ETS in 1985, military exam but no VA C&P

[kanewnut]

I applied for disability and was examined before leaving the military. The VA never scheduled me for a C&P. Is this considered a CUE? I am guessing that C&P's have always been required, but under what circumstances? Was my exam by the military before ETSing the same as a C&P? I have searched but can't find the answer.

[kanewnut]

7 hours ago, vetquest said:

He got an exam before getting out of the military.  What he did not get is a C&P with the VA

Thank GOD! At least someone can read English and comprehend English.

 

7 hours ago, vetquest said:

Did you file a claim with the VA when you got out? 

Filing a claim was part of the ETSing process. I have all the records from service and my C-file.

 

7 hours ago, vetquest said:

The only way they will do a C&P is if you file a claim.

That is what my question was. Why after I filed a claim during the ETSing process would they deny me a C&P exam?

 

7 hours ago, vetquest said:

Do you have any service connected military injuries that are bothering you now?

I have nothing but service connected military injuries that bother me. The back and neck were there since 1983. They didn't SC the neck until I sent them a copy of a page of my copy of my SMRs. A benefit of working in the section that handled all the records was being able to get a copy of my SMRs. I already know that not service connecting the neck until 2001 or 2002 is a CUE, which I will file in good time. 

Dislocation, Left Shoulder Not Service Connected
Degenerative disc and joint disease, cervical spine (previously rated as injury, 30% cervical spine, with limitation of motion)
Residual cervical spine scar 0%
Radiculopathy of right upper extremity 40%
Radiculopathy of Left upper Extremity 20%
Headaches 0%
Degenerative disc disease and spondylosis, lumbar spine (previously rated as 40% lumbosacral strain)
Chronic adjustment disorder with mixed emotional features/depressed mood 70%

[vetquest]

Filing a claim as ETS'ing is something new to me, it did not used to be that way.  They do not give you a C&P sometimes when you have a claim with the information needed to give a rating.  If they did not do C&P's did they rate you from your service records?  That would be an ideal situation.  On the dislocation that is not considered chronic unless you can show it still causes issues other than pain, I agree pain should be rated.  On the ones you say previously rated, are they still rated?  I would pursue the headaches though. 

[kanewnut]

32 minutes ago, vetquest said:

Filing a claim as ETS'ing is something new to me, it did not used to be that way.

It is VA Form 21-526E Veteran Application for Compensation or Pension at Separation From Service

 

36 minutes ago, vetquest said:

If they did not do C&P's did they rate you from your service records?

I cannot tell they ever read the SMRs. I was at the local clinic every few weeks for the back and neck. I was on profile for the last ten months until my ETS. My SMRs list chronic back 40 times and chronic neck six times.

 

45 minutes ago, vetquest said:

On the ones you say previously rated, are they still rated?

Yes. I just copied from VA decisions.

 

46 minutes ago, vetquest said:

I would pursue the headaches though. 

You have to have them to pursue them. Thankfully at least those pains are gone.

[Richard1954]

In about 2002, the VA started placing VA employees on Military Basses. When I was living in Fayetteville,  North Carolina a friend of mine who worked as a Service Officer for the Disabled American Veterans was transferred from the VA Hospital to a newly opened VA office that was located on Fort Bragg . The reason the VA opened such offices was to handle all new claims from soldiers that were separating from service.   Talking to my friend and the VA employees at that office I learned that a C/P examination was almost never requested. The reason for this was that most if not all veterans separating received a medical examination prior to separating from service, usually within 4-6 months from separating.  The VA felt that it was a waste of time and money to order new examinations when the veteran just received one from the military, so they used the separating physicals , as a reason not to request C/P examinations. This is not to say they did not order C/P exams,  because in some cases where veterans didn't get an exit exam( far and few) and were the veteran claimed conditions on his claim form but had not been examined for the condition on exit they did  schedule C/P exams.  This also help control the backlog at regional offices , because the claims were decided at these new  VA  offices on the Bases.  Veterans separated did not have to wait  years for their claim to be adjudicated because their claims were in many if not most cases decided before the veteran even left the military.   

