menalteed
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 37 |
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02/03/11 |
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#1 |
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My hep C has progressed to Liver cancer, in fact this was known from the time I filled my claim. I was told I didn’t have a lot of time. They said because of that they would put me on a expedited claim..I was told it could be as early as four months to close. It has been about 11 months so far. The C&P exam was Nov. 16 and I think I’m in the stack to go for rating.
I provided all my medical records and pertinent information including three Nexus letters at the time I filled, it seems like things are going so slow that I may not be around for the final. Can my wife keep my claim alive? Are they just slow and I’m becoming paranoid. Can’t really call the VSO, they never have given me the same answer twice and have never been right once. Anyone know how long these things take from the time my file gets to the rating pile to a answer to Service connection…peter |
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NOD
 Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654 |
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02/04/11 |
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#2 |
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| The VA has rule 900 [ 38 CFR 20.900(c)] which allows a Veteran’s claim to be advanced on the docket. While it does advance it, it doesn’t guarantee adjudication in days or weeks. As a matter of course, as soon as the next available ratings expert is free, your claim will be decided. From what you have implied, the claim is still at the VARO rather on appeal to the BVA. Any candidates in line for consideration of Rule 900 in front of you are served first. There is no triage for 900 candidates. This may explain why your claim is moving slowly.
While it may sound bleak, here is the program. Should you pass before the decision has been granted, your claim will die. Your wife can then take your place and start over , but current law does not allow for substitution unless it is before the CAVC. If VA determines the Hep was service connected and caused your death, your wife will be granted DIC.
Peter, allow me to express my sorrow for your circumstances. I know one day I will be announcing something similar and it is not in the far distant future. Getting the HCC Dx is one hell of a body blow. If there is anything we can do to aid you in this claim, rest assured we’ll move Heaven and Earth to do it for you. On the off chance time runs out, we stand united here to provide your wife with anything she will need to succeed. Were the shoe on the other foot, I have no doubt you would do the same for my wife.
As service members , we were a tightly knit crew. As Veterans, it is even more important to close ranks and support one another in these situations. We stand ready to help you, whatever form that may take. I do strongly suggest you approach your Congressman/Senator and inform him of the need for haste. VA can be monolithic, but they occasionally show their gentle side when addressed with these situations. Sadly, I concur on your VSO assessment. Chances are you may put him at risk of a DUI if you involve him in it. They don’t take bad news very well.
Based on a Nov. 16th, 2010 C&P, I would presume you may get some results very soon. If they have your home phone number, they will probably call you to let you know if you have won. It may take another month to generate the paper for it and another month or two to effect a compensation payment and log you into the system. If it is still at the RO this will speed things up immensely. Were it at the BVA, it would entail a remand back to the RO for a rating.
I think I speak for all of us here at HCVets when I say we hear of far too many of our members succumbing to this insidious disease. Being the undying optimist I am, I firmly hold out hope that some miracle drug will be forthcoming before you or I reach Bingo. Let us pray that drug comes to pass sooner rather than later.
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menalteed
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 37 |
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02/04/11 |
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#3 |
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Thank you for taking the time to answer some of my questions. Rest assured that I have contacted both my Senator and Congressman in a effort to speed things along. My medical exam was done through a private contractor hired by the VA, (QTC) and at the time the doctor suggested that I also apply for AA, I really didn’t want to as I thought it would slow down my claim. My VSO told me to file it and it shouldn’t slow things down but Monday I received a call from the VA office asking me if I wanted to take the full 30 days for the AA claim, this was after I called to ask about my status of the regular claim.
I waved the right for the full 30 days. I asked the VA officer for his name but none given and faxed a letter to the VSO with the information and a letter stating my intention to wave the 30 days. I received a letter two day
later from the VA with the same question and again waved my 30 days and faxed the form to the VSO to hard carry to the VA office. I was told everything was done and not to worry. At the time the VA officer called he was very nice and said my claim would be going right to the Rater. I asked what that time line would look like. The VA man put it at two to three weeks for the rater to get the file. I asked him how long after that did he think I would hear something and was told after the rater the file would have to mover to a rater checker and that could take awhile. I’m starting to get the feeling that there is a coordinated effort to stall me until I drop dead, a little paranoid feeling for sure! LOL. The positive is the OTC doctor wrote that my hep C was most likely to be service connected as did two VA doctors and the head of the Hepotology dept at my local University Medical center. With now, four Nexus statements I’m hoping it does not need to go any place else but the local office for a rating. I’m not that healthy anymore and if they stall this another 90 days I’m afraid for my family losing out. That is why I asked about time lines as the stress of this is not helping…Thank you again for your reply and your service…peter |
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NOD
Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654 |
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02/04/11 |
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#4 |
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| Peter, I find it unconscionable that people who have no VA law background would advocate you file a claim for A&A. First of all, absent a SC for Hep., there is no precedent for the A&A. It would be like applying for TDIU in the absence of any claim. In order to qualify for any additional perk associated with a disease, one must have a rating for the same first. That anyone would advocate that you do this speaks volumes about their ignorance of the law.
