stilwellrick
Registered: 02/17/09
Posts: 8 |
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09/27/09 |
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#1 |
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| Hello,I have filed a claim for hep c. once in 1977,again in 1992,and finally in 2002. My clinical records state that I was diag. with hepatitus and isolated for 30 days. Record states was incurred in line of duty, not due to misconduct.Record also states infectious vs serum, awaiting lab results. results never found in records. This last time I filed I filed with my letter of disagreement,my argument was based on the VA insistance that the hep I had in service was not the hep c I now have.My response was that they could not unequivically make that statement,and in my opinion, the records show a non-A,or non-B diag.That I suspect was in fact C,however there were no tests for C in 1972. Finally to my question. I just recived a letter of a appointment in october for a C&P EXAM. What do you make of that, and if in fact it is a hep C thing, what can I expect. Thanks. Rick |
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NOD
 Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654 |
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09/28/09 |
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#2 |
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| Dear Rick, I am shooting in the dark with the info I currently have from you, but let me give you some knowledge of how these chuckleheads operate. They are going to deny as they already have, but there is one CAVC decision recently decided in your favor. It states that if you had a disease(documented in medrecs) while in service in the line of duty, and it was never specifically identified as infectious vs viral, then it cannot be said with any certainty what kind of hep it was. The ruling wasn’t about hep, but the parallel is there. Legally, you can use this decision(Groves vs. Peake 2008) to butress your case. Look at the NOD page that deals with this on this site. Its the “Important CAVC rulings” and then read the Groves vs. Peake decision. It deals directly with what you are talking about. Remember that you are not allowed to be a doctor or reach medical conclusions. You can only report what your 5 senses bring to you. That is the law(Layno vs. Brown 1994). So simply stating that you don’t believe that the 1972 infection was anything other than HCV is not going to fly. Of course, if you can get a doctor to say that, that’s a different story. I did for my nexus, but Uncle Victor still went out and got several more independent medical opinions to shoot me down.Trouble was they all came back in my favor. That’s the only reason I succeeded.In order for your October C&P to have any weight, you need a biopsy to go with it that shows you have an advanced case of Hep C, such as Stage 3, Grade 3 or so. This proves your infection is almost 40 years old.Each stage equals (roughly) 10 years. As you may know, Stage 4 signals cirrhosis. So if the biopsy reveals your disease to be rather advanced then it means you didn’t get it in the 80’s or the 90’s. Again, you need to get a doctor to provide you with a nexus letter stating as much. Hope this have been of some help to you. |
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hcvet
Moderator
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 48 |
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stilwellrick
Registered: 02/17/09
Posts: 8 |
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09/29/09 |
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#4 |
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| My thanks to the quick response from manager,moderator. I do have a letter from a private doctor saying that he has been my doctor for the last 25 yrs. and that in his professional opinion the hep I had in service and the hep I have, are more likely than not the same. Once again Thanks for help PS. I will keep you posted. Rick |
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Bandy1979
Registered: 09/20/10
Posts: 2 |
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09/21/10 |
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#5 |
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I just received my medical records (less than 3 weeks after request). At entry it lists the following:
16-18 WBC
0-2 RBC
20-24 Epith cells
+3 Bacteria
2+ mucus
On one page there is a note stamped: THREE COLONY TYPES. INDICATIVE OF CONTAMINATION.Lab results during separation are not as specific but lists the following in box D:
1-3 WBC’s +3 Epith. rare bacteria.
I have no idea what this indicates. I was discharged in 1980 and have never passed a physical since. I was first diagnosed in 1987 as non A, non B. This was typical back then. My liver biopsy was in 1988, resulting in Hep C diagnosis. I receive treatment in 2002. I’ve shelled out a lot of money since then as well…many health issues related to the damage and treatment side effects.
