BROKEN SNOWFLAKES DAY CARE FOR VETS

Posted on January 18, 2017 by asknod

635646931319099161-veterans-administration-logoAs most know by now, PEOTUS Trump has anointed David Shulkin to the post. Shulkin is McDonald’s #2 in charge of Medical or VHA as they acronymize it. This is the equal rank of the Undersecretary for Benefits over at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Call me Bob is like the Big Cheese supervising a doctor and a lawyer and they’re both boneheads. Well, better said the gomers who work for them are not the mental giants who walk among us. If they were, they wouldn’t be in the news.

downloadFool’s names and fool’s faces who frequently appear in public VA places get the Sharon Helman “AVIS®” Award. To be obscure is the name of this game. As mommy admonished us when we were young, ” You should only be in the newspapers three times-birth, marriage and death.”

Veterans everywhere I turn are lamenting this new VASEC development much like cattle ready to stampede- but unsure where to go.  Why is Trump hiring out from under the existing VASEC? Shulkin is not a Vet but he comes from a family of Vets. I’m sure that counts for something like ” Yeah, and I watched Full Metal Jacket too, dude so I know where you’re comin’ from.” Hey, we could do worse, right? The halls of 810 Vermont Ave. could be redolent with the aroma of Palin’s patchouli oil. McDonald had a phone number. Will Mr. Shulkin? Will Trump have that hotline to the White House just for Vets we heard about on the campaign trail? All these queshuns and we’re knee deep in depression over what might happen and what this morning’s chicken entrails app portended. Seven years bad luck on Facebook and a low sodium diet. Bummer. What’s an enterprising VA Agent to do?

Snow Flake Havens®

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4-man bunker comes with coloring books/crayons

That’s why I’m considering opening a franchise of Snowflake Havens®.  You can get into this for peanuts- less than $500 K. Everything’s on-line at Office Depot and delivered right to your door. Thousands of Vets need a place to go to hide and hug a woobie. For a measly $89.99 upgrade, they  provide a Bob McDonald’s Happy Meal daily delivered by a dead ringer for Colonel Sanders who will personally dine in one of their cozy two-person Sharing Tents™ for the catered lunch date.  Liquor is not included but Vets can run a tab at the well drinks bar on site. They have selfie sticks for rent. Relax.

Crayons, Sharpies, oils, water colors-even magic markers all on large easels to hold those future paintings and treasures while you transfer your anger into them- it’s all there. Snow flake Havens®, as part of the franchise offer,  also offers excellent deals on previously owned ambulances to ensure safe quick transport from work meltdown to the Emergency entrances of Snowflake Trauma Havens. They’ll have six beds in ICU and four for intense mental denial just waiting for you at the regional trauma centers. This increases billable Medicare hours astronomically.

snowflake-ambulance

Hire your own certified Advanced Registered Practical Nurse (ARNP) on site to maximize profits. They can legally administer soothing narcotics and mood altering Diazapam to quell even the most obstreperous Veteran. I penciled it out and it’s a goldmine. VAMCs will begin referrals to you on the VA Choice Program but refuse to pay for a year. Even with that negative this generates $38,500 a month per Vet profit with a full house of 10 Vets -even with high crayon theft.

snowflake

This could all go to hell in a minute if Shulkin actually turns the USS Vermont Avenue violently around and avoids going up on the rocks just before Promised Shoals. If he does, Snow flake Havens are going to be ghost towns.

Let these  folks greet you and make you feel right at home Here’s one of the staff members demonstrating how comforting it can feel to be near Snowflake Haven’s  “Fort Fireplace.”

 

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Capture

Posted in Humor, KP Veterans, medical injections, Medical News, Medicare for VETS, non-va care, PTSD, Veterans Law, Vietnam Disease Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

LZ CORK–CLEAR AND UNMISTAKABLE ERROR

Posted on January 15, 2017 by asknod
USS Mayflower

Arrival of the USS Mayflower  20 Dec. 2016

It’s one thing to recite 38 CFR to me and tell me what some arcane VA manual said about how to rate _____________ and under what circumstances and how the regulation has percolated down to us in the ensuing forty six years. It’s an entirely different thing to presume the USS Mayflower docked and tied up to my front porch yesterday morning.

For years, I blithely accepted everything VA told me because they were the government. They weren’t permitted to lie or deceive or misconstrue what I was trying to say. Just as the day I discovered Santa, the Tooth Faery and a lot of other childish constructs were just that- fabrications made up of whole cloth- so too did it finally dawn on me that these folks are cheating…

A big thank you goes out to  Benjamin Krause over at Disabledveterans.org for finding and publishing the old 1964 VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD). Up until now, I searched through haystacks to find versions of old ratings and what they gave in percentages. When the VA maestros tried this song and dance avec la Moonwalk, it was too much to swallow. Of course, the deeper I dug, the more lenient the regulations were -especially for combat trauma. Remember, they modernized and modified these at the end of World War II to incorporate all the newer ways man has devised to maim his fellow man short of death. By Vietnam, nothing major had changed. In fact, PTSD was right there in Diagnostic Code 9411 in pretty much the same lingua franca as 2016. The definition as an acronym is the only major change.

