Help? applying for service connection on my own?

[gomer]

Anyone, I seem to recall someone here applied for service connection on their own, w/o a VSO.

MY PVA VSO is worthless at best...

I have most of my AD medical records as incomplete and inaccurate as they are.

Any advice or suggestion would be appreciated.......

Thanx

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.Gomer

[Scooter24]

Gomer- I put mine in myself but then turned it over to PVA a few months later, not sure how much they relly did or not get initial claim thru, but they have helped alot since.

this web site has some good info about filing claims

http://www.disabledveterans.org/cate...-compensation/

[Bob698]

Gomer, I think it was GA Dancer who filed her own claim?
Good luck but I'd wish you kept looking for a better rep.
Where's your POA right now and what would you have to do to get it to revert back to you?

[gomer]

Hi Bob.........

PVA currently has my POA. I have no clue about how to revoke it. I feel like she is or was just sitting on making sure it went NO WHERE! She made a big claims at first how MOST of PVA's clients are MSers blah blah and how she worked WITH Dr Segal (my MS specialist there).

Dr Segal is nice but a very busy person. I took my AD med recs in question (not the whole thing) he saw one word on a page and END of it. It read no pathology (eye issue). But I did NOT get a chance to explain THAT was the PROBLEM! I could NOT get proper eye exams and glasses with the needed prisms at all! I had been sent to sick bay to be refered for an eye exam by my shop boss, I was not my idea in the first place. I forget what the issue even was now I do know it was not visual acuity never been too bad in that area, it was the diplopia etc I always had (still have) problems with.

I think that was my first eye exam in the Navy at Pensacola, but it could have been at A-school, the last time I tried before giving up on getting proper glasses from the Navy.

The next time I went to a eye doc in Winter Park, outside Orlando when I was stationed in Sanford after A-school. I got a letter from an old squadron mate about it, the coke bottle glasses bit, I had to get.

On the POA,, maybe I do not need to revoke it, IF I can still act on my own behalf?

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.Gomer

[Scooter24]

Have you been told that it was turned down ? did you get a letter from the VA saying that? if so you may have a problem as I believe there is a time frame where you can appeal. You should be able to send both the the VA and PVA a letter stating that you are revoking PVA's POA.

[gomer]

No Scooter............

I got nowhere with the PVA rep.. basically she sat on everything including materials she asked for and I delivered and done NOTHING.

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.Gomer

[Scooter24]

Gomer, can't guarantee this but I was told by someone at the VA if you give another SO a POA it will cancel out the other one as you can only have 1 at a time. might want to give them a call and check. Also have you looked into a lawyer to handle your case, they would have some incentive to get it thru and processed as I believe thay do the same thing as SSDI lawyers do and only collect if you do. Might be an option.

[KatieDidNOT]

Gomer-

Scooter is indeed correct. You can only have one POA at a time. I had to go to the VA to change mine (in writing) from AMVETS to DAV.

Some of the VSOs are indeed worthless...had one...been there. But I would recommend trying another, because I found the process too stressful when I tried to handle it myself.

Cheers--Katie

[Bob698]

My understanding is that your POA automatically reverts to the last person you signed up with.
The tricky part (in Gomer's case) is what happens if you want to go back to "day zero" when you didn't have someone named as your POA?
Do you just recind your current POA or maybe name yourself as your POA?

[Sirike]

DAV AND ME

I MUST BE LUCKY. THE DAV HAS BEEN GREAT FOR ME. SO FAR THEIR SUPPORT IS MORE THAN I EXPECTED. ON THE OTHER, HAND MY PROBLEM IS WITH THE VA. I FILED 8 MONTHS AGO AND GET A LETTER EACH MONTH TELING ME THEY ARE WORKING IT. DON'T TRY TO DO THIS YOURSELF ASK FOR A NEW REP.

V/R, MARK

[KatieDidNOT]

Hi Guys-

I just did the whole POA change thing in Sept for my upgrade appeal and I had to call the Regional VA Office and they instructed me I would have to sign a new POA at the VA in order to change from AMVETS to DAV.

I think Gomer is going to have to call the VA and ask how to rescind the current POA and list himself as the POA. DAV helped me with that paperwork so I did not have to go to AMVETS. Another way he could do that is go to the current POA, say "you are fired" and they will hand out the appropriate paperwork to discharge them of their Service.

