Jim,
I'm so glad I found this site. I am going to give you all the information that I have for husbands case and I am just looking for an opinion from all the knowledge that you have. Not holding you to anything but just some ideas on what you think.
1. Husband filed a claim within a year of exiting 20 years. They denied him because they couldn't find his records, 1996. (they had given him the original copy of records and he had mislaid them) They never made any attempt to reconstruct them.
2 He filed again a couple of years later and got the same denial.
3. I came along and we found them packed in his attic about a year ago.
4. We just filed a claim for his hearing loss, which was a 1 when he went in and now is a 4 and was a 4 when tested before he got out, he is almost deaf in both ears. We also filed for total occlusion of his carotid artery which is inoperable, hpertension which is under control with meds and cholesterol which is under control with meds.
We supported all claims with a doctor statement saying it was service connected, all of them and hospital records supporting the occlusion.
Can you tell me what kind of ratings do you think he will get from these? I know you might not be able to tell me much, but to have an idea would be appreciated.
Also once awarded something, can we go back and claim all the way back to the first claim being denied, because the military said they had no medical records?
Seems to me that they were responsible for maintaining a copy of a 20 year retiree, wouldn't you think?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Reply:
Yes, it would seem reasonable that records would be well maintained. However, the reality is that locating records is one of our constant challenges. All too often records may not have even been properly
generated when events occur and then later in life we all wish we had been more diligent in our documentation.
I'm sorry that I can't predict any of his likely % ratings that may result from his claims. There are dozens of variables that may have an effect and I don't like to shoot from the hip.
I can tell you that often enough you'll receive a letter from VA that either denies the claim(s) or assigns such a low rating it makes one wonder if the VA isn't talking about another veteran. In that case an
appeal is necessary, ordinary and a matter of routine. I caution everyone that I estimate 70% of initial claims are flawed to a point they must be appealed. Most appeals are handily won and that supports
my thinking. Prepare to be denied or "lowballed" and the letter you receive from VA won't shock you.