Sleep Apnea

[blahsaysme2u]

i havent posted in a while. i was denied my claim for sleep apnea and got help from the state VSO because i couldnt get the vfw or DAV to return my phone calls. 

i in the army national guard. i was in 03-09 and was deployed to Iraq in 07-08. upon return i immediately went to the va and filed for benefits for health care. i was injured in iraq and filed claims for those. i also was having problems sleeping and the VA gave me a sleep study(4 months after discharge from active duty) and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. i filed a claim and it was denied. 

years have gone by since then and i was trying to get a claim for my sleep apnea once more. last year i submitted a claim(thinking the claim i submitted in 2008 cant be appeal etc.) i was denied a couple months ago again saying that my diagnosis was not "in service". now while i understand i was not active duty at the time of diagnosis, it was only 4 months after. also, where in Iraq would i have been able to get a sleep study done? 

i have been trying and trying to get help with this claim and doing research on my own. i was not getting anywhere. soooooo i went to the VSO. he immediately says "this is a CUE". he says that since the diagnosis was less than a year from discharge from active duty, i should have been granted service connection. so i am confused on this because its not listed by the VA as a presumed disease. is this CUE going to fail? if not, i was also denied service connection for my allergies that i was diagnosed with around the same time. should i file a CUE for that as well? 

 

[ShrekTheTank]

typically there are always more choices as you move towards the end and other things you can do.

next the 20% he is talking about is the lawyers fee for fighting your case.

Last I have not seen Sleep Apnea as a presumptive anywhere.

It is very good you had the sleep study in service.  Keep fighting!  you will win this!

 

[vetquest]

@blahsaysme2u, I mean that if you hire a lawyer they take 20% of your award, make sure you hire a NOVA approved lawyer.  If you lose you can take it to the Court of Veterans Appeals and you need a lawyer there but getting one should not be hard as they pay the lawyer at the CVA and it is nothing out of pocket to you.  @broncovet, has much more information about the CVA than I do, he has been there.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[blahsaysme2u]

2 hours ago, shrekthetank1 said:

It is very good you had the sleep study in service. 

i didnt have it in service. it was done 3 months after service. thats the major problem. but i was national guard and my "active duty" time was my time i served in Iraq, which my VSO is arguing was impossible for me to get a sleep study done. but the day after i was released from duty, i filed my claim and 3 months later was DX with OSA.

[awgv001]

45 minutes ago, blahsaysme2u said:

i didnt have it in service. it was done 3 months after service. thats the major problem. but i was national guard and my "active duty" time was my time i served in Iraq, which my VSO is arguing was impossible for me to get a sleep study done. but the day after i was released from duty, i filed my claim and 3 months later was DX with OSA.

Why do some VSO's feel the need to do this >_< who's side are they on??? Some of them only seem to move paperwork and complain - while others fight tooth and nail for vets up at the BVA...sorry to hear about your experience

My VSO kept telling me I should just file for IU and move on, and the usual "be happy with what you have, don't rock the boat" NONSENSE!!!

If I had listened I would still be at 40%, jobless, and homeless. They never approached me with IU until I got ptsd connected myself.

Edited February 12, 2020 by awgv001

[paulstrgn]

I retired from the military in 1995 and diagnosed with OSA in 2015. I was denied the first time I filed and denied after filing several reconsiderations as well as an HLR. Finally approved at the BVA in 7/2019. I had one DBQ, one IMO and three lay statement (one was from my supervisor while in the military) the others were my ex-wife and adult daughter as well as a statement written by me. The IMO talked about symptoms such as undiagnosed hypertension, my BMI the last five years while in the military and he also stated that he reviewed all my medically records.

My evidence submitted when it went to the BVA was DBQ, IMO, relevant medical records, a spreadsheet indicating my blood pressure readings while in the military, a spreadsheet showing my BMI the last five years while in the military, and the buddy/lay statements (they stated I had loud snoring, would wake up gasping, and was always tired).

Long story short you do not need to be diagnosed with OSA while in the military you just need to have evidence to support you had the signs of OSA. In my case, I had not even known what OSA was until several years later.

Good luck and don’t give up you can get there.

[blahsaysme2u]

19 minutes ago, awgv001 said:

Why do some VSO's feel the need to do this >_< who's side are they on??? Some of them only seem to move paperwork and complain - while others fight tooth and nail for vets up at the BVA...sorry to hear about your experience

what do you mean? do you think my vso is messing up?