MEB said service-aggravated, PEB said no

I

internet_checker

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
I went through a MEB/PEB process many years ago. At entry to the Army there were no medical problems noted. Later I was hospitalized and diagnosed with an endocrine order. The doctors thought it existed prior to service but that it was service aggravated. That's what was in my MEB. I then went through a PEB and they said it was not service-aggravated.

My question is whether or not the PEB needs to use the MEB conclusions for the primary consideration, or can they simply ignore the Army's own doctors?
 
internet-checker,

Welcome! The PEB must consider the MEBs findings as evidence, but it comes to its own decisions. Those decisions must be supported by generally accepted medical principles and must show that it is probable that your condition represents "natural progression."

Sounds doubtful to me that they decided your case correctly. I would consider appealing to BCMR or PDBR.

What branch? What date was your PEB? How many years of service did you have? Do you have a VA rating?
 
Thanks for replying.

This case goes all the way back to 1964, at which time I volunteered for service in the Army. I was only in basic training when I suffered debilitating, extreme fatigue which led to my being hospitalized. An adrenal disorder was then diagnosed. I went through the MEB process, and the doctors described my condition as EPTS; LOD; service-aggravated. Disabling.

There was no indication of a problem on my entrance medical exam, and there was no record of any illness, hospitalization, or diagnosis of anything prior to entering the Army.

I then filed for VA disability in 1964 and was rejected on the basis that it was EPTS and not service aggravated.

In 2006 I decided to try to file a VA claim again and have gone through the process of rejection. At this stage it is being appealed to the BVA.

Now, just recently I decided to hire a private attorney, and I found one I have confidence in. He raised the possibility of going back to 1964 based on a concept of clear and unmistakable error of law. No one mentioned this before and so it would be nice if it works.

I am posting here because I am trying to track down some information on my own. I am trying to get some insight into how the PEB makes its decisions, and what weight the findings of the MEB have, given the issue of getting service aggravation.

Now as to "natural progression" in my case it is not clear that there is any evidence concerning the evolution. In many cases it's true that is starts early and evolves over time. But there are other cases where it just suddenly strikes. In fact, there were many cases of this in WWII battle situations.

Any other insights you can provide would really be appreciated.
 
ic,

I am glad to hear that you have an attorney working the CUE angle. It seems that this argument has some legs.

As far as your military case, I think your route has to be through a Board for Correction of Military Records. It seems to me that you have a strong case. However, you have issues with passage of time and much will depend on what is in your file. Past that, because of the passage of time and the necessity to raise all issues that may carry weight in Federal Court, you should seek legal representation for this. A complicating factor is that an analysis will have to be made on the law as it existed in 1964. On your side in this regard is that there are a number of cases going back that far and further that will be able to clarify your rights and the governments obligations. One other thing is that in your case, it appears the stakes are higher than for most, that is you may have the possibility of getting back pay for military disability retirement from 1964.

Hope this helped and I hope all works out for you.
 
Jason,

I feel as if I've found a rich vein of gold in terms of information and help. Thank you.

It seems like I have two separate cases: one is with the VA, and the second is with the Army.

The attorney I have is with respect to the VA, and he practices in this area. Although they may share a common base, I assume the law is different for the military case and thus the question of finding an attorney well versed in this area arises.

Is there any advice/recommendation you can give me for finding a qualified attorney in this area of law? If you can I would appreciate any name you can give me, either here or at the email address I furnished when I registered for your website.

Again, I remain in your debt.

Art
 
Art,

Glad to have helped! I am constantly surprised that the DoD/Military Departments don't/can't provide the same info to members or Veterans.

I handle these kinds of cases. My professional e-mail is jason.perry@jeperrylaw.com . As far as any other attorneys, I would say you can find some information from the google or the web or professional directories, like Martindale-Hubbell. It is hard for me to recommend other attorneys directly because I don't have any real basis other than reputation to judge their work. If you are unsure about your choice of attorney, it may be helpful to talk to a few.
 
Jason,

Unless I am misreading the information, it appears that even if I won in the BCMR the financial gain would be limited.

I believe the highest disability rating I would get is 20%. With this number I would be separated, but not retired. To be retired I'd need 30% or more.

Did I misread the information?

Art
 
Art,

You are correct that you need to hit 30% or more for retirement. I am not sure, i.e, need more info about your condition at the time to give any thoughts on ratings.
 
[FONT=&quot]Jason,[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I really appreciate the time you have invested in replying to my posts.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For completeness, I have Addison's disease, which falls under §4.119 Schedule of ratings-endocrine system,[/FONT] [FONT=&quot] 7911[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Addison’s disease (adrenal cortical hypofunction) in the VA disability ratings.[/FONT]


The reality is that I had one "Addisonian crisis," which landed me in the hospital, and since then I have been taking steroids to replace what my body is not producing. Incidentally, I also developed osteoporosis along the way because you cannot really match what the body is doing. If I can get service connection for the Addison's then I might have some additional claims.



I know I am using the current standards, and I have no idea what the ratings looked like in 1964. But I am tempted to guess that, if anything, they were more restrictive back then.


I still feel that the VA, like the Army, misapplied the law at that time and I am definitely going to follow through on this. As I said I have an attorney who is going to handle that and is raising the CUE angle, as you said, to try to get me back to 1964 in back payments.



I can't thank you enough. If I come across someone who needs the kind of help you give I will steer them your way.


Art
[FONT=&quot][/FONT] [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 
Art, the rating you'd receive for Adrenal Insufficiency is related to the number of crisis you've had in the last year. If you're on oral steroids, it's 20% at a minimum.
 
willstanback12 said:
Art, the rating you'd receive for Adrenal Insufficiency is related to the number of crisis you've had in the last year. If you're on oral steroids, it's 20% at a minimum.
Click to expand...
This thread is 13 years old... I'm not sure if you'll get a response.
 
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