New Ssoc Proposed

[Berta]

"SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its

regulations regarding the time limit for filing a response to a

Supplemental Statement of the Case in appeals to the Board of Veterans'

Appeals (Board). We propose to change the response period

[[Page 14057]]

from 60 days to 30 days. The purpose of this change is to improve

efficiency in the appeals process and reduce the time that it takes to

resolve appeals while still providing appellants with a reasonable" etc

I fail to see how this can possibly improve "effeciency" as the VARO-unlike the olden days- ignores these responses in many cases-responses which could alter their denials-

You can make public comment at

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main

Has anyone else here made Public comment on VA 2007- VBA-0013-0001 ?

This was the ancilliary bill that has been proposed.

I asked the feds to change the Bonny V. Principi regulations.

They are unfair to Section 1151 claimants.

They are unfair to any veteran's survivor if the veteran died due to VA health care prior to Dec 16,2003.If VA killed the vet after Dec 16, 2003 the survivor gets all accrued benefits-if they malpracticed and caused death before that date-the survivor does not get all accrued benefits.

Section 1151 claimants do NOT get the same ancillary benefits as others do.

CHAMPVA does not come with a Sec 1151 death award-nor does Chap 35-nor does the survivor get the Mortgage Guaranty Certificate.

It seems to me that when VA commits malpractice to the point of causing a veterans death- the survivors should equal rights as other Direct SC survivors- to all appropriate benefits.

I get CHAMPVA and Chap 35 because Rod was 100% SC P & T before VA caused his death-CHAMPVA told me many Sec 1151 survivors are astonished to find that they are not eligible for CHAMPVA under Sec 1151 deaths.

This is unconscionable when you consider the pain of knowing that a death was caused by the US of A in the form of VA medical care.Yet Section 1151 survivors do not get equal treatment under the law. That has to change.

Has anyone added comments on the other parts of this proposed regulation?

[Berta]

I regret that when I took a stand on the proposed reg for SSOC responses that all this happened-

I changed my mind on it- but then I realised this AM- NO- my letter to the Fed register Public comment site might be the only one they get-

and this is another reason I am concerned-

the female vet on my POA I mentioned-

say the VA uses her IMO and then gets a VA "expert" crapola opinion to go against it-

how does she respond with an additional IMO in 30 days?

If she cant -she is set for 2 years of waiting for a remand-

the ROs and many POAs are only too happy to get a claim off to the BVA- because for 2 years nothing happens with it and of course-if the vet dies in the meantime- the VA saves money.

ALSO- I have seen this happen here- vet gets SSOC that is so bizarre they call their SO or vet rep-for appointment-

they might have to wait over a month for the appointment-

A deficient Supplemental Statement of the Case is something a good vet rep should question-and respond to (or the vet- because if you buy what they are selling- you have accepted their errors)

How many vets can get a POA appointment within 30 days and then file the response too within thirty days?

I had a Buffalo vet who got a ridiculous decision and it took over a month for me to tie up with him to prepare the response to the SSOC because he had been hospitalized for

the very condition his claim was for.

Finally after years and years and years he succeeded on his claim at the RO level-it had been remanded from CAVC to BVA etc before I met him-but he almost died waiting for the decision.

I got one once (SSOC)that stated in a VA medical expert's words that my husband's death was DUE TO COCAINE! No medical rationale at all- and it was one more attempt to deny DIC.The final attempt- this is what the Buffalo RO VA can do to widows-say anything at all and deny the claim.

I had sent the VA a complete 7 page autopsy many times- and certainly the only drug in Rod's system was his HBP med-well not his- they had mailed him someone elses meds by mistake-

In any event I had 60 days and re-sent the autopsy and by then had requested VACO review-telling the VA lawyer who received the VACO review request (he called me when he got it as they dont see many of those) that I couldnt find anyone at the Buffalo VARO who could read so I figured the VA lawyers in WAshington were more literate-

that was proven to be true-

What if I needed to get another copy of the autopsy from the Medical Examiners office?

They take their time on getting their mail out-even in 60 days it would have taken time-

The VA already had numerous copies of it so that this crap wouldnt happen and I get that unconscionable SSOC.

If a vet or widow only has 30 days to rebutt an SSOC-

how can they rebutt with more evidence in this time frame of 30 days?

I appreciate all of Vike's advise-I dont always agree- but he is on the ball-and we all know it-

But I dont appreciate feeling that my statements about Buffalo RO might sound like just a big gripe when I have documentation to back up how lousy some of their work is.

I cant say it is all lousy because some vets succeed and others dont even get a legal VCAA letter.

One of my Senators-who I recently wrote to regarding another matter-

has contacted this VARO's director twice recently regarding an Agent Orange claim-

A county service rep (dont EVER use them for claims) lost the veteran's initial claim.

