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Ramp was a waste of time

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Richard1954

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Ok... so I have been confused by what is going on with my claims,  I opted in to ramp Jul 2018 . The claims were already in an appeals status  and I had already requested de- novo reviews. So they took a claim  that did not even exist in one case (Heart)  and requested  a C&P exam. In another case they decided to ignore the issue and what had been written when I requested an earlier effective date for my TBI rating and then denied the EED.  In another case I asked for a separate rating for my sleep apnea,  ( separate and apart from my asthma/copd) and I requested a step increase in my SMC  from L 1/2 to M, because any rating 50% or more entitles the veteran to addition SMC. When the illegally combine a sleep disorder with Lung disease and then deny the SMC I think this is wrong, in fact the BVA has awarded a few separate ratings for Lung Disease and Sleep Apnea. I understand the special rules regarding Lung disease and that they do not award separate ratings for these conditions. My legal argument is that the VA should not be denying a separate rating for sleep apnea because sleep apnea is a sleep disorder not a lung disease.... Anyway I already knew  that this issues will have to be decided at the BVA or higher.. In fact,  I want this to go to the Court of Appeals, and if denied I will take it outside the system to a federal court. For too long the VA has improperly rated sleep apnea as a lung disease and denied me and possibly thousand of other veterans separate ratings when we have a lung disease. In my case I have Asthma rated 60%, COPD 100% and Sleep Apnea 50%. But because of the rules I get screwed and all three diseases are rated as one, first its not right because it fails to take into consideration how serious and different the 3 separate diseases are, and while Asthma and COPD do overlap, sleep apnea does not . Anyway the va then took my knee issue, and hearing issues and requested new C/P exams. I have already had 4 hearing exams ( one just last September) , and two c&p for me knee issues.. Why they need new C&P exams is beyond me and a waste of time and money.  In a different post I indicated they had my claims at pending a decision, and then they were back at seeking information ..well now I know why... So I now have to appeal these two denials to the BVA, and it has to be done on a special 21-4138 that they supplied and they give  6 different options and I have to select 1 option for all appeals.  So In my case Ramp was a waste of time because all they did was deny the claims again  and I have to send them to the BVA anyways.  ( Maybe they saved me a little time, under de-novo they would have denied them under the old system too) Anyway they are off to the BVA and I have new C&P exams sched for the 22  of Jan for my knee, and then at a different office in a different town on the same day a hearing test. I really think ramp is a crappy system. Also when they wrote the denials, the letter actual reads as if they left some lines out of the decision, over all very confusing. I understood the old system and should have just waited for a decision under that system...  Sorry for the long story..... 

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RAMP is like a mushroom.  Let me explain.  Some mushrooms, like Shitake or Reishi, are very healthy.  Others can kill.  Likewise, since RAMP is so new, most attorneys have zero or very little experience with it in practice.  

  So, you bring him a mushroom and ask him if you should cook this for dinner.  

He probably is not gonna say, "Oh those look just like the ones I had last nite.  Go ahead and cook them.  I will be over for dinner because if Im wrong, I just gave you advice fatal to my career, so we can go down together."  

No.  He is gonna tell you to avoid that mushroom, at least until you have shown it to a mushroom expert who knows how to do a mushroom spore print.  Its just insane for him to do otherwise.  

You are essentially asking the attorney for "expert" advice, on a subject to which he has no experience:  RAMP.  Its a very, very bad idea to go to a doc or a lawyer and ask for expert advice on a subject which they have no experience.  They need to defer the question to a RAMP expert and there are not any of those, yet.  

However, if you tell him you bought the mushroom at the local grocery store, then he is relieved from responsibility.  In a similar way, if the law firm has had 100 clients in RAMP that have gotten a good result, he is off the hook in advising you to try RAMP.  

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 I understand what your saying

  but most RESPECTED VA attorneys that have been dealing with the VA for years are fairly experience in all aspects of the LAW & VA Claims process  with years and years of expertise.and educated well with VA lAW AND OTHER PARTS OF THE LAW AND REGULATIONS TO UNDERSTAND THEM A LOT BETTER THAN US NORMAL VETERANS TRYING TO GET OUR BENEFITS.

 So how long have you been in RAMP and are you satisfied with the results on your Claim?   or has it come to an abrupt Halt? no word in months on your claim?. do they keep you well informed?

if you still do not have a decision or close to one  how long have you been in the RAMP? as to date? if you have not hears anything on your claim status  and its past the 125 day promise   How long do you expect to wait?

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No law firms have "any" experience with RAmp, or, at best, limited experience, because Ramp just started in 2017.  

Several law firms, however, have done a great job reading and explaining ramp to their clients and others.  CCK law is one of them. 

https://cck-law.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-RAMP/

They, wisely neither recommend nor bash RAMP because it depends on the circumstances.  For example, if your legacy appeal was with a BVA judge, you would be foolish to drop out and opt into ramp as that would "cost" you time, not save you time.  