Here’s a copy if you need one: 1964-vasrd-ratings

A short preface: Mr. Long has had his NOD divided into two parts and the CUE decision separated from the rest of his claims. This is after presentation of 38 CFR §3.156(c)(i),(1),(3)-wasting money to make it appear work is being done.

In the following denial of Clear and Unmistakable Error, Mr. Long contended he should have been rated in 1970 for certain injuries he complained of. He filed for perforated eardrums in 1970 and VA only gave him loss of the hearing ice cream cone without any ice cream (0%). Same for his shell fragment wounds. He filed for wounds and they gave him a rating for scars-0%.  Bait and switch.

va-cue-letter-denial-12-20-2016redact

pinocchio_4In the NOD answer, you will find how to utterly demolish this ” four Pinocchio”  type of rater’s logic and leave their argument in pieces on the floor. The tragedy is they are too stupid to understand it. Relax. You only get one opportunity to shovel all the evidence into the hopper (c-file). When it comes time for someone with a modicum of intelligence (VLJ) who is familiar with 38 CFR rather than the M 21 Fantasy Ratings Game booklet, you win. If the VLJ is dense or anti-Vet, you’ll prevail at the CAVC. It’s like a Claymore. Eventually someone’s going to trip on the wire. CUE is always won when those in charge of denying it are finally shown the error. They’ll only see it when they believe it and not a moment sooner.

Another point I always stress is to carefully read every word of a denial. There lies the path to a win. VA gets diarrhea of the mouth and says too much. Here they try to paraphrase CFR and do not even attempt to print it for everyone’s edification.

Butch’s claim is just too expensive to negotiate. It’s going to be over six figures and no one local wants that on their resume when they’re up for that GS-13 step 6 rating to senior DRO in charge of  the Special Ops lane. Worse, that’s where it is now due to the declaration of Homelessness. VA’s Congressional Interests liaison has told Congressman Kilmer’s VA Intermediary that this is a)non negotiable; b) no new N&M Evidence submitted; c) don’t understand what 3.156(c) has to do with it and d) perhaps Butch needs a fiduciary. They have suggested he quit smoking and get rid of the 15-year-old dogs so he’ll qualify for low income housing from the city of Tacoma (waiting list-3 years). VA is a veritable fountain of bright ideas. If you want to rent a house for a reasonable price in the NW, you may have to move out to the boondocks. The price is unbelievable and the terms are often a two-year lease. Take it or leave it. If you don’t, there will still be a bidding war for it. As for buying homes hereabouts, it’s even worse. Cupcake says people are buying without even looking at it- and from out of state to boot. With Cash no less. You can’t even get an appt. with the realtor to view it if you mention you’re using a VA or FHA loan.

Congressman Kilmer’s  crew has now informed the VA that Derek pinned his PH and CIB on him last year and he’s not going to stop until they fix what they screwed up in 1970. Remember, CBS loves good stories about poor Vets getting hosed  for medals or VA screwups and KIRO is just a hop, skip and an Uber up the street and over a few blocks to 3rd and Broad St. Hey, if they refuse to negotiate according to Hoyle, Kilmer has the Nuclear Option and feels strongly enough about this one to throw the first (V)A bomb of his career.

capture-101

So, VA Attorneys and agents and all you wanna be VA CUE aficionados, here’s a beautiful outline for rolling these dolts on old informal claims. An added bonus is the ridiculous assertion about only being able to rate painful scars en bloc in 1970. I’ll send in an addendum for that to be considered at the DRO hearing.  Be sure to look up Diagnostic code 7804 (1970) where it clearly allows exceeding the rating for amputation for any given extremity- read the plural “scars” as in “painful scars“. Mr. Rater is correct that they have rewritten 4.118  DC 7800-7805 since 1970- but most assuredly not in a more Veteran-friendly manner. In fact, Part 4, over the ensuing 46 years,has experienced quite a bit of revisionist history.

38 CFR§4.118 Schedule of ratings- Skin Diagnostic Code 7804 Scars, superficial, tender and painful on objective demonstration (1970)——————————–  10%

Note: The 10% rating will be assigned, when the requirements are met, even though the location may be on the tip of a finger or toe, and the rating may exceed the amputation value for the limited involvement.

But not according to Seattle’s CUEmesiters…

Here’s the 21-0958 redacted. Mr. Long has given me written permission to use his ratings fiasco as a teaching moment. This is not a drill. It’s eighteen pages of horribly redundant logic pounded in repeatedly with a  1970 CFR hammer. VA loves to use this technique and restate the obvious about 3 times in a denial or SOC. Here, we merely provide sauce for the goose to simmer in.

cue-nod-complete-filed-1-13-17-redacted

This is better than an ambush on a dead end trail in a horseshoe valley. Informal claims my ass. Suck on your 1970 version of §4.42, bubba. We may have to go to DC but the evidence will be tightly packed in before departure.

Capture

 

Posted in 1154(b) combat presumptions, C-Files and RBAs, Congressional Influence, CUE, Inferred claims, Informal Claims, KP Veterans, VA Agents, VA Medical Mysteries Explained | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Leaking or FOIA Requests?

