The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:25 am

This area is reserved for links which are meant to help people who are filing claims with the VA. Any post to this area which is not in that category will be deleted or moved.

by **JMMRLND** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:38 pm

Scleroderma/RA
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1371&start=30#p6465

Autoimmune research
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1578

by JMMRLND

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:45 pm

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=740&start=0&hilit=olympic

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:48 pm

Jim Strickland's information on Claims: http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/Sitemap.html
How to Assemble VA claims: http://www.howtoassemblevaclaims.com/index.php

Benefits Timetable
http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-0501-ARE.pdf
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1498

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1039 C&P Exam Stuff
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1450&start=15#p6426 C&P Exam Stuff
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1056#p4116 C&P Exam Stuff
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1073 Nexus info and sample language
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1074 General claims information and collecting proof
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1129&p=4367 Appeals information and male breast cancer
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1056#p4069
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1056#p4123
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1023
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1473&p=6569#p6569 VA Training letter 10-03
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1480 Camp Lejeune VARO Training Letter 4/27/2011

Additional topics of interest in filing a claim:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1073&p=4140
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1056&p=4130
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=995&p=3809
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1966&p=9354#p9338

Title 38, United States Code for vets Benefits: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1571

C & P VA Handbook - 2/25/2010
http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/View ... ub_ID=2094

Current VA search results for Compensation and Pension
http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/va_se ... 00&FF=&SQ=

VA WARMS Manuals and Procedures
http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/Site_Map.asp

M21_1MR1
http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/M21_1MR1.asp

Doctrine of equitable tolling viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1568
Doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitur: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1573 - speaks for itself

Service Member Survival Guide -- excellent work, deserves to be broken out so that it is highlighted [it is also in the first post on this topic]
http://www.nvlsp.org/images/Survival%20Guide-102309.pdf

This is the DAV court citations document which explains the nuances of VA benefits law and its application: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/54371065/DAV_Court_Citationsv17

Organization that helps veterans with legal representation on appeals.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=640#p2371

CFR online
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=641&start=0

FEDERAL Benefits Book
http://www1.va.gov/OPA/publications/benefits_book.asp
http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/Site_Map.asp

VA DIrectives/Publications

http://www1.va.gov/vapubs/

VA Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs

http://www.va.gov/OPA/index.asp

Veterans Information Portal

https://vip.vba.va.gov/portal/VBAH/Home

Claims Training manual used by FloridaVets organization:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1523

National Resources Directory:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1528

Additional TDIU and Home care provider information:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=619&p=6847#p6847
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/federal/ju ... 0-7009.pdf

Special Compensation Claims:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1265&p=6892#p6892

Special Medical Equipment and Needs:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1579

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:27 pm

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:15 am

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11885 "A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits.pdf"
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11908 "improving the presumptive disability process for veterans.pdf"

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1056&p=4132 DAV file of Legal precedents
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1073&start=0 Sample Nexus Letter and useful information on Nexus

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1057&start=0 Resources for dealing with C and P exams.

Appeals processes: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1502

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:46 am

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1497&p=6703#p6703

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:27 pm

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:44 pm

Legal Instruments Examiner (LIE) Program Guide - CH04

http://www.tftptf.com/Misc/LIE_PG-ch04.pdf

The reason that you should care about reading this material is that it contains materials which will give you insight into VA eligibility controls that are in place and may give you ideas on additional avenues that you should pursue for your entitlements.

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:15 pm

http://www.tftptf.com/Misc/ProgramGuide21-2.pdf
http://www.tftptf.com/Misc/ProgramGuide21-2_part3.pdf
http://www.tftptf.com/Misc/ProgramGuide21-2._part4pdf

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:37 pm

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1541

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:30 pm

http://www.briefworks.com/FTCACommentary3.html

TITLE 28, CHAPTER 171 – THE FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT

28 USCS § 2675 - Disposition by federal agency as
prerequisite; evidence.

©Jonathan A. Willens

Briefworks Litigation Network

National Institute for Trial Advocacy

Notre Dame Law School

No action may be brought under the Federal Tort Claims
Act unless the plaintiff has first presented her claim
to the appropriate federal agency and the agency has
either denied the claim or failed to act on it within
six months of its submission. McNeil v. United States,
508 U.S. 106, 124 L.Ed.2d 21, 113 S. Ct. 1980 (1993).
This jurisdictional requirement is set forth in section
2675 of the Act. The complementary provisions of
section 2672 direct each federal agency to establish a
mechanism for resolving tort claims, and authorize the
agencies and the Attorney General to settle and pay
them.

