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  • Most Common VA Disabilities Claimed for Compensation:   

    tinnitus-005.pngptsd-005.pnglumbosacral-005.pngscars-005.pnglimitation-flexion-knee-005.pngdiabetes-005.pnglimitation-motion-ankle-005.pngparalysis-005.pngdegenerative-arthitis-spine-005.pngtbi-traumatic-brain-injury-005.png

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  • How to get your questions answered...

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    All VA Claims questions should be posted on our forums. Read the forums without registering, to post you must register it’s free. Register for a free account.

    Tips on posting on the forums.

    1. Post a clear title like ‘Need help preparing PTSD claim’ or “VA med center won’t schedule my surgery” instead of ‘I have a question’.
    2. Knowledgable people who don’t have time to read all posts may skip yours if your need isn’t clear in the title. I don’t read all posts every login and will gravitate towards those I have more info on.
    3. Use paragraphs instead of one huge, rambling introduction or story. Again – You want to make it easy for others to help. If your question is buried in a monster paragraph there are fewer who will investigate to dig it out.

    Leading to:

    Post clear questions and then give background info on them.

    Examples:

    • A. I was previously denied for apnea – Should I refile a claim?
      • I was diagnosed with apnea in service and received a CPAP machine but claim was denied in 2008. Should I refile?
    • B. I may have PTSD- how can I be sure?
      • I was involved in traumatic incident on base in 1974 and have had nightmares ever since, but I did not go to mental health while enlisted. How can I get help?

    This gives members a starting point to ask clarifying questions like “Can you post the Reasons for Denial from your claim?” etc.

    Note:

    Your firsts posts on the board may be delayed before they show up, as they are reviewed, this process does not take long and the review requirement will be removed usually by the 6th post, though we reserve the right to keep anyone on moderator preview.

    This process allows us to remove spam and other junk posts before they hit the board. We want to keep the focus on VA Claims and this helps us do that.

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  1. Past hour
  2. Buck52
    I am not so sure of my self on this but I would think being rated for a TBI All head and neck injuries should be rated accordingly to the TBI? IF THATS MAKES A LICK OF SENSE?
  3. Buck52
    Cole23 here is the rating formula for PTSD FROM 0% ALL THE WAY TO 100% General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders Rating Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name. 100 Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. 70 Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. 50 Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events). 30 Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. 10 A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication. 0
  4. Today
  5. Buck52

    CUE for Eczema-like condition going to RAMP

    Buck52 replied to JustGettingStarted's question in CUE Clear and Unmistakable Error

    JustGettingStarted Have you ever considered request a DRO Heaing at your R.O. With all your evidence a DRO could make a decision on the rating and the EED. but be aware this evidence has to be new and material evidence as brocovet posted these Regs 3.156 New and material evidence. (a)General. A claimant may reopen a finally adjudicated claim by submitting new and material evidence. New evidence means existing evidence not previously submitted to agency decisionmakers. Material evidence means existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened, and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 5103A(f), 5108) The only other thing about the adjication is they usually go by the date in effect at the time of the decision...if the provisions were not in effect at the time of denial and they changed ..on a reopen claim and approved they go by the change in provision date...I believe that's right?
  6. Buck52
    Vync its hard to say what the VA will do?? ...At least you have all this on record , its just getting a Dr to give his opinion on the injury or diseased hand and the reason you have the pain? I would think if you have the injury to your hand S.C. AT 0% and have pain in it its just a matter as how they rate the pain? but it don't necessarily have to be s.c. disability... as I understand it they rate the pain by the higher # like from 1-10 > 10 being the highest rate. but who decides this the Dr or the Veteran? None if us know anything about it Even the top Rated VSO's don't know THE COURT RULING IS NOT IN PLACE YET. so this must be just an proposal on getting compensation for pain b/c they clearly state it don't need to be a s.c. disability. just pain in any part of the body to include dental, stress, anxiety and physical pain such as injuries I can't find any thing on it from the legislation committee/or congress if you or anyone finds out more on this please post it. Thanks Buddy
  7. Wayne TX
    RAMP is the only option available unless you want to wait 3-4 more years in Legacy to get a decision. 125 days sounds a lot better than 3-4 years.
  8. jdrocks
    Thank you all for the responses. I think the issue I have is on one xray the doctor said the finding could be developmental. So i think the VA looked at that as a congenital defect. I do have other Xrays and MRI that use the term disc degeneration and no mention of a developmental condition. I worry about possibly needing back surgery to correct it and having to pay out of pock that could be expensive. Again thanks for your guy's input. Jim
  9. JustGettingStarted

