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Going outside of the DAV/Texas Veterans Commission for VA Claims

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  • Shotgun Jeremy

    Spelling Bee Champeon
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    When I first got out of the military, the Texas Veterans Commission filed my VA claims and helped me get to 60%. One thing that was missing from that was my sleep apnea. I knew for a fact that I had it, but I couldn't ever get the military to get me a sleep test and move forward from there. Fast forward a few years, and I got the VA to verify I have sleep apnea and put me on a CPAP. But, they said that since this was after I got out, it wouldn't be service connected. I'm just not accepting of that answer. I tried getting back with the TVC to push for an increase on my disability claim, but I couldn't seem to even track down where to start with them. So then I tried reaching out to the DAV numerous times. I made phone calls, talked to the guys who show up to events - they just seemed overworked/under-motivated. So, against everything I believe in - I reached out to a lawyer group I saw on Facebook.

    Vet Comp and Pen had an ad on Facebook talking about they could help vets reach out and get disability for their Sleep Apnea. As you know by now - that caught my attention. I reached out to them, and basically they have their own specialty doctors who do nothing but these types of claims and are very good at what they do (but, I'm still skeptical). As far as payment - if you don't get a percentage increase, you walk away not owing a dime. If you do get a percentage increase, they take half of that increase for your first 10(IIRC) months. Now, sure my first reaction was "What!! F - that! That's my money!", but then I started thinking of it like this - well, I'm really not even getting that money with DAV/TVC, so only half of the percentage increase for the first 10 months is better than no percentage increase at all. Then, for the rest of my life I will be getting that payment. In fact, I've been trying to get this increase to happen for OVER 10 months, so if I would have just gone with Vet Comp and Pen from the start, I would have paid off that 10 months by now and be well into my full payments from the VA. I think the lady I spoke with also said that if the VA ever decides to remove my disability rating for the Sleep Apnea after it's established, they will fight the VA for free to get it reinstated.

    So, against my better judgement (which was put in place by people sent from groups like TVC and DAV) I went forward with Vet Comp and Pen. I gotta say - so far, I'm impressed. I gave them my info, and they got a packet that I need to sign and forward to the VA within a week. They even sent me a pre-paid first class shipping envelope that's already labeled to go to the VA. This packet is 28 pages full of supporting evidence for each opinion, as well as a mini-biography of the person who wrote it to provide credibility of the doc. I can tell you one thing - when I had my claims submitted with the TVC, I never saw anything like this.

    I gotta say - as big of a skeptic as I was about using any lawyers to increase my disability rating, there may be something to these Vet Comp and Pen guys.
    Texas SOT
     

    vmax

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    I have been diagnosed with hearing loss and teninitous at the VA hospital and had nothing but run around from the local country VA office.
    I'm tired of screwing with them
    I heard that the local DAV was good but are only open 2 days a month
     
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    All dav or TVC do is enter your information into the government computer. As far as someone actually walking you through the process. Helping you get the right papers. Dav and Tvc isn't the place that does it. All I've ever seen them do...is typing in the claim. An entry point for the claim.

    Nobody helped me do anything of substance.

    I finally was sent to a private contractor on my final claim. Their the ones that really helped.
     

    avvidclif

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    Different disability but DAV was worthless. I went thru the VFW rep and got it. He even went to Waco (from DFW) and was with us at the hearing. Took 1.5 months for the hearing officer to decide. Total time 5 months. After farting with DAV over 1.5 years. My 2 cents.
     
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    When it began. I was in the hospital and a government employee, that you never see walking around, slid me papers. Right after I answered them about filing a claim. 'No I haven't'. Well sign here, here and here. Huge packet.

    Claim was approved before I left the hospital. A whole 10% service connected.

    Obviously, I went through TVC. Every claim took about two years before an answer. I went from 10% to 70%. That only took about 4 years. The evaluations were done by the VA themselves. Foreign doctors mostly. The only thing I used the TVC for was to check the status of the claim. (Something you can now do on E-Benefits.) Nothing else they could do unless I wanted to add something. Like medical records the VA already f'ing had.

    Anyway....

    The last claim was the fastest at about a year. That's when I was sent to that VES. Awarded 100% service connected three months after the appointment.

    So about 5 years it took with a medical file that had a hair over 400 something pages.

    I went to DAV for something( I can't remember) but they do and don't do the same as the Texas Vet Commission. Not much of $hit.
     

    Shotgun Jeremy

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    Yea, I've kind of gotten the feeling with them that they hype themselves up a little more than they should to try and keep that govt $$$ coming in. Anytime it seems like someone has an actual case they need help with (Korean vets filing for the first time, people trying to link conditions to their service after they get out, etc...) the DAV and TVC are pretty straight up about just being paper pushers. The thing is - I was mentally ready for these paper pushers to process my claim, it get knocked back, and I keep repeating the process until it got approved. With what I'm reading in this packet - I actually have hopes for the first time of this getting approved the first time through.
     

    Ole Cowboy

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    DAV <> VA, same, same. Their goal is to NOT help you and just feed you BullShit the whole time. Many VA hospitals have a DAV office on site, does that tell you anything?
     

    toddnjoyce

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    Well, filing a claim, completing the exam, being ‘awarded’ a disability rating the first time through is based solely on what’s been recorded in your military health records.

    If you never saw a military doc about sleep problems, then it won’t be considered for an initial claim.

    After the initial claim, you’ve got a year to appeal anything you don’t agree with, to include a missing diagnosis without having to prove service connection.

    After that first year, you’re filing a new claim and have to prove in the claim it’s service connected.

    That’s the hard part.
     

    Vaquero

    Moving stuff to the gas prices thread.....
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    Sleep apnea?
    I ain't trying to be contrary, but how did serving in the military give you sleep apnea?
     

