diabetes Answered Questions

[marielovesashley]

DEAR BERTA SIMMONS:

IT WAS TAKING SO LONG TO APPEAR AT ALLVETSINC - YAHOO WEBSITES TECHNICAL PROBLEMS - I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I HAVE THREE WEBSITES AT YAHOO AND IT IS NOT ALWAYS ON A TIMELY FASHION.

Ms.B-

I am confused- and trying to access prior posts regarding this matter-

I WILL ANSWER BETWEEN THE LINES IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

Is this veteran-regarding the problems with Albany VAMC- a Vietnam

incountry Veteran?

A#### WAS A HONORABLY DISABLED VIETNAM VETERAN. HE WAS ADMITTED THROUGH THIS LITTLE VA OFFICE HERE AND WAS TRANSFERRED THERE BECAUSE I WAS WATCHING OVER HIM OTHERWISE THEY WOULD LET HIM SUFFOCATE WITH ALL THIS LIQUID IN HIS LUNGS OR HIS LUNGS WOULD COLLAPSE. IN OTHER WORDS, HE WOULD BE DEAD ABOUT OCT. 19TH, 2006 INSTEAD OF DEC. 5TH, 2006 SO I GOT EXTRA WEEKS WITH HIM - THANK GOD

THEY WERE WAITING FOREVER FOR A BED IN SYRACUSE AND I DID PRESSURE TO GET A BED IN ALBANY. THAT WAS THE STARTING POINT OF OUR NIGHTMARE.

Does he have renal and kidney disease as a result of diabetes

mellitis?

NO.

Who is your service officer? DAV, AL, New York State Division of

Vetarns Affairs etc?

AMERICAN LEGION.

I am trying to interpret older posts here regarding this veteran.

It appeared to me he gets a NSC pension?

ALL HE WAS GETTING IS THIS LITTLE 881$ WITH THE VA EVEN IF HE WROTE TO HAVE THE READJUSTMENT SINCE HE HAD HIS WIFE WITH HIM.

Yet he might have a claim pending for direct service connection?

Or does he already get a SC compensation award -if so what does he

get that for?

ALL HE WAS GETTING IS 881 $ PER MONTH EVEN IF I WAS WITH HIM. IT WAS SO HELPFUL, ESPECIALLY WHEN I WANTED TO JOIN HIM IN ALBANY, I COULD NOT BECAUSE IT WAS TOWARDS THE END OF THE MONTH.

Did a veterans rep advise him -if he has diabetes- to request service

connection for the DMII as presumptive to Agent Orange exposure

(ALL veterans who served in Vietnam are presumed exposed to AO)

and to file claim for not only the diabetes but for all complications

of it?

NO DIABETES.

Diabetes can cause atherosclerosis, heart disease, vision problems,

peripheral neuropathy, etc etc to include severe kidney disorders and

Renal dysfunction.

I KNOW BUT THANKS.

The VA's own training letter clearly spells out these numerous

secondary service connectable disabilities if caused or contributed

to by diabetes mellitus-in Vietnam incountry vets as well as certain

Army veterans who served near the DMZ in Korea.

Has any service officer filed the Section 1151 claim yet?

WHAT IS THE SECTION 1151? I AM SORRY, I KNOW NOTHING OF YOUR VOCABULARY SWEETHEART LIKE FTCA AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SORRY, I AM A NEWIE SINCE ALL I HAD TO LIVE WITH MY WONDERFUL VET WAS 5 1/2 MONTHS LEFT, THANKS TO IMMIGRATION BUT THAT'S ANOTHER DEPARTMENT.

You must obtain all of his VA medical records prior to FTCA or

Section 1151 claim -because if not- that is when they might

all 'disappear' or become 'misplaced'.

WHAT IS FTCA SECTION 1151? I GOT ALL HIS RECORDS AND I HADE SURE TO HAVE EVERY PIECE OF PAPER BEFORE LEAVING ALBANY.

I am confused because it now appears that private hospitals were

involved too????