Posted on January 15, 2017 by Laura

Frank sends us links to a series of quality ProPublica articles, published with The Virginian-Pilot, about the on-going scourge of Agent Orange.

A webpage titled Reliving Agent Orange (Link), links to numerous articles about Agent Orange and their lawsuit (12/16/16) ProPublica, Inc. v United States Department of Veterans Affairs  (Link). Charles Ornstein is the Senior Reporter on this project.  Scroll down to the exhibits to see Mr. Orstein’s FOIA requests (leadership emails!); and VA’s continually changing statements that he will have to wait, and wait, and wait for at least 18 months.

This group is not interested in “fake news” from what I can gather.  They take fact checking seriously.

VA employees who like veterans, and their jobs, don’t have a safe place to raise issues that concern them within the agency. ProPublica might be a reasonable option for VA insiders, whose conscience is nagging them, to dialogue with. (Link):

spy

Image: strip generator.com. All rights reserved

 How To Leak To ProPublica

We are a team of investigative journalists devoted to exposing abuse of power. If you’ve got evidence showing powerful people doing the wrong thing, here’s how to let us know while protecting your identity.

They have some digital methods;  I like the low tech method best:

U.S. postal mail without a return address is one of the most secure ways to communicate — authorities would need a warrant to intercept and open it in transit.

Don’t use your company or agency mail room to send something to us. Mail your package or envelope from an unfamiliar sidewalk box instead of going to a post office. You can mail us paper materials or digital files on, for example, a thumb drive.

But copying and leaking documents is potentially risky.  It seems far more prudent to obtain desired information using FOIA Requests.  ProPublica is firm and clear about what they want to read:  communications (any format) between an AO skeptic VA hires (no bid contracts) to produce studies and leaders like Hickey, Shinseki, Shulman, McDonald and other big wigs. VA is firm about not complying with the laws time terms.

A lot less edgy, is their survey for Vietnam veterans as they look into AO’s ongoing generational health effects (Link).

Posted in Agent Orange, AO, Complaints Department, Food for thought, General Messages, Guest authors, research, Uncategorized, vA news | Tagged , | 2 Comments

WHERE HAVE ALL THE VA AGENTS GONE?

Posted on January 14, 2017 by asknod

countImagine Mary Kaye® or Nike™ Shoes offering you a dealership in a State or locality with absolutely little or no competition for nothing? Not a penny out of pocket. All you had to do was be semi-smart enough to pass a test on morals with a long multiple choice list of ‘what if”s looking for quasi-legal support from a set of regulations. Sounds like a building code book of regulations and knowing how to build a house correctly. That’s how I approach these things.

Add to the above equation that it costs absolutely nothing out of pocket to do this as virtually everything you need to know is on the internet. No textbooks required to purchase. You don’t have to go to college for 4 years and then law school for 3 more for the Juris Doctorate. You get to cut line educationally if you can pass this test and are treated as an equal. Pretty cool beans, huh? Did I mention it’s free?

I have just described the requirements to become a VA Agent-aka a nonattorney practitioner in legal DickandJanespeak. You get to go online and look at your client’s c-file instead of waiting a year or two for it on a Check 1: [  ] CD     [  ] paper. You are given the VA Regional Office Director’s telephone number as well as four to nine support staff at the VA to take your call or return it (complete with email address). You call up and ask who’s in charge of _____________ and they give you the number of the person. In other words, the real world. None of this 1-800-827 Dial-a-prayer shuck-and-jive and a 50 minute hold or a promise of a return call on the very next Thursday ending in an even year at 0900. No 1-800- Iha-vePTSD calls to the HELPline and getting an answering service after 1800 Hrs.

Now, cowpokes. How many VA Armchair Generals do you think who offer waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much advice on Yuku’s VBN (Peggy’s Pink Site) that wouldn’t jump in with both feet and sign up before they stiffened the rules or started charging admission? How many you figure would be in any given state with a shingle hanging a block or so within a rural VARO?VAMC? A short ton, right? This is low-hanging fruit free for the picking and you don’t have that $225,000 student loan eating a hole in your financial future until you die. This morning I was asked how many thousands there were of us who have found this little loophole and squirmed through. The results are interesting and far from what I expected to see.

CaptureI belong to NOVA so I figure we reproduce like rabbits. Apparently, only attorneys do. I was prepared for a large concentration in the states with the highest aggregate populations of people including Veterans. Wrong again. Okay, a high number in areas with a large Veteran population uniformly dispersed at the very least in every state and US possession including former ones like Manila and the Canal Zone. Saigon? Udon Thani? Wiesbaden? (Yes-one). Here’s the list. What I guess I found disconcerting was there is no rep. for Alaska where I think a good independent agent could cut a swath and a reputation as the only honest Agent near the Arctic Circle.

