VA makes Vet prove leg is missing?

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 17:06:29 -0400

That is what one vet is saying the VA is doing.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v= [login to see] 90456&fref=nf

Completely unbelievable… Vet claims the VA actually made him prove that he was an amputee...by making him get an X-ray of his prosthetic leg!

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Apr 5 at 2015 5:32 PM

SSG Trevor S. — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 17:32:40 -0400

The "prove you're hurt" mentality again. Time for Operation Clean Sweep at the VA.

Response by SFC Boots Attaway made Apr 5 at 2015 5:44 PM

SFC Boots Attaway — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 17:44:27 -0400

A waste of time, money and resources. This is just one example of how screwed up the VA is. I went to see my doctor a few weeks ago because my back had started to put me in such pain that I couldn't move just fall. She told me I was on the correct pain meds and the only thing she could was send me to pain management. WHAT THE? Something new affecting my back and no xrays or MRI?

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Apr 5 at 2015 6:44 PM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 18:44:16 -0400

The ignorance is unfathomable and without a doubt inexcusable! What a disgrace to this veteran that has given more than most, to include a limb!

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Apr 5 at 2015 7:09 PM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 19:09:00 -0400

If this is service connected how was this not transferred in his medical record?

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Apr 5 at 2015 7:47 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 19:47:43 -0400

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Forbes

For your enjoyment. I present the 'first' head of the VA.

"The six-foot-tall President grabbed Forbes by the throat and began violently shaking him "as a dog would a rat"."

You can't make this up.

Charles R. Forbes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Robert Forbes (February 14, 1878 – April 10, 1952) was appointed the first Director of the Veterans' Bureau by President Warren G. Harding on August 9, 1921 and served until February 28, 1923. Caught for army desertion in 1900, he returned to the military and was a decorated World War I veteran. He first became active in politics in the Pacific Northwest. In 1912, Forbes moved to Hawaii and served as chairman on various federal...

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Apr 5 at 2015 7:52 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 19:52:22 -0400

Alright, done ranting in my other post.

What's sad is the fact that this "could be" true. Even if it isn't, the VA has fallen so low that this seems plausible. We're not even shocked. Just disappointed.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 5 at 2015 8:56 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 20:56:04 -0400

Brutal. The VA requires a cultural paradigm shift. Granted, this is one isolated incident, but there are other similar stories about the VA (doctoring the books to make it look like vets are getting appointments when they are not, for example) so I'm willing to believe this is true. And I think any reasonable person recognizes that this is wrong, if it is true.

Response by CPO Sam Gilliland made Apr 5 at 2015 8:58 PM

CPO Sam Gilliland — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 20:58:07 -0400

Unfortunately this happens all the time. The problem is documentation. If it is not documented, it did not happen! I was always told this...but I am guilty as well for passing out Motrin like candy and not documenting.

Boils down to this:
DoD is half paper and half electronic. Everything electronic has to be printed and sent into the VA. This does not always happen. And to top that the VA is not allowed access to DoD electronic Health Records! President George Bush Sr made it mandatory to transfer all med records to electronic and it never happened. A simple fix to save a ton of headaches.

I do not blame the VA Raters for this. I blame DoD and the doctors for not documenting right. Raters follow the Code of Regulations and can only rate what is in front of them, which is not the veteran but files.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Apr 5 at 2015 10:54 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 22:54:40 -0400

Totally disgusting ...

Response by Cpl John Papai made Apr 6 at 2015 12:29 AM

Cpl John Papai — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:29:52 -0400

I completely understand his frustration with the idiots at the VA. Ive had 23 surgeries on my knees now 20 done by the VA. Ive now had 21 on my left, 5 different types of infection that I received at the VA hospital, and now 4 different knee replacements. They tried to tell me that I had a "super bug" initially until I went to a private doctor (who was told that he couldnt operate on me because of the liability and complications) They tried to also tell me that it was rare to have the e infections, but had other Vets in the same clinic with the same thing and lost their legs. After I was able to finally get the infection cleared they tried to fix everything with a knee replacement. I had a 10 inch rod up my femur and a slightly smaller into my tibia. The femur rod was loose from the start and bore out the inside of my femur. They changed it out with a longer rod that also failed twice. The last one the screw holding the hinge in place "shattered". This all in a 4 year period with the replacements. Ive been told since day one that an amputation was in my future, and now having to talk to the chief next week about having it done. But then having to explain to a service rep with the VA that I have had more than the one surgery they had listed and that the doctors notes repeatedly stated that there was no progress... Very extremely frustrating. Granted there are some great doctors with the VA, but its training grounds for medical field. And most the time theyd rather just give you a fill of narcotics instead of actually treating the problem. My little rant, but this system needs a lot of work.

Response by SFC Douglas Duckett made Apr 6 at 2015 11:12 AM

SFC Douglas Duckett — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 11:12:44 -0400

I am not going to get on the VA Healthcare Bash Wagon yet. I have used the VA for 3 ½ years now with an 80% rating. For the issues I go for, I cannot complain. They provide my treatment in a fairly timely manner. My appointments are scheduled fairly quickly, and if they do not have the services or appointments available, they outsource me now. I have no issues with the pharmacy service.

Since my medical retirement, I have had good to excellent service provided by the Bay Pines VA Healthcare. I cannot say the same about Compensation and Benefits though. That part of the system is TRULY broken and needs fix. By not providing timely actions on pending request, it can often exasperate the Veteran’s financial problems and that can result in other issues (depression or even suicide). This part of the VA Health system to be truly focused on and fixed.

According to an Article from the Miliatry times dtd December 31, 2014; 2015 goal for VA claims backlog appears out of reach. After two years of intense focus from lawmakers and critics, attention on the claims backlog has waned since early 2014. Worries about the thousands of veterans waiting for disability payouts were overtaken by worries about lengthy care delays at VA medical centers and data manipulation by department officials, scandals that forced the resignation of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/2014/12/31/2015-va-claims-backlog/21097689/

2015 goal for VA claims backlog appears out of reach

Officials have promised for years to zero out the backlog in 2015, but they'll need a dramatic finish to accomplish that.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2015 11:56 AM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 11:56:33 -0400

So I guess rolling into the office and tossing the prosthetic on the desk is out of the question?

Response by TSgt Tim (lj) Littlejohn made Apr 6 at 2015 7:50 PM

TSgt Tim (lj) Littlejohn — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 19:50:27 -0400

Maybe if the bonus checks were not based how much workers, save the government, but instead were based on how many and how well they helped vets, the system would get fixed. The amount they're paying the people at the top is more than enough they don't need bonuses.

Response by SSG Richard Reilly made Apr 7 at 2015 3:13 PM

SSG Richard Reilly — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 15:13:33 -0400

Was a xray needed. couldn't he just hand it to them?