Posted on Jan 2, 2020
How do I get my Discharge changed to Medical Retirement over 8 years of service and was misdiagnosed by Tampa VA?
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After my discharge, over 8 years of service. I requested a C&P exam at the Tampa FL VA Hospital. Received a 30% rating.
There were no instructions, no details of what that meant to me as a veteran and NO compensation benefits paid to me.
Met a couple VETS outside a Walmart in 2010, during the conversation they asked me my disability rating and how much I was getting. NOTHING.
I was convinced to request VA care and a NEW C&P exam. From there it went from 30-40-90-100 Individual Unemployable.
I requested retroactive to the date of DISCHARGE -- DECLINED. That's July 1987- 2010. They never paid me for a very serious injury.
I was misdiagnosed during the initial exam in 1987. I requested for and received a CARE exam at the Miami VA, Orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, neurosurgeon, hand surgeon and 2 other Doctors from the Miami Hospital nearby.
It was 3 1/2 hours of them studying ME and my CT scans, X-RAYS, MRI's, and a full body scan from nuclear imaging.
Original diagnosis, neuropathy, Tampa, 1987= torn nerve to my left trapezius muscle 30% disability.
WOW! The New diagnosis included details of my original injury that I never knew about.
Neuropathy left shoulder, yep knew about that one.
TWO broken ribs, by and under left scapula. Still separated and rub the bone and CUT me internally.
Torn back muscles, lower left and near left armpit. Didn't know about.
Dislocated left shoulder, pops out occasionally.
Chip out of left radial bone at elbow. Knew about the limited rotation, but bone chip seen on the X-ray.
Can't close left hand, VA test 19 pounds of grip strength. Bones in wrist dislocated. Pops when rotated. Occasionally get ganglion cysts.
And last, torn tendon under my left armpit connects to the left chest muscles. If I lean forward or try to carry more than 20 pounds, the shoulder has fallen down and collar bone lands on the rib cage. When that happens I can't breathe.
With those 6 Doctors, 2 computers and the 3 1/2 hour exam this was my answer.
"Mr. Thomas. We can't repair a severed nerve. We don't fix broken ribs unless they threaten to puncture a lung. The torn tendon under your armpit has curled up in a ball and cannot be reattached. The back muscles are working to hold your shoulder up and they will continue to strain. We showed you the bone fragment of your elbow. We can't fix it because the muscles and tendons deformed to the new position of the bone." And the last one was the Hand Surgeon. "Mr. Thomas. Some of the bones muscles and tendons of your wrist have deformed to their new relative positions. If I do surgery no I'm afraid we will make it worse.
And that's it. Meeting over. Analysis complete. My head spinning. Broken ribs? Broken elbow? Dislocated wrist? The list repeating in my head ALL the way home.
Realization, THEY CAN'T FIX ME!
Before I left one of them even suggested that I MOVE to Texas because that's where the best COMBAT Surgeons are.
So I asked that this REAL diagnosis be made retroactive, along with the rating and compensation. In trying to raise my Children and take care of my family. I have eaten a bottle of Tylenol every 2 weeks for decades. It caused a fatty liver and 3-5 pounds of weight gain a year.
I've lost 90+ and have 35 to go. Now that I know. I'm fighting it.
But I still believe that I should have been Medically Discharged. Served an additional 3 1/2 YEARS with this injury. I loved being in the Navy and wanted to stay. Waiting for someone to fix me.
If someone, anyone, can get me the compensation, the REAL medical discharge I deserved. It would be appreciated.
I was ignored in 1987.
I was misdiagnosed in 1987.
And with everything that WAS wrong with me then, is still the same now, just weaker every day.
After EIGHT years of service, this should have been a Medical Discharge.
Sent a request through Congressman Deutsch, was declined.
Will keep asking.
There were no instructions, no details of what that meant to me as a veteran and NO compensation benefits paid to me.
Met a couple VETS outside a Walmart in 2010, during the conversation they asked me my disability rating and how much I was getting. NOTHING.
