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NOD - Not Always a Good Idea- Maybe a bit Risky?

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rootbeer22

Question

Vets:

 

Recently, I read where someone filed an NOD and their TBI was reduced from 10% to 0% but they got an increase in their PTSD? So, I'm wondering if this happens a lot where a Vet's claims contentions are actually reduced after their NOD/DRO reviews?  I worked very hard to get to 90% that I'm at now. I'm trying to get pushed over to 100% but am concerned about it actually being cut? However, maybe that was just a rare occasion....and I should not be concerned?

Does anyone know if this happens very often where a reduction occurs or not?

Godspeed Rootbeer22

 

 

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9 minutes ago, MarineSSgt said:

Need some help on the NOD DRO review timeline....

My NOD DRO review has been sitting at the Roanoke VARO since Feb 2015 with no movement. Every time I call Peggy all she says that "its awaiting review from the DRO, if they need more information they will notify me, if not then they will make a decision, blah, blah, blah, blah," Oh, the average processing of a DRO at Roanoke is 246 days, blah, blah, blah!!! Does anybody know what the timeline is for DRO review process at Roanoke? I keep finding myself to check ebennies everyday for some kind of sign but I end up disappointed!!!

Next time start your own topic so you get more feedback...Just an FYI

I filed my NOD requesting a DRO review hearing back in November 2014 with the Roanoke RO.  Around January 2016 I had heard nothing...crickets.....no movement whatsoever.  I put an IRIS inquiry in and I emailed the Office of the Under Secretary for Benefits.  I got a call within days and then I had a call from the VA indicating my NOD "missed a step" and was never processed for "pending".  So at the time, Jan. 2016 I was in Texas.  I received a call my DRO hearing would be held in Waco TX and sure enough I got my hearing in February 2016 with the Waco TX DRO.  Now I sit waiting for 6-12 months for the decision because Waco too is backlogged.  Since it's been over a year with no movement it can't hurt to do an IRIS inquiry - https://iris.custhelp.com/app/ask or email the Office of the Under Secretary for Benefits - VAVBAWAS/CO/Office of the USB VBA <OfficeoftheUnderSecretaryforBenefits@va.gov>

Good luck!

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Let's look at TBI and PTSD/MDD in a conjectural light. First, everyone overlooked the obvious. TBI and PTSD are rated in the same Diagnostic Code area. It often is necessary to reduce a rating in one area in order to grant a higher rating in another disease injury. That analogy is never more evident than in Hepatitis C. VA often tries to grant cirrhosis (DC7312) and Hep C (DC 7354). The two DCs trip over each other in pyramiding such that you end up with a 40% in one and a 20% in the other when you should be given a 60 or 100% for just the Hepatitis. Remember, the VA is obligated to give you the highest and best rating possible and it is presumed you are seeking as much.

If you were getting 10% for TBI, which is peanuts, and 50% for PTSD, it stands to reason that a reduction of the TBI that resulted in a net increase in the PTSD to 70% would be more advantageous. You can file for TDIU  or at least be in the running for it with far more solid footing. 38 CFR 3.344 is the defining reg on this. If the disease /injury is static, and there has been no remarkable, sustained improvement as evidenced by VAMC STRs over five years, your rating is substantially protected against reduction. Period. If tampering with ratings to get a higher single rating such as Rootbeer described above nets you a higher rating for a single disease, why would you view it as a setback?

Far too often, folks from VSOs have forecast bad things for those who get 'greedy'. I saw it a lot over at the Pink Peggy Site as well. It just isn't so. If it were true, how did I get to 290%? How did I get a greenhouse? Why am I not down in the bottom on ratings? I've browbeaten them for over 27 years since 1989. Using this logic, it seems someone would eventually say "hey. This Graham guy is a nimrod. Let's fix his wagon and teach him a lesson. Your medical condition will set the bar for your rating. Period. After five years, you can go up but you cannot go down unless you have complete remission of disease/symptoms and it's proven unequivocally via two C&P exams. 

And yes. Of course VA has an alarm clock to check up on you if your ratings are still dynamic. Face it. Some things get better via surgery or exercise. Admittedly, we get older and the body wears out. However, once you get rated for say, a bad back, everything that goes south over time is covered. I'm in remission for Hep C now but VA isn't going to come back and scalp my HCV rating. I've passed the five year test. Hell, I've passed the 20 year one so it's protected. 

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I file a NOD for a EED for 100% SC for PTSD P&T No Future Exams . VA used the same information that I was twice denied since 1989 to grant me 100% . I filed a NOD for EED. 

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