C&P Exam

[ADAMS]

So I had recently received a C&P For Sleep apnea, Doctor favored me in other words, was at least likely as not 50% greater probability that the disability was incurred during service,. now 3 weeks later it was sent back out for a correction on something the doctor didn't fill out correctly, but magically it wasn't sent to the doctor that initially completed my exam it was sent to someone 5 states away whom never met me or knows nothing about me, anyways she changed the exam to a negative meaning she said was less likely than not, i find this as being a integrity issue with the VA, when it should have gone back to the same examiner. Any Comments???? Claim denied 3 days later.   SHADY

[GBArmy]

Hamslice,  excellent !!!

As we say all the time: "the veteran is his own best advocate." Keep pushing, I hope all new member on Hadit read your posting and get encouraged. "You don't lose until you quit trying."

 

[Berta]

I think I have said this here 100 times or more in the past 22 years,in both hadit boards:

Lawyers need to use FOIA to get your medical stuff- BUT

FOIA from a veteran, for what is theirs ( C & P exam copies and all VA medical records,) do not require a FOIA.

Every VAMC should have a Records Access Officer or someone, maybe with a different title, who can give you a short form to fill out to obtain your medical info.

FOIA takes longer than this simple request form does. If you like to use legal beagle stuff state This is a request under the Privacy Act, 5, USC, 552. Do not state FOIA under that same citation.

But in any event ( I never used FOIA to get my husband's medical records, C & P exams etc. and I got one within days, that the BVA ordered, and rebutted it immediately-BVA asked for a cardio opinion, I got a PA opinion.

BVA had by then 3 IMOs from me and totally disregarded the "speculative" opinion from a PA who didn't have a clue on cardiology.

If you can obtain these C & P exams, and also scan them as well as the denial, and attach them here , we can see what went wrong.

Also you need to see what the qualifications of the two examiners was.

Please cover your C file #, name, etc prior to scanning them.

Also a tip on FOIA ( I have used FOIA for over 20 years for other issues, ) some here have been concerned that they sent a FOIA on other issues to VA, and they expect the FOIA regulations provide them with a result in 20 days----

Not true, a FOIA provides ,within about 3 weeks , an acknowledgement of the request.My most recent FOIA sent to OGC a few months ago was acknowledged immediately then VA FOIA officer asked what other info I had that could define where the information would be found.

I gave them the name of the General Counsel lawyer who apparently handled this very odd legal issue in the first place, and the veteran as well as his lawyer ran with it. They made no attempt ( I advised both of them to take other steps as well, ) with the links I gave them, to try to find out if what the OGC lawyer told them, was actually true ,and I have not heard anything since naming the OGC lawyer, from the FOIA officer.

Maybe I will even withdraw the request. I found the veteran involved to have lied to me many times about the actual circumstances. His lawyer and many others from a vet org told him to seek others adversely affected in the same way via the internet- and I contacted his lawyer-but then the veteran contacted me and  lied about a key point he had posted in many news articles on line.

I posted the records request VA form here a few times.I will try to find it.

 

One FOIA I had with the US Department of HHS took 8 years before it got resolved and they sent me the info- which I didn't need anymore.

 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2019 by Berta
added reg link

[Berta]

"The purpose of this form is to provide an individual the means to make a written request for a copy of their information maintained by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) in accordance with 38 CFR 1.577. The information on this form is requested under Title 38 U.S.C. Your disclosure of the information requested on this form is voluntary. However, if the information including the last four of your Social Security Number (SSN) and Date of Birth (used to locate records for release) is not furnished completely and accurately, VA will be unable to comply with the request. Failure to furnish the information will not have any effect on any other benefits to which you may be entitled."

https://www.va.gov/vaforms/medical/pdf/vha-10-5345a-fill.pdf

Here is the citation they reference:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/1.577