C-File Law Suit

[RBrogen]

Curious if anyone here has gone through the FOIA and had to ultimately sue the VA in Federal District Court to force them to provide their C-File in a more timely manner?  FOIA's are required to be fulfilled in 20 business days by law assuming no special circumstances.  Obviously the VA isn't going to respond to anything in 20 days but when it goes on for 6 months or longer that is ridiculous and slows our ability to address claim denials/issues quickly.  I just filed a FOIA appeal and was sent a letter from the Office of General Counsel, Veterans Administration that my FOIA request was DENIED under FOIA Exemption 6 but remanded to be provided via the Privacy Act.  The issue is that the Privacy Act process has no deadline so they can take as long as they want, while the FOIA actually has deadlines and a process for relief when they don't do what they are supposed to.  From my understanding, this is a tact the VA uses to confuse people into thinking it is a Privacy Act request and not a FOIA request.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RBrogen]

8 hours ago, Patton said:

Thanks for the information! This is very helpful. Patton is my last name, which there is a few of us out here but I would not say it is a common last name.

I need to look closer at my old C-File, but I do know that not all of my STR are there. Then there are multiple copies of other things in the file. Something has just dawn on me, when I filed for GERD, I could not find the results from an upper GI done during service, but the C&P Examiner did. I just looked and it is not in my C-File they sent me in 2017.

I will look into how to file an OIG Investigation, because I am done playing games. In the past I have tried to get things corrected (thru FOIA) in my Healthy Vet with no results. Maybe I can bring that up again with the OIG.

It looks like I have a lot of work in front of me.

I will google OIG but do you have a link for them?

Here's how to file OIG Complaint online ... just did one a couple of days ago:  https://www.va.gov/oig/hotline/

[Berta]

Me too about 3 weeks ago- Sometimes the IG determines they cannot look into complaints- it all depends on what it is about----

And their web site says to try to do all you can to get the complaint rectified by other means.

After I filed the complaint on line, at VAOIG, I sent a letter to the Assistant VA IG, instead of Michael Missal, as the Assistant IG handles audits ( what my complaint is about.)

I also filed a Wh complaint and complaints with two RO directors, as well, to see if this can be rectified by them  and sent them letters as well, and yesterday I mailed a letter to the VA district counsel who oversees both VAROs involved.

And I also found a past Neuro Doctor who did a 1993 C & P exam on my husband, and recently obtained lots of information from VA, on the exam, (they had only sent 2 pages of it before just verifying he had the exam) that never turned up before, but still the most important piece of evidence is missing.So I sent her a letter, as I was present at the exam, and showed her what I had received from the VA recently but none of it regarded her most important statement at the exam....that the 1151 stroke had rendered my husband 100% P & T. I have other medical evidence from VA to support that, as well, but part of my IG complaint is on what the director of my RO told me, by phone, and the decision bears out what she said----

Unlike any other veteran in the VA claims system, that I know of ( I made this point to the IG,) who has had a total continuous disability that lasted until their death with no improvement, their disability has to be deemed as P & T. That fact that this was an 1151 stroke my husband had that contributed to his death (documented)also reveals that VA provided no appropriate treatment for it.The FTCA medical review ( OGC VACO)makes that point as well.So does the autopsy and other evidence my RO failed to consider.

I did receive a reply last week from one of the directors. They say they are reviewing my entire C file to assess my concerns. Maybe they heard from the White House-

When you file a White House Hot line complaint, I noticed that much can get garbled by phone and the phone operator is doing their best to get it all down....but this time I emailed the director exactly what my WH complaint on her involved. The WH deemed it as a DIC issue but it is far more than that.I already get DIC under 4 separate theories of entitlement. Because of her ridiculous statement, it  appears that is why my audit is wrong.

If you have a stroke, VA will rate a severe stroke at 100% for 6 months, and then rate on the residuals. They rated and paid for 6 months plus the SMC CUE I won, then no payment seems to have been paid at all for the stroke residuals which, per the residuals C & P exam of 1993 were  100%" Total and Permanent",in addition to other significant evidence I had.They owe me 22 months, 100% 1151 plus SMC.And they never paid for an additional CUE but said they had granted it.

 

 

[FormerMember]

File an Extraordinary Writ of Mandamus at the CAVC. Free. It takes 45 days for the Court to whip the OGC into giving you a copy. About two weeks after the Judge gives them 30 days to poop or get off the pot, they'll say " Your Honor, we're mystified as to what the bitch is here. We gave his complete c-file records to him almost two weeks ago. Here's the certified mail receipt with his signature on it. We move for denial of the Writ." 