Alaska –0                             North Carolina–17

Alabama–3                              North Dakota–1

Arkansas–8                             Nebraska–7

Arizona–9                               New Hampshire–2

California–23                         New Jersey–9

Colorado–3                             New Mexico–1

Connecticut–8                        Nevada–4

Canal Zone–0                    New York–6

DC–3                                        Ohio–10

Europe –1                               Oklahoma–4

Florida –47                             Oregon–1

Georgia–20                             Pennsylvania–13

Guam–0                               Philippines–2

Hawaii–0                            Puerto Rico–0  

Iowa–1                                    Quebec–0

Idaho–0                              Rhode Island–5

Illinois–10                             South Carolina–5

Indiana–7                              South Dakota–0    

Kansas–8                               Tennessee–7

Kentucky–4                           Texas–23

Louisiana–6                          Utah–7

Massachusetts–9                 Virginia–8

Maryland–5                          Virgin Islands–0    

Maine–1                                 Vermont-1

Michigan–17                         Washington–9

Minnesota–3                        Wisconsin–1

Missouri–3                           West Virginia–3

Mississippi–1                       Wyoming–0

Montana-0                       Kabul–0

Mexico–0                         Baghdad–0  

———————————————   Total– 346 VA Agents in the world. Spooky, huh?

The way I look at this is a mega-business venture as though they just legalized pot and you have to throw down quick with your own Pot Shop before the neighborhood has one on every corner. Lord know I get about 3 calls a day of Vets looking for legal help. If we’re so skinny on representatives for this, the sky’s the limit. The last thing you want is to be a small town clown and the tail end Charlie.

I figured there would be one in American Samoa because I’ve met a lot of South Sea Islanders from there. It isn’t even listed as ever having one. Hawaii was another disappointment. I’m giving both some serious thought if no one else wants them.

P.S. I was going to count the attorneys. There are 19 in Alaska. Alabama has 222. Arkansas has 132 and that’s where I gave up counting due to Writer’s eyeball cramp.

hawaiian_beach_scenes_business_card-rbf9cb7557723426ba8d45f5ca8cfc033_i579d_8byvr_630

Nodster

 

 

 

Posted in All about Veterans, KP Veterans, Lawyering Up, VA Agents, vA news, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

VET COMP. & PEN–CAVEAT EMPTOR

Posted on January 13, 2017 by asknod
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Kathleen

Meet Miz Kathleen. New Sleuth on the prowl. I asked her if she would be so kind as to “sniff out” the bona fides of a certain outfit in Florida that purports to be run by former VA Personnel with the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)-those who perform Compensation and Pension Examinations on Veterans to aid in determining  service connection for claims we file. 

Several days ago, I put up this report and Kathleen commented on it with numerous links to the outfit in question. I emailed her and asked if she’d be interested in researching such a valuable asset to Veterans-if it were indeed true. And, true to her word, I present her diligent work.

Caveat Emptor …”let the buyer beware.”

As defined, “Caveat Emptor is a Latin term that means “let the buyer beware.” Similar to the phrase “sold as is,” this term means that the buyer assumes the risk that a product may fail to meet expectations or have defects.”

Caveat Emptor…that’s my sentiment about the consulting firm mentioned in VA NEXUS LETTERS–FINALLY A GO-TO SOURCE? .  You may or may not feel the same way as I do about this firm and that’s certainly everyone’s prerogative to reach their own conclusions.

In a response to that post, I provided information found by following the digital trail left out on the WWW by those associated with the firm.  You see, we all leave digital footprints while we interact with the Web.  A digital footprint is defined as… “the information about a particular person that exists on the Internet as result of their online activity.”

In this case, the digital trail that I followed kept bringing me to more twists and turns then “the most crooked street in the world”, Lombard Street in San Francisco, CA.

To start with, the firm seems to be associated with more than one name:

Vetcompandpen.com

vaclaimpros.com

Va.claims

 The firm is indeed listed with                                                    the Better Business Bureau:

BBB Business Profile | Veterans Compensation & Pension Medical …

Of note, is a recent customer complaint listed on the website:

1/3/2017

Problems with Product/Service

Complaint

Vet Comp and Pen claims they assisted me in filing a ********** claim with ******* *******. Not only did they not assist me but now are stating that I owe them in upwards of $8399. I filed all claims with ******* ******* on my own and therefore required nor received any assistance from Vet Comp and… Pen.

(Show Less of Complaint)

Desired Resolution

Stop threatening demands with promises of attorney fees and collection fees, etc.

From: ******* ****** ************ **********************>

Date: Tue, Jan 3, 2017 at 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: You have a new message from the BBB of Northeast Florida in regards to your… complaint #********.
To: Better Business Bureau <*****************>

case has been resolved……ID ********

In the BBB profile, these are the additional phone numbers associated with the firm:

(352) 405-0022

(352) 405-0030

(888) 838-3726  **The toll free phone # listed seems to be for an entirely different entity (Veteran Corps of America)

