Female Vet-PEB Board Incomplete & ETS'd With No Disability Rating Etc. Please Read Jason Perry

[steelel21]

I was referred to this forum by a state liason to post about my situation and hopefully get some advise.
In 2016, while I was still a member of the Mississippi-ANG, I was diagnosed with a cerebral angioma in the left temporal lobe of my brain.
I had not had issues with this before, besides very bad migraines, which is the reason I was being seen by a doctor. The angioma was seen on an ER scan on base, while I was off of duty from the guard working as a contractor and living in Georgia. I went to a nuerologist and I was diagnosed with the angioma, migraines, and I was put on a profile for the guard, because AT was right around the corner. I did not attend AT that year. I continued to serve into the year 2017, and in that year I was diagnosed with complex focal seizures, and was told I was not allowed to drive anymore. I turned all of this information into the MS-ARNG and all of my paperwork. I was given the choice to get out of the national guard completely, or do a PEB to see if I could take a non deployable status. Because I am a linguist and Intelligence analyst, and it took a long time to train, I did not want to just give up my chance at staying in the military. I decided to do the PEB and see what would happen. I did not hear word about the PEB until March 2018, when I received a piece of mail stating that I had ETS's from the military, and that I had been discharged with "Migraines". I do not know if my PEB was completed, or if it wasn't. I never received any information about anything, besides that I had ETS's on my actual ETS's contract date, NOT a date given by a PEB. This confused me a lot. I also have been unable to get disability from the VA for my health issues. I am needing assistance greatly. I am in a financial need as a single mom of two and I have been fighting to receive my VA disability rating since 2018. I need help!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Provis]

I was referred to this forum by a state liason to post about my situation and hopefully get some advise.
In 2016, while I was still a member of the Mississippi-ANG, I was diagnosed with a cerebral angioma in the left temporal lobe of my brain.
I had not had issues with this before, besides very bad migraines, which is the reason I was being seen by a doctor. The angioma was seen on an ER scan on base, while I was off of duty from the guard working as a contractor and living in Georgia. I went to a nuerologist and I was diagnosed with the angioma, migraines, and I was put on a profile for the guard, because AT was right around the corner. I did not attend AT that year. I continued to serve into the year 2017, and in that year I was diagnosed with complex focal seizures, and was told I was not allowed to drive anymore. I turned all of this information into the MS-ARNG and all of my paperwork. I was given the choice to get out of the national guard completely, or do a PEB to see if I could take a non deployable status. Because I am a linguist and Intelligence analyst, and it took a long time to train, I did not want to just give up my chance at staying in the military. I decided to do the PEB and see what would happen. I did not hear word about the PEB until March 2018, when I received a piece of mail stating that I had ETS's from the military, and that I had been discharged with "Migraines". I do not know if my PEB was completed, or if it wasn't. I never received any information about anything, besides that I had ETS's on my actual ETS's contract date, NOT a date given by a PEB. This confused me a lot. I also have been unable to get disability from the VA for my health issues. I am needing assistance greatly. I am in a financial need as a single mom of two and I have been fighting to receive my VA disability rating since 2018. I need help!!!!!!!!!!

So the Guard was going to kick you out either way because they believe your medical conditions were not duty related meaning caused while on active duty orders or Battle Assembly. You have a steep hill to climb. The way forward is to try to get a nexus letter from a doctor that reviews your records and states that their is a nexus that the conditions were caused during active service or more likely that the conditions were permanently aggravated while serving while preforming your duties as a Mississippi ANG.

If you case has been declined I would reach out to an attorney. VA attorneys can only take cases after you have been denied. They could help you gather this evidence and they only get paid if you win your appeal. If no attorney will help that should give you some indication of the strength of your case. You can also talk to a VSO (Veteran's Service Organization) who may help guide you through the process of attempting to gain VA disability compensation benefits.

 

[steelel21]

I have a profile that I was given before my full diagnosis by an active duty doctor on base that says my conditions were more than likely caused by my service duties.
Thank you for the advice!

