Vietnam Vet's mental health history hidden from him

Veteran denied benefits despite medical evidence

"[John's] bipolar disorder became evident at the time of his first psychiatric hospitalization in 1975.…"

-Robert Marks, M.D.

Part 2 of a 3 part series

Editor's note: In the previous edition of Frost Illustrated, we chronicled the mental health history of John, a Vietnam era U.S. Army veteran who said the U.S. Veteran's Administration is denying him benefits he is due. This week, we look at some of the key decisions government officials have made in his case and their unwillingness to grant him the full benefits he is seeking.

FORT WAYNE-For more than 20 years, Vietnam era U.S. Army veteran John (not his real name) had been plagued by a number of mental problems including a number of suicide attempts and threats against his family and homelessness. Eventually, with the help of a good woman he met at church, all that began to change. He even found a job at Hines VA hospital in Chicago.

But it all came crashing back down in 1997, when John walked into his job at the VA hospital with three loaded weapons threatening to kill his coworkers and himself. After his supervisor and the several hostages he had taken talked him out of the killing spree, John was admitted to the hospital's psychiatric ward. Staff discharged him from employment at Hines VA, declaring that he wasn't mentally competent to safely work.

John said that, while he was hospitalized, VA hospital staff had him sign paperwork that enabled him to get non-service connected disability. That meant he would be granted disability from that time on. But, his doctor began to do some digging and found that John had a history of mental illness that dated back to his first tour of duty in the U.S. Army.

In April 1999, Dr. Robert Marks, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Northwestern University Medical School wrote in a treatment summary:

"[John] is a 45 y/o married, [African American] man living with his wife & chidren, employed in the past at the Hines VA. He has an episodic, yet chronic, psychiatric illness with prominent affective and intermittent psychotic symptoms spanning more than 20 years."
go here for the rest
http://www.frostillustrated.com/atf.php?sid=2803

How long do you think the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans will have to go through the same thing? 5, 10, 15 years or longer? Is this why they are not serious about doing outreach work with them to provide what they need to know in case they did come home with the war in their mind? Is this why they will not get the Vetearns's centers open across the country? Is this why they will not provide support groups again for the families? Are they waiting for them to just die?

Once you have a claim approved, you get some of the best care this nation can give, but you have to suffer before you can get it. Why would they hide this veteran's mental health record from him and let him just suffer? Why wouldn't they do the right thing once the evidence showed it was kept from him and honor his claim back to when it started?

If you go on line and read some of the decisions the appeals board makes, you are left to wonder where they are getting their sense of justice from.

VA appeals info
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (also known as "BVA" or "the Board") is a part of the VA, located in Washington, D.C.
Members of the Board review benefit claims determinations made by local VA offices and issue decision on appeals. These Law Judges, attorneys experienced in veterans law and in reviewing benefit claims, are the only ones who can issue Board decisions. Staff attorneys, also trained in veterans law, review the facts of each appeal and assist the Board members. {38 U.S.C. §§ 7103, 7104}
Anyone who is not satisfied with the results of a claim for veterans benefits (determined by a VA regional office, medical center, or other local VA office) should read the "How do I Appeal " pamphlet. It is intended to explain the steps involved in filing an appeal and to serve as a reference for the terms and abbreviations used in the appeal process.

http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/

I went in to search for records on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the search field just for an example and this is what the result found.




Enter search terms (e.g. health benefits):

Found 235013 documents out of 521746.

http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/va_search.jsp?QT=post+traumatic+stress+disorder&UA=Search&SQ=vt_vetappall_ext

These are the first five cases from the search

www.va.gov/vetapp07/files4/0732355.txt
4. In an August 2001 rating decision, service connection for post traumatic stress disorder with a history of anxiety disorder, panic attacks, major depression, dissociative disorder, and somnambulism was granted effective from March 10, 1992, the date of receipt of the claim. The Board notes that the March 10, 1992 claim was a claim for service connection for post traumatic stress disorder and a claim to reopen the claim for service connection for a nervous disorder, dissociative reaction,
www.va.gov/vetapp07/files4/0732355.txt - 18k - October 23, 2007

www.va.gov/vetapp07/files2/0709974.txt
This matter has come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions of the Providence, Rhode Island, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board reopened a claim of entitlement to service connection for post traumatic stress disorder, and remanded this claim to the RO for further development. _ DEBORAH W. SINGLETON Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West
www.va.gov/vetapp07/files2/0709974.txt - 5k - April 16, 2007

www.va.gov/vetapp07/files3/0721989.txt
06-23 424 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Winston- Salem, North Carolina THE ISSUE Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Claim to Reopen for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder The veteran filed a request to reopen his claim for service connection for PTSD in August 2004 and was considered in a VA rating decision dated in November 2004
www.va.gov/vetapp07/files3/0721989.txt - 8k - August 02, 2007

www.va.gov/vetapp07/files2/0714356.txt
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeal (Board) on appeal from a July 2003 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in New York, New York, which denied the benefit sought on appeal. In this case, the failure to provide notice of the type of evidence necessary to establish a disability rating or effective date for the disability on appeal is harmless because the preponderance of the evidence is against the appellant's claim for service
www.va.gov/vetapp07/files2/0714356.txt - 8k - June 01, 2007

www.va.gov/vetapp07/files3/0726247.txt
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2004 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Phoenix, Arizona, that denied service connection for hearing loss and denied a petition to reopen a claim for service connection for a "major depressive disorder, claimed as post traumatic stress disorder." On the title page of this decision, the Board has characterized the acquired psychiatric disorder and PTSD
www.va.gov/vetapp07/files3/0726247.txt - 3k - August 29, 2007

Keep in mind these are just appeals for PTSD.

I used to go into this site a lot when we were fighting to have my husband's claim approved. If you go in there, you know what kind of a mess you have to face if your claim is denied or if you feel you didn't get the right disability rating. This is one of the biggest reasons I tell veterans to make sure they do not go it alone and seek out a service officer with the DAV, the VFW or any other organization with trained service officers that will help you with a claim. If claims are not filed A.S.A.P. time is lost and often they will only go back to when you filed the claim. If you fail to file an appeal on time, they can and do approve your claim only back to the date of the appeal. You are only give a certain amount of time to file claims and respond.

In the case of the Vietnam vet above, the evidence should have shown this veteran knew there was something wrong enough to seek help but was not told what it was or if he had the right to file for disability. This happens way too often. The problem is, it looks as if it will happen more often as more and more disabled veterans file claims expecting to be able to do it on their own. Veterans do not know the rules and especially those who have a mental wound, are not able to think clearly enough to understand any of this. Seek help as soon as you know there is a problem and then seek help with filing a claim. Let the Service Officers fight for you. After all, you fought for all of us didn't you?