FROM MY INTENSIVE STUDY (I STUDIED EVERYTHING BEFORE COMMUNICATING WITH THE CONGRESSMAN) THE VA TRASHED HIS LIVER AND THE LAST HOSPITAL TRASHED HIS KIDNEYS BY NOT OFFERING A DIALYSIS EVEN IF I MADE CALL THE OFFICE OF THE CONGRESSMAN (BECAUSE I SAW SOMETHING WAS GOING WRONG EVEN IF I DID NOT KNOW IT IS SPECIFICALLY THE DIALYSIS HE NEEDED AT THIS TIME, I WAS FIGHTING LIKE INSANE FOR A LIVER TRANSPLANT BUT THE DOCTOR WAS SUPPOSED TO GET THE PICTURE THAT I WANTED MY HUSBAND ALIVE, I EVEN TALKED ABOUT BEING A LIVING DONOR OF MY LIVER BECAUSE OUR BLOOD WAS COMPATIBLE - CONGRESSMAN KNOWS ABOUT IT) AND THE OFFICE OF THE CONGRESSMAN DID CALL BECAUSE MY HUBBY TOLD ME THEY DID.

The SF 95 form (FTCA malpractice claims)that stops the Statute of

Limits is only for charges of malpractice regarding VA- private

hospitals will involve different types of legal actions.

YES, I WISH TO HIRE ONE FOR THE VA CONCERNING THE "TRASHING" OF THE LIVER. THE OTHER FOR THE PRIVATE HOSPITAL FOR NOT OFFERING THE DIALYSIS.

The Section 1151 claim also only can focus on VA malpractice.

YES, I'LL FOCUS ON THE LIVER BUT SINCE THEY DID EVERYTHING TO TRASH HIS LIVER THEY CONTRIBUTED DIRECTLY TO HIS DEATH BECAUSE RIGHT AFTER THE KIDNEYS WERE WORKING PRETTY HARD (WHEN THE LIVER IS TRASHED) AND ARE CLOSING SO IF YOU DON'T GET THE RIGHT DOCTOR THEN HE WON'T GIVE YOU THE DIALYSIS YOU DESPERATELY NEED EVEN IF YOU WOULD MADE THE POPE CALL THE HOSPITAL. I WAS EVEN GIVING THEM LETTERS I WAS SENDING ON A DAILY BASIS TO THE CONGRESSMAN (CERTIFIED LETTERS TO HIS MAIN OFFICES) TO BE ON HIS CHART BUT I BET THE DOCTOR SIMPLY DID NOT READ THEM. IN OTHER WORDS, EVEN IF THE LAST DOCTOR WAS NOT A CARING DOCTOR AT ALL, MY HUSBAND COULD BE ALIVE TODAY IF THEY WOULD NOT TRASH HIS LIVER AND MAKE WORKING HIS KIDNEYS PRETTY HARD BECAUSE OF THAT. VA IS RESPONSIBLE OF THAT AND THE LAST DOCTOR IS RESPONSIBLE OF NOT EVEN OFFERING A DIALYSIS. A### WAS DISCHARGED FROM THE VA ON NOV. 22TH, 2006 AND WAS BEGINNING TO HAVE BIG PROBLEMS ALREADY ON THE NOV. 26TH (JUST FOUR DAYS AFTER HIS DISCHARGE) BUT WE WERE BOTH SCARED TO DEATH THEY WOULD SEND HIM BACK TO A VA HOSPITAL SO WE WAITED UNTIL NOV. 28TH TO CALL THE AMBULANCE BUT MY HUSBAND DID NOT WANT ME TO CALL THE AMBULANCE AT ALL BUT I HAD TO BECAUSE WHAT I WAS DOING FOR HIM WAS JUST NOT WORKING. IT'S WRITTEN ON THE PAPERS OF THE CIVILIAN HOSPITAL THAT ASHLEY REFUSED TO GO TO A VA HOSPITAL AND I DO UNDERSTAND HIM PRETTY WELL BECAUSE HE HAD A BIG SURGERY WITHOUT A PAINKILLER - JUST A SAMPLE OF THE H*** WE LIVED.

The records from private hospitals or physicians should also be

obtained as they might well reveal support for VA malpractice

charges.As I mentioned Dr. Bash is a doctor who knows VA case laws

as it applies to claims (but is NOT a lawyer however)and will need

copies of all medical records that your husband has incurred.

My husbands VA med recs were voluminous.

I first had emailed Dr. Bash at the web site you were given here-

with a very brief rundown of my claim.

he emailed back -sounds good- what do you have?

I replied a few specifics as to the probative evidence-

he emailed send it with the fee-

a week later he called me and agreed with my present VA claim.