When I opted into ramp, I found out there were more than 100,000 Vets ahead of me at my appeal to the Board.  That made it an easy choice:  I went for RAMP.  I had at least 3 more years to go which made staying in legacy appeals an unacceptable option.  

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First, I was told by two lawyers to stay away from Ramp simply because there was not enough information about ramp to know if it would be a better system for the veteran or not. The VA almost never does anything to benefit the veteran, this is no different. The VA was looking for a way to rush claims and make it look like they were doing something, when all they really did was to rush the decision. My claims were already pending review, I don't really think ramp shortened the waiting times, since they were waiting DRO for over two years.  As to the recent two denials,

 I have six choices and I can only accept one choice for both  issues.  1. File a supplemental claim, with new evidence 2. request a higher-level review based on the record at the time the denial was made 3. Request a higher level review based on the evidence of the record at the time of the decision, and request a one-time informal conference with the higher level reviewer. or appeal to the BVA choices are: 1. direct review based on the evidence at the time the denial was made 2. Evidence submission within 90 days, no hearing requested or 3. Hearing  with evidence submission allowed which will cause some delays in receiving a decision by the board.

First let me say that if anyone saw a lawyer and that lawyer told you to opt-in to ramp. that lawyer gave you bad advise, simply because no one knows how this was going to work and using a link to send me to a lawyers web page tells me that you really think the lawyer is correct. I don't trust most lawyers when it comes to the VA, that is why I learned the old system well and did all my own claims work.  The one time I asked for opinions ( from two different lawyers) they told me to stay the hell away from ramp, this time I should of listened.

BROCOVET, says I saved time.. time for what so that now I have to appeal two issues with no statement of the case which if you know anything, identifies the reason for denial in general terms, and with the SOC I know exactly why they denied and then I can make an informed decision on how to appeal, sure the decision tells you why they denied the claims but it doesn't really explain anything, and it my case the decision actually reads as if some lines in the decision are missing because it ( the decision does not flow naturally) and is hard to understand.

Also..,.. how am I saving time when  now they have farmed out  C/P exams one   to a Chiropractor/Nurse practitioner to do an exam on my knee issue.  I should add a third C/P exam in the last 32 months. First I think chiropractors are quacks, second,  NP's  in my opinion should not be used for C/P exams.  The contractor then wants me to drive 75 miles to another town and do a  Fourth hearing test. Hell I just did a hearing test in Sept 2018.  I had previously paid for an independent Medical Opinion concerning my knee and the va has chosen to ignore the opinion and requested another opinion from another NP.  Sending me for new C/P exams did not save any time on this decision.  And now, I feel compelled to seek out a second IMO just too offset what any contracted opinion might say. NO TIME WAS NOT SAVED BY GETTING  A FASTER DECISION. and now I have to live with my decision, and appeal the two denials the best way I can under the new rules. And I can only chose one way to appeal, when in reality I would have like to used two different ways to appeal. Also,  a side note:  your analogy of mushrooms is misplaced, especially when I don't eat mushrooms of any kind, and why would I they are nothing but fungus.

When you say it takes 3 year to get to the BVA, that is really hoping for the best. Last year I had a case denied at the BVA that took  9 years to reach the BVA and another year for a decision.

Finally, I don't think anyone who had not dealt with ramp from start to finish has any idea how it will work, I am a well educated person ( masters degree in computer engineering)  and I really found ramp to be confusing.

In my case in my opinion I made a serious blunder opting into ramp after having been told by two different lawyers not too, and then ignored my better judgement.. so now I pay the price. Again if you really think the VA created ramp for the benefit of the Veteran, you are misinformed.. they only reason they created ramp was so they can issue decisions quickly and make it look like the backlog has gone down.

You think waiting to get to the BVA took too long before now it will be take longer to still longer lines. And in the process   You don't do any Notice of disagreement,  you don't get a statement of the case,  and if you elect to go to the BVA, you send the pre - formatted  21-4138 directly to the BVA.  How is this any better for the veteran? 

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I find Broncovet's assessment interesting (above)   <<<You are essentially asking the attorney for "expert" advice, on a subject to which he has no experience. >>>>

Who, pray tell, would you ask advice from if not an attorney with a Juris Doctorate? I lack one but am accredited to practice all the way up to the CAVC.  Ergo I have been deemed to have extensive legal knowledge-including all the ramifications of choosing RAMP. Is Broncovet suggesting we rely on the VA or a well-known VSO like DAV for RAMP advice? As to RAMP, Richard 54 has illuminated many problems. The largest one being it hasn't even arrived at the BVA. How do you obtain a rapid BVA decision when the infrastructure isn't even in place yet? Remember, February 2019 is the ostensible date assigned for rollout. I would ask any of you Hadit members to come forth and tell us of innovative new VA programs that were ever operational on the day advertised.