    Jigo23

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    Not really sure how that company could get you awarded for something if it wasn’t ever documented in your official military medical records while you were in the service (ie, no sleep study conducted with documented diagnosis of sleep apnea BEFORE separation).
    Good luck tho man!
     

    Byrd666

    Flyin' 'round in circles........somewhere
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    Since I've been dickin' around with my claim, again, for the better part of a decade, I might just need to give that firm you mentioned in the OP a call.
     

    Big Green

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    Sleep apnea?
    I ain't trying to be contrary, but how did serving in the military give you sleep apnea?
    I've heard folks tell me when they were getting out the VA reps told them to claim sleep apnea as they wouldn't test you for it they would just give you the money. Not saying that's the case here, but I know several folks stealing my tax dollars with that "condition."

    I have tinnitus in both ears, TMJ that was aggravated from flight and associated pressures and issues with both knees, all recorded. I've been told several times to start my claim, can't bring myself to do it. I'm able bodied and don't feel disabled, why pay me disablement money.
     

    toddnjoyce

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    Sleep apnea?
    I ain't trying to be contrary, but how did serving in the military give you sleep apnea?

    It doesn’t. Just like serving didn’t give me melanoma. But, while serving, I did get diagnosed with melanoma and had it excised with a skin graft, to boot.

    The problem is that sleep apnea is a disease you can be diagnosed with while serving. The VA used to be pretty lax around these claims, but have gotten much tighter recently.

    I had a Senior NCO working for me who was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and required the use of a CPAP. Now, I’m willing to bet that if he lost 30 lbs and quit drinking, he would not have had any sleep disorder.

    I’m also willing to guess that most vets with OSA would be asymptomatic if they lost weight, quit drinking, and ate better. Just like the rest of the population.

    The kicker is you can have sleep apnea, and require the use of a CPAP, and still serve and deploy. Not in every specialty, but in most support specialties.

    From the VA’s rule book:

    Code 6847: Sleep apnea is a disorder that occurs while asleep. There is either a pause when breathing that can last up to a few minutes or there is very shallow, low breathing. Central sleep apnea is caused by a decrease in the “action” of breathing—the body doesn’t try as hard to breathe properly. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a block in the airways, like a narrowing of the airway passages or an excess of mucus. This causes severe snoring. Mixed sleep apnea is a combination of both central and obstructive.

    Sleep apnea can cause a significant impairment of the heart and respiratory system by limiting the amount of air that is taken in during the hours of sleep.

    If the condition continues over a long period of time and causes respiratory failure with right heart ventricle failure or with too much carbon dioxide in the blood stream, or if it requires a tracheotomy, it is rated 100%.

    If it requires the use of breathing machines like a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine during sleep, it is rated 50%.

    If it causes serious sleepiness during the daytime or not feeling rested after sleeping, it is rated 30%.

    If it is diagnosed by a sleep test, but it doesn’t cause any significant symptoms, it is rated 0%.
     

    TexasBrandon

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    Sleep apnea can be introduced from asthma in some cases as it was for me due to the burn pits and a myriad of other things I was subjected to while in Baghdad. The case is probably the same for SJ. I've never claimed it since it wasn't discovered until after my exit from the military although my severe asthma was recorded as was a lot of other things. I don't plan to claim it because the VA has taken care of me by giving me a CPAP.
     

    Vaquero

    Moving stuff to the gas prices thread.....
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    Sleep apnea can be introduced from asthma in some cases as it was for me due to the burn pits and a myriad of other things I was subjected to while in Baghdad. The case is probably the same for SJ. I've never claimed it since it wasn't discovered until after my exit from the military although my severe asthma was recorded as was a lot of other things. I don't plan to claim it because the VA has taken care of me by giving me a CPAP.
    That makes sense.
     

    TheMailMan

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    Service officers are co-located at VA hospitals and ROs, Regional Offices, because the VA is required by LAW to give them space. The DAV is not part of the VA and the two organizations don't really get along all that well.

    I'm not sure what ya all expect the service officers to do. Here's my experience.

    In Portland the service officers are located at the RO, not the hospital. I've dealt with the DAV many times. I know each service officer is carrying a case load of around 800-900 Veterans.

    They help with filing claims and they can be a great help as wording in a claim can make a huge difference. I managed to get a Vietnam buddy into the DAV a few years back. he had never filed a claim for his combat wounds or his PTSD. He was wounded three times during the Siege of Hue. Each time he got patched up and returned to combat. Due to the nature of the battle record keeping wasn't a top concern, and none of his combat injuries were recorded.

    His DAV service officer tracked down two of the Corpsmen who had treated him as well as surviving members of his unit and his CO to obtain buddy statements. He ended up getting 80% from the VA, his Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with V. He had been recommended for the BS but the paperwork was lost.

    The biggest problem now is how claims are handled. It used to be that the RO that you filed your claim at handled it. Now all claims go into a common stack and your claim could be handled anywhere in the country.

    I know on my last claim I was denied, even though it was clear in my medical records that I should not have been denied. My RO walked down the hall and talked with someone. A week later the VA reversed their decision and granted my claim. Thankfully this was when they still processed claims inhouse.

    Service Officers don't have the time or resources to babysit ya. Nor do they have the time or resources to hold your hand. Proving things not in your medical record things that are clearly secondary issues is always tough.

    There are doctors and groups that will, for a price, write opinions that may or may not be based in fact. The raters know who these doctors and groups are and they receive great scrutiny.

    You can have any doctor you want who will cooperate fill out the DBQ. Those forms are quite specific as to how the exam is done.

    Sleep apnea is the new golden ring as it pays 50% if you use a CPAP, four more 50% ratings will get you to 100%.
     
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