What people are saying about unsolicited marketing texts/calls received from VC&Pen phone # 352-405-0022:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-352-405-0022

https://www.who-calls.us/3524050022

…and also from 352-405-0050 (listed as possibly a “spoof” phone #):

http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/3524050050

This from the VA’s Official Blog:

http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/4378/disability-review-board-ensuring-fairness-and-accuracy/

a snippet from responses to that blog post:

 gina uribe    September 17, 2011 at 12:43 pm

I agree..the C&P system (compensation and pension) is broken…vets are not receiving what is deserved for their military related disabilities due to various reasons…and they are missing out on MANY secondary conditions due to lack of knowledge and guidance from non medical veteran service officers who do not understand pathophysiology and pharmacology, etc….erroneous claims or missed claims are being filed and bogging down the system. As a previous C&P examiner and trainer as well as a committee member for DEMO (disability exam management office) who recently helped with the development of DBQ (disability benefits questionaires) that are recently instituted throughout the nation, I have seen how inadequate the system is. Thus I have resigned my position with VHA and gone into private medical consulting to assist vets with the preparation and filing of compensation claims in order to maximize the potential of success in winning deserving claims, and decrease denials (less than 20% are ever overturned once denied!)…check out my website for more info http://www.vetcompandpen.com …..

 Kevin janey    December 10, 2011 at 11:41 am

Ms. Uribe:

You and non of your associates are accredited by VA assist, prepare, and prosecute veterans claims. Furthermore, it is illegal to charge veterans (whether you’re accredited or not) for such services if they are filing for initial benefits. In order to be able to charge a veteran for such services, you MUST first be accredited by VA, AND the secondly the claim must be on appeal. Then, and only then can a fee be payable! It is organizations such as yours who give advocates a bad reputation.

I will be notifying the VA’s Office of the General Counsel of your organization and so-called services.

Kevin Janey
Accredited claims agent

Now, Mr. Janey took great umbrage with Ms. Uribe’s post response and for just cause…he is what he says he is:

  • Kevin Janey, VA Accredited Claims Agent

On his website, Mr. Janey does a great job explaining what a legitimate, accredited VA claims agent is as well as explaining the process:

http://www.vaclaims-help.com/

http://www.vaclaims-help.com/representation/

http://www.vaclaims-help.com/representation/initial-claims/

As with AskNod, Mr. Janey is easily found in VA’s accreditation database for Attorneys, Claims Agents, or Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) Representatives.

https://www.va.gov/ogc/accreditation.asp

This from Reddit:

Help! What is the Vet Comp & Pen Medical Consulting LLC? – Reddit

The poster, “BiminiFritz”, represents himself as “Jim Hill President & CEO” of Vet Comp & Pen Medical Consulting LLC extolling the virtues of his consulting firm.  Perhaps someone already has or will be taking Mr. Hill up on #6 of his response:

“6. If you think we are a scam, or run across anyone taking advantage of veterans, you need to CONTACT the OFFICE of THE INSPECTOR GENERAL for the Dept of Veteran Affairs. Our office address is:

Vet Comp & Pen Medical Consulting,LLC 410 SW 140th Terrace Newberry, FL 32669 888-98-Veteran”

______________________________________

Aren’t you glad she doesn’t work for the FBI or VA’s VAOIG? Wait. Scratch that. She’s light years ahead of both of them and Homeland Security as well.

P.S. As a legal ploy, I/we at asknod.org disavow any agreement with what Kathleen has uncovered. We trust her to be honest and unbiased. As she has no dog in this fight, it cannot be considered slander. We merely offer her a soapbox to theorize and espouse different theories on the bona fides of Vet Comp and Pen Consulting I have personally sent Mr. Hill an invitation to rebut anything she said here and provide him with his own soapbox in turn to defend his business and employees. To date (June 13, 2017), he has not availed himself of the opportunity.  Ever since the Wounded Warrior Project debacle, I have learned to offer anything I say as conjecture and not fact (or lies). I continue in this noble tradition and try to help Vets. Part of that mission involves identifying useful tools such as VC&PC LLC and offering them to you for your possible use in your claims. Nothing I offer carries the endorsement of asknod.org but merely a tool worth investigating. If you return with a horror story, you are free to share it. I do not apply my hallmark of respectability to anyone other than  NOVA attorneys and VA Nonattorney Practitioners (Agents)

And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

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PPS. A fellow VA attorney finally solved the mystery of how VAClaimPros knows you have won a claim. Apparently, from testimonials of former clients, a prospective Vet is required to divulge his or her VA eBenefits password and PIV to Claim Pros as a condition of the contract. This allows them to access your account and determine if you have won anything. If it involves any of their “work” (and I use that term loosely), they mail you a bill. Apparently, when you go in for one of their c&p exams for an IMO, they investigate you from stem to stern and record any and all injuries/diseases and ostensibly prepare IMOs for those as well.

My advice to Veterans is simple. If you terminate your services with these folks, change your ebenefits or va.gov PIV credentials to prevent unauthorized access afterwards. The VA OIG and OGC have declined to prosecute this particular outfit citing no authority or oversight. More Vets’ “help” sites are springing up daily. The only legitimate one I am aware of is Valor4Vet.

Ms. Spangenberg, the owner of the company is an accredited VA agent and in compliance with the regulation 38 CFR Part XIV.

Be safe.