Last Spring, at the NOVA conference in San Diego, we listened to several points of view on RAMP-both from VA Judge Cheryl Mason and a NOVA attorney (Ralph Bratch). The consensus among ATTORNEYS, who do have legal training, was that it deprives you of innumerable due process protections. As for trusting the VA,  their spokesfolks continue to try to induce us all to leap into this project and simply trust them. VA has even gone behind my back and taken to mailing my clients RAMP opt-in forms. As I have exclusive representation rights, they are forbidden to approach my clients without coming to me first. 

Speaking of Chisholm, Chisholm and Kirkpatrick (CCK), I had dinner with Robert Chisholm and Zachary Stolz, along with BVA Veterans Law Judge Brad Hennings at the Spring 2018 NOVA. Mr. Chisholm was extremely leery-as were all the CCK staff attorneys- about RAMP. I think I speak for NOVA in general and most attorneys/agents in particular when I say trusting VA to do something beneficial for us is a chimera. While Congress and the President might have meant well by creating the RAMP program, its implementation is going to be written and conducted by the DVA via regulations (i..e. 38 CFR). In case none of you have ever heard the term "Chevron Deference", you might not know the Courts will defer to the VA to interpret what RAMP is going to be. Since the RAMP track record, which has not even set up shop at the BVA yet, has already resulted in a 90% denial rate, any hopes of smooth sailing to a grant of benefits there is far too premature-regardless of Broncovet's enthusiasm.

Broncovet is entitled to determine how he, personally interprets the new RAMP procedures, but Congress has unequivocally preserved our right to the legacy appeals process. That much is certain. Broncovet's statement that "My "interpretation is fully implemented in Feb. 2019 means it will no longer be optional." neglects to mention February 2019 is the beginning date for the BVA to begin considering RAMP appeals-not that everyone is doomed to the RAMP lane automatically henceforth from that date. Nowhere in the four corners of the Appeals Modernization Act of 2017 is there any mention of RAMP becoming the only appeals path and legacy appeals ceasing to be a legal recourse. Of course, I am open to being convinced otherwise. I did sit down and read the AMA from cover to cover and can find no future prohibition against the legacy appeals process. I want my clients to obtain swift justice but only if they are adequately protected by the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).  That is my personal opinion only.

CCK and I are not permitted to offer legal advice like Lucy's Psychiatric booth in Peanuts. No attorney/agent is. We can discuss the various venues RAMP offers but we would be remiss if we made blanket statements that the new process sucks or, conversely, the cat's pajamas. A Vet might take that to heart and lose and wish to sue me for bad advice. In short, not to hurt Broncovet's feelings, I must point out he is not accredited nor does he possess a JD. The informal consensus opinion among the accredited folks is that a) not enough Vets have opted in to even begin to understand the pros and cons; b) it hasn't even been implemented at the BVA yet; and c) the preliminary results (90% denial) do not bode well for us. It's perceived as nothing more than a shortline railroad to a quicker denial to alleviate the BVA backlog. In that respect, it's going to mimic the Fully Developed Claims scenario. I found they frequently ignore any evidence you submit and deny using imperfect logic. Sure you win on appeal but the FDC was supposed to cure that error.

I do see one application for RAMP, though. Since a CUE filing is a cut and dried motion to revise an earlier final decision,, and no further evidence can be submitted, RAMP is the perfect vehicle to get your Motion to revise before a real "judge" lickity spit who understands law and can adjudicate it fairly. If he cheats and denies due to ignorance of §3.105(a),  the CAVC will reverse him. CUE is simple. Either they screwed up or they didn't. There are no "do overs" with remands to cure a CUE deficit like a failure in the duty to assist. 

Read this intro on RAMP. https://www.va.gov/vetapp18/files7/18116573.txt

Edited by asknod
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Also let me add. In the case of my knee injury its not even a question of having a  knee problem va has all the medical records and give me steroids shots for it every 4 months.  The issue is , was the left knee injury a result of the right knee buckling and causing me to fall to the ground, twisting and tearing the Meniscus of the left knee. The right knee is already service connected. So instead of accepting the opinion from a private doctor or my previous IMO they are hopping to get another opinion that states its not likely.  The only question is , is it possible that my right knee buckled and I fell to the ground as I indicated.  Most doctors in my opinion would say its as likely as not. In my case the first va examiner stated,  It was the slop in my backyard that caused me to injure the knee, than 23 days later went back and cited a document that concerned gaits, and said that it was not possible for one knee injury to cause an injury in the opposite leg, only problem the NP had only quoted part of a statement in the medical reference, and I believe upon reading my appeal, discredited the NP. Any way the question to be answered is can the buckling of the right knee cause the damage to the left knee....if yes than I will be granted a rating if not , I won't get a rating.

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