    CUE for Eczema-like condition going to RAMP

    JustGettingStarted replied to JustGettingStarted's question in CUE Clear and Unmistakable Error

    Broncovet - Did you read my previous post mentioned above? I have reopened this claim 7 or 8 times. The first time I claimed it, my C&P examiners left my medications, essential for 60% rating, off the exam although I listed them 4 times. I complained about the exam and the VA reopened again. This time they denied my claim saying I did not go to an exam that was never examined (and I have that in writing). Reopened again and I was scheduled for a new skin exam - when I arrived I found that someone at VA had opened a claim for increase on my left hand and that was all the examiner could look at. I was denied again. I opened it again and was denied because the VA said I used topical medication which was not systemic whereas nowhere in my records does it mention topical medication. Then I had my dermatologist do a DBQ and I was finally awarded 60% for my skin condition, but my request for a back date was not addressed. I reopened the claim again for the back date and it was denied because VA said Title 38 did not consider my medication to be systemic in 2009 but it was systemic in 2017 due to a policy change. I reopened the claim again pointing out that the skin law in Title 38 for my claim had not changed since 2002 and they could not decide CUE based on policy change; it had to be based on law. My claim was reopened again, and the VA treated it as an increase instead of a request for an earlier effective date, sending me to yet another exam. This was made even more ridiculous since I already have the maximum rating for the condition. I have cited the regulation every time I did this. I also cited two cases decided at the US court of veteran appeals that supported my claim (see my other post mentioned above.). Every time, the VA ignored my request for an earlier effective date and treated my claim as an increase, or ignored my medications, or gave me the wrong exam, or listed the wrong medication, or did not follow the law. Believe me, I have read every decision carefully, along with my VSO. We are both shaking our heads over how ignorant the examiners are, or they think I must be. My VSO said he has learned more about CUE from me than he learned in a 2-week class he had to sit through. I have read a dozen cases where veterans with the same skin condition on the same medicine have won their cases at the BVA level. That is why the policy in MR21-1 was changed in 2015 - too many VAROs were making errors in interpretation of the law, which is the foundation of CUE. I agree with Berta - the raters at the regional office cannot read. JustGettingStarted
  10. jfrei started following Ramp
  11. jfrei
    Don’t know enough about this program yet I’m told I may have this option, so I’ve been notified that on my appeal 1 denied and remanded to the AMC this was in Dec of last year. Looking at decision I noticed that they decided my neck disorder was not caused by my skull fracture but I never claimed the neck disorder just the skull fracture which hasn’t even been service connected.So I walked my happy ass to the RO the guy behind the glass called my number and looked up my claim, then calls me to walk me back behind his desk here fill this out? Statement of support of my claim he told me to write : my original claim for basilar skull fracture in 2010 was never service connected even after my NOD from 2012 and not after my appeal was granted in 2016 but used to deny service connection for my neck disability in Dec 2017. How is this possible that I have never been rated or service connected for my skull fracture but apparently used to deny a issue that I never claimed?
  12. Buck52
    broncovet you better think long and hard on this...later on if you have knee replacement the surgery is pretty hard after the 1st 2 or 3 days from what I have heard...the main concern is the pain medications and from other ongoing meds from what they can cause like blood clots ect,,ect,, a sudden blood clot can kill you instantly.
  13. broncovet

    Effective Date

    broncovet replied to Deenrichy's question in VA Disability Compensation Benefits Claims Research Forum

    Basser said it better than I would. I would just add dont trust ebenefits, wait for the envelope, then decide if you want to appeal the effective date.
  14. jbasser
    The december date may be the change reflected with the December cost of living increase. Welcome to Hadit.
  15. broncovet

    CUE for Eczema-like condition going to RAMP

    broncovet replied to JustGettingStarted's question in CUE Clear and Unmistakable Error

