Forgotten Again

[hurryupnwait]

It seems that both the VA and my attorney, Ken Carpenter, have forgotten about my claim/case. I have been in the appeal process for 10 years and 4 months and have made very little headway.  In my last conversation with my attorney 's assistant it was discussed that it may be time for a Writ of Mandamus but that was in May and I have heard nothing.  I think Ken Carpenter's office is overwhelmed with recent claims he has accepted even tho I think he is in his 70's. I ve been his client for about 12 years now but I have seen alot of inactivity in recent years on my case.  .  

We have been waiting for years for the Regional Office to certify my claim and send it to the board.

 

This forum is the best place to vent frustration

 

 

 

Any ideas or suggestions

[ToxicSgt73]

hurryupnwait, 

I sure can understand you wanting to vent. I am new to the game, but, surely its time to make some noise? Maybe that noise has to come from me and others and like me. Maybe I can help in some way to help you get yours because I am seeing that I will probably never see anything but a token of what my service years took from me. 

BroncoVet, 

your post on this thread....real important to me...MY AHA moment....thanks for posting this....

I get it. At least I think I do, at least some of it, at least the part of WHY I am reading about all of you having important parts of your claims held up for years as the VA plays out its agenda, and continually adjusts the goal posts, so that the VA agenda is met. Not the mission. The mission is not met.  The mission has never been met. At least the mission that I was sold. The mission that the public was sold. And the mission I believe that each and every one of you was sold. 

I can see that it comes down to personal agendas always, whether that 'personal' is a person, such as any one of us, or it is an agency like the VA, which is really just the DOD, which is really just part of something much MUCH bigger. We all just get a piece.  And it is really just a game. Its a game to them, and its a game to us. Now when I say its a game to us, I don't mean that lightly, as the last thing I want is play any game. 

But, I say its a game for a reason. Where is the truth? Where is the truth in any of this? 

If someone has nothing but a Tinnitus claim. What are the odds of it sailing through? Even if a person has hearing loss where they can't have a decent conversation on a telephone or watch a TV program at a 'normal' listening level, since getting out of the service, what is the odds of that person getting the benefit out of the system as it is promised and written? I can see that it is set up this way to encourage those who would lie to collect on Tinnitus, to substitute for not being able to collect on the actual measurable hearing loss that they may or may not have. VA is limiting their pay out here. All the while those who actually have both, stand a chance of telling the truth and getting nothing for years if ever.

While someone like me who has disabling Tinnitus and hearing loss since in the service, decides to 'come' out of the woodwork, because I need to, and now my agenda is questioned by the VA, the public, and some in the Vets community because of timing. (The timing is always going to be the claimaint's timing) and shouldn't matter to no one. Unless it had been promised a different way, it wasn't. That is what believing what other's will tell you is always the truth without agenda will get you. 

While what I wrote is an oversimplification, it works for me to understand some of what I am facing, as I empathize with all of you. 

So, when I file my 'real' claim....I can look forward to 40 to 60 years of waiting while a couple of hours of work are done on my case to delay it multiple times to fulfill the VA's agenda.  And it will be very easy for them to do, as some of the 'rules' will have to be rewritten for the truth to play out. 

At first I though I understood some of the 'soft' 'pedaling' around what the VA does and does not do when compared to what they should be doing.....and I thought that was the right thing to do....for a little while, I changed my mind to that, from seeking truth....always.....Well I am back to seeking truth always again.

I waited 42 years to file anything....I don't have another 42 years to play games.....8 years ago I was a long shot to be here today....ten years to win? not worth the effort, what I have learned in the last 8 years is to live now, but what I have also learned in the last 65 years is that if I am to get what I want, most likely I have to be the one to open the door and to make sure it stays open. By doing that....I have learned to recognize a 'rigged' game. A liar, a thief, a cheat. 

What I see now in the limited experience since deciding to come out of the woodwork, if I had 40 years to spare, then play the game, and then maybe play the Lottery at the same time.....one of them might come through for me.

The VA is playing a shell game, just like the bigger parts it is a part of. Allow this group something of what they earned,  and stall the other group, get one group to blame the other, latch onto the latest thing and let the others sit it out. 

When I was taken into the VARO back secure room to 'proof' myself, a few days ago, there was at least 30 empty cubicles, one person was working (the one that checked my identity and passed magic on the keyboard to allow me access to eBenefits) there were maybe 4 other people in the room, they were laughing in a huddle sitting in their office chairs, no one was at a keyboard.......? I don't know what I was looking at.....I was just passing thru. 

I can see, that I would like to get the VA to stop playing Whack a Mole.....and Nuke the stack, eliminate the stack, by being made to settle all claims in a reasonable time frame, and NO a year is not reasonable for any claim. A reasonable man would see about 3 months as reasonable if this was a business transaction.

I have busted down a few doors in my life.  I can see a new one inviting me. 

*****************

hurryupnwait, 

I sure hope these experienced Vets that have seen it all, can help you find an open door.

[vetquest]

Hurryupnwait, I would take broncovet's advice and take this up with your attorney.  They can file a writ of mandamus.  My case was ten years old and at the RO and my attorney filed a writ and my case suddenly started moving.  It is your best bet.  I know you do not want to annoy your attorney but maybe it is time, ask to speak to him personally.  I would also follow Buck52's advice and call the Whitehouse hotline.  You are your own best advocate and sometimes we must stir the pot.

[hurryupnwait]

I will be asking my attorney to file a "writ of mandamus" next week.  I also plan to call the Washington hotline which I have never heard of.      

To anyone considering using an attorney.  It is my opinion that contracting with an attorney will not speed up your claim.  Attorneys are good for making sure your i's are dotted and your t's are crossed.  The VARO does not seem to treat them any differently than the claimant.  That may be because they do not even read the C file.  It seems to me that only the Board reads the attorney's letters and the c file.  

Many thanks for the replies and suggestions

Regards