This VET is going to be suffering the mailbox disease for quite a while. Did you see the reference to AMC? That stands for Appeals Management Center. We who know refer to it as Limbo. It’s the black hole for claims. The claim will escape eventually and make its way to the VARO from whence it arose. And several years from now, if the VET loses again @ the RO level, we will see his not so smiling face back here in DC in front of VLJ Joy A. McDonald, assuming she still is employed at the BVA. What I find interesting is the tortured phrases some maniac from the OGC(Office of General Counsel) dreamed up. The OGC is the Darth Vader of the VA. They are strong in the Force and know all the ways VETS will cheat in order to get their claims granted. If your claim sets some kind of precedent in the eyes of the BVA, the OGC will be making the decision . Now, roll this on your tongue after a six-pack of Adult Beverage: it is not at least as likely as not that the hepatitis that was diagnosed in 1971 in the service is the same hepatitis that he has today. It is at least as likely as not that the patient’s present hepatitis C is related to previous high-risk behavior including sex with prostitutes, tattoos, and most importantly history of intravenous drug use. Therefore, it is at least as likely as not that his hepatitis C is due to IV drug use. You need a flow chart to get all the pluses and minuses added up to figure if he’s ahead or losing. The VET really needs a nexus. The VSO has kicked him out of the boat in the deep end and he can’t swim. Again, the good news is that we’re reading about it. That means he appealed and can fight this battle again in the future with a MFR. Let this be a lesson also that the VA has an obsession with regards to adjudication. If there is anything wrong with the claim, they will REMAND it in a heartbeat — again and again and again. Sometimes you die waiting. When that happens, they don’t have to pay. Anybody starting to see a pattern here?

http://www.va.gov/vetapp06/Files1/0600007.txt