I also requested a copy of a claim I filed at separation and they included it as well. I was told when exiting that these forms usually gets ‘lost’. Well, I received a copy of the ‘Veteran’s Application for Compensation or Pension at Separation from Service’ for leg injuries, but no specific medical records for this injury. |
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NOD
Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654 |
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09/21/10 |
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#6 |
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| <<<<<I also requested a copy of a claim I filed at separation and they included it as well. I was told when exiting that these forms usually gets ‘lost’. Well, I received a copy of the ‘Veteran’s Application for Compensation or Pension at Separation from Service’ for leg injuries, but no specific medical records for this injury.>>>>>>
I cannot comment on the WBC (white blood cells) or the RBC (red blood cells) counts as I am not familiar with that subject. I know that Epith cells stands for epithelial cells. I found this on my search engine if it helps you:
epithelial cell – one of the closely packed cells forming the epithelium
If you filed a claim at separation, was it ever decided by the VA? This is the kind of thing we’re adept at helping you with. Medical science is not our forte, unfortunately.
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Bandy1979
Registered: 09/20/10
Posts: 2 |
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09/22/10 |
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#7 |
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No, I never followed up on the claim. Always figured there were people in worse shape than me. I have been limited in what I could do physically, but as time goes by, it becomes in tolerable at times and has moved into my lower back. I am employed and have insurance. After recent MRIs I have been referred to an Orthopedic Specialist. Haven’t went yet as the out of pocket espenses just for the MRIs and the doctors charge to read the MRIs, with insurance cost over $1500 dollars out of pocket!
This compounded with the expenses for my Gastro CT scans and labs are a bit much. Of course, my liver function tests are still bad and I have increase ammonia levels.
I don’t know how to read the labs in my military records. Not familiar with the terms, but they seem very vague, plus no mention of the method of injections. I’m just lost. All I know to do is try to get my Gastro doctor to take time to read the military records and try to get a Nexus letter. If successful, will probably just go through an attorney. Working is quite a challenge and the medical expenses are overwhelming even with insurance. |
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AZeeJensMom
Moderator
Registered: 01/05/09
Posts: 94 |
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09/22/10 |
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#8 |
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| Brandy,
Can you send me a little more info on your medical issues via private email ?
I would like to help you in any way I can, are these conditions/tests a result of
Hepatitis C …. ?
I’m here to assist you in anyway I can…..
AZeeJensMom
To send a private email to me, click on AZeeJensMom just above the Moderator to the left side of this box and you can send it to me there…and I will respond.
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asknod
Bethanie Spangenberg
kcraveiro
robinhoodesqvetsatty
Wesley McCauley
Veterans Claims Help 
Can anyone comment on any claims filed concerning VA Failure to treat by VA doctors. I got a new VA Dr. in May 2015 and she asked me where I was getting treated for Hep “C”..because my complaints reason(s) for VA visits …Night Sweats ,hot flashes ,ED are all similar to Hep “C” issues.And my previous VA Dr. make an entry into my Med Record in March 2012 that I tested positive for Hep C . I told her that this was the 1st time that I was informed about having Hep C which it was the 1st time that I knew anything about having Hep C
Are there any cases instances of claims concerning Failure to Treat ?
Yep. But not in ten years. VA used to test us back in 98-2004 and not tell us about positive results. This is far more ugly and recent.You need a VA attorney fast.
Sherman, I sent your question to one of the lawyers. Meanwhile I found you some evidence. People always say that I’m picky because I notice little things but I think it pays to be picky.
Look, this comes from the Newsweek story our forum members participated in….
“In 2004, a doctor was looking at Bob’s records on a computer screen. “He asked, ‘What are you doing about your hepatitis infection?’ and I said, ‘I didn’t know I had it,’ and he replied, ‘Oh yeah, we have known about it for 10 years.’”
Another case, same story….
“Speaking on behalf of her ailing husband, Dorothy Dames says VA physicians knew Martin Dames had life-threatening cirrhosis as early as 2002, but didn’t tell them for more than eight years. As with Bob, the late notification led to horrendous consequences for Dames’s health. He was eventually treated with interferon-based therapy and ribavirin, but by 2010 his cirrhosis had advanced to liver cancer and he was in desperate need of a transplant. A VA doctor declined to put him on a waiting list, saying the poor health of his lungs disqualified him.”
http://www.newsweek.com/2015/05/22/vas-hepatitis-c-problem-330277.html
The VA even ADMITS IT on their OWN studies….
VA Cooperative study 488 showed that “86% of those that tested positive for hepatitis C had tested positive in the past, yet 46% of them were unaware of their diagnosis.”
http://www.natap.org/2004/HCV/061104_03.htm