Here's a link to 64 articles I've written over the years and includes Ex Writs I've filed for myself (4) and for a client (2). I've also included some really interesting Ex Writs of other friends and neighbors. It'll give you the basics of how. When you file an Ex Writ, you are not the movant, claimant or appellant. You are the Petitioner. Always speak of yourself in the third person- i.e. "Petitioner begs the Court to..."

By way of explanation, a movant is one who files a Motion to Revise (CUE claim).

https://asknod.org/category/extraordinary-writs-of-mandamus/page/1/

On the other hand, you really only need to use the Court's informal claim process. Unless you have over $2 million stashed in a Swiss bank or the Cayman Islands, it's free.

http://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/documents/Rules_of_Practice_and_Procedure_effective_Sept_15_2011_-_Form_4.pdf

You can use regular stationary and ask (in simple language) the Court to  make the Secretary give you your c-file. Since the Court has never set eyes on it-or you, you will need to send them all copies of any previous correspondence asking for the file. The Court likes it when you have a good paper trail. This also gets the OGC all in a dither and they start trying to get that claims file out to you lickity spit before the Court grants the Ex Writ. By way of explanation, only 11 people have won a Writ since 1990.  

A word of warning. Never get involved with the OIG. They'll be spending more time looking in your underwear than the bad guys'. Normal turnaround for me on a c file is about three months from the RMC. However, within 30 days of my filing the 21-22a POA for representation, I can see it all on VBMS with no restrictions. For some silly reason, VA gave me a Level 6 access instead of a 4 or 5. It lets me review all the HIPPA stuff unredacted like Psychiatric records. Shoot, I can even look at my own c file! That's  a MegaBozo no-no at VA. If you're a VA employee, your VSO or attorney has to be in another state! 

[RBrogen]

53 minutes ago, asknod said:

File an Extraordinary Writ of Mandamus at the CAVC. Free. It takes 45 days for the Court to whip the OGC into giving you a copy. About two weeks after the Judge gives them 30 days to poop or get off the pot, they'll say " Your Honor, we're mystified as to what the bitch is here. We gave his complete c-file records to him almost two weeks ago. Here's the certified mail receipt with his signature on it. We move for denial of the Writ." 

Here's a link to 64 articles I've written over the years and includes Ex Writs I've filed for myself (4) and for a client (2). I've also included some really interesting Ex Writs of other friends and neighbors. It'll give you the basics of how. When you file an Ex Writ, you are not the movant, claimant or appellant. You are the Petitioner. Always speak of yourself in the third person- i.e. "Petitioner begs the Court to..."

By way of explanation, a movant is one who files a Motion to Revise (CUE claim).

https://asknod.org/category/extraordinary-writs-of-mandamus/page/1/

On the other hand, you really only need to use the Court's informal claim process. Unless you have over $2 million stashed in a Swiss bank or the Cayman Islands, it's free.

http://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/documents/Rules_of_Practice_and_Procedure_effective_Sept_15_2011_-_Form_4.pdf

You can use regular stationary and ask (in simple language) the Court to  make the Secretary give you your c-file. Since the Court has never set eyes on it-or you, you will need to send them all copies of any previous correspondence asking for the file. The Court likes it when you have a good paper trail. This also gets the OGC all in a dither and they start trying to get that claims file out to you lickity spit before the Court grants the Ex Writ. By way of explanation, only 11 people have won a Writ since 1990.  

A word of warning. Never get involved with the OIG. They'll be spending more time looking in your underwear than the bad guys'. Normal turnaround for me on a c file is about three months from the RMC. However, within 30 days of my filing the 21-22a POA for representation, I can see it all on VBMS with no restrictions. For some silly reason, VA gave me a Level 6 access instead of a 4 or 5. It lets me review all the HIPPA stuff unredacted like Psychiatric records. Shoot, I can even look at my own c file! That's  a MegaBozo no-no at VA. If you're a VA employee, your VSO or attorney has to be in another state! 

I'm confused by your post probably because of my lack of experience/knowledge of the Writ.  It seems you say on one hand to file a Writ and then later you say only 11 people have won a Writ since 1990?

[Patton]

8 hours ago, RBrogen said:

Here's how to file OIG Complaint online ... just did one a couple of days ago:  https://www.va.gov/oig/hotline/

Thanks RBrogen! 

[paulstrgn]

I work for the federal government and we have writs filed against us all the time. Is what we do to make the writ go away we just adjudicate the case (in our case) and then we go back to the judge and say "the writ is no longer needed since the case has been completed" and then the judge judge dismisses the case as being moot since what the writ was wanting the case completed and it has already been completed. Basically you do win the writ, just unofficially is all. The government fixes the issue so the judge does not need to rule on it. I believe this is what Asknod is referring to.