Jim,

Just a couple of questions you may be able to answer for me..

1) The RO has had my file for two or three months my last c&ps were last october 20 2010 is this normal for a rater to take this much time to approve or deny a claim?

2) I had included also on my claim in april 2000 and again in 2007 that my fluacting blood pressuer was due to agent orange also my primary va dr stated in his report that the high blood pressuer was more than likely due to my exposuer of agent orange is the fact that va conceded my exposuer to agent orange and combat i guess becuse i was at the dmz 3rd mar div they denied it. is it even claim you can file?

Thank you for your info

Semper Fi

Reply:

(1) The amount of time it will take to adjudicate your claim is never predictable. The scheme for processing claims seems to change almost every day at the VA Regional Offices. There are shifting priorities, training requirements, vacation and sick leave for critical personnel, snow days and a dozen other excuses that work isn't done in a timely fashion.

I see a claim like yours one day that is decided within a month of the C & P exam and a similar claim, even at the same RO, may wait a year for that final decision.

(2) High blood pressure (HBP or hypertension) is always a difficult call to make. A lot of us find that as we get older our blood pressure creeps ever higher and suddenly we're on medication and the doctor tells us we must lose weight. We can't blame everything on our service.

The condition is not presumptive to agent orange exposure. That means you must provide evidence that proves that your individual case of hypertension is directly caused by your exposure. Even though your VA doctor tried to help you with a good nexus letter, VA may return a decision that will say that his opinion is "mere speculation" as there is little hard scientific evidence that positively links herbicide exposure to hypertension. If you were diagnosed with the condition while on active duty or within one year of ETS, you are then likely to be awarded a service connected rating. Otherwise, chances are slim.

Even those veterans who are awarded a service connection for hypertension are usually surprised to discover that the rating is as low as 0% or 10%. That's because high blood pressure is usually easily controlled by medicines and it isn't "disabling". The rating is worth pursuing because even if it's a 0% service connected rating, future conditions like peripheral vascular disease of the legs or kidneys or even devastating conditions like a stroke may be secondary to hypertension.

"Is it a claim you can even file?" Yes. A veteran may file any claim he or she believes is connected to their military service. There are no restrictions. The law once dictated that any claim had to be "well grounded" or VA could toss it out without much effort but that has changed. VA now has a "duty to assist" veterans to adjudicate all claims fairly.

This does not mean that veterans should file claims that clearly have no connection and are frivolous. To do so adds additional work to the system and interferes with the processing of veterans claims that should be getting the attention.