Jump to content
VA Disability Community via Hadit.com

VA Disability Claims Articles

Ask Your VA Claims Question | Current Forum Posts Search | Rules | View All Forums
VA Disability Articles | Chats and Other Events | Donate | Blogs | New Users

  • hohomepage-banner-2024-2.png

  • 27-year-anniversary-leaderboard.png

    advice-disclaimer.jpg

  • donate-be-a-hero.png

  • 0

Just joined the board

Rate this question


Merc

Question

Hello all, Just joined the board. Stumbled on here after getting fed up with VA and their nonsense.

Since I started reading, I've made a leap of faith and reached out to a few of the respected doctors for some assistance with putting our stuff together. So far, Dr. Bash has been the most responsive. After speaking with me and my wife, he thinks he can move us both from 20% to 100%... It's not cheap - quoted $18k!!  But if he can deliver and maybe even get us some retro, it may be worth it.

 

Figured I'd chronicle the adventure here for the benefit of others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recommended Posts

  • 0

Broken:  I've ordered some new toner for my printer and it should be here next week. I also have a nice scanner that I purchase a while ago to help me with all of the paperwork that I seem to have to deal with these days.  I promise I'll be posting a bunch of stuff here.  I've has some Vet friends hassling me about being slow on my claims so it's time to get hot. Also, aside from helping our own situation here at home, I am hoping to gain enough knowledge to help guide my niece. Her husband, a young active duty infantryman (also invincible), suffered a burst appendix and was hospitalized for days. Apparently, his leadership did not think the pain in his guts he was actually complaining about was important. I think it went septic. Anyway, while he's since recovered somewhat, he still tells the doctor he feels fine when he is an absolute mess. All sorts of pain, meds, can't sleep, etc.. They're going to give him a medical discharge but I feel it will be the minimum that they can muster.  So, I want him to have the benefit of this knowledge so that he can get what he is due and maybe the compensation portion will help them a little while they try to get adjusted to civilian life with two new babies and no jobs...

Buck: That's a great idea. Never thought of that. I try to avoid going to the VA or interacting with the doctors as it's always a hassle. Last time I went the young lady who does the intake and scheduling (They're called MSA's in think), playing on her phone, was just as dismissive as the darned doctors are!  I will make it a point to remember to ask more questions about meds and other related conditions.

It's sort of like when I spoke with Dr. B., I mentioned that I've had rhinitis since I was in the service. I'd go to the medics and they'd give me some duravant to dry it out a bit. Nevertheless, I never slept very well, snored, never really felt rested but I was in my 20's and with an Artillery unit--- "don't be a crybaby, suck it up" - would be what the 1sg would say.... So, years later I finally get a sleep study, get diagnosed with sleep apnea, get a cpap, still have rhinitis and often still have chest congestion, constant coughing, regular sore throat... Dr. B suggests possible GERD. Never occurred to me before.

I tell him I'm connected for wrist pain. It's intermittent.  Sometimes gets so bad I can't hold a fork.. Have pain in my knees that come and go, fingers and toes. Scans show arthritis. Doctors say that's common. I'm in my 40's not sure how common that is. Shouldn't hurt this much at this age. Dr. B suggests that this too is an issue that needs addressed as a complete system (If I understood correctly).

That sort of insight is what I was really looking for when I started contacting experts for assistance. It's just not something where I know enough to start making all of the connections. I guess hanging out here I'll have no choice but to learn!!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I have found that pdfescape works well.  It is a free pdf editor that you upload your file to then whiteout what you want to then print the document to PDF.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
7 hours ago, Merc said:

Broken:  I've ordered some new toner for my printer and it should be here next week. I also have a nice scanner that I purchase a while ago to help me with all of the paperwork that I seem to have to deal with these days.  I promise I'll be posting a bunch of stuff here.  I've has some Vet friends hassling me about being slow on my claims so it's time to get hot. Also, aside from helping our own situation here at home, I am hoping to gain enough knowledge to help guide my niece. Her husband, a young active duty infantryman (also invincible), suffered a burst appendix and was hospitalized for days. Apparently, his leadership did not think the pain in his guts he was actually complaining about was important. I think it went septic. Anyway, while he's since recovered somewhat, he still tells the doctor he feels fine when he is an absolute mess. All sorts of pain, meds, can't sleep, etc.. They're going to give him a medical discharge but I feel it will be the minimum that they can muster.  So, I want him to have the benefit of this knowledge so that he can get what he is due and maybe the compensation portion will help them a little while they try to get adjusted to civilian life with two new babies and no jobs...

Buck: That's a great idea. Never thought of that. I try to avoid going to the VA or interacting with the doctors as it's always a hassle. Last time I went the young lady who does the intake and scheduling (They're called MSA's in think), playing on her phone, was just as dismissive as the darned doctors are!  I will make it a point to remember to ask more questions about meds and other related conditions.

It's sort of like when I spoke with Dr. B., I mentioned that I've had rhinitis since I was in the service. I'd go to the medics and they'd give me some duravant to dry it out a bit. Nevertheless, I never slept very well, snored, never really felt rested but I was in my 20's and with an Artillery unit--- "don't be a crybaby, suck it up" - would be what the 1sg would say.... So, years later I finally get a sleep study, get diagnosed with sleep apnea, get a cpap, still have rhinitis and often still have chest congestion, constant coughing, regular sore throat... Dr. B suggests possible GERD. Never occurred to me before.