During the pendancy of my hep. claim in late 07, I informed my SO that I was effectively dead in the water medically and unable to work. My query to him was what should I do? He handed me the TDIU form and said they had to rule on it in 90 days or less. I pointed out that I had two 0% ratings for hearing/Tinnitus and felt VA wouldn’t view it favorably. His rejoinder was epic;”You’ll never know if you don’t try.” This is what is wrong with the VSO program. Poor training and a feeling that there is a VA form for every contingency breeds this stupidity. Your doctor, of all people, is as ill-prepared to offer legal advice as I am to dispense medical diagnoses. Clint Eastwood’s character in Magnum Force(Harry Callaghan) enunciated this quite succinctly when he said “A man’s gotta know his limitations.”
As there is only one C-File, any additional issues added on to the claim slow it down. A&A is an additional issue. It is also something the RO can deal with after the important business of getting you rated. Please avoid any more side trips, however well intentioned, until some resolution is attained with the Hep. claim. That, and only that is of paramount importance to you right now.
We do know that the normal time for a decision relating to your QTC C&P is never longer than 90 days. QTC headquarters is in some obscure little backwater in California. Everything has to go through there for the steno pool to type it up. I hope they are not tardy and have learned to take it up a notch in cases like yours.
I do not believe there is a conspiracy to deprive you of your rating. I know they have a rather archaic method of checks and balances to ensure correctness. The redundancy built in to the system is maddening, but I firmly believe they are just trying to ensure a proper outcome. This is of little or no consolation to you, unfortunately.
Stay on top of this with the Congressional inquiry route. The VA responds more rapidly to political pressure than individual Veteran pressure for obvious reasons. Congress controls their purse strings and can make life unbearable for them if they ignore the requests.
As for thanking me for my service, you needn’t. Wild horses couldn’t have kept me out of war in 69. Young adults feel the need to test their limits. What better way than to get into red clay up to your armpits and eat Agent Orange for breakfast? Besides, the military had an unending supply of oversized M-80’s and they were free. So…free food, free rent, free ammo and they paid you to kill Communists. How could you improve on that system? Sadly, we are only now coming to realize the downside to it. The crime is that the VA now spends an inordinate amount of time and resources denying their culpability rather than focusing on equitable solutions. On behalf of my country, I apologize for the treatment that they accord you. I only wish there was more we could do to aid you.
I will excavate several BVA decisions that will illustrate the path your wife may encounter if things don’t go smoothly for you. I apologize for not posting something along these lines earlier. Perhaps it was a subconscious desire not to have to face the consequences which you do now. It appears denial is more than just a river that runs through Egypt for me.
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NOD
Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654 |
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02/23/11 |
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#5 |
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| Peter-Here is a representative sample of what you will encounter. This one went to D.C. on appeal. They don’t always, but VA will surely vociferously try to show no culpability for your illness. Best if possible to treat your liverbox with the utmost respect until this process is completed.
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menalteed
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 37 |
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02/23/11 |
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#6 |
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| Thank you for the information. My VSO says my claim is now with the RO. It has been there for about seven weeks now and still no news but hoping someone does something with it sooner then later as it shows it is now being activly worked on…Hmmm….peter |
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NOD
Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654 |
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02/23/11 |
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#7 |
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| Well, we all certainly hope they don’t camp out on it. Having a nexus, let alone several, is paramount. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. Left to their own devices, they would seek their own nexus for you. Perhaps this will keep them occupied checking the bona fides of your doctors rather than pursuing an IMO.
