HLR Found Duty to Assist Error but still denied my claims

[broncovet]

The Board looks at your records and then makes a determination "if you meet the Caluza elements" for Service connection.  

Criteria:  Caluza elements

NON criteria:  Whether or not VA loses your records.  

    The VA losing your records "does not" guarantee you will be awarded any benefits, unfortunately.   Instead, it often increases the difficulty for the Veteran to obtain benefits.  

     The burden to show you meet the criteria is "on the Veteran", not on the VA.  Yes, they have a duty to assist, but that does not mean they can fill in a missing nexus or in service event for you.  

Its very difficult to get around the caluza elements.  Get them, win benefits, lack any one of the 3 and get denied.  

To reiterate:

Caluza elements:

1.  Current diagnosis.  (This is not the same as a diagnosis in service, as a diagnosis in service is not required).  

2.  In service event or aggravation. 

3.  Nexus, or medical opinion, your diagnosis is at least as likely as not due to an in service event.  

    When I left the service, I was given a packet of my records, and they suggest not losing them.   I lost em anyway.  Yea, I should have kept them, but I was too young, and did not get it, and too disorganized.  

Yea, a copy of those are supposed to be sent to the NPRC, but key word "supposed to be".  Even if they are sent their, NPRC can lose them, and, they can get lost after NPRC sends them to VA.  This is why you need to keep your copy, and NOT depend on your adversary (VA, which is supposed to be a non adversarial system), to not lose your records.  

    It would be like, if you are suing your neighbor, tell him to keep all your records proving you owe him money.  Yea right.  

FACT:  VA has a vested financial interest in losing your records and delaying your claim.  Remember, no claims are paid out where there is insufficient documentation.   This is exactly why VA was caught shredding Veterans evidence in the "October" incident several years ago.  

Edited January 18, 2022 by broncovet

[Tbird]

https://www.hadit.com/caluza-triangle-defines-necessary-service-connection/

 

 

 

 

[Berta]

I am a civilian with severe bilateral pronation that requires me to pay from $350 to 545 every year or more for new custom inserts. This is one thing neither CHAMPVA nor Medicare will pay for.. even though Senior orgs  say one out of every 3 seniors will fall each year and pronation causes a major  balance problem.

You said:

" ( this was my C&P exam but I was I really was diagnosed early 2006 when the VA mad custom inserts for me but the VBA is telling me the VA don't have those records, so not only did the Army lose my records but also the VA) "

I have never seen a custom-made insert from the VA, and have been shown by vets, the cheap crappy inserts they had gotten from VA for a myraid of foot and balance problems-

and I suggest based on the decision you posted from,that you seek a private podiatrist who will not only provide custom inserts ( at a charge like my Podiatrist does- that I need to pay myself, and will give you treatement that could prevent the situation from geiing worse because it will.

But again I am making the mistake of opining on part of their decision.

You can scan and attach the redacted decision here.

Go to the scanner (cover your C file #m nae, address, first, scan and name the scan, then go to the Drag files here or Attach thing at bottom of the reply page ,and choose the bamed scan you want us to see, ...I just treied it myself to make sure I told you th way to do it- the Presidentil Unit Citation was awarded to my husband's unit in Vietnam -USMC 1stMarDiv.1st Amphibious Tracktor Battalionm Rolling Thunder, etc.

He never knew he had it- ony rumors in the unit at Quantico but somene told him to apply for a DD 215 and the PUC and other awards he never knew he had appeared on the DD215.

He died not too long after getting the DD 215 but at least he knew all awards he had gotten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presidential Unit Citation (United States) - Wikipedia.pdf

[Berta]

This is an older thread but important and I wonder if the originl posted tried to get his SMRs and VA medical records himself. When VA says they cant find reords, in my opinion they might not even be looking for them.

Rivet is right about contacting the prosthetics department-

[Rivet62]

13 hours ago, Berta said:

He never knew he had it- ony rumors in the unit at Quantico but somene told him to apply for a DD 215 and the PUC and other awards he never knew he had appeared on the DD215.

He died not too long after getting the DD 215 but at least he knew all awards he had gotten.

Heart breaking. Just wow.

13 hours ago, Berta said:

I am a civilian with severe bilateral pronation that requires me to pay from $350 to 545 every year or more for new custom inserts. This is one thing neither CHAMPVA nor Medicare will pay for.. even though Senior orgs  say one out of every 3 seniors will fall each year and pronation causes a major  balance problem.

A friend had told me that some Walmarts have a machine that you step on and it analyzes pressure points on your feet and creates shoe inserts. I never used it, because it cost $50 and I didn't have it at the time, but she swore by how well they worked. This was back in 2015.

13 hours ago, Berta said:

I have never seen a custom-made insert from the VA, and have been shown by vets, the cheap crappy inserts they had gotten from VA for a myraid of foot and balance problems-

Yeah their crappy inserts made things worse. I got my VA primary care doctor to make an outside referral to an orthopedic appliance company for better fitting inserts, and I was appalled at how bad they were. Not custom at all. So it's a podiatrist I need to see, and maybe I can get VA to cover that if I can get my VA doctor to make a referral.

Berta, why is this thread not showing up in new Recent Posts when we have all these new comments? Maybe I'm missing some sort of setting. 

[Berta]

I dont know why- if you get Notifications ( I think the Notification setting is in your profile pages, you will get alerts as to replies on your recent posts, here and in email.

I use that but often I just go to the 'unread content' link at top right hand of the pages here and click on it.