I had sent the med recs and other significant documents (autopsy etc)

such as prior SOCs etc with a cover letter that I listed the main

exhibits of evidence on.I colored coordinated these specfic critical

documents to colored tabs on the copies in the whole stack.

Dr. Bash reviewed all of the information carefully yet had a timeline

and direct referrals with the tabbed exhibits -to the entries,tests,

that showed bonafide malpractice.

I had already proven the VA caused Rods death.

I needed to prove further malpractice of a condition that Directly

caused his death.It was the smoking gun of all of the other

negligence.

I am mentioning all this because an IMO doctor such as Dr. Bash will

need to reference what the malpractice was in the VA records.

ARE YOU TELLING ME DR. BASH COULD START THE VA MALPRACTICE BUSINESS? IT'S THE IMPRESSION I AM GETTING BUT THIS PERSON IS UNFORTUNATELY IN MARYLAND. SORRY FOR MY MISPELLING OF THE WORD AMOUNT. YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS AND I AM FROM CANADA AND THE LAWSUITS THERE ARE FAR LESS IMPRESSIVE THAN IN U.S. SO I AM TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO ASK BECAUSE I COULD VERY EASILY TO ASK FOR ALL THE TREASURES OF THIS WORLD BECAUSE A#### WAS WORTH MORE THAN ALL OF THIS. A### IS A U.S. CITIZEN AND WE NEVER BEEN IN CANADA.

It helps considerably to be able to pin point if you can-in a brief

cover letter that you send any IMO doctor-

the dates, places, doctor's names, discharge certificates,nurses

notes etc, (if more than one VA is involved)- and make direct

references to where this information can be found in the medical

files.

But all that above is one thing- this is more important then sueing

the VA

Is your husband presently getting the best care available?

Has the VA itself done anything at all to correct the past medical

problems?

NO. HE WAS NOT EVEN ON A LIVER TRANSPLANT LIST YET. THESE IMBECILES (I AM SORRY BUT THAT'S THE SAD TRUTH) WERE ONLY CONSIDERING IT AT THIS POINT.

Have you directly brought your concerns to the VAMC Chief of Staff

when these problems occurred?

OH YES, THE DOCTOR WHO WAS SUPERVISING THE WHOLE TEAM WAS CONTACTED AND I HAVE THE EMAILS WITH ME WITH ME AS WELL AS THE VA PATIENT ATTORNEY WHO WAS THE INCARNATION OF A REAL JOKE.

Has your Congressman replied and offered any solutions as to getting

him better VA care?

HE REPLIED BUT WE ARE WAITING FOR THE OFFICIALS OF THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION TO FINALLY REPLY TO THE CONGRESSMAN SINCE THE MIDST OF DECEMBER 2006 SO I BET AT THIS POINT TO SIMPLY FORGET IT BECAUSE THE CONGRESSMAN COMMUNICATED WITH THEM AGAIN AND NOTHING CAME BACK.

PLEASE KNOW I DO APPRECIATE YOUR QUESTIONS BECAUSE IT IS SHOWING A REAL INTEREST TO HELP. A SINCERE THANK YOU.

MARIE

[Berta]

There are veterans and spouses here who have had Section 1151 claims.

We can help there-but what has the American Legion done so far regarding helping you file a Section 1151 claim?

Is the 881 a pension or for a service connected disability? if so what disability?

Did he have a service connected claim pending when he died?

WHat was it for -we could help with that-as far as nexus and evidence help-

How long were you married to the veteran and why were you in Canada-did he live there with you prior to going to the VA?

The link you got at ALLVETS is if you need a medical opinion from Dr. Bash that could reveal the malpractice-

as I mentioned somewhere he has to see it documented in the records and you can help with a cover letter to show him where the malpractice was-

in the medical entries.

He is not a lawyer- there are plenty of malpractice lawyers on the net-

did the one at ALLVETS respond to you?

We can certainly offer support to you because it is terrible to lose a veteran husband- just awful and compounded if the VA caused that death to occur.

you need a plan of action:

1.The SF 95 has to be sent to the proper regional counsel.

you can contact attorneys to file it or do this yourself.You have time left.

2. The American Legion has to help you file a claim under Section 1151 for DIC due to negligence causing death.

3. I hope that your status as surviving spouse is well established.I could not determine that at the other vets site ALLVETS-

A surviving spouse for these types of claims in most cases had to be married to the veteran one year prior to death-I am sure you were but VA will take note that you are in Canada and the vet was in NY. ???