Posted in Guest authors, IMOs/IMEs, Medical News, Nexus Information, Tips and Tricks, VA Agents, VA Attorneys, VA Medical Mysteries Explained, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

SEATTLE VAMC BATTING .1000 ON FTCA

Posted on January 13, 2017 by asknod

VeteransAdministration.12755109_stdI just hate to wake up early to catch up on the news and find this in my in-box. Thank you John Giovenco for this one. You inadvertently also provided me with another article just below it that made my hair stand on end due to the similarity of what VA did to me surgically in 2009-2010. Is it just the Seattle VA doctors or is this a pattern? Yes, I know we all hear an inordinate amount of talk about pill factories up in Wisconsin and corpses in the shower room in St. Pete’s but is this honestly that widespread?

First, John sent this link to Military.com about bonuses. Nothing can bring my blood to a boil like VA incentives. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/01/07/va-workers-got-millions-in-unjustified-incentives.html . But what caught my eye after reading it was one of those hooks below it like a Facebook blurb. Boy, if you liked this article then maybe you’d be interested in reading one of the following ones as well.

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Veteran Tim Kuncl

Veteran Tim Kuncl

Well boy howdy that first one was an eye magnet. Lo and behold. It was about my favorite hospital where I spent a year and four operations teaching University of Washington’s Doogie Howsers how to disassemble and reassemble the gastrozone piping system connected to the stomach-unsuccessfully, I might add- judging by how many times they had to redo it. I should have charged admission and I didn’t even get any frequent flier miles.  Looks like our fellow Veteran and ex-Coastguardsman Timbo got pretty much the same Rodney Dangerfield ‘ I don’t get no respect’ treatment. The best part is that he managed to retrieve the leg. VA probably regrets their failure to “misplace it” when they had the chance. Check this out.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/01/12/amputee-retrieved-leg-plays-key-part-va-malpractice-suit.html

Here’s closeup of the fustercluck:

amputation

Kind of gives me the feeling UW Medical School’s motto is ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Don’t give up. Do it again, with gusto. I had no idea you could get that much metal inside such a small area. It also confirms my belief in having a good FTCA law that protects us against this kind of insanity. Seeing’s how the Seattle VAMC is so sloppy, perhaps you might want to keep the attorney’s number close at hand for any of Seattle’s future medical misadventures. Mr. James Holman Esq. is right next door to my favorite restaurant.

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Daddy gave me one of the Prime Directives early in life and VA seems to have embraced it wholeheartedly- “It isn’t a (expletive deleted) until you can’t fix it.” I wonder how many more times they planned on remodeling Mr. Tim’s right lower extremity before they called it irretrievable. He gave them three shots at it which is three more than I would have knowing what I do now.

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Posted in 1151 claims, KP Veterans, Medical News, VA Attorneys, VA FTCA Claims, VA Medical Mysteries Explained, vA news, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

NEW VA SECRETARY (AGAIN)

Posted on January 12, 2017 by asknod

635646931319099161-veterans-administration-logoBoy howdy, this enough to make your head spin. They need to put one of those revolving doors in at 810 Yellowbrick Road NW. This will be the fifth VASEC in about six years…

Imagine your underling getting hired to replace you and he doesn’t even have a DD 214? And you get the shit show and shown the door. It just goes to show you Murphy’s first law that no good deed goes unpunished is alive and well in Foggy Bottom. Time for a new VA dog and pony show.

Once upon a time in a magic land with unicorns, faeries and talking wooden dolls…

emoticon13This just in. CNN News Reporter Jim Acosta reports President-elect Donald Trump has changed his mind again and transferred  retired USMC General “Mad Dog” Mattis over into his VA Secretary slot and replaced the Secretary of Defense slot with Gen. David Petraus.

During the same news conference, Mr. Acosta also claims to have incontrovertible proof that the President-elect’s birth certificate is phony, contending he was really born in South Africa.

News and film at Six tonight on this developing story. We’ll see you then. Back to you. Wolf.

Nodster

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VA NEXUS LETTERS–FINALLY A GO-TO SOURCE?

Posted on January 10, 2017 by asknod

smaller Trademark VA LogoThank you to Jennifer for this one. I had not heard of it. This is why Vets need each other as a close-support network. Veterans Lawyers’ and NOVA should put this in the rolodex.

https://www.vetcompandpen.com/

 

P.S. And, of course with that said, treat all these websites as potential scams. Do not assume they have your best interests at heart. We’d all like to believe in Unicorns but they are often chimeras.

P.P.S. Further research reveals various opinions pro and con as to the bona fides of the outfit. Seems there are multiple opinions. Unlike Amazon reviews that can be verified, we see unidentified folks singing the praises with no confirmed rating sheets. I ran across this perfidy with Together We Served. It was a “free one-month trial” but I was asked to give them a credit card number. Bingo. They instantly zapped me $25 or so. In order to extract myself, I had to find the minuscule widget on a different page to punch out. Either way, they got that $25.

