52]

Ms berta it seems I remember a member here was not actualy in a hostile area but did see the bodys of soliders coming home that were killed in action from a hostile emeny Territory  ..him helping with the body's or helping put them in body bags traumatized him..I believe he won his claim for PTSD.

however as you mention no need to prove these stressors..As I commented in the above post  if he has the evidence such as medical records, in service records putting him at the place and time  he was traumized  then that may do it. a good lay statement from the veteran describing what happen where and time it happen  and back that up with his records.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Buck52

[Berta]

Bucks, if we know this veteran’s MOS and more info perhaps we can help more.

There aren’t  too many claims like this at the BVA

Here is one in part:

The veterans claimed “he saw hundreds of body bags containing dead bodies of

American Soldiers and the bags were stacked up in a pile.  He

stated that he saw this on base in Saigon.  See the veteran's

statements dated in November 2003 and July 2008.  The veteran

stated that he was driving Marine Colonel Dingdinger,

Commander of the Combined Intelligence Center, to MAC

Headquarters and while driving the Colonel, he saw the body

bags stacked up.”

 

“Service personnel records indicate that the veteran served in

the Army with the 45th Military Intelligence Company,

USARPAC.  His military specialty was clerk typist.  He was

stationed in Vietnam from July 26, 1970 to July 26, 1971. 

 

The Board finds that the agency of original jurisdiction

(AOJ) should request the veteran to specify in detail

additional circumstances surrounding his claimed stressor

events including the date (within a two month time frame),

location of the event (name of the base), the unit the

veteran was assigned to at the time, and the full names of

any other individuals participating in the event, and the

full names of the individuals who were killed in action.  The

AOJ should ask the veteran to provide a two month date range

for the stressor events.  The veteran should be advised that

this information is vital to his claim and that failure to

provide the requested information may result in denial of the

claim.  The veteran is also advised that he is permitted to

submit lay statements from individuals, such as Colonels

Dingdinger and Wentworth and Command Sergeant Majors

Bellivita and Metcalf, who have knowledge of the stressors

events in support of his claim.”

 

And

 “After giving the veteran an opportunity to provide additional

information about the stressor events, the AOJ should make an

attempt to obtain credible supporting evidence of the

stressor events by contacting the United States Army and

Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) (formerly the

United States Armed Services Center for Research of Unit

Records).  In particular, the JSRRC should be asked to

provide any information which might corroborate the veteran's

statements that he saw hundreds of body bags on base in

Saigon in September 1970 while he was driving Colonel

Dingdinger.  The Joint Motion directs the JSRRC to search for

verification of the following stressor event:  that the

veteran saw body bags on base while he was driving Colonel

Dingdinger at some time from September 1970 to September 1971

(although service records show that the veteran was only

stationed in Vietnam from July 1970 to July 1971), and he

told Colonels Dingdinger and Wentworth and Command Sergeant

Majors Bellivita and Metcalf about the body bags and his

flashbacks while he was in service.  The JSRRC's search

should include but not be limited to a search of the 

veteran's unit's morning reports.” 

https://www.va.gov/vetapp08/files5/0844612.txt

This claim had been filed in regards to a March 2004 rating decision, denied again at the BVA,, then an attorney filed a NOA and requested a remand from the CAVC, and this case was on remand again in 2008.

 

It shows what evidence these types of claims need.

Unless the veteran’s MOS alone is significant enough- such as having grave registration duty,rescue/recovery duties,etc and/or strong Buddy statements.

Although this claim was pre backlog, as we know it now, the veteran certainly had a VCAA  letter by then and could have done a lot  to try to obtain the  remanded requirements himself, by writing to JSRRC and some buddys ( to include the two officers he mentioned) because although only in the claims process for 4 years in 2008, we cannot determine if he ever won his claim, and how long it took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 24, 2017 by Berta

[DebbieS118]

He was a welder/sheet metal and went to different bases while in Okinawa.