Personally, I would not bother with an appeal, as you will get stuck in the system for another 2-3 years. Hopefully the lawyers will take your case. I am sure the federal courts will be faster and more fair. Despite my medical opinion blaming the VA and saying all my medical doctors are...
The bad part is the long wait for the decision after the AO. I just want to file in Federal Court to get in line and end this process. But, I am almost 3 months after my AO and reply with no closure in the forecast.
Congratulations on getting some legal help. Be prepared for a LONG wait with the ABCMR. It appears that medical issues are taking 2.5-3.0 years. I am at 2 year in 3 weeks. I emailed for an update and they just gave the "your case is still processing" reply. Keep the pressure on the ABCMR...
I agree that the advisory opinions from ARBR look to deny. My case has objective evidence such as labs not matching any past or current records, plus time and date errors on the actual lab and entries into my medical records do not match. I have surgeons that found the errors and brought them...
I don't mind scanning mine but the issue is you won't know what points I raised in my initial file. Also, you won't know what points I raised in my rebuttal. So, it is a very limited point of view. Also, the advisory opinion I had reviewed my MED, my PDBR (a different issue is at hand in the...
This is a very tricky case. The fact you withdrew your appeal and chose to separate before the MEB is going to be the biggest issue. You will want your doctor to provide a NEXUS letter connecting the access to the cancer. That will be your best chance. Due to the complexity I think an...
I personally had a similar issue. I filed to the PDBR and was declined. The decision was final and you cannot appeal. I then had new evidence come forward and filed to the ABCMR several years later. At first the ABCMR would not take the case. I had to be very clear in the difference between...
My opinion said the VA cardiologist and chief of electrophysiology were "mistaken" and did not read the monitor correctly. They also say, all the records of other soldiers put in my file during the MEB were placed by the VA and it is "uncertain" when the documents were added. However, they are...
The board can accept, partially accept, or go against an advisory opinion. They state those options in the letter they send to you with the advisory opinion. However, I doubt the go against an advisory opinion. They will owe me 15 years of retirement if I win. So, yes. There is a...
You are correct. I had a negative advisory opinion. I have since contacted an attorney and will take it to federal court. They say the board can ignore the opinion. However, I doubt the ignore an opinion that saves them money. I will win, eventually.
Just an update. I filed on May 16, 2016. I received my advisory opinion Feb 17, 2018. I was only allowed 15 days from the day they wrote the letter to respond to the opinion. The advisory opinion was dated Feb 13, 2018. You will have a long wait if it is a medical issue you are looking to...