It would seem that anyone, regardless of having received their services, can post a comment on the FB site and extol their virtues-including their own personnel. Hardly useful for a fact-finding mission. Try this  https://www.facebook.com/pg/vaclaimpros/reviews/

If any of you have had dealing with these folks, do tell. If all your ISP addresses originate in the Gainesville, Florida area, I guess that will sink the ship.capture

Nodster

Posted in KP Veterans, Lawyering Up, Medical News, Nexus Information, VA Agents, VA Attorneys, VA Medical Mysteries Explained, VBMS Tricks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

HADIT.COM RADIO SHOW THIS PM

Posted on January 5, 2017 by asknod

haditlogo2007Once again, the call goes out to the faithful to assemble and hear the Gospel according to St. Jerrel and St. John. This afternoon (evening if you’re on the least coast) we’ll talk about the new myriad ways VA has resorted to in order to slow down claims processing using endless delaying tactics. If you thought “misconstrue” was the operable phrase, you just haven’t been bushwhacked very many times. VA has a whole panoply of techniques ranging from asking you to file new 526EZs now to supplement old ones. Tune in and let’s learn how to go around these roadblocks. 

Some of you have really old claims decisions and you’re hoping to find a CUE in them. Well, boy howdy did we spot some really good avenues to drive the CUEmobile through to reverse these. VA tried for decades to hide the old Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) inaugurated in 1945. Now we find “inferred” and “informal” claims for were contemplated in 38 CFR §4.47’s language in 1970 during the height of the Vietnam War in spite of VA’s interpretation of the regulations.

We’ll talk about that and a lot more this afternoon at 1600 Hrs on the left coast. Getting through the Red tape-one roll at a time.

The call in number is the same

347-237-4819

To speak or join in the discussion, dial the number #1. Be there or be square.

ss-call-me

Relax. I don’t look like this so don’t be intimidated.

P.S. Head notes for this show:

1964 Part 4 VASRD : 1964-vasrd-ratings

Part §4.41; §4.42. This is the authority to file extra claims for the Veteran based on injury discovered at intake into the system. VA says no inferred or informal in 1970 but this disputes it.

  • 4.41-History of injury

In considering the residuals of injury, it is essential to trace the medical-industrial history of the disabled person from the original injury, considering the nature of the injury and the attendant circumstances, and the requirements for, and the effects of, treatment over past periods, and the course of  recovery to date. The duration of the initial, and any subsequent, period of total incapacity, especially periods reflecting delayed union, inflammation, swelling, drainage or operative intervention, should be given close attention. This consideration, or the absence of clear cut evidence of injury, may result in classifying the disability as not of traumatic origin, either reflecting congenital or developmental etiology, or the effects of healed disease.

  • 4.42- Complete medical examination of injury cases

The importance of complete medical examination of injury cases at the time of first medical examination by Veterans Administration cannot be overemphasized. When possible, this should include complete neurological and psychiatric examination, and other special examinations indicated by the physical condition, in addition to the required general and orthopedic or surgical examinations. When complete examinations are not conducted covering all systems of the body affected by disease or injury, it is impossible to visualize the nature and extent of the service connected injury. Incomplete examination is a common cause of incorrect diagnosis, especially in the neurological and psychiatric fields, and frequently leaves the Veterans Administration in doubt as to the presence or absence of disabling conditions at the time of the examination. (VASRD, 1970)

 

 

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Posted in Tips and Tricks, VA Agents, VA Medical Mysteries Explained, vA news, VBMS Tricks, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

POTENTIAL ‘NEW’ VA SECRETARY CHOICES

Posted on January 4, 2017 by asknod

imagesIn an interesting twist, President-elect Trump’s transition team, flummoxed by recent refusals of top-dog choices for VA Secretary, have decided to dig down deeper in the barrel for ‘real’ experience. Beginning tomorrow, Trump’s transition team will begin interviews with several notable former VA Secretaries in a desperate attempt to come up with someone willing to take the job.

Tony Principi?

principi-1Top choices and expectations have now retreated somewhat. Former Secretary and senior poohbah of the Wounded Wallet Club Anthony Principi, has been discussed as a viable candidate. Principi, with two terms at the helm, is the biggest contender among GOP politicians after Congressman Miller. The Big Six major Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) have steadfastly insisted on keeping the current VA Secretary, Bob McDonald. Notably, our President-elect has elected not to meet with the diehard VSO fanatics in their funny hats. Many put their chips down on Clinton and the New Elephant isn’t forgetting that.

Jesse Brown?

220px-ensign_jesse_l-_brownIn light of the President-elect insisting on new blood and his displeasure with McDonald’s seeming inability to create a viable appointment schedule for Vets at VAMCs, the major big name VSOs have universally weighed in with their choice of former Secretary Jesse Brown as a fallback position after McDonald. Sadly, it has been pointed out to the VSOs Mr. Brown is no longer a viable candidate, having departed to the Happy Hunting Grounds in 2002. For some reason, they have a hard time decyphering the meaning of ‘deceased’. Their second fallback candidate, Ed Derwinski suffers the same problem. However, having been born and raised in Chicago, Brown’s demise is not considered a permanent disqualifier. He has been reputed to be active in his community and votes regularly so he has that going for him.

