FROM THE CITY OF

BROTHERLY LOVE

VARO

Imagine going in, filing with the VSO, losing and going up on appeal. Imagine doing this without a shred of medical evidence. Imagine that the “skin disease ” you’re claiming is the same thing you entered service with. Imagine leaving service with a BP of 108/70. In short, imagine being a fit as a fiddle after thirteen months of service stateside during the Vietnam era. No AO exposure wipes out the presumptive for the DM2 and prostate cancer. No history of any hep or gastric upset in the STRs. Nevertheless, the Vet is convinced that the VA is remiss. The DAV does nothing to dissuade him. In the end they are left grasping for something-anything- to hang this suit on.

Neither the Veteran nor his representative have offered any explanation as to why they believe the current hypertension, Hepatitis C, diabetes mellitus, prostate disability, and skin disease are related to service. In his July 2008 VA Form 9, the Veteran provided a statement to the effect that he was entitled to compensation for injury due to alleged negligence of military medical personnel. He has not, however, explained how the current disabilities at issue are related to service, nor has he offered or reported lay or clinical evidence that relates the claimed disabilities to service. The record contains no indications that the disabilities are related to service.

So, three and one half years down the road, the Vet and the DAV dude look at each other and go “Ruh-oh, Rorge?” That’s a lot of carbon footprint with nothing to show for it. You don’t get a gold star after your name for saving the planet when you cut that many trees down and forget the nexus letters, et cetera.

Filing claims is no more complicated than chopping wood. Everything has a technique. When you seek out the services of an organization that advertises their expertise in this field, you expect the best. When said organization has the imprimatur of the VA on it as being acceptable, you should feel extremely at ease. What happened here, in the real world, is unfortunately all too common. This was the Merry Christmas our Philadelphia Phil got from his DAV rep.