ptsd Bva Report

[Berta]

They ARENT blaming the VCAA- the VCAA was supposed to get better claims work done right at the RO level by specifically telling the vet and their rep what they needed BEFORE any denial of the claim.

BEFORE the denial of the claim----

The Buffalo VARO has 2 stacks of claims.

one stack is the claims that will get a proper legal VCAA letter and election notice- the other stack gets a generic letter that is illegal because it is not specific to the claim.These claimants do not get an election form and none of the RO claimants get the VCAA pamphlet that explains the whole VCAA and their rights.

If the POA does not wuestion this- nor the veteran- those claims are doomed from the git go.Doomed.

I am trying to find out who determines at the RO what claims go into each stack.

The proof of what I am saying is at the BVA web site.

I have taken a stand and continue to put pressure on the State of NY to

see why their vet reps are not questioning claimants who never get a legal VCAA letter.

Some of their reps have sat back since 2000 (VCAA law date)and did not advise the vet what they needed because the VA never told the vet on the legal VCAA letter.

This letter tells the vet exactly what they need to provide to the VA.

Just yesterday I found a 2006 NYSDVA claim at the BVA.

The vet had been denied in 2004-meaning he filed the claim probably in 2003---I think his BVA decision was dated Dec 2006-

The vet had PTSD diagnosis and proof of his stressor.

The BVA immediately award the claim.

Of course they had to send it back to Buffalo to be rated.

The veteran with NYSDVA on the brief- NEVER got a legal-VCAA letter.

On his own he obtained proof of his stressor.

The BVA said the VCAA error was not prejudicial-

but this vet waiting 4 years and now might still be waiting for his claim to be rated and he had everything he needed early on.

Someone at the Buffalo RO determines which claimant gets a legal VCAA letter and election form and who doesnt.

NYSDVA goes along with their decision- and does not appear to ever question the lack of proper notice.

The BVA web site and my own claims prove this point.

I cant fight over every vet orgs involvement in this scam-

I am fighting very hard to get this rectified for vets and widows with NYSDVA on their POA-with claims filed at the Buffalo VARO.

Any NYSDVA claimant who has been adversely affected in this way please post something and I will contact you by email-

[Pete53]

Berta:

Are you saying that the old VA Boiler Plate Letters are illegal? Thay would open a lot of claims if it is so.

[Berta]

Thousands of veterans since the VCA Act became law- have not received legal VCAA letters.

Meaning thousand of veterans since 2000 have had their DTA (Duty To Assist Rights) violated by Regional Offices.

Thousands of veterans have had denials of their claims without Due Process rights since the VCAA-the very reg that was to stop arbitrary denials without basis.

As of MAr 31,2007 (the most updated posing of BVA decisions at the VA web site-

the word Remand appears in 361,952 cases out of 486,915 cases decided at the BVA.

While this does not mean the remand was due to VCAA violation in all- one can see what I mean by taking the time to read many of thse remands-

The BVA Chairman gave an astonishing high percent of remands-

SOmething happened to the original topic yesterday- my reply went into hyperspave but it is here somewhere under BVA.

This is the BIGGEST SCAM since Regional offices deliberately denied AO vets retro under the Nehmer Court Order from 1999 to 2002 .The VA had denied over 1500 or more vets proper AO retro compensation.

In 2004 the VA again violated the 1991 Nehmer Court Order.That situation is still in appeals by VA.More vets that were affected illegally.

A Ninth Circuit Court decision in 2000 brought about by suit from NVLSP

awarded nearly 5 millions dollars in retro to AO vets whose rights the VA had defied.

nearly $5,000,000

I bet there are still vets out there who lost retro $$$$$ due to VAs violation of the Nehmer decision and dont know it.

They should have a recall-

any vet who got denied without proper VCAA letter should get one right away.

I raised Hell with my RO and they started working on SAturdays to get these letters out-

I still didnt get one.

