Joni

[Joni F]

• Hello Had it! I just joined this evening. I happened to come across your website while doing research for my  friend who is a Vietnam Vet. I think the first order of business should be to write to St Louis for his records so he can see whats in them. So my first question is after that, should I send him the DBQ's so he can be familiar with them and then have him see a VA doctor? From what I'm gathering he could have more claims but of course these are not on the presumptive list for AO, so I'm trying to connect the dots.  Where should he begin after getting his records? I've sent him the form SF-180 for St.Louis . The tinnitus was a given but pursuing these others we don't know where to start. I'm familiar with the C&P exam and the Nexus letter.Can anyone offer some advice to help me?Just wondering if anyone has heard if 4 new conditions have been added by the VA yet? Thanks in advance!

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by Joni F

[broncovet]

Welcome to hadit and thank you for helping your brother.  Its awesome to have a sister like you.  

My first advice, if you have not done so yet, is to apply.  Yes, I know some Vets file an ITF but I dont see the advantage in that.  The earlier you apply, the more retro you get, so delaying a month can mean losing 3000 dollars or so, if he "gets to 100 percent" and I have no idea whether he will or not.  However, if he is like most people, he can use an extra 3000 so apply sooner rather than later.  

Then of course WHILE VA is working your claim YOU can be working it also, by gathering records and, learning.  He is always gonna need these 3 things for each issue "NOT" on the presumptive list.  

1.  Current diagnosis.  

2.  "In service event" or aggravation.  If he has PTSD this is called a "stressor".  

3.  Nexus, or doctors opinion that his current diagnosis is at least as likely as not related to his in service event.  

     IF he has little or no income, then he can apply for pension and probably get that quickly.  They didnt tell me that, so I lost my home waiting on VA to process my benefits.  I couldnt wait 3 years without an income, and lost my home.  

    If he is "not working" well, he should apply for and get tdiu.  But, a doctor has to say he is unable to work due to sc conditions.  

    Thats my advice.  Apply now, forget ITF, and then gather your paper work.  Its gonna take the Va months, and you have "only yours" to do, the VA has millions of others.  So you should be able to gather your paperwork faster than VA does.  

    Now, The VA has a "duty to assist" getting your paperwork, and there is no reason not to take advantage of that.  Its part of VA benefits.  

    Each condition he applies for will have to meet the above critieria, called the Caluza Elements, marked "1,2, 3", exept for those on the presumptive list.  

Here is the presumptive list for VN. 

https://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/serviceconnected/presumption.pdf

    Not everyone agrees with me about ITF, and its okay if you go that route.  With an ITF, you tell VA you "Intend to file" and, if you gather your paperwork within a year, then you should get the claim date of the ITF.  One problem with ITF:  Va messes those up, too, so you wind up appealing your effecitve date to get the ITF file date. Simple is good.  ITF adds another layer of complexitiy.

    This isnt the only problem with ITF, either.  At least one Vets advocate I know says they dont do those any more, so I say why take chances with your benefits, and skip the ITF.  Some have been successful with the ITF, but others have had problems.  I have answered over 12,000 Vets questions on hadit since 2007, and I see no benefit to the ITF, but I dont get mad if people dont take my advice.  

    However, if I give advice and people fail to take it, Im not all that sympathetic if failing to take my advice does not yield the result they had hoped for.  Its tempting to say, "I told you so", but I have been better at not saying that.  "I told you so" does not help much, and that is my goal to help, not to ring my own "I told you so" bell.  

  

Edited February 9, 2020 by broncovet

[Tbird]

Joni -

 

I think this article will be helpful https://hadit.com/examining-your-service-medical-records/

[Joni F]

THANK YOU to  broncovet and Tbird for your help with information! I appreciate it!

[Berta]

The pressure is on for Secretary Wilkie to make a decision on the potential news presumptives.

I have already filed a claim on Hypertension, as a widow of a deceased AO veteran.

The NAS reports showed hypertension as having a "sufficient " association to AO exposure and the BVA has already awarded some of those claims.

I posted info on that already here in the AO forum. I used the NAS report, a past IMO, and also the rating sheet of my husband's NSC HBP which became 1151 HBP and now will become SC HBP it better- -as I will fight any denial aggressively.

AlsoI made the point that VA had deemed my dead husband's hypertension as "essential", meaning they did not know what caused it.Anyone filing an AO IHB claim should also make that point if it applies to them and is documented in their medical records.

I dont know if BVA has awarded any more of these claims than the ones I found but many are on remand due to the NAS report.

 

I get email on this issue almost every day:

"The senators are specifically calling to end a years-long delay of adding several conditions, including bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, Parkinsonism, and hypertension, to the list of service-connected presumptive conditions the Department of Veterans Affairs has regarding exposure to Agent Orange."

https://www.cbs19news.com/story/41694886/senators-press-adding-conditions-to-agent-orangerelated-list  6.30 AM Feb 13,2020.

 

 

I will get a google alert right away if he makes a decision-

it is all about Money-in my opinion, beecause  they have those BWN AO vets to deal with too and they are still keeping the BWN  AO situation out of the national news, but VA is ostensibly working on those claims that were denied in the past ,yet the veteran's ship  was within the 12 mile limit,off coast of Vietnam.

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by Berta

[GBArmy]

Here's my take on it; the President will act in the affirmative. He was recently misinformed about the soldiers/airmen in Iraq and there casualties after the Iranian missile strike. Don't forget he didn't retaliate because there weren't any "serious casualties.". Whether his mistake in not understanding TBI as a serious injury, or he was told no serious injuries. In any case, he can get on the good side of veterans very quickly if he directs the VA to do what they should have done years ago. I think (hope) he does!

[Vync]

Fantastic advice from all respondents.

My father served in Vietnam and has avoided the VA like the plague for a long time, but has a lot of problems. I actually just finished going through all of his treatment records. He had 24 years of service and it took quite a while. Nearly all records were hand written and somewhat illegible. I took some along with me to a doctor's appointment to get them to translate the scribble into English. Sometimes there were multiple treatments noted on each page. Sometimes they even wrote on the back of some pages. I used my scanner to scan in each page to a separate PDF file. I renamed each file as follows: "YYYY-MM-DD {reason for visit}". I then kept a separate log of visits to track the specifics (falls, gastro, head injury, etc...). Once finished, I had a very good picture of exactly what happened to him during service. For example, he had X number of falls, X number of head injuries, etc... I compared those to his current health picture and was able to get an idea of what to file for.

If your brother served in combat or got a purple heart, those can be very important. You'll need to get his service treatment records. personnel records, and it never hurts to get treatment records since service. If non-military/non-VA records are over 10 years old, they may be impossible to get. Also, some providers may charge a fee for records.