Baby you can drive my claim
Yes I know it sounds insane
And Baby, I trust you
Seeing as I was born and raised in the Tidewater area ofVirginia, it’s only natural for me to spot Roanoke VARO and be interested. This is the original stomping grounds of Capt. John Smith of Fort Jamestown fame. Hell, you could legitimately call Jamestown the original Fort Fumble. After you read this remand, you’ll undoubtedly agree.
This old boy got the 10% ice cream cone in 1982 with an effective date of 10/13/81. He had HBV diagnosed in service and was rated on DC 7345. In 1985 the ice cream evaporated and he was holding an empty cone. Apparently he didn’t appeal, or if he did, it isn’t mentioned. What’s the difference? He would have lost because the HBV symptoms abated.
Fast forward to 2002 with an interim Dx of HCV in 1999. Capt. John files for increase of his service–connected HBV because he isn’t feeling too hot and his doctor is worried. The VA prognosticators rightfully diagnose that HBV does not equal the recently diagnosed HCV and deny the request based on the fact that he wasn’t rated for HCV. Incidentally, the new Diagnostic Code rating for HCV (7354) was introduced less than a year before on July 1st, 2001. Capt. Hep seems to be just behind the eightball here and really slow on the uptake. Or… his VSO isn’t on his speed dial. I find this incongruous because his rep. is AmLeg and they have pretty good well drink Happy Hour specials regularly. They should have been on a first name basis and playing on the same slow pitch team by now. What happened?
Fast forward over the commercials again to 2006. Our time-challenged Veteran, who is really starting to get sick, now files for HCV and the fun begins. Remember how I always tell you potential filers to beware of what you claim and how you couch it in English? Those wascally wabbits down at the Veterans Service Center drank too much carrot juice and construed his claim to be for an increase for his HCV. They somehow spaced out on the fact that there was no HCV rating in the file. Ne Problemo, Capitano. They therefore granted him a 10% scoop for “chronic hep.” and his effective date was deemed Feb. 28th, 2006, his most recent date of filing. Everything would have gone well, but Capt. Crunch filed a NOD for a higher rating. Ruh-oh, Rorge, said Astro.
Three years later on appeal, the esteemed Derek R. Brown, legendary VLJ, and his able munchkins spotted this anomaly almost immediately. What most Vets don’t understand is that BVA decisions are not issued piecemeal. They save it all up until they are completely finished and then release it simultaneously. That means this thing sat like a bump on a log for a year or more when it could have been legitimately remanded back to the VARO chowderheads at the Roanoke Puzzle Palace. Lord, give us the strength to endure until they finish their labors.
In considering the merits of the claim for increase, there appears to be some confusion as to what type of hepatitis the Veteran is service-connected for. For example, in an addendum request to the November 2008 VA examiner, it was noted that VA provided information that the Veteran has hepatitis C for which he has been service-connected. Additionally, in a September 2008 letter, the RO set forth the rating criteria for Diagnostic Code 7345 (chronic liver disease without cirrhosis (including hepatitis B, chronic active hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, hemochromatosis, drug-induced hepatitis, etc., but excluding bile duct disorders and hepatitis C)) and Diagnostic Code 7354 (hepatitis C (or non-A, non-B hepatitis)).
On review of the various rating decisions, it is clear that the question of entitlement to service connection hepatitis C has never been the subject of a formal rating decision. In an effort to properly evaluate the residuals of service-connected hepatitis B, the Board finds that the claim of entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C must be adjudicated. The Board acknowledges that Diagnostic Codes 7345 and 7354 are very similar. Notwithstanding, consideration of residuals related to hepatitis C, if service-connected, could possibly affect the overall evaluation for chronic hepatitis. As such, the Board considers the issues inextricably intertwined and the evaluation for service-connected hepatitis B is deferred pending the outcome of this issue.
This decision is dated 03/30/2011. It takes a month from this date to reach the stenographer’s pool. It takes another month to be typed, proofread, and mailed. It will take several more months to box up the C-file and send it 95 miles from D.C. to Roanokopolis. With any luck the Pony Express showed up by September. And then what?