    There may be something here that was overlooked and not discussed. Again and again, when 38 CFR 3.156 b or 38 cfr 3.156 c can be used, I dont recommend raising the level of review to CUE, when a simple reopening keeps the benefit of the doubt in your favor. Read your decisions. Did they cite the exam which (failed to state) your meds in the decison as "evidence"? If they did NOT cite this medical exam, then you should be able to resumbit it and get it reopened for an earlier effecitive date (3.156b), if your claim is pending (in some type of appeals). You dont want to use a sledge hammer to swat flies..you use a fly swatter or rolled up newspaper. Cue is like a sledge hammer, and, while effective, look what the sledge would do to your wood, (standard of review) first. A "wild swing" at Cue will likely do more damage than it fixes. Now, a precisely driven CUE can effect a home run. You need to cite the regulations VA violated..and which decision and where..cite where there was an error. You also have to show how the error was outcome determinative, and undebatable, and incosistent with regulations at the time. The Cue sledge will work, but not when swung wildly.
  16. Deenrichy
    Hi my name is Dee, today was awarded a new percentage. As of Aug 2017 my service connected disabilities increased to 50%. I started another claim around Dec 2017 and today the percentage increased to 90%. When I logged into Ebenefits under disabilities it shows the effective date of my (70% new claim from Dec) is 8/10/2017. Now if I try to generate a letter from benefit summary tab, it shows the effective date of the last change to my current award as Dec 1, 2017. If I receive any retro which date should I be looking at? I'm very new to this and feel very lost, but is there a possibility I could file disability from SS? Thank you!
  17. Cole23
    Thank you all so much. I downloaded his mental health notes from his therapist and we do have a local psychologist that he has used before andis familiar with ptsd so I am going to see if he'd be willing to complete the dbq. I will be calling him tomorrow. In his c&p the doctor noted that my husband had passing thoughts of self harm but denies active suicidal ideation. And he quoted my husband as saying his age (40) is catching up with him. But didn't put that it was in regards to his nightmares and the way he wakes up. I just don't know how long I should wait to receive the letter or should I call them since the effective date shows 8/1/2018 maybe they're not mailing it out until June 1?
  18. broncovet
    Im pretty much in the same position. Im 100 percent P and T (no smc s), and have had arthritis "not service connected" even tho I fractured that knee in service. I have concluded its: 1. Highly unlikely I should die from arthritis or other knee conditions. And, since I have been SC more than 10 years, my cause of death wont matter to my spouse, for DIC. 2. SMC S is somewhat "moot" in relevance to knee issues because I feel I already qualify under Howell, as Im "unable to leave the home to earn a living" as I am TDIU according to VA. So, I should qualify under my existing disabilities for SMC S, and, even if I was awarded smc s by gettin an additional 60 percent for arthritis, I would wind up appealing the effective date anyway. So, I have concluded, in my case: IT wont make any difference to me. As far as a reduction because I have "actually improved under ordinary conditions of life", I see the chances of that happening are less than winning the lottery. So, for me, when I get the appeals done which are in progress now, Im done. 16 years fighting for VA benefits is long enough. I dont have much to gain by going for more. Your situation is probably different.
  19. Deenrichy started following Berta
  20. Deenrichy Deenrichy joined the community
  21. Yesterday
  22. Arthur. Stewart Arthur. Stewart joined the community
  23. Buck52
    ______________________ Craig N. Bash M.D., M.B.A. Neuro-Radiologist and Associate Professor Uniformed Services School of Medicine NPI/UPIN-1225123318 4938 Hampden Lane Bethesda, Md 20814 Cell/Text 240-506-1556 Fax 301-951-9106 drbash@doctor.com
  24. Gzaonas Gzaonas changed their profile photo
  25. Aristotle Aristotle changed their profile photo
  26. L
    www.vawatchdog.org is Dr Vallette's information. I utilized him for an IMO - worth it.
  27. Berta
    Yes, you sure might need an IMO/IME- Dr.Bash recommend a good shrink about a month ago here----maybe I can find that post. The wife contacted Dr. Bash......and replied here with what he said........anyone recall that post? Also Dr Valette's contact info should be here.
  28. Berta
    I agree- and if it is a NSC that could eventually cause or contribute to your death, it is worth your while to claim it now, in addition to the possible SMC potential.
  29. Berta

    CUE for Eczema-like condition going to RAMP

    Berta replied to JustGettingStarted's question in CUE Clear and Unmistakable Error