I tell him I'm connected for wrist pain. It's intermittent.  Sometimes gets so bad I can't hold a fork.. Have pain in my knees that come and go, fingers and toes. Scans show arthritis. Doctors say that's common. I'm in my 40's not sure how common that is. Shouldn't hurt this much at this age. Dr. B suggests that this too is an issue that needs addressed as a complete system (If I understood correctly).

That sort of insight is what I was really looking for when I started contacting experts for assistance. It's just not something where I know enough to start making all of the connections. I guess hanging out here I'll have no choice but to learn!!

 

A post-discharge, direct-service connection claim for sleep apnea will get denied 100% of the time. Secondary service connection is the only way to get sleep apnea granted.

Fortunately for you, rhinitis is documented  in your STR (I believe what you're saying is factual). You'll need to get rhinitis service-connected first to secondary service connect Sleep Apnea. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Merc , you do need to get organized. I  have 3 issues with VA and many more issues for veterans. I just bought 100 more manila folders-

I have hundreds of them already, well tabbed with what they contain that were generated by my dead husband's Section 1151 claim (1994) and his claim for higher Rating (1992), others have his 2 SSA awards, his Navy 201 and SMRs, his USMC stuff, his DD214s and his DD 215, and some contain past denials I got and SOCs SSOCs, etc etc.

His VA medical records take up an entire box but they are filed in folders by the year.

This AM I have been reviewing all of my FTCA folders for an aditional FOIA to the OGC.

I am glad I have saved Everything.

Also I do this-

for every claim I have filed since 1997 -I prepare a War Plan.

When my daughter had to go to Buffalo for all the tests she needed ( USAF INTEL), she also took a photo of my VARO.

It is scanned  into  the middle of my War Plan for each claim, and around the photo are my ideas of what I need to do to win that specific claim. 

It keeps my focus, and helps simplify my issues.You dont need a photo of your VARO- it is just one way of keeping my focus.

We dont know yet what your issues are, and some might be secondary to the 20% you get now- maybe I mis- understood that rating- it might be your wife's.

You wife needs to do this too.

When I FTCAed the VA, I didnt think of any War plan, what I did is created a timeline from the established medical record, of my husband, as I was looking for each diagnosis, and every one of them was wrong.

The most important initial misdiagnosis and those that followed are what led up to his sudden, untimely death.

I had to study cardiology and neurology to do that-and 

I had to keep my outrage and grief out of my submission with my SF95 , and I  just stuck to the established facts of the medical records.

This goes for many types of claims- being organized to focus on what evidence you will need, because a veteran usually has a prime condition, that might have caused other secondarys. And they need to establish an inservice nexus which only a thorough reading of their SMRs ( maybe many times) will hopefully provide.

I have had multiple issues with the VA as a survivor.

If I need to take a specific medical record out of a specific file, I copy the record and make sure it goes back into the original file, with a copy of it for the specific claim I have filed.

It is all a big time consuming pain in the butt---but this  is how to help viable claims to succeed.

And organization takes away all of the stress of trying to find something you know you have but it is misplaced in a stack.

But when I am looking for a specific file, I often forget what the heck I am looking for- but nevertheless I keep looking because I dont want to waste time.:unsure:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Berta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
  • HadIt.com Elder

Just my opinion 

A  Well organized claim is better for the raters to read through and more likely to be approved ,  providing you have all your evidence   and at times  even that don't work , but if the claim is well organized  you have a better chance of approval.

It's been that with for my claims anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

PDF is a free format, you don't have to pay Adobe for it. Open Office/LibreOffice does create PDFs. Instead of saving the document as a document or spreadsheet or image file, there is an option that says "save as PDF"

And you C-file is like a book. So you have to read it, take note, and then report on it. For instance page 104 - 117 is labs from month day year. So you have to turn that C-file into a book report with a table of content. By doing so you're organizing it, to be a lot faster to get to the heart of the matter, instead of it being a big library cart of returned books.

Dr Bash is doing things like scans (x-rays) and other things to make the "book report" more complete and doing this takes time and money. Which is why he charges a lot. If you do the dirty work his fee would be a lot less and on par with other VA friendly doctors charge. I.E. Berta most of all of her "book report" and only needed a couple MDs to "grade it" saving her a lot.

I've been doing most of my book report since 2015. In 2017, I paid Dr. Anaise, a transplant surgeon, 1500 to write my IMO for one of my main disabilities. Secondary I paid a local private neuropsychologist  $2000 to do the 5 hour test, originally it was 2300 but he refunded me I think 300. And lastly I lawyered up and hired GloverLuck to deal with the VA because "I hadit" with the VA. 2018, I spent 80 bucks for my chiropractor to do a DBQ. 2019, paid a local orthopedic surgeon 2400 to do two IME and opinions because a private doctor I've been seeing for 3 years didn't want to do the DBQs. Lastly I'm about to see a physiatrist for the rest of my conditions and that IME fee is 450 plus 88 for fuel since he's 4 hours away. The last two years I've read miles of medical journals, VA citations, and been here at Hadit to get better/knowledgeable and avoid bothering my attorney with questions like what two plus two is, because I know it is 4 with the help here, while the RO circus will tell you/me it is zero point zero because you are not dead yet? So for my cost of only the IMO/IME/DBQs is 6,518

Edited by Oceanbound
table of content not glossary
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Guidelines and Terms of Use