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Are some of your VA Medical records- missing?

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Berta

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As you know , I determined my husband had been malpracticed on by two VAMCs, after he suddenly died over 2 decades ago.

I immediately requested his medical  records, even though  we thought he was not entitled to see them because a VA nurse had chastized him for even looking in his Med rec file, one day while we had waited for hours for an appointment.She screamed at him ( a PTSD vet) and I feared he would really get angry- and she said he was not allowed to see his own records.  But he didn't respond to her at all and gave her the file back.  What dopes we were. I didnt think I could get his medical  records,  but I did.

I recently requested what appeared to be maybe only one page of a C & P Neuro exam he had in 1993.I thought maybe there was nothing more than what I had -2 pages of the Appointment.

I had two of the pages, but nothing else as to the results, whereby the Neuro doctor had decalred him 100% P & T due to a catatrophic stroke.

Yesterday I got 13 pages of the exam results.....? Some of the results are wrong- based on established medical evidence.

Also when NVLSP determined my EED, they had some sort of C & P exam result or entry , in October 1988, whereby a VA doctor had noted my husband's heart disease. They used that date as his EED. I do not remember him having this exam at all. Importantly  ,it shows the VA failed again to properly diagnose and treat his AO IHD, and again months after the initial heart attack, they never told the veteran he even had a heart condition,but  I felt my EED was 8-13-88, the first day VA had evidence of a heart attack my husband had that day , at the VAMC where he worked...the 8-13-88  EKG revealed it ,yet they never followed through on it and instead said he had a sinus infection that caused his on the job collapse. The NVLSP lawyer argued that I was "lucky' that this exam acknowledging the heart condition had be done. I said what do you mean Lucky- the VA killed him, and this entry is one more way they failed to tell the veteran of his heart cndition, and continued to fail to diagnose and treat- and could have began a CAD work up right away, as the8-13-88 ER Certificate called for.  But I was satisfied with most of the Nehmer decision. They awarded two CUES i had and my current CUES are about another part of the decision.(and I believe the audit was completely wrong for the retro and sent them my figures on that)

My point is, my C file revealed probative evidence of malpractice, hidden from the OGC as well as a 6 page autopsy.When I realised the OGC did not have it, I sent it to them and they reversed their initial FTCA denial and settled with me.Another Peer Review supporting my charges, had 'disappeared' from the VA.I had to start all over agan without it at the OGC.

I found it at the bottom of my C file, almost 10 years later. The report that OLMA Office of Medical/legal VA told me had "never existed."

I used it for my AO IHD claim.

Not only might your C file surprise you, but you also might find that your copy of your VA medical records might be missing some information pertinent to your claim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Content Curator/HadIt.com Elder

I had the VA deny a claim because "service treatment records were silent" for the condition, but I specifically remember going to the doctor while in the service. I got my c-file and found the very same treatment record I knew was there all along. Appealed. Won.

Also, I had another veteran's records mixed in with mine. I got with the VARO and sent those back. It seemed they cared more about getting back someone else's records than thoroughly looking through mine. If they had been thorough, they would have found his too.

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  • HadIt.com Elder

I just went and seen a Patient Advocate and she told me I was not allowed to see my medical records  or any email she sends out to the VA Dr's..

I tried to agure wit her,  she simply said no you can't see what I type to the Dr's  (I ask her for a copy of her emails she sent to one of my Dentist to try to correct a problem in the dental clinic this Dr said they could not do  but was a possibility the outside could. 

she said I was not allowed to see  the conversations she has had with this staff dentist.  emails or on medical records.

the patient Advocate was to  supposedly send  a email to this dentist and ask if I could be out source after the New VA Mission Act is set  June 6th 2019.(so for nothing was sent as for as I know?

Anyway the patient advocate said I had to write a clinical appeals process letter to the Dr's ( 4 or 5 staff dentist) and they will vote if I can get outside care or not.???

....so I''m taking this to her boss   the Hospital Director  himself.

 This Dr maybe right about this the way the VA does things!!!

Here is my issue

I have an anchor tooth that fit my upper partials   and it has a fracture root bone  that will need to be extracted.....however this VA Staff dentist says if this tooth is extracted  there is no way for him to make me new partials with that anchor tooth missing and my only alternative was to have all my upper teeth extracted  for him to be able to make me some upper dentures..

He also said I am not a good candidate for implants because of my severe bone loss in my  upper gums  but he also said there is a possibility an outside source (private dentist ) can fix this problem,  but  the VA don't allow him to do it I ask this dentist for a referral to outside care    he refused....

so I ask the patient Advocate  for out side care  and  she tole me the out side care dentist will agree with the VA Staff dentist  after an examnation and reads my medical records  ect,,ect,,,I said oh really?  why do you say that...she would not answer me .

So I am fighting with the patient advocate s office.

but I am fairly sure  the Hospital Director will agree with me and help me get outsourced  after June 6TH from the new Mission Care Act.

waiting on that.

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I posted:

"I recently requested what appeared to be maybe only one page of a C & P Neuro exam he had in 1993.I thought maybe there was nothing more than what I had -2 pages of the Appointment.