The administrative claims process

The administrative claim must be filed with two years of
accrual or it will be “forever barred” by 28 USCS §
2401(b). If the agency has not decided the claim within
six months, the plaintiff may file suit. Third-party
complaints, cross-claims, and counterclaims are exempted
from the administrative claim requirement by 28 USCS §
2675(a).

Class actions are not exempt, so an administrative claim
must be filed for each member of the class.
Alternatively, many courts will permit a large class
action to proceed if the class representative presented
a single administrative claim to the agency that
individually identified each class member by name and
clearly established that the representative was
authorized to present claims on behalf of each class
member.

As one court said, the goal of the administrative claim
requirement is to let the government know what it is up
against. Section 2675 is designed to provide a
procedure under which the government may investigate,
evaluate, and consider settlement of a claim. This
purpose requires that the claimant provide sufficient
information to permit the government agency both to
conduct a meaningful investigation of the incident and
to estimate the claim's worth. Although the courts
apply various standards, if the information provided by
the claimant is so inadequate that government officials
cannot evaluate the claim with a view to settlement,
then there is a significant risk that the claim will be
dismissed for failure to satisfy section 2675.

The first step is to identify the agency that employs
the person responsible for the injury, and to obtain
forms and instructions from the general counsel’s office
of that agency. The statute requires the claim to be
filed with the “appropriate agency.” In some cases,
plaintiff’s attorney may need to investigate to
determine which agency was responsible for the allegedly
negligent conduct. Filing a claim with the wrong agency
may result in dismissal of the FTCA action, but in some
cases the agency receiving a misdirected claim will be
required by regulation to forward the claim to the
appropriate agency. If more than one agency is
involved, the prudent course is to file claims with each
agency and encourage them to designate a single agency
to handle the claim.

Most agencies have issued regulations explaining their
requirements. The Justice Department’s regulations are
the most comprehensive and useful. See 28 C.F.R. part
14. They describe the information that should be
submitted, authorize the claims examiner to request
additional information, and permit the claimant to amend
his claim if he obtains new information while the claim
is pending. Other agencies may have specific
requirements that should be considered before filing a
claim. These regulations are not jurisdictional
requirements in themselves, but they provide important
guidance for meeting the jurisdictional requirement of
section 2675.

The administrative claim must do more than simply give
the agency notice that an injury has occurred. The
claim must clearly describe the circumstances of the
government employee’s negligent conduct and the injury
suffered by the claimant. It is not appropriate to use
the generic language often found in tort complaints,
merely identifying the time and place of the accident
and claiming “multiple bodily injuries.”

If the claims examiner requests additional information,
it is crucial that the plaintiff comply. Even if the
claim is inadequate when it is initially filed, the
claimant can satisfy the statutory requirement by
providing additional medical records and other
information to the agency when requested. On the other
hand, if the plaintiff files suit without satisfying all
reasonable requests for information, the district court
may dismiss the complaint for failure to satisfy section
2675.

Another critical requirement is that the administrative
claim must state the exact amount of damages that the
plaintiff is seeking. This is called the “sum certain”
rule. Claims that seek “amounts to be determined” or
“not less than $1 million” or other imprecise
descriptions of damages are generally not acceptable.
As explained below, the amount of damages demanded in
the administrative claim usually caps the amount that
can be demanded in court.

Timing of the complaint

If the claimant and the agency fail to reach an
agreement settling the claim, then the claimant may file
suit in the district court under the FTCA. The
complaint must be filed within six months of the final
denial of the claim. If the agency fails to act within
six months after receiving the administrative claim,
then the claimant may sue in the district court without
waiting for the final agency action. In any case, the
complaint should clearly state that the plaintiff
complied with section 2675 and exhausted his
administrative remedies before filing suit.

If the complaint is filed before the administrative
claim process is complete, the action will normally be
dismissed without prejudice. Once the agency has denied
the claim or the six-month period has passed without a
decision by the agency, then the complaint may be filed
again. However, if the new action is commenced more
than six years after the claim accrued, then it will be
barred as untimely under 28 USCS § 2401. If the
plaintiff failed to comply with section 2675 because she
did not know that the defendant was a government
employee, then section 2679(d)(5) controls the timing of
the administrative claim. [This issue is addressed in a
separate commentary.]

Limitations on the scope and amount of the suit

Section 2675 limits the scope of the action in two
respects. First, the claimant may only assert the same
claim presented to the agency. Second, the complaint
cannot demand more money than the administrative claim
unless the additional sum is justified by evidence
discovered after the administrative claim was filed.