I was convinced to request VA care and a NEW C&P exam. From there it went from 30-40-90-100 Individual Unemployable.
I requested retroactive to the date of DISCHARGE -- DECLINED. That's July 1987- 2010. They never paid me for a very serious injury.
I was misdiagnosed during the initial exam in 1987. I requested for and received a CARE exam at the Miami VA, Orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, neurosurgeon, hand surgeon and 2 other Doctors from the Miami Hospital nearby.
It was 3 1/2 hours of them studying ME and my CT scans, X-RAYS, MRI's, and a full body scan from nuclear imaging.
Original diagnosis, neuropathy, Tampa, 1987= torn nerve to my left trapezius muscle 30% disability.
WOW! The New diagnosis included details of my original injury that I never knew about.
Neuropathy left shoulder, yep knew about that one.
TWO broken ribs, by and under left scapula. Still separated and rub the bone and CUT me internally.
Torn back muscles, lower left and near left armpit. Didn't know about.
Dislocated left shoulder, pops out occasionally.
Chip out of left radial bone at elbow. Knew about the limited rotation, but bone chip seen on the X-ray.
Can't close left hand, VA test 19 pounds of grip strength. Bones in wrist dislocated. Pops when rotated. Occasionally get ganglion cysts.
And last, torn tendon under my left armpit connects to the left chest muscles. If I lean forward or try to carry more than 20 pounds, the shoulder has fallen down and collar bone lands on the rib cage. When that happens I can't breathe.
With those 6 Doctors, 2 computers and the 3 1/2 hour exam this was my answer.
"Mr. Thomas. We can't repair a severed nerve. We don't fix broken ribs unless they threaten to puncture a lung. The torn tendon under your armpit has curled up in a ball and cannot be reattached. The back muscles are working to hold your shoulder up and they will continue to strain. We showed you the bone fragment of your elbow. We can't fix it because the muscles and tendons deformed to the new position of the bone." And the last one was the Hand Surgeon. "Mr. Thomas. Some of the bones muscles and tendons of your wrist have deformed to their new relative positions. If I do surgery no I'm afraid we will make it worse.
And that's it. Meeting over. Analysis complete. My head spinning. Broken ribs? Broken elbow? Dislocated wrist? The list repeating in my head ALL the way home.
Realization, THEY CAN'T FIX ME!
Before I left one of them even suggested that I MOVE to Texas because that's where the best COMBAT Surgeons are.
So I asked that this REAL diagnosis be made retroactive, along with the rating and compensation. In trying to raise my Children and take care of my family. I have eaten a bottle of Tylenol every 2 weeks for decades. It caused a fatty liver and 3-5 pounds of weight gain a year.
I've lost 90+ and have 35 to go. Now that I know. I'm fighting it.
But I still believe that I should have been Medically Discharged. Served an additional 3 1/2 YEARS with this injury. I loved being in the Navy and wanted to stay. Waiting for someone to fix me.
If someone, anyone, can get me the compensation, the REAL medical discharge I deserved. It would be appreciated.
I was ignored in 1987.
I was misdiagnosed in 1987.
And with everything that WAS wrong with me then, is still the same now, just weaker every day.
After EIGHT years of service, this should have been a Medical Discharge.
Sent a request through Congressman Deutsch, was declined.
Will keep asking.
Posted in these groups: 
Medical
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Medical Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 7
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I believe if you are medically retired with less than 20 years the source of compensation will be the VA.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
SSG Nathan Stryker - I am 20 years AD with the army with a disability rating of getting 50% base pay. 70% from the VA.
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You probably cannot. A 100% VA disability rating does not equal a 30% or more Active Duty disabled rating.
But, if you want to try, you have to appeal your discharge to the board of corrections. For the Army, it's called the Army Board of Corrections. I'm sure the Navy has a similar term for theirs. It usually takes years and they may simply reject or decline your case, especially if you can't prove that you were qualified as at least 30% disabled when you were discharged.