    When I was in Military School (AMU) I had to take a course on AmerIndian warfare- It was taught by a retired Lt Colonel and that is where I got the little motto at the bottom of my posts. The VA will use the regs against us if they can (they even tried to make up a regulation to deny my SMC CUE claim) But sometimes we sure can use their own regulations against them! The regulations are often a great weapon we have against their War of the Words! When thousands of Americans faced annihilation in the 1800s Chief Osceola's response to his people, the Seminoles, was simply "They(the US Army)have guns, but so do we." Sameo to us -They (VA) have 38 CFR ,38 USC, and M21-1- but so do we
  30. brentakar started following Berta
  31. Dakkonusmc Dakkonusmc changed their profile photo
  32. TheOracle started following AF Communications Tech
  33. TheOracle
    Hi all- I was wondering if there are any Air Force Communications Technologists that would have a photo or know where to find one of the radios in the C-130 Hercules aircraft. Need dimensions and weight for a claim connecting a neck and shoulder injury. Thanks.
  34. Vync
    I am considering filing some pain claims, but am curious what kind of developments come up. Back in 1995, I filed for pain in my hands. The C&P exam happened in 1997. The examiner did an x-ray, which came back normal. The doc was unable to identify a disability, but noted that he believed my pain was legitimate. Naturally, the claim was denied and I never reopened it. It stinks because I have required tylenol or motrin every day since I got out. I am wondering if the claim could be reopened based on the rules requiring a diagnosed disability being nuked.
  35. KC3
    Hello, in April of 2015 I had a C&P exam in which prostrating and prolonged attacks severe economic inadaptability was marked(usually 50%;). The examiner voluntarily told me that he 100% agrees with my physician. Well in the end he came up with less likely than not due to it not being in my SMR, however migraine headaches are in my SMR so he in turn lied twice. My Neurologist wrote a letter saying he's board certified, review of all service / private medical records, rationale, a more likely than not opinion and included his vitae. He discredited the C&P examiner in the process. I got the nexus letter and 6 lay statements(both military and civilian) during my 365 days to appeal. I suffer from about 15 plus headaches per month including 4-6 where I have to lay down in dark quiet room and hope I am fortunate enough not to have to use the waste basket beside the bed. I miss several days of work a month. I have been laid off due to missing time before. My VSO is encouraging me to use the RAMP since I have not done anything with my appeal in 2 years. My question is this; If I do the Ramp, Will I receive another C&P exam and if so, will my neurologist letter and the lay evidence be taken into consideration by both the higher level review and C&P examiner?
  36. Vync
    Welcome to Hadit! You'll need to show the usual three things: 1. Event/injury while on active duty OR have another SC condition for which this could be secondary 2. Current diagnosis 3. Medical opinion connecting #1 and #2 Some folks like to pursue everything they can get. Because you are 100% P&T already, getting additional percentage can help if you are looking to qualify for SMC-S. Many of us worry about the VA reducing ratings if they file new claims. Personally, I never had that problem. The only one where the VA brought be back in was for a temporary asthma rating. They "expected me to improve", so I had a follow up C&P a year later. The VARO ignored my evidence and reduced me anyway. However, I appealed and they fixed it. There are other topics here which go more in depth for this type of concern. Good luck!
  37. JustGettingStarted

    CUE for Eczema-like condition going to RAMP

    JustGettingStarted replied to JustGettingStarted's question in CUE Clear and Unmistakable Error

    Thanks! I am printing out 38 CFR 4.6 - Evaluation of evidence to have in front of me when I talk to the RAMP decision maker. That's a keeper. § 4.6 Evaluation of evidence. The element of the weight to be accorded the character of the veteran’s service is but one factor entering into the considerations of the rating boards in arriving at determinations of the evaluation of disability. Every element in any way affecting the probative value to be assigned to the evidence in each individual claim must be thoroughly and conscientiously studied by each member of the rating board in the light of the established policies of the Department of Veterans Affairs to the end that decisions will be equitable and just as contemplated by the requirements of the law.
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  • Most Common VA Disabilities Claimed for Compensation:   

    tinnitus-005.pngptsd-005.pnglumbosacral-005.pngscars-005.pnglimitation-flexion-knee-005.pngdiabetes-005.pnglimitation-motion-ankle-005.pngparalysis-005.pngdegenerative-arthitis-spine-005.pngtbi-traumatic-brain-injury-005.png


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