The VA rep I talked to actually told me any paperwork submitted by another organization besides your POA, would be returned.

I agree with Mark I have found the DAV to be awesome! I too get monthly progress reports in the mail.

Cheers--Katie

[gomer]

katie.. I like your "you're fired" approach. I want her to know how I feel about her worthlessness, but in a dignified & polite fashion.

So far, other than fantastic LIP SERVICE (patting themselves on the back & bragging, of course) was stonewalling at best.

The PVA rep in Ann Arbor is only there on Wed... maybe I can get one of my boys to pickup my wife tomorrow so I can stop in on my way to a photography club meeting I have tomorrow.

I tried contacting PVA itself, no luck.
Gomer sez THANKS for the info and ideas

[gomer]

Update 2day

I arranged for one of my boys (ok they are adults) pick up my wife from work so I could leave earlier than usual and stop by the VAMC on my way to my DSS club meeting.

I waited a long time, nearly a couple hours, as she was out of her office. When she returned and waited on another nam era vet, then it was my turn. I went in calm and collected and told her POLITELY I wanted to revoke my PVA power of attorney. She said I would have to file a POA with another SO in order to do that. She asked me WHY. (I wanted to revoke the POA).

I started to explain in very direct simple terms and she got furious and cut me off. I asked to please let me finish, at that point, she got up and when ballistic yelling as she exited her office door. Never in my life have i seen such a reaction to such a simple thing. I think she knew good and very well she did NOT do what she claimed she would, that she had NOT done her duty. While she headed out of her office I likewise did also but in the other direction.

Her behavior today was absurd to say the least, not professional what-so-ever and totally uncalled for. On the other hand her conduct as MY SO had been very poor at best, so not supprised at her reaction, just the rediculious degree at which she flipped out. FOR NO REASON!

I got shuffled aroud the VA trying to find some way to recind any existing POAs currently in effect. After being bounced around a couple places I was sent back to a window at the same waiting area as her office. I asked the window clerk if he had any such forms etc. he started to get some forms then back tracked. A VA police officer showed up behind he at the window. He was polite and asked what happned, I told him and he spoke with her, in private for a couple minutes and that was that, as far as I know. Maybe she called them as as I passed by her door enroute to the other window??

She was gladdly helping another vet, the one after me, on trying to get his discharg changed so he could qualify for VA benifits. Funny how one who does things properly and by the book gets rotten treatment and worse, while at the same time they bend over backwards to help a less than honorable person by record. (While we were waiting, the guy had been bragging how he got KICKED OUT of the Navy and how bad he was, as if he was PROUD of his missdeeds).

On one hand I wonder how someone so unstable has such position or responsibility? She seemed to take pleasure in choosing WHO she does things for and who she can screw with. Maybe she ahs a GOD complex, who knows?

At least I kept my cool thru the whole messy affair.

Gomer Par for the course.

[KatieDidNOT]

Gomer-

I have a couple things to say.

First that Navy guy, lets hope the Board of Military Corrections does not upgrade his discharge (which I don't think they will)...he won't be bragging then. The VA was in my opinion the wrong place to do that, he would have been better off hiring a lawyer. But I would not tell him that.

Second, I am proud of you Gomer! You handled that just right. I wish I would of been standing right there with you when she blew up. I know it was not probably funny at the time, but your eloquent description of the whole thing had me laughing. But I am sure it was sort of bewildering...me, I would have had some immense satisfaction at her reaction, because she finally felt the way you have been feeling for months...I would of stood there and smiled and probably made her even angrier, just by smiling. But that is just me. I just hope you were not traumatized by the event in any way.

She made a fool out of herself and yes, it was unprofessional, which means yes, you can't have her working on your behalf. The reason she got so angry in my opinion is when a POA is pulled it goes to the organization's higher headquarters and they will have questions for her and I am certain she did not want that. She is not going to be able to talk her way out of this one. She has probably had a few POAs already pulled.

One thing I missed from your post, did you successfully get your POA revoked yesterday? Because that is the goal...is the mission complete or do you need to re-group? Because, we have to get that paperwork rolling for you.

Cheers--Katie

[Scooter24]

Gomer- you did much better than I would have, they would have had the VA police there during the first meeting for me,

I hope you plan on sending her organization a letter explianing everything including her attitude and reqction in the office.