bedworth53 wrote:I have been trying to reschedule my C&P since July. I have been to the Regional Office in St Petersburg in person every two weeks to request rescheduling. I have called the 800 number as well. No acknowledgment or reply. I also have written to both Florida Senators and my Congressman regarding the abject failure of the VA to disclose any information about my denial to my appeal attorney. By law the VA must release to my attorney the material used to deny my claim with 20 working days. We are now past day 180.
Any ideas on how to get this situation moving would be appreciated.
Dave Bedworth
St Petersburg
I would go through a service organization like DAV and ask them to help you reschedule. Otherwise, you should take a look at this material http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21 ... 3_seca.doc to find the appropriate path through the VA red tape. Remember though that there has been a recent influx of claims from the Iraq theater which will slow down the process a great deal.
You might want to take a look at these:
http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/View ... ub_ID=2248
http://jimstrickland912.com/C_and_P_Examinations.html
http://www.vetshome.com/C-P-Exam.pdf
http://www.dsjf.org/VA%20Files/Clinicia ... e%20v2.pdf
http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/View ... ub_ID=2094
http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfjun ... 2609-1.htm
http://www.avapl.org/pub/PTSD%20Manual%20final%206.pdf
House hearing testimony 2005:
http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/sche ... sbrown.pdf
Self help suggestions:
http://www.nvo.org/vainfo/selfhelpguide_claims.pdf
http://www.vetsforjustice.com/Things%20 ... 20Exam.htm
http://retiredcopperheads.com/vabenefits.html
http://www.howtoassemblevaclaims.com
a 2009 resources listing: http://www.kcva.org/pdf/vetresources2009.pdf
The following site is chock full of good info and ammunition for dealing with a recalcitrant VA bureaucracy.
http://jimstrickland912.com
A Florida vet offers helpful advice:
http://rightardia.blogspot.com/2010/06/ ... irs-c.html
To request a copy of your Veterans Affairs (VA) Compensation and Pension (C&P) Exam under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), follow the instructions below. Your exam should be available 30-60 days after your examination date.
In your letter to the VA Regional Office, request a copy of the following:
Complete copy of VA Compensation and Pension Exam
copy of all examiner notes
copy of any ancillary medical information obtained during the C&P process (social history, medical history,etc.)
Understanding the appeals process: http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/010202A.pdf
Vet Survival Guide: http://www.nvlsp.org/images/Survival%20Guide-102309.pdf
Added on 9/8/2010
http://www.mrfa.org/VA.Claim.htm
Good info on claims, but do not follow the advice about exaggeration of your mental state (which might constitute a felony). Tell only the truth in your claim process. The main thing here is to get the gist of the kinds of work ethic you should have about filing your claim and proving your case. No one else will ever be as passionate about your health issues as you and your family are.
Using VA doctor opinions in your claim to buttress a nexus letter or other material makes sense like the site says - "it is hard to argue with yourself".
Just remember to apply common sense to everything and you will be fine following many of the tips from this site.
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Added on 09/09/2010
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This DAV document contains nearly 400 pages of legal reference materials concerning claims and relevant information on legal issues having to do with VA. It is maintained by DAV as a .doc and I converted it to a .pdf and put it on docstoc for download. It does not have a preview mode available on docstoc, but it is well worth your downloading it. It is approximately 3 megs in size.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/54371065/DA ... tationsv17
DAV .doc location.
http://www.dav.org/veterans/documents/D ... ations.doc
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Added on 9/11/2010
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These training manuals give you a clear understanding of a great many claims issues. They are well worth a look.
http://www.cdva.ca.gov/VetService/CVSOManual.aspx