WHy? the VA will probably want to know-

A divorced spouse cannot get DIC unless maybe under very unusal circumstances.

But if illness causes a spousal separation that is something the VA will consider-

How long were you and the veteran married? This question is critical to your claims.or was there some sort of separation-I seem to see that in your posts-

I am not saying that the VA would deny your claim because of that-

I am just seeing the 'landmines' that VA could question as soon as they get the claim.

especially any situation where the spouse and veteran are not together-and if due to illness that is an acceptable reason-

this will all have to be explained if they ask-

4.whether there are millions involved or not- I believe that the FTCA claim is only within the jurisdiction of the state that death occured in.

Some states have caps on these FTCA awards-

This all would require asking an attorney-in NYS.

As I am beginning to understand all this- I need to say-

what might appear as malpractice, sometimes is not malpractice-

that is why it is best to get a good doctor to review all the medical records-

It looks to me that VA did not adequately treat the liver disease or the kidney disease- but my opinion wont help you-

if a doctor states that- this is what you need to succeed on the FTCA and the Sec 1151 claim.

When I say the AL can help with the Section 1151 claim I mean they can- as part of the 21-534 application- make sure that this is the reason you are requesting DIC.

It might help if you bring the AL the 21-534 form already filled out yourself.

Here is the 21-534 DIC form:

http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/vba-21-534.pdf

Edited April 10, 2007 by Berta

[Berta]

PS:

This might help refer you to NYS malpractice lawyers:

http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&ie=...=Search&lr=

Also we get blips up top of the Claims topic messages and I just saw 3 malpractice firms advertising there.

I cannot recommend a NY lawyer for malpractice- I didnt have a lawyer for my FTCA claim.

I mentioned 3-4 things that have to be done-

also a good IMO doctor needs to be obtained.

There are IMO specialists at Medopinions- under Google,as well as Dr. Bash,who could tell you in email (at his site) whether he is able to opine on this type of claim or not. You might need a renal or kidney specialist.I dont know- have you contacted Dr. Bash yet?

[marielovesashley]

Border guards separated us by force like vulgar cattle like we would be criminals at the borders. All the important Officials in the Canadian government know me and I even met 2 of them in person. We went on t.v. right after their separation (not our separation) about December 2004 with John Friot on

WWNY TV 7 | WNYF FOX 28 | 7 NEWS

Without mentionning the fact A### entered in communication with all the officials in New York. It's them who separated us. Not us. They robbed us 19 precious months.

Here is what Canada did to my husband:

[email=http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/04/357154.shtml?discuss]http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/04/357154.shtml?discuss

and I will never go back there because of what they did to A###.

and folks will know the facts. They separated us on Nov. 3rd 2004 and we were finally reunited on June 16th, 2006, 4 days after I received my Immigrant Visa. U.S. Immigration told my hubby clear like this: "if your wife will try to visit you in the U.S. we will perceive that as like she would try to circonvene the Immigration laws and she could be barred from the country 10 years or forever.

Berta, we lived a living hell. Immigration, VA, the civilian hospital. If I won't be dead in a few months that will be the hand of God.

We never wanted to be separated but when there is 4-5 folks with guns at the borders, maybe you don't have the choice to apply.

If VA who are taking care of the claims will not understand that, I'll make them a draw.

Thank you.

Fighting the good fight.

Marie

[marielovesashley]

Dear Berta:

Yes, I doubled checked where Dr. Bash is but he is in Maryland, near Washington D.C. :D and I can not go there for now but thanks for the infos.

Craig Nicolas Bash, M.D., M.B.A.

Neuroradiologist

7831 Woodmont Avenue Phone: 301.767.9525

Bethesda, MD 20814 Fax: 301.365.2589

drbash@doctor.com

[allan]

Hello Marie,

the VA is allowed to send your claims file to a medical consultant for an opinion. You do not have to be examined, nor do have to send the whole C-file for them to view.

They are allowed to pick & choose what evidence is "considered" as evidence for or against you.

Veterans are allowed to have their records examined by a consultant also & can pay for their own IMO.

DR Bash. He's one of the specialists in the field, that the Court of appeals uses in complex cases where the DVA needs an opinion to decide if its service connected or not & or privide a diagnoses.