I had two of the pages, but nothing else as to the results, whereby the Neuro doctor had decalred him 100% P & T due to a catatrophic stroke.

Yesterday I got 13 pages of the exam results.....? Some of the results are wrong- based on established medical evidence."

The info I got came from the local VA, who got it from Buffalo RO.

The one thing that is missing is the fact that the Neuro declared my husband 100% P & T  due to his catastrophic stroke. I have other evidence to support the 100% P & T,that I believe the VARO destroyed, so that their director could try to get me to believe he was Total but not Permanent, when he died.

Of course she does not know basic VA case law- if you have a continuous 100% rating, it becomes Permanent when you die. The 1151 stroke, was preceded by multiple TIAs that VA misdiagnosed, and was a contributing factor to his death per death Cert and autopsy.

Oddly enough this Doctor is still in practice.It was 26 years ago when she did the exam that I was present at.

She declared my husband 100% P & T  very loudly and the other vets standing around waiting for an appointment , looked at him like he just won the lottery.

The truth is, he knew already he would never work again. And all the evidence I sent to them proves the 100% P & T status. The director never answered my question- what miraculous cure did he get, and why didnt the VA tell him he had been cured.( You cannot cure the extensive 6 areas of significant brain damage he had.

My long point here is that you need to make sure the VA sends you ALL of your med recs, when you request them.That is how I found out my husband's Psychiatric VA  and PTSD inhouse records were missing.

And his SSA award solely for Stroke.

His shrink told me the RO had them, as he sent them to the RO and he gave me copies of them and wrote to the VARO himself.    Within a few weeks they turned his 30 % SC into 100% PTSD P & T,in a posthumous rating decision.

I see vets who are unwilling to do the legwork for their claims. One vet I know still has not asked for his VA Med recs, but gripes about his low rating. He keeps saying he will get his past vet rep to help him re open his claim- but he has said that for over 20 years. He gets 10% for a inservice back injury and now can hardly walk.

Oh well-

 

 

 

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When I exited from service, I was given complete records..as complete as they have them, on paper.  I can not emphasize enough to hold on to those.  Dont depend on VA, the NPRC, etc. etc. to hold on to your records.  Keep them yourself, and, dont give VA the original, give em a copy only.  

In the 2008 "October incident" an invetigation by VAOIG found multiple Veterans records "in the shred bin", in multiple VARO's, and they did not check them all.  

VaSec Dr. Peake publicly denounced this practice, instituting a "special handling request" due to mishandled evidence, "BUT" it only covered an 18 month period just prior to the October 2008 incident.

In other words, even tho VA had been publicly accused of this very practice in the past, they "assumed" shredding only occurred during that 18 month period, when there was simply no evidence that shredding was limited to that 18 month period.  

Dr. Peake promised, "VA employee accountability" and, further, that Veterans were to be beleived, when they resubmitted documents in that period which were shredded.  

In Dec. 2008, I submitted a "special handling request" and resubmitted several documents.  On those documents, I sometimes wrote, in my own handwriting "resubmitted".  

In 2009, I asked for and got a copy of my cfile.  The Special handling request was no where to be found.  However, in internal documents at least one VA employee acknowledged my request saying, "This is not a legit shredding request, because SOME of the documents resubmitted were out of the 18 month window". 

I was mad.  I filed a writ of mandamus.  (Pro Se).  The CAVC judge ordered the VARO to "respond" to my complaint.  They did.  They danced around the shredding incident, never admitting nor denying it, but did acknowledge "that certain things need to be done"..and a list of them.  

One was to adjuticate tdiu, which I allege my informal claim was shredded and never addressed in 7 years.  

2 months after the judge "denied" my Writ, low and behold, I received a decision letter awarding 100 percent P and T, and it said that "fully resolved" the problem and that tdiu was moot, because 100 percent was granted.  

I appealed, arguing TDIU was "not moot" because it would entitle me to SMC S, and, potentially an earlier effective date of several years retro.  

The board agreed with me and ordered adjutication of tdiu under 4.16b, as I had argued.  (Extra scehdular TDIU).  

The VARO ignored that remand and instead awarded some dependent benefits earilier.  

I complained they never implemented the board decision, and finally got a tdiu decision.  

Denied, of course.  I appealed, and eventually won all my benefits back to 2002.  

      I have never been acquainted with any person or entitity use so many excuses not to pay.  Never.  It took me 17 years of appeals, writs, cavc, board decisions, DRO's, etc etc.  

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  • HadIt.com Elder

broncovet mention

''I was mad.  I filed a writ of mandamus.  (Pro Se).  The CAVC judge ordered the VARO to "respond" to my complaint.  They did.  They danced around the shredding incident, never admitting nor denying it, but did acknowledge "that certain things need to be done"..and a list of them.''

I would say you got lucky with this CAVC judge    9 X's out of 10 they deny the writ for most veterans.

When we can get a CAVC Judge on our side  things change for the better.

But you kept going at them  and this just shows  persistence pays off and why a veteran should  never quit or give up.

WAY TO GO BRONCOVET.

Edited by Buck52
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