Appeal To The Board

[Chris Barnes]

Just received my third turn down from VA.  They say I can appeal to the board.  The reason for turn down is because “Not enough evidence to show service connection.”  They have records of me having physical therapy and sick calls for my back.  Isn’t any evidence some evidence?  Have people had good results from, “Appealing To The  Board?”

[GBArmy]

Shrek, of course, is right on point. Every case is different.Some lanes are quicker, sometimes you feel that you need to explain in more detail to the Judge. Sometimes, the veteran wants no part of talking and freezing up on trying to remember what to say.  Go with what fits best. Different strokes for different folks.

[Buck52]

 Great Advice from Sherkthetank1  and GB Army

my 2 cents

I would go face to face with the judge  let him/her see just how bad your disability is up close ,no need to freeze up at this point  buy now your going to know what to say and what evidence you need., direct reviews are ok  but in my opinion its best to go to the Judge  yourself or your rep if you trust him/her.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Buck52

[Chris Barnes]

3 minutes ago, Buck52 said:

 Great Advice from Sherkthetank1  and GB Army

my 2 cents

I would go face to face with the judge  let him/her see just how bad your disability is up close ,no need to freeze up at this point  buy now your going to know what to say and what evidence you need., direct reviews are ok  but in my opinion its best to go to the Judge  yourself or your rep if you trust him/her.

Thanks!

[LightofSolitude]

“Service-connection for this condition remains denied as the evidence continues to show this condition was not incurred in or aggravated by military service.”

Whenever I see the above statement in veteran’s decisions, two things immediately come to mind:

1. There is a “negative C&P exam” on record (to which VA used to justify a denial of benefits)

OR

2. You have no independent medical nexus opinion at all in your C-File

What you have to do here is get an expert independent medical opinion to rebut the negative VA opinion on record. You want to get your claim to a point where the “benefit of the doubt doctrine” is applicable to you and a strong private medical opinion will do just that.

Here is your claim as it stands right now based of off what I see and have read in this thread:

A. Current Diagnosis (you have this element covered)

B. In-Service Event / Injury (this element is missing from your claim)

C. Medical Nexus Opinion (there is a “negative opinion on record” by VA)

The problem here is “B and C” listed above. No amount of private medical records can fix “B” stated above and without B there is no way to obtain “C” because that medical opinion would have little to no credibility (The medical opinion links A and B).

I believe that you still have a valid claim as you have a current diagnosis; however you are going to have to do your “due diligence” to get the claim granted by VA.

Do you have a copy of your active duty orders and if so, can you post it here? Depending on what your orders say (in my humble opinion) will determine whether or not you will need an attorney for this claim.

The government can reimburse you for travel to and from a duty station. You are considered “government property” after taking the oath of enlistment, so if something happens to you on your way to a duty station, the government has to know about it as you are required to report it.

Also, keep your paper trail going by staying in treatment and keep us posted.

Don’t give up.

[Chris Barnes]

On 5/15/2020 at 11:30 AM, LightofSolitude said:

“Service-connection for this condition remains denied as the evidence continues to show this condition was not incurred in or aggravated by military service.”

 

Whenever I see the above statement in veteran’s decisions, two things immediately come to mind:

 

1. There is a “negative C&P exam” on record (to which VA used to justify a denial of benefits)

 

OR

 

2. You have no independent medical nexus opinion at all in your C-File

 

What you have to do here is get an expert independent medical opinion to rebut the negative VA opinion on record. You want to get your claim to a point where the “benefit of the doubt doctrine” is applicable to you and a strong private medical opinion will do just that.

 

Here is your claim as it stands right now based of off what I see and have read in this thread:

 

A. Current Diagnosis (you have this element covered)

 

B. In-Service Event / Injury (this element is missing from your claim)

 

C. Medical Nexus Opinion (there is a “negative opinion on record” by VA)

 

The problem here is “B and C” listed above. No amount of private medical records can fix “B” stated above and without B there is no way to obtain “C” because that medical opinion would have little to no credibility (The medical opinion links A and B).

 

I believe that you still have a valid claim as you have a current diagnosis; however you are going to have to do your “due diligence” to get the claim granted by VA.

 

Do you have a copy of your active duty orders and if so, can you post it here? Depending on what your orders say (in my humble opinion) will determine whether or not you will need an attorney for this claim.

 

The government can reimburse you for travel to and from a duty station. You are considered “government property” after taking the oath of enlistment, so if something happens to you on your way to a duty station, the government has to know about it as you are required to report it.

 

Also, keep your paper trail going by staying in treatment and keep us posted.

 

Don’t give up.

The hand written are from sick calls where I went in for my back during service.  The other three are from the “Myhealth” page before I had private insurance.  It shows that I still had problems only a couple of months after discharge.  Does this show evidence of in service accounts?

[Chris Barnes]

On 5/15/2020 at 11:30 AM, LightofSolitude said:

“Service-connection for this condition remains denied as the evidence continues to show this condition was not incurred in or aggravated by military service.”

 

Whenever I see the above statement in veteran’s decisions, two things immediately come to mind:

 

1. There is a “negative C&P exam” on record (to which VA used to justify a denial of benefits)

 

OR

 

2. You have no independent medical nexus opinion at all in your C-File

 

What you have to do here is get an expert independent medical opinion to rebut the negative VA opinion on record. You want to get your claim to a point where the “benefit of the doubt doctrine” is applicable to you and a strong private medical opinion will do just that.

 

Here is your claim as it stands right now based of off what I see and have read in this thread:

 

A. Current Diagnosis (you have this element covered)

 

B. In-Service Event / Injury (this element is missing from your claim)

 

C. Medical Nexus Opinion (there is a “negative opinion on record” by VA)

 

The problem here is “B and C” listed above. No amount of private medical records can fix “B” stated above and without B there is no way to obtain “C” because that medical opinion would have little to no credibility (The medical opinion links A and B).

 

I believe that you still have a valid claim as you have a current diagnosis; however you are going to have to do your “due diligence” to get the claim granted by VA.

 

Do you have a copy of your active duty orders and if so, can you post it here? Depending on what your orders say (in my humble opinion) will determine whether or not you will need an attorney for this claim.

 

The government can reimburse you for travel to and from a duty station. You are considered “government property” after taking the oath of enlistment, so if something happens to you on your way to a duty station, the government has to know about it as you are required to report it.

 

Also, keep your paper trail going by staying in treatment and keep us posted.

 

Don’t give up.

I had two buddy letters also.