Hello Jim,
I have a problem with VA and a disability claim. They agree that I am disabled but refuse to grant my disability because I can't establish a Nexus for after I got out of the navy in 1978 with any doctor. The records of the doctor have been destroyed by law after ten years. when the doctor retired in the mid 80's, I changed chiropractors and the new doctor didn't know anything about how I got the injury.
I just wanted to know if you could give me any options on what to do and if I need to get a lawyer do you know any good ones? .Oh, by the way I'm living in the Philippines near Subic Bay.
Reply:
This is always a difficult problem to resolve. You're correct that VA wants a nexus from start to finish for any condition the veteran claims is service connected.
If a veteran injures a knee during service and then 30 years later claims that the knee is disabling, VA will automatically assume that it was injured again during that time and that the injury is not service connected. They'll refer to any record of the original in-service injury as acute and transitory. If that veteran had a record showing that he had the knee injury on active duty, got out and then regularly went to physicians for treatment for the injury, that will establish the nexus and VA will likely award a service connection.
It's hard to argue against the logic of that position by the VA. It's one of the rules that makes some sense. This is particularly true of joint conditions. Arthritis develops as we age and a lot of vets who are 60 or older begin to remember that time in basic where they hurt their hip, shoulder or knee. VA can't award everyone a benefit for the problems of aging...the law doesn't allow that.
The best you can do is to dig out any service medical record (SMR) that documents the injury. You can get your service records here http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/
Once you have those records, assuming that the injury is firmly established in the service medical records, you may take them to a physician for review. If that physician agrees that the current condition is more likely than not connected to the injury in the SMR, he/she may write a nexus letter. See http://www.vawatchdog.org/How_To_Write_A_Nexus.html
A well written nexus letter can work miracles. VA lends the nexus letter a lot of credibility. The key to it is that the reviewing doctor MUST state that all records have been reviewed and you must submit copies of what the doc reviewed along with your claim. Then, that phrase "more likely than not" must be used.
You should collect the medical records for yourself before you try to hire a lawyer for an appeal. If there isn't a good reference in the SMR that documents your injury, it's doubtful that an attorney will take your case.
There are many good attorneys who advertise on my web site. You can start here http://www.vawatchdog.org/how-to-hire-a-veterans-law-attorney.html to learn how to begin the process of hiring a lawyer. I'd also suggest that you have a look here http://www.vawatchdog.org/imo-ime-medical-opinions-exams.html and consider asking an IME physician to conduct a review of records for you.
While this often seems to be a battle that can't be won, I suggest that veterans who have the SMR that clearly documents the original injury or illness to pursue the claim even if it takes years. Once the claim is awarded, there will be opportunities to explore secondary conditions if your health declines with age.