The first limitation means that the district court may
not hear claims asserted by different plaintiffs or
based on different incidents than the claim presented to
the agency. For example, most courts will not hear a
loss-of-consortium claim brought by the spouse of the
claimant unless the spouse presented that claim to the
agency pursuant to section 2675. Similarly, the
plaintiff will generally not be permitted to expand his
claim to include additional negligent acts by government
employees that were not included in his administrative
claim.

In wrongful death cases, the claimant must be careful to
state whether he is seeking damages individually or as a
representative of the decedent. If an executor or
administrator of the decedent’s estate is bringing the
claim, agency regulations will normally require the
claimant to be authorized under state law to prosecute
claims on the decedent’s behalf.

The second limitation is stated in section 2675(b): the
amount of damages sought in the complaint may not exceed
the amount sought in the administrative claim, unless
the increased amount is based upon newly discovered
evidence or intervening facts. The “sum certain” rule
requires that the claimant state the exact amount of
damages in the administrative claim. Any attempt to
seek more than this amount in the subsequent court
action will be governed by section 2675(b).

Section 2675(b) strictly limits the plaintiff’s right to
amend his complaint to increase the amount of damages he
is seeking. The plaintiff must show that he calculated
the amount of the original claim based on the facts that
were known when he presented the claim to the agency,
and that thereafter some new and previously unforeseen
information came to light. This strict rule replaces
the liberal standard of Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure, which normally allows amendments unless
the opposing party can show clear prejudice.

The most common situation arises when a plaintiff seeks
to increase the amount of damages sought in the
complaint on the basis of a changed medical diagnosis of
his injuries, or a more pessimistic prognosis of his
recovery. Under section 2675(b), plaintiff must
demonstrate that the new diagnosis justifies the
proposed increase in the amount of his claim, and that
the diagnosis could not have been discovered with
reasonable diligence before the claim was presented. As
a practical matter, plaintiffs with potentially severe
injuries are well advised to assume the worst-case
prognosis for their injuries when filing their
administrative claims, even though the higher claim will
make a prompt settlement more difficult.

The statutory release

It is important to note that the last paragraph of
section 2672 of the FTCA contains a “complete release”
in favor of the United States and its employees, which
takes effect as soon as the claimant accepts any award,
compromise, or settlement of the claim. This language
supplements whatever specific settlement agreement the
parties might execute at the time of settlement. The
statute also provides that the settlement is “final and
conclusive,” language that is likely to bar any effort
by the plaintiff to revoke a settlement of the
administrative claim.

by **John Olin** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 2:53 pm

edited version for this forum.

You must register with the Marine Corps (USMC) https://clnr.hqi.usmc.mil/clwater/index.aspx and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/ Center for Disease Control (ATSDR/CDC) http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/ .

List of chemicals found at CL confirmation study (1985) on page 12 Agent Orange for example is under Organochlorine Herbicides (OCH) 2,4-D & 2,4,5-T: http://www.bluewaternavy.org/Camp%20Lejune%2000388.pdf

The claims packet from the Department of the Navy, Office of the Judge Advocate General, can be accessed at: http://www.jag.navy.mil/organization/do ... Packet.pdf

Request your Service, Medical, and dependent medical records from National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/ .
Marine FOIA points of contact. For if you are filing something and do not know where to send it.http://www.marines.mil/unit/hqmc/foia/Pages/poc.aspx

If you were in the military, you must open a claim with VA. If this is a Camp Lejeune claim, Make sure it has the words: Environmental Hazard- Camp Lejeune. The claim will be sent to Louisville Regional Office to be processed (beware VA training letter 11-03 ).
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/index.asp

Write your congress persons.
House Reps: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_i ... rs_cfm.cfm

Ask them to get involved, co-sponsor and support: http://semperfialwaysfaithful.com/media ... etters.pdf
The Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act, S.277 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:s.277: and
The Janey Ensminger Act, H.R. 1742 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.1742:

There is some debate on how it will help dependents that have an illness that is not on an associated disease list.

There are over 130 contaminated military bases that are Super Fund and NPL sites in the US from all branches of service. A list of contaminated US bases is provided in this article:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/11/01 ... exposures/

Tell your Family Friends, Strangers, everyone on Facebook, or anyone with a Marine Corps or military bumper sticker. Spread the Word

by **usmc_wlh1975** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:26 pm

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wais ... r4_09.html

CFR 38, part 4 is essential information which tells you how a Rating Officer is supposed to work when evaluating your claim. You should spend time getting to know this section of the rules well and you should use this information for planning your campaign to receive benefits. Remember that getting a disability rating is very much like a battle or war campaign with the enemy being the government's Civil Service Personnel practices which do not allow dismissal for mediocre or unsatisfactory job performance.

