PR, I will also be going for an inferred claim for my s, back to 93. Wish I would have known more about such things then, as I would have NOD'd right away. It's fortunate, for our younger comrades, that we have gone through all of this, as we should be a help to them getting what we had to fight so hard for!
I am most curious as to the VA's reasoning for trying to combine ratings after the 100%.
Here is a very interesting read http://www.va.gov/op..._Lit_Review.pdf page 55 states, "The legislative history for this law does not explicitly state a rationale for the extra awards. Although one might infer that the extra awards are to compensate for loss in quality of life, without a clear statement of Congress' intent, this is speculation." It is clear that Congress specifically stated, "independently ratable", as oppose to "combined evaluation rating of..."!
Basic disability ratings are rated from 0%-100%, and are subject to the combined rating evaluation, as the pdf explains. Under the VA's present system, unless you have one, single, disability rated at 100%, the highest rating a Veteran can receive is 100%, no matter how many disabilities, or percentages given. Even with TDIU, the VA continues to combine all the ratings. As an example, a Vet with 40% PTSD, 40% hearing loss, 40% left knee, 40% right knee (bilateral factor added), 40% right hand, 40% left hand (bilateral factor added), 40% DDD, would still only be 100% combined! The highest disability rating a Veteran can be awarded is 100%. SMC is SPECIAL MONTHLY COMPENSATION, not basic compensation, and should not fall under the same combined evaluation rating as basic compensation.
PR, I don't know if I asked this question before, but when you talk to the VA, do they state your percentage as 100%, 200%, or a combined rating of 100%? I wonder how they state the percentage of those with SMC......