But, if you want to try, you have to appeal your discharge to the board of corrections. For the Army, it's called the Army Board of Corrections. I'm sure the Navy has a similar term for theirs. It usually takes years and they may simply reject or decline your case, especially if you can't prove that you were qualified as at least 30% disabled when you were discharged.
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SFC (Join to see)
PO3 Timothy Thomas I don't know why you're trying to argue with me or convince me. I have provided the information you'll need and the relevant information about how rating works.
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PO3 Timothy Thomas
SFC (Join to see) Didn't know that I was doing either of those things. Like I said before I don't know the requirements for the medical Retireme are.
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COL Vincent Stoneking
SFC (Join to see) Just a minor point of correction - IDES does use the VA ratings - IF (big if) IDES finds you unfit for a condition, it will apply the VA rated percentage[1].
That said, your basic point is correct. Unless the discharge was invalid/incorrect, very little chance of reversing it at this point. Based on the 8 years, it appears that it was a normal ETS discharge. The bar would be pretty high. In-Service medical records would have to clearly show, beyond a doubt, that he SHOULD have gone through the IDES (or whatever was in its place back then) by the regulations then in effect. It's been a while, so I'm not sure the exact standard, but I expect this would require "clear and unmistakeable evidence of error." The hard part is really that it's not enough to prove that the injuries occurred during service, but ALSO that the service NEW it, AND ALSO that they rendered the servicemember UNFIT[2] for service AT THAT TIME.
I'm not saying that it's unwinnable, but definitely a very long shot, especially as a congressional didn't move the needle. I'd guess (but I'm not a lawyer) that the Army Board for Corrections is the only venue left.
[1] The normal IDES flow is that you go from the MEB to the PEB, the PEB makes a determination on each condition. The PEB then requests the VA to rate the conditions adjudicated to be unfitting. At that point, the VA will then rate (there is a slight difference in rated or "proposed rated" between AC and RC troops, but it's really inside baseball) ALL conditions it believes to be VA ratable. The VA returns the full ratings to the PEB. The PEB extracts the ratings for the unfitting conditions and applies them, using "VA Math" (which isn't as hard as people make it out to be), and calculates an IDES disability rating which is then used for separation payment or retirement.
[2] Often lost in the sauce, and why there are different ratings, VA rates disability, IDES rates for disability that makes you UNFIT for service. VA rating is almost always higher.
That said, your basic point is correct. Unless the discharge was invalid/incorrect, very little chance of reversing it at this point. Based on the 8 years, it appears that it was a normal ETS discharge. The bar would be pretty high. In-Service medical records would have to clearly show, beyond a doubt, that he SHOULD have gone through the IDES (or whatever was in its place back then) by the regulations then in effect. It's been a while, so I'm not sure the exact standard, but I expect this would require "clear and unmistakeable evidence of error." The hard part is really that it's not enough to prove that the injuries occurred during service, but ALSO that the service NEW it, AND ALSO that they rendered the servicemember UNFIT[2] for service AT THAT TIME.
I'm not saying that it's unwinnable, but definitely a very long shot, especially as a congressional didn't move the needle. I'd guess (but I'm not a lawyer) that the Army Board for Corrections is the only venue left.
[1] The normal IDES flow is that you go from the MEB to the PEB, the PEB makes a determination on each condition. The PEB then requests the VA to rate the conditions adjudicated to be unfitting. At that point, the VA will then rate (there is a slight difference in rated or "proposed rated" between AC and RC troops, but it's really inside baseball) ALL conditions it believes to be VA ratable. The VA returns the full ratings to the PEB. The PEB extracts the ratings for the unfitting conditions and applies them, using "VA Math" (which isn't as hard as people make it out to be), and calculates an IDES disability rating which is then used for separation payment or retirement.
[2] Often lost in the sauce, and why there are different ratings, VA rates disability, IDES rates for disability that makes you UNFIT for service. VA rating is almost always higher.
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SFC (Join to see)
COL Vincent Stoneking thank you. I was trying to keep it brief and IDES, MEB, and Army Corrections Board are so complicated and technical there's never really a one size fits all answer. Thank you for the clarification
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