The claim will spend 16 months in development and rating before they decide. If Pocahontas’ friend is still breathing, he will be delighted to get the manila envelope. I won’t guess the outcome, just the timeline. About January 2013, seven years after filing, he will know. If his endeavour flops, he will be refilling a new NOD, etc. and returning to see Judge Brown again, assuming the aging Judge hasn’t retired.
Again, I reiterate my plaint: “Where’s his VSO? Who’s in charge of this clusterconstruction? You Vets do realize, I hope, that your VSO reps. are allowed to wander in and out of VAROs at will and find out the where/how/ why/ when of your claim any time they want. If this thing was headed down the wrong track, the VSO should have derailed it in its infancy. Isn’t that why you gave them your POA? This is where a well-versed law dog would be invaluable for the Vet who is DIY challenged. Unfortunately, Congress has set it up so that only we or a VSO can file. A Grateful Nation bestows its respect on its defenders. In a word, brilliant.
Perhaps we should just automatically throw in MDD and/or dysthemia because if we aren’t bummed out when we start, we sure as hell will be after years of adjudications and denials.
http://www.va.gov/vetapp11/Files2/1110405.txt
asknod
Bethanie Spangenberg
kcraveiro
robinhoodesqvetsatty
Wesley McCauley
Veterans Claims Help 
In 2007, there was no site like this that investigated the minutiae of claims and the maze required to be traversed in search of success. There were many that simply provided a sympathetic ear or parroted the party line. HCV was still a “druggie” disease and any who asked for info were viewed as tainted. Once I discovered the perfidy, I set out to unmask the process and shine some light on it. If this helps even one Vet succeed where he might otherwise fail, then it is a worthy enterprise in my mind. We focus very narrowly on one disease process rather than a myriad list of all ailments. I think this is why we have as much success as we do with our members. Of course, the squeaky wheel gets the grease and you can wear them down. This is a little known fact that can help if you have the stamina to persevere.
Once upon a time in America when honesty, integrity and due diligence were actually considered to be admirable:
VSOs came about as Veterans who were organized to be recognized for the benefits that they felt they deserved for defending their country. They were recognized as organizations that were in the best interests of the Country, the Community and resulted in attracting citizens to volunteer for military service.
The concept of Veteran’s benefits is nothing new. Even pirates understood that no one would be willing to fight for the cause unless they were compensated when they became injured:
“IX. No man to talk of breaking up their way of living, till each had shared one thousand pounds. If in order to this, any man should lose a limb, or become a cripple in their service, he was to have eight hundred dollars, out of the public stock, and for lesser hurts, proportionately.”
The bottom line is that I feel that the VSOs care more about what the VA thinks of them then how they perform for the Veteran. The VSO’s performance or lack thereof is almost always in favor of the VA.
Now we are a country with not enough jobs so military service is a way to feed families. We have also become a country of greedy bandits that skim off the top at every opportunity. In this fight over the deficit, Congress is pushing around baskets of money for votes. They want ear marks for DOD contractors and military bases in their own respective states. The easiest way to get a basket of money is to reduce Veteran’s benefits. One of these “agendas” is to end all presumptive service connection period. I can tell you that the political climate in my state is that my two senators and one house rep will vote for any bill that will help them get military earmarks. That goes for the Governor as well since the Guard units that have been activated are owned by the State.
What this means is that the VSOs are “politically correct” to screw up a claim and the VA is “politically correct” to deny the claim. But in any event I believe that the VSO’s role in helping a Veteran with their claim has come and gone. Now we have ebenefits and the internet to guide us through the process. The VA has come up with the concept of a “fully developed” claim. Why give someone a POA when they are not accountable or responsible for their negligence? I would rather pay a good VA comp attorney an hour for a consult to get me started. And of course there are the wonderful websites such as this one that have compiled thousands of people hours of research by extremely intelligent and caring folk.