 

Jimbo Peake?

downloadJames B. Peake M.D.,  the sixth (not counting acting VASECS) leader of the beleaguered agency, has been cheered on by his fellow West Point Graduates with the possible exception of the present VASEC ringknocker and his second-in-command, Sloan D. Gibson. Unfortunately, the sole metric of being a member of the Long Grey Line has not proved a very good barometer of success in this venue to date. Eric Shinseki bowed out in disgrace after his tenure due to his inability to exert change on the troubled agency. Running around in winter handing out Col. Sander’s high-cholesterol Kentucky Fried Chicken to homeless Vets in DC should have been a slam dunk for a permanent tenure at 810 Delay Avenue NW  but you also have to exert command influence over the little people. Eric didn’t and it ‘bit him on his buttocks’ as they say down in Greenbow, Alabama.

So, let’s sum up the past VASECS and how they might fare if recalled to serve in office. Surely, one of these fellers can hack the course.

Ed Derwinski- not considered viable due to oxygen starvation for over 4 years.  Was a politician and did his best to prevent Vets from attaining anything more than hearing loss for 0% during his tenure. Probability is 8%

Tony Principi- acting VASEC for six months and later for five years, was an Annapolis graduate. It did help when it came time to “inventing” QTC and creating the perfect golden parachute after his second tenure in 2005. He has moved on looking for cushy jobs in Veterans charities and dabbled in politics since the reputed sale of all his QTC stock (and controlling interest) recently to Lockheed. Sadly, the probability is 19%.

Jesse Brown-deceased- but being from Chicago, and having the endurance of the Energizer Bunny, is never considered out of the running. VSOs’ outstanding favorite 2 to 1 behind McDonald. Probability is 18% until he fails to show up for the interview this week .

Hershel Gober?

hgober

Hershel W. Gober- notable for his musical flair, released a 45 rpm single during his tour in Vietnam in 1970, “Picture of a Man”, which received some airplay on AFVN. This ought to be a clincher for a comeback but former Secretary Gober had a penchant for chasing skirts. He even ended up marrying the OGC General Counsel Mary Lou Keener after playing house with her for a while (in office). His future chances of a permanent slot in the VASEC cockpit faded after that stunt and he just got elected as the Executive director of the Military Order of the Purple Nurple. Since that pays far more than the VA secretary slot ($200,000 w/ medical and chauffeured Cadillac), he is not expected to accept. Seriously, would you trade in $393 K , a chauffeur and a Gulfstream V for this headache?  Probability is less than 5%.

hgoberpast

Hershel ‘Barry Sadler’ Gober in 1970 performing his new song

 

Togo with newest wife Gail

Togo with wife Gail

Togo D. West isn’t a real soldier. He came up through the Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) which is akin to being a nurse. Basic and advanced training is generally waived after you learn how to salute and recognize rank. You still get all the big medals like the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit though. He was an Eagle Scout and definitely has that going for him. Support for Togo is tepid at best among the general Vet population. Some say that ‘Togo” moniker has to go. Probability is low at 12%.

jim-nicholsonJim Nicholson- Another ringknocker who did eight years active and 30 years in the Army total. He has nothing more to show for it than attaining the rank of full bird colonel and has been bandied about by the transition team as “marginal”. Some feel he’s like an NFL team that can’t convert on 3rd and inches and always misses the field goal attempt. He lasted two years under Bush and faded into a career in real estate. Jimbo has the usual CIB and Bronze Star and got his ticket punched in Vietnam for a year. Other than that, there’s not much there and the mustache is a definite drawback these days.  Probability is a tepid 9%.

 

captureGordon H. Mansfield, a Veteran with the usual PHs, BSs and CIBs, came to us via the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). He was the Executive director there but saw a good opportunity to get a better paycheck as VASEC for a while. He was temporary for several months until Congress seated Dr. Peake. As a potential candidate, the transition team has anonymously rated him ‘not at least as likely as not’ to ascend to VA Secretary. That’s pretty unequivocal but don’t rule any of these gomers out. They’re like DC bubblegum and can get stuck to your shoe.  Probability for Gordo is low at 8%  due to his being room temperature but he may develop a following as major VSOs discover Jesse Brown is equally unavailable as well. Stranger things have transpired in DC. Look who just got elected!

As I’ve discussed above, the final four (Peake, Shinseki, Gibson and McDonald), the most recent VASECs, are all graduates of the US Military Academy but have little more than that to recommend them. Shinseki was notable only for his combat experience. Sadly, it didn’t translate into a viable career at the VA.

mcdonald2-master180McDonald is quite enamored of his peacetime Ranger tabs thinking they are commensurate with being a dyed-in-the-wool combat tough guy. Buy him a drink and he’ll tell you all about it. Rumor has it he’s partial to Johnny Walker Blue.  Since Gibson is his number 2, we won’t rate him. McDonald comes in with the highest rating of 26% assuming nobody else can be induced to serve.

 

 

 

captureRumor has it Alfred E. Neuman, a notable war hero, is running a strong 40%. He does lack the ringknocker status  but what the hey?

 

 

 

 

 

Transition personnel confirm they will have a warm body for Congress to vote on by the time the President-elect is inaugurated. The operable word is “warm”.

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Posted in Humor, KP Veterans, VA BACKLOG, VA Health Care, vA news, VA Secretaries, VSOs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments