Veterans with PLS VA disability

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Tracy, any difference behind us.

The PVA has to have the diagnostic code for PLS from your Neurologist. Even with
that from him/her don't get discouraged if the VA wants a second.

The PVA can file without it but...

The best route is to have a code from a civilian Neurologist and a VA Neuro.

And there is... BOVA (Board of Veteran Appeals), if you have to, has been noted lately
to grant in favor of the Veteran more than previously.

Mike might have more to chime in on recent BOVA cases.

Hopefully not this far but... there is COVA (Court of Veteran Appeals.)

Hang in there... be patient.

PS. If you do file as is and it is denied do not file an Appeal right away.
Advice is cheap but I'll give you mine on the other side if that happens.

Don't mean to add on here. You may already know this. The other side
of filing now is (example)... you file now and it is denied, later as more
evidence comes about you file an appeal, the VA has to pay you
retro-actively to the date you filed. In rare cases they will go back
to the date you were diagnosed.That's why some may say "file now."
 
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Thanks Clearwater!

I filed an "intent to file" with ebenefits back in Dec, and if I understand it correctly they will pay retroactively back to that date. (I started it then, before realizing I might be making a mistake to file by myself.) It was also questionable in my mind at the time whether it was ethical to file, until my neurologist explained that it is often a 'genetic marker "turned on" by an environmental exposure' and I learned more about how vets are 2x more likely to develop. Still, the definitions in "gulf war illness" seem so iffy. But it seems my mobility is tanking pretty fast, and I don't know how long I'll be able to work, and the auto and home mods that would become available might be really helpful soon. So I have convinced myself to give it a whirl, and now I want it to be a solid whirl. :)

These are all really good points you bring up, especially about the appeals, thank you for the tips!
 
Let's hope the "Gulf War Illness" study gives supporting evidence to your claim.

In the case Mike posted the Veteran apparently was/is on the Agent Orange Registry
and Agent Orange has accredited links to several illnesses.

I haven't followed the "Gulf War Illness" being a Viet Nam Vet... has the Gulf War
Illness study given any accredited links to any illnesses?
 
I'm in the Agent Orange Registry. It's kind of a goofy thing and I wish they'd just change the name to "environmental exposure" database. I think they just realized that they already had a tool from Vietnam that could be used for Gulf War exposures and there way no point in creating another database. I approve & agree with that idea. But I think they should change the name because I believe it confuses a lot of vets.
 
As far as Gulf War Illness, I don't think there really is such a thing. Instead, there are a lot of vets that came back that have an unusually high rate of a variety of symptoms, and nobody knows why. So they recognized that this is a statistical truth, and that these vets need treatment, and since nobody knows why, they threw all of these symptoms in to one bucket and called it GWI. I suspect that as time progresses and they are able to isolate different symptoms to diseases and causes, they will start to break those out. (Maybe they won't bother.) But for now, there is a label that GW vets experiencing symptoms can use to claim treatment and benefits. A set of these symptoms are "presumed service connected" if the vet was in the gulf and the symptoms are undiagnosed. There is also a set of diagnosable illnesses (like fibromyalgia and a few others) but that is a very specific list of a few things. ALS is always assumed service connected in this case. There is imo a gap that exists between "multiple undiagnosed symptoms" and these few specific diagnosed illness and ALS, and I think vets sometimes fall into that gap and get denied. I realize there's a lot of subjective observations, and certainly welcome any comments or corrections from the group.
 
The last part of your question was about studies. Congress ordered a slew of them, not just one. Several are published, some ongoing. The findings for many of the neuro conditions have been hit and miss imo depending on which study one reads.
 
Tracy, how were able to get on the Agent Orange Registry with your service being
from 1983 to 2004?

As i understood the Registry it was defined to those who served in areas Agent
Orange was used. If Gulf War Illness has been brought under the umbrella of
Agent Orange it might be supporting evidence.

Edit... you posted above while I was composing this.
You may know but you did mention Congress and the messy politics. Do not get
your Congressman/woman or any politician involved. Many times Veterans get
frustrated and call their Congressman/women. The Congressperson hears the
complaint and hands it off to his/her aide, they call the VA, the VA has to stop
and answer the aide, then another call just dragging the process even slower.

I think you're aware of this... I wanted to mention it for other Veterans reading
this Thread.
 
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The thought didn't occur to me to call a congressperson, I don't think I'm anywhere near that, as it sounds like you've ascertained. But I'm not sure I agree with you about the wisdom of doing so if circumstances warrant. After I retired from the service I did some time as a DoD contractor and then as a federal civilian (GS) supporting the Navy. When we got congressional queries in, you're right, I had to put other things that I thought were more important on pause to handle the query, which was very frustrating. However, those queries did get my undivided attention until they were resolved, and bet your ass the answers were well researched. I wouldn't suggest everyone call their rep out of pocket. On the other hand, if it is clear that a case was mishandled and all other resources and avenues were exhausted, I absolutely think it they should. And your point's well taken that one person's congressional query *could* (only if acted on by the congressional staffer) result in another person's claim being paused until it were answered, and too many could break the system or cause more urgent cases to be unjustly delayed. So that should be used only for cases where due diligence were exhausted and mishandling seems likely. My opinion only, based on my experience, and I never worked at the VA.
 
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...and to your point, responding to an inquiry didn't necessarily result in a favorable answer to the citizen once the research was done; calling a congressperson doesn't mean problem solved. So again, only as a last resort in a mishandled case after all due diligence is done. And a "no" or slow response from the VA doesn't necessarily equal a mishandled case.
 
Thanks for the reply. Let's hope it doesn't get to a point you consider bringing in
a politician. The best representation you can have is the PVA.

As for other Veterans following this thread... how were you able to get on the
Agent Orange Registry?

Your experience (history - government workings) is so much more than a common
Veteran filing a claim. Your thread can be and is very helpful.
 
Ok, ok... I had to plow through several web sites and I think I have figured out
what they have done. It's not as cut and dry as the Agent Orange Registry but...
they haven't done you guys much of favor. The VA had to be water boarded with
evidence before they finally gave into accredited links to certain illnesses linked
to Agent Orange.

The Gulf War Vets really are just beginning. But... hopefully it will be considered
supporting evidence to your claim and not years as it was for Viet Nam Vets.
 
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