I arrived with only one from a prominent hepatologist. They opted to seek one of their own at QTC. Dissatisfied with that, they pursued yet another in an IMO that arrived at the same conclusion from another angle. So, after over 1200 samoles in pursuit of a denial, they gave in. Let us hope they don’t invest that much negative energy in an effort to denigrate your nexi. We will pray for your health and on this matter in spite of the fact that it is politically incorrect to do so. Concentrate on maintaining your health and the certain joy you will undoubtedly experience when VA grants this, Peter. Your unswerving dedication to America’s freedom will be realized and rewarded soon enough. Thank goodness you haven’t had to invest 17 years into it. I wish a site similar to this had been available to us in 1994.
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AZeeJensMom
Moderator
Registered: 01/05/09
Posts: 94 |
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02/24/11 |
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#8 |
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| Peter ….. for what it’s worth, and I sure hope it is plenty, I’m sending you positive vibes for a swift and positive decision. You are a strong man, it’s most difficult to wait and wait and wait some more. It sounds like you have enough IMO ammo with your 4 Nexus statements and with solid medical evidence to support those statements.
As NOD points out, it’s a scrutiny of checkpoints, dotting i’s and crossing t’s …… after an almost 8 year battle with VA, my husband received his 100% sc for HepC. I know, as many do here, what the waiting can do to someone.
Hang in there ……
We anxiously await your post of victory.
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menalteed
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 37 |
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02/24/11 |
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#9 |
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| Thank you all for your positive attitudes and vibes. As you know the not knowing is the hard part. I’m still not sure about the Nexus statements because in two of them they used the wording of “highly plausible” instead of “highly likely”, which my VSO should have caught but didn’t. One letter is correct, even saying 95% and highly likely and I hope this is enough with the other two as reinforcement. On the OTC letter they really didn’t make a statement other then just using my statement but didn’t question my reasons of the epidemiology of the Hep C as service related….peter |
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AZeeJensMom
Moderator
Registered: 01/05/09
Posts: 94 |
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02/24/11 |
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#10 |
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| You are welcome Peter. Yes, we do know the waiting is horrible. Like watching grass grow. You know your claim better than anyone, staying informed and present in the process the best you can is paramount.
We remain in support,
AZeeJensMom
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menalteed
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 37 |
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02/25/11 |
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#11 |
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| Called my VSO today and found out my claim has been rated. I was excited and asked what the rating was and he said no way of knowing as my claim now has to go through a “Coach” and it would depend on how many claims the coach has to look through. Always seems to be another hoop. Never knew about the coach thing before….LOL…peter |
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flipfarts
Registered: 05/12/09
Posts: 19 |
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02/25/11 |
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#12 |
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Sorry to hear my fellow vets are suffering like this. I have HCV and it progressed to head/neck cancer. Lost my thyroid. My “CUE” claim has been denied(da) and I want it out of the RO filed in Washington for a judge to hear. I requested SOC from denial at RO Los Angeles. Letter says records cannot be found. I must have from 9 filed with NOD. Am I screwed or what? How can I solve this problem?
ALSO… Are there any independent HCV doctors favorable to vets for the nexus opinion out there. My zip is 92307. I am in CA and outpatient at Loma Linda VA Hospital. Looking for advice and help.
Please say your prayers my brothers and sisters. God does answer…..
Thank you for your service. |
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menalteed
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 37 |
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02/25/11 |
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#13 |
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| That you for your service. I’m not the one to ask questions as I’m not very up on things. Best bet is start a new thread asking your questions. NOD will then be able to answer you with the best resorces available. I don’t even knnow what “CUE” is but hope all works out well. Great information on this site and great people. Keep hope alive…peter |
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NOD
Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654 |
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02/25/11 |
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#14 |
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To flipfarts:
I requested SOC from denial at RO Los Angeles. Letter says records cannot be found. I must have from 9 filed with NOD. Am I screwed or what? How can I solve this problem?
ALSO… Are there any independent HCV doctors favorable to vets for the nexus opinion out there. My zip is 92307. I am in CA and outpatient at Loma Linda VA Hospital. Looking for advice and help.
It would appear you have not filed your disagreement in the proper order. As I am unaware of whether you have VSO representation or not, I hesitate to confuse you with more advice. However, here goes.
When you receive a denial of any kind of claim, even a CUE claim. you must file a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) first, listing all the reasons you disagree with the decision. VA then issues you a Statement of the Case (SOC). The SOC may or may not grant your claim.If you file additional evidence(which you are not allowed to do in a CUE claim), VA would review that, issue a Supplemental Statement of the Case and then ask you to file a Form 9 to complete your Substantive Appeal and prepare the claim for certification to the BVA in D.C. You may also seek a Decision Review Officer’s de novo review (unless it is a CUE claim).
If you fail to submit a NOD within one year of the denial indicating a desire to appeal each and everyone of the claims, your claim is final. You may reopen it if you can find and submit new and material evidence. If you file a NOD and VA denies you did, you must have proof of it via a Certified Mail-Return Receipt Requested (CM-RRR), or some proof of signature like UPS or FEDEX. Without proof of receipt there is no presumption of delivery. We read a case where a man got a notarized letter from his mail lady at the P.O. stating he mailed his Form 9 (he won) and another where a lady went in with a good friend who witnessed her mail a NOD for her husband. She, too, won. Absent that kind of proof, you may be in trouble. We always suggest Vets go to the P.O. personally and get a CM-RRR green card for $6.50 to CYA. It can really pay off. Of course, if you have a VSO involved, they are the proof-assuming they remember to file it for you.
Please contact Patricia at HCVets@AOL.com to find a good doctor for a nexus. She has the corner on that market. You may contact her at this site if necessary via private messaging at HCVET.
If you are unsure how the VA adjudication process works, we might suggest going to the VA Tips and Tricks Section and perusing the first ten or so introductory articles from Introduction to Proper nexus. The site here is easy to navigate and there are numerous posts covering most of the contingencies you need to have answered, especially questions concerning CUE. Vets need to understand that CUE is not a claim per se, but a collateral attack on a prior final decision that you assert is legally defective. The rules are completely different. VA is defending their good name such as it is. The benefit of the doubt is not for application here. CUE is Indian country for the Vet, and the burden of proof is substantial. You have to specifically cite that which you believe is in error. No 12 gauge spray and pray is permitted. There are other equally daunting hurtles to overcome , but this isn’t the venue for that.
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menalteed
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 37 |
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03/03/11 |
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#15 |
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| NOD, I’m getting very confused now after calling my VSO last week they told me my claim was the hands of the Coach, “last step” and I should be hearing someing within days. I called again today and was told my claim is with a rater. I asked what happeded to the Coach and was not given a real answer. So after telling me what the trail looked like he said the claim was with one rater for one day then another rater for 12 days then the Coach for nine days and is now with another rater as of yesterday. It seems like they are playing ping pong with the claim. I’m sure I’m on the bottom of another stack five months out from my C&P medical. I’m just frustrated! Sorry for bothering you, just had to get this off my chest as I realize the system has taken over here and just hope I can stay alive long enough to see this through…… |
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asknod
Bethanie Spangenberg
kcraveiro
robinhoodesqvetsatty
Wesley McCauley
Veterans Claims Help 
I remember Peter in God’s own likeness.
Hey Peter, I’m “karawane” from the trading club you opened about 1998. I hope you’re still doing well. I should have contacted you earlier… I always wanted to visit you in Seattle. But it’s a long way from Switzerland where I’m living now… Take care & God bless you!
Well it’s new years eve Mr Nod and reguarding my liver cancer someone sent me a
inspirational little vidio. Home everyone has a grain of salt! Thanks for all your good work, what a great site for help…peter
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8V70UXiAhU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Wow. Peter, you are the Asknod poster child. I have had a few success stories where the Vet scored big on ratings percentages, but it appears you may be the winner. It is sad that this is due to the military’s screwups, otherwise there might be more reason to celebrate. Nevertheless, you earned it and your wife will be covered. That is what is important, sir. You nailed it-and all by yourself (and your wife). By doing so, you have made it far easier for those who are trying to do the same.
After a long fight of mental chess with the VA they sent my claim to the Salt Lake City VARO for a rating from Seattle.
Got my letter Friday this week, they said it was handled by a team of 11 raters who in most cases agreed with me on my logic and in some of the claim they didn’t…still worked in my favor for the most part …My rating had 6 different lines from 20% to 60%; average about 30%. The thing that got the claim moving was a lot of pressure from my US Congressman and Senator. The good news is I’m now P&T and also Housebound with a good increase using the higher SMCS table. Secrets to success..never get mad, use all resourses found here and links from here. Read everything to make sure you covered all bases. ….I’m still alive and still a short timer where I could walk under a snake with a top hat on but I won..Yayayayayayhooooooooooooo….peter