I suspect that your case is one where the VA decided that your separation examination was adequate for them to use to decide your initial claim.

And to be sure, the  VA  has no requirement to schedule a C/P examination where they deem one is not necessary.

Edited June 21, 2019 by Richard1954

[Richard1954]

16 hours ago, kanewnut said:

I already know that not service connecting the neck until 2001 or 2002 is a CUE, which I will file in good time. 

This would not necessarily been a cue.. you stated that you had to send  them a copy of a page from your service medical records.. if the VA did not have the medical record(s)   that showed this condition then they will argue that no cue exist since the medical record in their possession did not contain the necessary medical information to rate the neck. 

You would not be the only veteran that claimed something was denied or overlooked  and then had to provide more copies of medical records to prove the claim.   

Back in my day ( retired 1986)  Veterans applying for VA disability were told to put on the claims forms, see medical records for conditions claimed.  A lot of veterans myself included were never rated for conditions that were listed in our medical records because the VA did not review the medical records completely.     In my case I was medically retired because of my lungs,  I had been denied two more times   before my condition was rated, in the end the VA said this was a CUE at that time I did not even know what CUE meant. In order to prove my claim I submitted copies of records that were from my medical retirement board, they already had the medical records so  this was they only thing I had  to help prove my claim in addition to medical records.   Other conditions I had thought I had claimed were never rated until years later when I had the time to go thru my medical records comparing issues I had at the time to issues I had in the military. It took me years to get service connection for all the conditions that the VA overlooked.  When my claim for TBI was approved, in 2016  I provided the active duty medical records again , showing the incident of being tossed from a moving jeep  and  3 days of unconscious in the Hospital as well as a copy of a more recent  MRI showing left frontal brain damage, which was the exact location that my medical records indicated I had hit my head. I was awarded an effective date of Sept 2016, even though the va had my medical records since 1986, I have a claim for an earlier effective date  (EED) at the BVA, and the va will continue to use the excuse that it was not their job to look at my medical records to determine what conditions I had on discharge and they will deny the EED. It very likely I would have been rated 100% years before I finally was rated 100% and I lost  a large amount of compensation because of this.

I encourage you to file your CUE Claim,  even with the possibility of denial ( CUE is hard to prove)  I think  you should claim every condition that you think should be service connected no matter how long it takes to get the claims thru the system.. if you don't file the claim it will remain in  the back of your mind and bother you the rest of your life.....

You say you separated in 1985... I have to ask did you actually claim the condition , or did you do as I did and write see medical records for conditions claimed?

Best of Luck...

Edited June 21, 2019 by Richard1954

[kanewnut]

7 hours ago, Richard1954 said:

You say you separated in 1985... I have to ask did you actually claim the condition , or did you do as I did and write see medical records for conditions claimed?

When I first read "see medical records for conditions claimed" I thought you meant after you had listed your conditions. At the time I had neck and back conditions listed on my VA Form 21-526e. I am fairly certain that my SMRs were never looked at. I was sent a letter by VA telling me I had no record of a neck problem in my SMRs. The letter stated I needed to get letters written by doctors that treated me and letters from buddies that were aware of my condition. That is when I sent them a copy of an SMR showing I did have the neck condition and it was definitely in my SMRs. I think my next letter was the decision letter granting benefits. The C&P examiner had written that my SMRs were gone through very throughly. 

I didn't know about applying for EED at the time. From my reading here and at ASKNOD I am fairly certain the facts were in front of then and they ignored them. They violated specific laws that were in effect at the time. By ignoring probative evidence  they rated me incorrectly and the result would be manifestly different except for the errors.

8 hours ago, Richard1954 said:

I learned that a C/P examination was almost never requested. The reason for this was that most if not all veterans separating received a medical examination prior to separating from service, usually within 4-6 months from separating.  The VA felt that it was a waste of time and money to order new examinations when the veteran just received one from the military

Thanks for answering my question. I asked it because I thought I read something somewhere that triggered the question.