The vet re-filed the claim-DMII due to AO in Nam and was DENIED!

Let me re state that-

The veteran, an AO Nam with no known etiology but AO for his DMII was DENIED by the Buffalo VARO-SOP for this VARO-

Senator Schumer's main concern in his second letter to was the lost claim for a proper EED but the vet's claim is on appeal because -with no other etiology- this AO NAM vet has diabetes and his claim was DENIED!

Senator Schumer wrote to Donna Terril Director of the VARO (who refused to answer my letters)this is funny -they were about the IMos that VA failed to use-so I copied the IMOS on the back of my letters to her as well as attached them to the last letter to her)and STILL they remained ignored-and this RO still claimed in Dec they never got them-

Senator Schumer wrote-a few months ago to this RO director-MS Terrill,that " The VA's decision in this case was unwise, unfounded, and unfair."

I have recently contacted him on another matter referring him to errors at this VARO that my POAs stood by and let happen.

I am one more case of "unwise, unfounded and unfair" at this VARO-

and have years of documentation to prove it-

While the VA might not be arbitrary as Vike suggests-

that only goes for some of us and not all of us-

and this vet's case is typical of a lot of Buffalo RO decisions I have seen over the years-

just think about it -Vietnam vet-AO exposure, DMII with no other etiology but for AO exposure- and he was DENIED!

The vet got VVA Chap 77 to help him with his appeal-

that could tie up this claim for years when the right decision could have been made already.

The service officer should be sued if this fiasco causes the vet to ultimately lose his proper EED award.

Then again- the decision on his AO claim for DMII was arbitrary, capricious, unwise, unfounded and unfair.

Like every decision I have gotten and had to fight over at this RO since the 1980s-which includes every improper denial of my husband's claims as well as my daughter's Chap 35.

Every single initial decision we ever received from this RO was WRONG.

I am not some isolated case of a widow griping about a system that is broken-I am griping about a regional office who-with the help of certain POAs- picks and chooses what claims will get proper attention and which ones won't.

It doesnt matter if the medical evidence is probative---

Many claims here in Western NY are denied as soon as they are filed.

The veterans rights are violated by the RO and certain POAs in Western NY allow this to occur.That denial is decided by the POA on the very day the claim is filed.

I have no argument with Vike-but I do realise that he sees VA in a much different light than I do-

I regret the broohaha this caused by my post-

But he is not in touch with the workings of the Buffalo VARO-

as- even as I write this post- claims are being denied at this RO without even being read and the veteran will get a generic VCAA letter that is illegal and if they question their POA from the State Veterans Division- they will be told it is a proper notice and all their evidence was considered and yet none of it probably was even touched.

(unless they have heeded my past letter to them on the VCAA)

I WILL fight that reg over the 30 days- I cant even get basic DTA and VCAA rights after over 4 years.

I cannot even get the RO to comply with M21-1.

I have considerable probative medical evidence and it is not even put on the scale and I have been denied even the consideration of Benefit of Doubt.The VA has nothing from me to out on the scale-17 submissions of medical evidence and 3 IMOS-And my POA has allowed that to occur.

My POA destroyed considerable evidence I sent and does not even have copy of my initial claims-

My 2 initial IMOs disappeared right before or during my so-called DRO conference of 2005.

I will fight that 30 days crap on the SSOC because they have denied me all the other rights I have -I am not losing this one.

----and because of the broohaha my post caused-I have a renewed interest to continue to send complaints about this VARO to anyone in our gov who will listen-

the Task force is getting the full story-

Maybe newly returning vets might be getting some exempliary treatment by this VARO now (I dont know) but the fact remains-at some point their future claims will probably be mishandled too-by this VARO-

like that AO incountry vet with DMII that this RO recently DENIED!

Senator Schumer has only heard a little from me-recently-

My COngressman has heard a little from me too-

But I woke up today with a new mission and am telling them -and anyone else in the Gov who might listen to me-the WHOLE story about this VARO -with ample VARO documentation- and how they are failing many veterans in NY by MANY MANY decisions that are "unwise, unfounded, and unfair".

Neither that AO vet nor I am isolated cases. We are typical of the runaway train this RO has become.With the help of vet reps.

Edited April 2, 2007 by Berta

[john999]

Berta

All of us who have been in the system as a claimant for years and years know the VA compensation system is broken and dysfunctional. I cannot even get them to obey their own rules without endless trips to the DRO or BVA. The local RO makes gross errors and I cannot just get it corrected without an appeal which takes years. When the VA decides they don't want to pay they will do anything to not pay. When you get to 100% it gets even worse.

[Done wit this]

Hi,

Just another Game for the VA to throw at the Veterans. Hoping we will give up and Go Away!

