Here’s a case that exhibits the narrow-minded, myopic policy of the VA examiner to focus so totally on only one side of the dice cube that he never sees the other 5 sides. The Vet had hep in service and served for 17 of his 20 years with it. The evidence is overwhelming. One doctor in service even went so far as to say it was NANB in 1987.

http://www.va.gov/vetapp11/Files3/1126252.txt

The fellow has two very well-constructed nexus letters, yet can get no traction until he arrives here (at the BVA). Dr. Cecil and Dr. Stevens have both written letters that pass muster in every respect, but the Louisville RO has punted to the BVA. Considering they have the highest grant rate for PTSD claims, one would assume their raters are claimant friendly.

Dr. Cecil has a practice, but also writes letters for hep. c vets who petition him to do so. He provides the service for free and is a Godsend to Vets. I’m sure he also gets overwhelmed with this sometimes, but I hear he always comes through.

Fortunately for Mr. Kentucky here, the VLJ can see the perfidy of the examiner. If you ignore 75% of the assembled medical evidence pertinent to this adjudication, you can honestly report he had HAV in service and HAV does not spawn HCV. Claim denied. VA will say later that there was implicit consideration of all evidence, but we know that’s a gross mistruth.

The end result is obvious. He’ll get his SC- of that there is no doubt.  What the delaying tactic has done, as I mentioned in a prior post, is create a new class of deferred claims that are valid and will be won- eventually on appeal. What’s more is that a certain percentage-about 72% will give up, get drunk, get Jesus or go for SSD. Regardless of which outcome ensues, there will be a winnowing of the claimant pool and a long delay in the reckoning.

VA’s budget is finite. As with all Government agencies, there is a lot of waste and frills up near the top. Bonuses abound at 810 Vermont Ave. NW 20420 around Christmastime. Money from one program or another didn’t get used up and what better time to show appreciation for all those adjudications well done. A host of claims await in the inbox -38K plus from what we hear. 50 K more will arrive next year. 49K arrived last year. Two wars are going to  make the VHA constipated worse than a dog eating cheese. The VBA has significant delays now, but all we’ve seen so far is the tip of the iceberg. Experts predict the high tide of Vietnam Vets’ claims hasn’t even hit yet.

This has forced the VA to put a few more bends in the river to make it look like the Mississippi. We now have a backlog waiting to get into the VAROs. We have another already in the belly of the beast. We now are building an extensive backlog outside the BVA’s doors. Additionally, we have the claims in house which are still in progress. I’m not going to even consider the CAVC remand caseload. Were VA to actually get rid of all this old stuff, their budget would have to jump 33 to 40% to cope with the new winners. They don’t have that kind of money right now and Congress can’t get it’s act together to figure it out. This leaves VA in the unenviable situation of having to create more and bigger waiting rooms for those of us who are suddenly discovering there’s something wrong in Liverland.

This decision is all the more reason for Vets to get it right at the VARO level and avoid the interminable delay associated with what this poor soul experienced. He filed in 2004 and got the upside down thumb in December 2005. This decision is a remand. It will take, on average, 459 days (according to the VA), for this to reach fruition. That is counting from July 19th, 2011. Mr. K has almost seven years into it right now. My conservative guess is he won’t  see any wampum for another 3 years.

What this means is that VA is going to pay him in 2014 dollars for monies he should have legitimately received in 04. He has “loaned” them the money, not only interest free, but inflation adjusted dollars free. I’d say that was might’ neighborly of the old boy. He certainly could have grown that money in the interim. He is one of an expanding universe of claimants who are all similarly situated. Their only crime is finally showing up to file and discovering the line extends out the door and around the block several times. The worst part is the line isn’t moving perceptibly and it’s getting much longer every day.

I have created a new link at the top so you can all contact Sen. Patty Murray, the leader of our Pack, and tell her a) what a simply marvelous job of bitching she has done; and b)that the VA is not being honest with her. If enough complain, Sen. Tennis Shoes might get the impression we’re getting hosed with 2004 dollars-if we’re lucky.