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]

He needs records putting him at the time and place he was traumatized (seeing dead body's) if that place was okinawa?  then find  his records that  puts him there and any other evidence that  you guys can get (mostly records) special orders /in-country travel orders  ect,,ect,, Buddy statements he served with that remembers this event. DD 214 Should have his Okinawa Service and MOS on it  that will help and enter as evidence.

ASk him to describe in his lay statment what he seen and how its effected his life after military ect,,,ect,,, any Dr 's he has seen about it while in military and after.

Edited December 25, 2017 by Buck52

[Buck52]

I wanted to mention this

If he has no records putting him there were he was traumatized, then he needs  to write out a lay statment the best he can remember, As to what happen &  use the closes dates and time & place it occurred, they can look up his service records  from Okinawa.= buddy statements from his unit will help.If he had  temporary MOS? but was not change to document it.... it should be on his DD-214 But some times the .Temporary-MOS is not reflected on the DD-214   just his original MOS.

A lot of times we do things that is not our MOS or what we were trained to do and  the C.O.   ( Commanding Officer) or the NCO in charge puts us were were needed the most.

This is actually a Temporary MOS...And if it don't get documented on the DD-214 it makes it hard  for us to prove our claims.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Buck52

[Berta]

Buck, thanks for  your suggestions here to this vet's wife, as to seeking a valid stressor.

Anxiety over possible deployment, to me , is not an adequate stressor.

I am sure there is more to this veteran's PTSD than we know.

It is not unusual for  any veteran to hold back traumatic events-I saw this when I worked at a vet center and also with my husband, because they exhibited things so horrific they could not even tell VA about them.

These were combat vets ,already with PTSD SC comp, and VA had already verified what stressors they had told VA about. .....but trauma can come from Many non combat  inservice situations.

"9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975). 8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (Aug 5, 1964- March 28, 1973). 2,709,918 Americans served in Vietnam, this number represents 9.7% of their generation."

http://www.usna63.org/tradition/history/SoberingVietnamVets.pdf

I would think 99.9% of those men and women on active duty during the Vietnam War, had very real anxiety of becoming one of the 2,709.918 men and women who were actually deployed.

You are right as to an MOS- I saw a PTSD award at the BVA whereby the veteran had proved he had temporary assignment to handle the deceased. Even my husband's MOS had nothing to do with the first and only stressor that got him SCed for PTSD within months after an incident at the VA.

I already told that story here----the head shrink at the Newark VA verified a 'volunteer' job he had done in Vietnam

as this doctor was not only a Vietnam vet himself but was called in to the scene of the volunteer job because the Military knew how horrific it would be and had to counsel some Marines right away...

Years later he was in the 21 day Inhouse and had to fill out a stressor questionnaire, by month.

I was shocked when I read it. I knew every stressor was provable , by Morning Reports, Wall tracings, etc  but still dont know what they used. He didnt put  the Volunteer job (already verified by VA  in 1983 )on the stressor questionnaire because there was no room left on the form).

My point is that it is always best to identify a stressor that the veteran can prove and that they are willing to reveal in detail.  I actually think one stressor he had was the brief  R & R they were giving the Marines -65-66 to Okinawa,in this way....they all probably had PTSD already and they all knew they had to return back to Hell in a few days.

Maybe the R & R was just because of the horrible Volunteer job.It had just hit the media back in the 'world'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DebbieS118]

Berta

You are so right. I’ve been married to him for 40 years and only after he became sober 5 years ago I am hearing little events about it. He still doesn’t really say to much about it. We believe he was holding it all in bc of alcohol. It wasn’t until after he started seeing a psychologist that all this came out hence the reason why it took so long to file a claim

[Buck52]

 Request his C-File ASAP if you have not done so?

It don't matter if it was yesterday or 45 years ago  he only needs to prove he was there at the event and needs to prove he was...with buddy statments and his lay statement   records would help tremendously but if no records then its going to be hard to get this Service Connected...but it can be done if he has any type records with his name on it that puts him there the time of the event.

This is why he may need buddy statements and his lay statement of what happen  with in a reasonable amount of time AND SOME TYPE OF EVIDENCE TO SHOW HE WAS INVOLVED... before discharged.

His DD 214 Should reflect his Okinawa military service.

if he has a MOS that put him there  or if he was  Temp with a MOS he 

needs to say he was.  they don't always put the Temp MOS on the DD -214

Morning Reports, Account Reports, travel orders, anything with his name on it that puts him there  and he can give a lay statement to the fact and with in 10 days or so of the locations the even happen & location.

buddy statements are good to use .

Edited December 26, 2017 by Buck52

[Buck52]

Lay Evidence

Again, what if the records don’t exist? This is where another type of evidence comes into play. Lay evidence is evidence that does not come from professional sources. Getting people who knew the veteran while in service who can attest to the condition of their health (no medical diagnosis, but personal observations), or who can recollect and corroborate an injury or event that caused an injury can also serve as evidence. Lay evidence must meet certain criteria to be considered by the VA. It must be credible and competent. This means that it must be believable and fit with any other evidence that is provided such as current medical records. If a fellow troop makes a buddy statement saying a veteran he served with broke his leg on a hike during training. However, the current X-rays do not show evidence of an old fracture. Therefore, that would not be a credible statement because the current evidence disputes the lay statement. If a mother makes a statement that her veteran son, who was on a ship, had bronchitis. That would not be a competent statement as she is not a medical professional who can access the veteran to make a diagnosis. What they can provide is a statement that the first veteran hurt his leg when he fell and the second veteran was coughing a lot. Only professionally licensed personnel can make a diagnosis. Moreover, exaggerations of events will only serve to ruin the credibility of any other evidence that person submits on the veteran’s behalf, no matter how true it is.

Other Avenues of Research

Another way is to find other incidents that can show a probability that an injury or illness occurred. Deck logs, installation newspaper articles, veteran newsgroups, ship yearbooks, and various other researchable places exist where evidence can be sought out. Proving that someone was injured in a car accident when the records were destroyed is much easier if something like an accident report, car insurance claim, or article in the paper can be found. Having a representative to assist with the claim can also help provide veterans with researchers who can try to find that evidence to prove the claim. It does not always work, the road is not always smooth and straight, but if you do not try, the answer will always be no.

 Source :  Hil & Ponton Attorney's