I raised Hell with the IG too- the Gov printing office printed thousands of pamphlets that are to be included with the proper VCAA letter, the election notice as to what step you want the VA to take next on the claim, and pamphlets that fully explain the veteran's rights under VCAA.

I have NEVER heard of any vet who got a VCAA pamphlet- of course they didnt-

it is the pamphlet that would show them whether their VCAA letter was illegal or not!

Edited April 18, 2007 by Berta

[Berta]

The BVA agrees with my position and this is why I got a remand in weeks not years:

"Prejudicial Error Analyses:One reason for the high remand rate of 56.8% in Fiscal Year 2004 was the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA), which among other things, heightened VA’s duty to assist and duty to notify claimants of the type of evidence needed to substantiate their claims. Following the issuance of Pelegrini v. Principi, 18 Vet. App. 112 (2004), in which the Veterans Court held that a VCAA notice letter must be provided to a claimant prior to an initial adverse adjudication, the Board attempted to avoid remands, when possible, by conducting an analysis to determine if any deficiency in the notice provided to the claimant was prejudicial. If prejudice was not found, most Board judges issued final decisions. If the deficiency was prejudicial, judges were required to remand the case to the RO to cure the defect."

BVA report 2006

And most of the 56.8% of those vets and widows more than likely had

vet reps who stood by and allowed this violation to occur when they could have questioned the VCAA letter with a 21-4138 on behalf of the claimant.

We used to say at the local VAMC that the 'reps were in bed with the ROs'-

yet it is the claimant that actually gets screwed-

I told the Task Force and anyone else who will listen in Wash- that HAS GOT TO STOP! My exact words-

ROs have to stop doing this and we all must take action against vet reps who make sure this violation of the VCAA gets our claims part of years of backlog only to be remanded again!

Unfortunately- as I told the Committee-most vets and widows of vets have no idea that their VCAA letter is illegal unless they have a vet rep who questions it.And it looks to me like many reps are making sure that the claimant has no idea that the VA violated their rights- right from the git go and their claim is doomed.

It is the receipt of the elction notice with the VCAA letter that triggers further movement on the claim.

If you dont get the election notice,choose, sign and return to the VARO- as part of the VCAA letter-

NOTHING triggers movement on your claim-and it is again denied.

CLaimants should not have to know all these VCAA regs-

their SOs and reps should know them-

and if they dont, they are incompetent to provide ample claims help.

[john999]

Berta

I filed a claim about a year ago and got no VCAA notice. From reading here on Hadit I sent in more evidence until I finally got the VCAA notice. I realize now that if I had not kept on beating the VA horse my claim would probably just have set there with no action. If you don't get the VCAA letter your claim is in limbo. I even got a VCAA letter for the CUE I filed. Maybe that is not proper but the decision was not proper either.

It is a shame that we as individuals have to interpret the law and try and enforce it while our VSO's sit there and do nothing. The VCAA letter on my CUE was quit vague and not worth a damn.

[john999]

Berta

Are the VCAA regs in the 2006 VBM? I got two VCAA letters this last year. I always send in as much evidence as I can find and my claims were pretty obvious AO type claims so I did not worry about the content of the VCAA letters all that much.

[Angela]

Berta,

I'm now in the process of completing a Form 9 to go to the BVA on a CUE. I was awarded 60 percent for a condition that should have been rated 100 percent. I believe I have a very strong case BUT... I don't believe I ever received a VCAA letter prior to a decision on my original claim. Here are my questions..

1) Since I did get 60 percent (instead of denied completely) can my rating be considered an "adverse decision"?

2) If I bring up the lack of VCAA now, how will affect my CUE process?

3) I did get a VCAA during my CUE process, but I think it was too generic. Basically, it said to send them any medical info I hadn't already sent and let them know of any records not already obtained. No mention was made of buddy statements either.

Shouldn't it have said something about the specific condition and what sorts of evidence were actually required to prove the 100 percent criteria for it?