tdiu Need Help Understanding Latest Ratting

[Berta]

You did very well and that is great.

"I had read up on this forum and thanks to you all I feel like I should have had been at least TDIU from the date I was forced to leave my civilian job. I submitted all of my civilian doctors and SSDI which clearly stated I was retired for my now SC disability but putting in for that for fear it would screw up my Aid and Attendance claim. "

Did the VA know you were getting SSDI solely for the eventual SC ratings?

Did they list the SSA award as evidence.

Earlier this AM here I raised this same question.for a different poster.

Because when VA rated my husband posthumously for his PTSD at 100% P & T they used a favorable date for his 100% EED that preceded his TDIU claim filing date by one year.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Berta

[john999]

You should be getting the A&A from 2010 so this will be a nice retro payment perhaps.

John

[FormerMember]

SMC S with spouse and no rugrats @ Housebound rate is $341 more than regular 100% (i.e. $3358.64 versus $3,017.60).

Now, for SMC-A&A which is technically SMC L, its $3556.56 which is $198 more than just SMC S. See 38 CFR § 3.350:

(b) Ratings under 38 U.S.C. 1114(l). The special monthly compensation provided by 38 U.S.C. 1114(l) is payable for anatomical loss or loss of use of both feet, one hand and one foot, blindness in both eyes with visual acuity of 5/200 or less or being permanently bedridden or so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance.

Now, if you had a 100% P&T rating and another one that was 100% schedular on top of it and were at the housebound rate, and you suddenly qualified for SMC S A&A (SMC L), it (the extra 100% above your P&T) would automatically bump you up to SMC M which is $3925.01 (or $369 more than SMC L). If you were at "M" and had the extra 100%, you'd move to N. If at "N', the extra 100% would bump you up to "O". Interesting how this all works. Little rules no one knows. The same bump works with a 50% rate and takes you up through intermediate ratings of L 1/2, M 1/2, and maxes out at N 1/2 .

SMC is like a ratings world unto itself that obeys no logical rules. There are more permutations of "What if I'm missing..." than you can count. Throw in a maximum of three Special Ks at the same time (until you get to R1) and the numbers get interesting to say the least. There are no simple tables to encompass all the possible permutations of SMCs. Thus if you think VA raters are challenged by this you're right. This is the area where more errors occur than any other.

Call your smoke, over.

Edited October 16, 2014 by asknod

[Gastone]

Oldman: Looks like you got it covered. I agree with all the above.

Are you in the VA Independent Living Program? If not, you apply via the VA Vocational Rehabilitation Program. You will be determined ineligible for Voc Rehab due to your SC conditions and advised regarding the VA Independent Living Program. It's all about "Quality of Life" for disabled Vets. The benefits and awards are too numerous to list. Check it out on Google, see how other Disabled Vets have been helped.

Semper Fi

Gastone

[FormerMember]

Oldman 273--You might want to also revisit the latest revision to M28-R (revised 3/31/2014) on the subject of the Independent Living Program. http://www.benefits.va.gov/vocrehab/independent_living.asp Seems they gave it a haircut again and it now is only for can grabbers, cordless phones, socks puller-uppers and electric can openers. Maybe a garage door opener. No more riding lawn mowers or tractors. No more woodworking shops with all the saws and planers. No more metal detectors or jacuzzis for pruritus. Seems we are independent in our everyday activities of daily living to such a degree that they cannot even find 2,700 souls to fill the slots. Not even one in Wyoming or Vermont since 2004 record keeping began. Seems someone has been cooking the ILP books for years. On paper, you can get $25-40 K at the local level and up to $60 K with VACO approval. In reality you can hope for a computer w/ peripherals and printer /copy/scan (Dell) which pencils out to about $1K. http://asknod.wordpress.com/va-ilp-stats/ I won with an administrative review to DC VACO VR&E because of my blog. I'm still waiting on my greenhouse. I filed in May 2011. I got my computer in August 2012. Start early.

Cleared in Hot, over.

P.S. Looks like they changed the URL again. That happens a lot.

Edited October 17, 2014 by asknod