***********Macool************ ;)

Edited April 2, 2007 by macool

[Ricky]

VCAA - mine said that in order to succeed I must submit evidence which centered around the reason for denial of my claim. Your claim was denied due to the fact that you failed to show for a VA examination in Feb 2002. Therefore, any additional evidence submitted must be centered around this fact in order for it to be considered new and material." Sooooooo I sent them a copy of the Feb 2002 C&P examination. They then issued the SOC saying that the information submitted was already in the claims folder therefore it was not new and material. Holy cow batman what the hell was I supposed to do. The denial was unjustified in the begining since it was denied for failure to show for an examination. I was at Birmingham VAMC for over 8 hours. The doctors submitted the exam results, which favored my claim, and it was at the VARO (evidenced by the SOC).

Although the SOC did not provide any discussion on the evidence, either against or for, my claim it did list in the evidence section a IMO from Dr. Ricky H. So just to let you guys know, if you are in need of an IMO just email me. I guess I am a Doctor in know all so I should be able to comment on all disabilities.

Now this post included a little humor, however, it is serious stuff. The actions of my VARO can not be read any other way than they simply did not review the claim or they simply wanted me to know they could thumb their nose at me and all I could do was start the long road to appeals land. I am still waiting on the BVA. Now not to say the BVA will not correct this problem but I betcha any back pay that I get the first action will be to remand back to the RO due to an inadequate SOC. Now the first SOC took only 5 months from the submission of the NOD. It normally takes my VARO 12-18 months for action on a NOD so my was faster than a speeding bullet (I wonder why). Wanta bet on how long the SSOC will take? I betcha 12-18 months.

Now the point here is that like I said in my post below, yep the VA was designed to be a good system. However, you have to factor in the people factor. Different Sec's over the years have instructed the VARO's to do things the way they want them. We have today become second string players and if the political climate dictates actions which may save money for use in other areas then that is what will be done. As the movie we have the good, the bad and the ugly. Some VARO's definitely fall into the ugly area.

[john999]

What I think it shows, Ricky, is that our RO's are just totally incompetent and don't give a damn. They have made a mess of your claim and now how do you get it right without waiting a few years?

[Objee]

Ricky,

The crap you're going through is so far off the wall that you might try being off the wall yourself. How about - - - - Sending a Demand Letter as a Statement in

Support saying that they failed to follow CFR procedures (you'll have to look them up) and have admitted such (stipulated their agreement) with the response to your submission of the C&P exam. You now demand that they proceed to properly adjudicate your case with all due haste or you will file a formal protest of denial of due process. Etc., etc.

No idea of what they'll do, but it will be fun to at least tweak their two brain cells into trying to think. Regional counsel may become involved and the fun would only increase. Who knows, they might actually try to solve the problem!?!?!?

Ralph

VCAA - mine said that in order to succeed I must submit evidence which centered around the reason for denial of my claim. Your claim was denied due to the fact that you failed to show for a VA examination in Feb 2002. Therefore, any additional evidence submitted must be centered around this fact in order for it to be considered new and material." Sooooooo I sent them a copy of the Feb 2002 C&P examination. They then issued the SOC saying that the information submitted was already in the claims folder therefore it was not new and material. Holy cow batman what the hell was I supposed to do. The denial was unjustified in the begining since it was denied for failure to show for an examination. I was at Birmingham VAMC for over 8 hours. The doctors submitted the exam results, which favored my claim, and it was at the VARO (evidenced by the SOC).

Although the SOC did not provide any discussion on the evidence, either against or for, my claim it did list in the evidence section a IMO from Dr. Ricky H. So just to let you guys know, if you are in need of an IMO just email me. I guess I am a Doctor in know all so I should be able to comment on all disabilities.

Now this post included a little humor, however, it is serious stuff. The actions of my VARO can not be read any other way than they simply did not review the claim or they simply wanted me to know they could thumb their nose at me and all I could do was start the long road to appeals land. I am still waiting on the BVA. Now not to say the BVA will not correct this problem but I betcha any back pay that I get the first action will be to remand back to the RO due to an inadequate SOC. Now the first SOC took only 5 months from the submission of the NOD. It normally takes my VARO 12-18 months for action on a NOD so my was faster than a speeding bullet (I wonder why). Wanta bet on how long the SSOC will take? I betcha 12-18 months.

Now the point here is that like I said in my post below, yep the VA was designed to be a good system. However, you have to factor in the people factor. Different Sec's over the years have instructed the VARO's to do things the way they want them. We have today become second string players and if the political climate dictates actions which may save money for use in other areas then that is what will be done. As the movie we have the good, the bad and the ugly. Some VARO's definitely fall into the ugly area.