You can email him & fax him a few key pieces of evidence proving what your claiming service connection for. If you have a case he can say yeaon & theres supportive medical evidence, he writes the IMO(independent medical opinion).

If you don't have the evidence to support a claim, I don't think he charges you anything, but you will get a reply from him explaining what he needs & what his currant fee's are.

He's one of maybe 1000 across the country.

allan

Edited April 11, 2007 by allan

[Berta]

Marie-I dealt with Dr. Bash by mail and phone and email-

In some cases he wants to examine the veteran himself- but of course -our husbands are dead-

The other IMO doctor I might contact with Medopinions is further away then Dr. Bash and my other IMO came from a former VA doctor in California-I am in NY-

These IMO doctors will be able to opine based on your husbands records and can do that by mail and email and phone contact with you.

If the VA questions why you and your husband were not together within the first year prior to his death (I dont know if they will)

then you can explain that to them.

This board at hadit cannot delve into these other issues at all.

I sympathize with these problems but I asked you here because I could see you needed VA claims help-

If the American Legion did not do this yet you need to file the 21-534-I posted link for that at ALLVETS.

On the form it will ask if you are seeking service connected death.

That is where you can explain and tell them you have attached a formal Section 1151 claim.

It is simply a statement to the VA that you are claiming service connected death and DIC award under auspices of Section 1151, 38 USC and that the veteran's medical records will reveal that he was neglected and this neglect and inappropriate medical care from VA caused his death.

You will have time to support your Section 1151 claim with evidence because if you deal with Buffal0 or NY Regional Office you might not hear from them for months and months.

My Section 1151 claim took over 3 years.

You have more time than I thought for the SF 95 and can obtain legal counsel for that. I posted a malpractice lawyer link.

These claims will need a strong independent medical opinion-it could be Dr. BAsh or any one of many specialist who prepare IMOs.

They can all be reached by email or at contact areas at their web sites.

If you husband was receiving a NSC pension-and it appears that he was- I only brought this up because it seems that he had no dependents considered in the amount of his pension check.

The VA will need marriage license, death certificate, birth certificates of any children he has, copies of any prior divorce papers- I assume this does not apply to you but might help someone else here,

and basically your entire financial picture too-

the 21-534 form is quite extensive.

This seems like a lot you have to do but it is how the VA goes-

and they will do nothing until these formal claims are filed.

It is possible- since it appears that your husband was getting some private care too that his private doctor would be willing to help you with an IMO that might cost very little or even be free.

Allan is correct that Dr. Bash. by email, and a brief reason why you think your husband suffered malpractice can possibly assess what happened to your husband and he will respond to you within days.

When I contacted him first, by email-I told him briefing a description of evidence I had-and that made him email back to me "sounds good" and we took it from there-we discussed by phone and then I sent him the medical records and other info.

Your issues are the DIC claim and that the 21-534 applicationshould state the Sec 1151 claim on, the formal Section 1151 claim itself,attached, any medical opinion that will support the malpractice, and the SF 95-FTCA matter - which a malpractice lawyer can help with.

After the formal 21-534 application and Section 1151 claim are filed

it is the time to carefully go over your husband's medical records to attempt to find when and where the malpractice occurred.

Or at least to help you brief a synopsis of what happned so that any IMO doctor will be able to focus on the particulars of the case.

Malpractice often begins with a small medical error that becomes magnified as it lends to more errors.I found the day and the hour that in my case the VA began to first malpractice on Rod.

You dont have to be medically perfect in this brief synopsis or cover letter but just call the IMO doctor's attention to instances that did not seem medically correct.

The other matter is for VA to know about if they ask for specifics.

No one here has any expertise in these types of situations.

If you put New York State Malpractice attorney in the google search many will pop up in our state.

Often vets and widows can succeed in FTCA as I did- without attorneys-

your case as I read the information at the other site- is too complex for that.

You could file the SF 95 yourself to stop the 2 year Statute of Limits.

And then when you obtain counsel , the lawyer will advise the VA that he/she is representing you and will deal with them directly on your behalf.

This lawyer will also need an IMO prepared so that is a good thing to focus on after filing the formal 21-534-if the AL has not done that yet- and the formal Section 1151 claim has to be filed with it.

Edited April 11, 2007 by Berta