 

[steelel21]

So the Guard was going to kick you out either way because they believe your medical conditions were not duty related meaning caused while on active duty orders or Battle Assembly. You have a steep hill to climb. The way forward is to try to get a nexus letter from a doctor that reviews your records and states that their is a nexus that the conditions were caused during active service or more likely that the conditions were permanently aggravated while serving while preforming your duties as a Mississippi ANG.

If you case has been declined I would reach out to an attorney. VA attorneys can only take cases after you have been denied. They could help you gather this evidence and they only get paid if you win your appeal. If no attorney will help that should give you some indication of the strength of your case. You can also talk to a VSO (Veteran's Service Organization) who may help guide you through the process of attempting to gain VA disability compensation benefits.

I have a profile that I was given before my full diagnosis by an active duty doctor on base that says my conditions were more than likely caused by my service duties.
Thank you for the advice!
Do you know of a VA lawyer to suggest? I was referred to this forum to Jason, but I do not know any other lawyers.

 

[Provis]

I have a profile that I was given before my full diagnosis by an active duty doctor on base that says my conditions were more than likely caused by my service duties.
Thank you for the advice!
Do you know of a VA lawyer to suggest? I was referred to this forum to Jason, but I do not know any other lawyers.

So it all depends on your case and goals. There are a lot of VA attorneys that can help you if your case was declined. That is because the VA only allows you to hire an attorney after they have declined your case. IF you believe your condition should have had a LOD and been duty related either by direct cause or permanent aggravation then I would talk to Jason Perry about a BCMR case. That is where you argue that the MS ANG didn't process everything correctly and that you should have been processed through a duty related IDES which would qualify you for severance or medical retirement. So it all depends on the goal and how strong your case is. I would talk to @Jason Perry to see if you have a case for BCMR and if not I bet he can either help you with the VA or point you in the direction of an attorney who can.

 

[Ajdickhoff]

I have a profile that I was given before my full diagnosis by an active duty doctor on base that says my conditions were more than likely caused by my service duties.
Thank you for the advice!
Do you know of a VA lawyer to suggest? I was referred to this forum to Jason, but I do not know any other lawyers.

From what I read in your post, you are claiming that your cerebral angioma is in direct correlation to your military service. Well, I can tell you with 100% confidence by basic research, cerebral angioma's are a genetic defect which causes their formation OR as a direct result of an infectious disease that affects both the spine and brain directly. They are not at all related to cancer so they can not be attributed to military service. You likely were referred to an MEB, but upon receipt, they likely denied the case as these are genetic conditions and existed prior to service.

 

[Ajdickhoff]

So it all depends on your case and goals. There are a lot of VA attorneys that can help you if your case was declined. That is because the VA only allows you to hire an attorney after they have declined your case. IF you believe your condition should have had a LOD and been duty related either by direct cause or permanent aggravation then I would talk to Jason Perry about a BCMR case. That is where you argue that the MS ANG didn't process everything correctly and that you should have been processed through a duty related IDES which would qualify you for severance or medical retirement. So it all depends on the goal and how strong your case is. I would talk to @Jason Perry to see if you have a case for BCMR and if not I bet he can either help you with the VA or point you in the direction of an attorney who can.

cerebral angioma's are a genetic defect and are not rated nor are the associated symptoms of the condition as the defect occurs during fetal development or as a result of infectious diseases that effect the brain and spine directly. Unfortunately, I don't think they have a case for compensation as these defects grow with age and require surgical treatment to correct. Its unfortunate but nobody can make the claim that a genetic defect occurred or was exacerbated by military service as a linguist or intelligence analyst.

 

[Provis]

cerebral angioma's are a genetic defect and are not rated nor are the associated symptoms of the condition as the defect occurs during fetal development or as a result of infectious diseases that effect the brain and spine directly. Unfortunately, I don't think they have a case for compensation as these defects grow with age and require surgical treatment to correct. Its unfortunate but nobody can make the claim that a genetic defect occurred or was exacerbated by military service as a linguist or intelligence analyst.

Genetic conditions can be service related if they are considered to be permanently aggravated by active duty service. There are too many factors to give any advice beyond talking to a qualified attorney.