Seeking Guidance: C&P Re-examination and Processing Claims

[Ocean]

Good Evening,

At the beginning of September, I opened a claim for ED which I have been actively working to get organized with medical notes and a DBQ. Three days later, the VA issued a C&P Re-examination appointment for my lower back; which I understand is normal. The concern that I have is that the estimated time for the re-examination claim to be completed is October 5th, with the VA appointment on 9/25. This seems incredibly fast. The concern I have is, will the VA complete a RE claim individually or does everything get processed together; like any other claim?

I have a few other items of concern (Sleep Apnea, Unstable Scars, Tinnitus, Voiding Dysfunction) that I intend to submit and have been just keeping them in a file cabinet as I was already rated 100%. I was considering just submitting everything that has accumulated over the past few years with their related DBQs and ongoing treatments. Any thoughts?

 

[vetquest]

In my opinion  if you are already rated as a strong 100% I would not file all of the claims at once.  Sometimes if everything is filed at once everything gets denied as is looks like you are trying to use a shotgun to cover the gamut and see if one sticks.  You can make a hobby of being a thorn in the VA's side.

[Buck52]

Its better to file all claims at once  especially the ones that can be service connected.

Its only a myth that some think filing all claims at once is a bad  deal  that it only confuses the raters or opens a bad can of worms..not true

   The raters only look at one claim at a time, not all the claims you file will be looked at by the same rater,  they shop around to other R.O/s to work these claims  you may have a RO in Salt Lake City Utah to look at a sleep Apnea Claim  and have another RO in Milwaukee to look at Heart Condition claim and so on...or some RO's will look at more than one claim   just depends how logged up they are.

.Filing all your claims at once insures your EED ( Earliest Effective Date )...rather your approved or denied   this Effective Date will come in Handy for you financial wise some day ''IF'' you are denied on a few claims.

 Also being already 100% S.C. in my opinion helps with your credibility when filing a claim, although they still check your medical evidence & other evidence for approval, but being already 100% Helps with a good Character & merit within yourself.  (jmo)

If you have legitimate Claims that have good merit/evidence  Def File for them all at one time.

Always Request  confirmation that they recieved all the claims that you file.

AS for as getting a C&P its good to get them  its your chance to prove what your claiming making sure the examiner has all your records of evidence and you do that with medical evidence of record, sometimes no C&P is needed if the medical evidence is strong enough but in most cases a C&P will be issued.

Take all the medical evidence you have  to your C&P in case the examiner don't have it  you will. 

they only read what the VA sends them on the computer  so if all your medical information is not on the computer ,then you can show the examiner your medical information &  this needs to be of recorded record from the VA .

in other words the VA is where you got your medical records.  or private records  as long as you have them  then you can request the examiner look at them and mention them in his/her report. 

you can do this for this reason If the examiner don't mention the favorable parts of your claim.

Edited September 24, 2018 by Buck52

[vetquest]

Thanks for correcting me Buck.

[Ocean]

Thank you very much for the information. I have been busy preparing for my C&P exam tomorrow morning and making sure my medical records were organized - which is a correction from above, they are on the 27th not the 25th. I have been on and off eBenefits a few time per day this past week; but something happened this evening that concerns me. My initial exam was for tomorrow at 9:30am and now I see a second exam at 10:30am too. I have no email, no text, nothing. Can the VA really throw an exam at you with no notice ( less than 24 hours). I am pretty upset by this, as I may not have the right records in hand. 

[Buck52]

Well the VA is suppose to notify you of all your C&P exams the dates and time scheduled.

The VA “…does not have written instructions regarding the procedures it follows to notify a claimant of a scheduled examination.”

The VA’s procedure exists – they say – but its not in writing.  My theory is that if the sanction for missing an exam is the denial of a Veteran’s claim, the VA should have a written process for notifying Veterans of these exams.

It’s not rocket science here, folks.  The VA has been sending Vets out for exams for 70+ years. They should be able to write the process down and follow it. :*Source Attorney Chris Attig  VLB  ''Veterans Law Blog''

 you go to your scheduled 9:30 am C&P Exam..and if your out of it before the 10:30 c&p exam you seen on e benefits..check with the C&P Office After your initial C&P Exam. or go early and check prior before your  9:30 exam

Let the C&P CHIEF or Office manager know that you seen a C&P Exam Scheduled at 10:30 am on this same date of your Initial  9:30 am C&P was scheduled &...you were Never notified of this 10:30 C&P Exam,  you found out by looking on your e benefits site.....> unless this is considered in part of your original initial exam?

Edited September 27, 2018 by Buck52

[Ocean]

Thank you again for your time helping me,

Doctor:  General Physician 

Location: Gilbert, AZ Clinic

She was pleasant and thorough, and completely different than my experiences at the main Phoenix Office. They did sneak a CP exam in today for my neck scar (C4-C6 Fusion), which she bounced back and forth on during the back exam. She did use the measuring device and had me repeat the movements twice. She spent a lot of time going through my spinal medical records (280 pages) and discussing my back issues as a whole. 

She was really confused why they were doing this exam as she saw my file as a whole. But as my VSO stated yesterday, this is my only condition that is not listed as static; and they may be processing me as P&T. I got the impression she was on my side; which I hope wasn’t an act. She never acknowledged pain issues or asked how I was feeling as a whole. During the range tests, she didn’t tell me to stop when I felt any discomfort - although I did. 

I hope this works out well. 

Edited September 28, 2018 by Ocean