Do not assume that a rating specialist will be one of the few good ones to be found in the system and will be one of the conscientious employees who make sure that they are current on all relevant medical innovations and the current state of the veterans law. Plan your attack around the worst case scenario and hope for the best case. That is, use section 4 to gather up all of your evidence and the current set of laws and case law which is relevant to your situation and include all of that in your Clams Folder. The reason? All of it has to be rebutted effectively during a decision in order to deny your claim. It cannot simply be ignored since it will be grounds for having the claim sent back for further development if they do so.

Some VSO people prefer to do all of this on the backside instead of upfront since it is possible that you will be granted the rating that you are requesting the first time around and they see this as unnecessary work in that case. It is true that it can be developed later and will not ultimately cost you anything monetarily, BUT it forces you to wait much longer than you would otherwise have to wait to receive the rating that you are entitled to.

This section of the CFR contains the templates that the VA uses for all of the possible C&P examinations. You can use them to good effect as you plan your battle. First they are good sources to take with you when you have a C&P - that is print out and study each one that you will be filing a claim on. Take a copy of them with you when you go to your examination and make certain that you get checked out on every area required by the template. Point out areas that are yet to be done if the examiner wants to end the examination without covering everything.

If possible, take a recorder with you and tell the examiner that you plan on recording everything in the examination. Take several tapes or other mediums since these examinations can run long.

Ask the examiner for their credentials during the examination - you have a right to know who you are being examined by and what qualifications they have. Make sure to ask them if they have read your entire Claims Folder and researched the materials concerning your claim. Tell them that you will be requesting a copy of their notes and examination results once it is finished.

Be firm in enforcing your rights, but be polite and do not become antagonistic. You are both there for the same reason - to discover and report on the things which are wrong with you which establish your right to disability designations and compensation. Maintain a friendly demeanor and a helpful attitude.

Once you receive a copy of the examiner's report and notes you should revisit section 4 and study parts 0, 1, and 3. Go through the report and notes and make certain that the examiner has followed the rules in the adjudication process (assuming that you are unhappy with the results of the examination). Pay careful attention to justification language since it is impermissible for an examiner to base any part of their conclusions on personal opinions or other subjective standards. Also, pay special attention to the areas of the document which convey the medical conclusions to test them against current principles of medicine which you have found research on. If the decision is not based within the four corners of these principles, then it is going to be indefensible and based on the examiner's personal opinion in some manner.

Bear in mind that the research I am talking about must be widely accepted medical principles and not those which are in flux because the medical community as a whole has not found them compelling so far. Only well settled principles of medicine will apply here. Emerging or experimental medical principles will not be accepted as justification for disallowing an examiner's conclusions.

by **JMMRLND** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:47 pm

Multi-focal Motor Neuropathy references

://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1175276-overview great reading

http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/77/6/743.abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 3-0026.pdf

http://www.slm-neurology.com/uploads/me ... opathy.pdf read the conclusion of the paper...

http://pmj.bmj.com/content/84/992/287.abstract prognosis

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-multifo ... opathy.htm

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peri ... opathy.htm

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/mult ... opathy.htm

http://www.neuropathy.org/site/DocServe ... docID=1061 great article MMN

http://www.neuropathy.org/site/News2?pa ... le&id=8124

http://www.neuropathy.org/site/DocServe ... docID=1603 this mentions that TCE is one of those rare toxins that could cause MMN

http://www.neuropathy.org/site/DocServe ... docID=2022

http://books.google.com/books?id=fneFeG ... &q&f=false

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1 ... rkup#a0721

http://www.va.gov/vetapp11/Files2/1117283.txt VA decision on MMN. Pay attention to the claim details on how to maximize your rating.

http://www.va.gov/vetapp06/Files2/0601847.txt pay attention to the immunotoxic report of the IME's

The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten

Information links

Information links

Autoimmune information

Benzene at Lejeune

Basic claims folder for Lejeune

Health Effects

Additinal links which contain useful information

Presumptive diseases and periods

warms LINKS

Legal Instruments Examiner - PG

Clinician's Guide

Home modification grants and tax info

Filing under Federal Tort Claims Act

Re: Information links

CFR 38 section 4 - Plan your attack

Re: Information links

Who is online