gizmohd

My appeal went in 2004... finally got the decision from Washington 14 Mar 2011...... My appeal sat dormant in the St. Petersburg AMC from 2005-2009 w/o any activity... I moved to South Carolina in 2009 and the AMC there took it and ran with it... within 1 year I had 5 C&P exams... moved again in 2010 to Alabama... had 3 more C&P exams... then the file was sent to DC.... fast forward to today.. I've moved back to Florida, Washington made their decision.. St. Pete says it will be 6 months before my file is even looked at due to all the Nehmer claims.... *sigh*

Congrats! Always happy to see when someone gets what they deserve.. :) !!!!

I know.. I'm just frustrated that as long as this has taken, I just want it to be over and done with. Thank goodness Florida is good riding weather year round for whenever it comes in.. LOL... ;)

Hmmm.. so here we are two months after the nice big envelope came from Washington, and I still havent heard anything from the regional office... According to the 800# it's been in rating since 2011-04-08.... *sigh* Patience is not one of my virtues.. LOL

Wrong forum... _mod_ delete please.. :)

Just wanted you all to know, I've added the ability to add bilateral calculations to my calculator at www.veteranscalculator.com Hope it helps the community

At this point I dont think so.. I am satisfied with the decision. I've had my turn in line.. It's time to make room for the other vets to get their decisions finalized.. If I get worse or things change, I will re-address it then.

No worries.. :) We all want the best for our brothers and sisters from our various branches of service.... Thats for sure!

wow that didn't format well... DDD Lumbar 40% Shoulder 20% Knee 10% Cervical 10% (if given) Total: 65.008 rounded up to 70%

Ahh yes.. you are correct.. but the math works out when you add everything up.. :) and 65.008 rounds up to 70%.. :) % Multiplier Remaining Total Disability Degenerative Disc Disease (Lumbar) 40 60 100 40 Shoulder Strain 20 48 12 52 Lower Left Radiculopathy 10 43.2 4.8 56.8 Cervical Sprain 10 38.88 4.32 61.12 Knee Strain 10 34.992 3.888 65.008 Partial Amputation (Finger) 0 34.992 0.000 65.008

Congratulations! Never Give Up!

So I filed for benefits in 2003 and was asking for service connection and rating for the following: Left KneeNeckShoulderLower BackAnd a few other menial things that were suggested I add, but I really had no gumption that they would be approved, nor did I care if they were or not. Well, with the exception of the Knee (SC10%) everything was denied. So began the appeals process. I fought and went back and forth with the VA over a number of items, eventually they granted 10% on the lower back and 20% on the shoulder. But the appeal still stood because, despite the amount of supporting evidence, the VA seemed to summarily ignore it all. In 2004 the VA sent me to get an MRI on both the next and Lower back and my VA Dr recommended immediate surgery to fuse the discs at C4-C5 and L4-L5. Knowing from family members what that would do to me, I opted to wait until a better solution/technology presented itself. From 2005-2008 my appeal seemed to just stagnate at the Regional Office level. Until I moved and my files were transferred out of Florida and into the South Carolina system. I guess my records became under review and I was sent in for a couple follow up C&P exams... They re-rated my back at 20% but because 'the decision was final' on the neck, they wouldn't address it but made comments that it was an issue and getting worse. Again, I moved, this time to Alabama in 2009. shortly after my move, I had a bout where a nerve in my neck became so inflamed and pinched that my entire upper body went into a massive and painful spasm. the CAVMC gave me a few shots to 'calm things down a bit'. I underwent a number of EMG exams on my legs and shoulders, both of with showed signifigant neuropathy. But they VA refused to address the neck. So, using my private insurance, I went to the same neurosurgeon that conducted my EMG exams for the VA and requested a full MRI and CT scan of my cervical and lumbar spine. His quote exactly was 'I just don't see how you are still walking' at this point. I laughed and said, 'Very slowly' His diagnosis was that this issue was not new (obviously) and that most definitely was aggravated by a traumatic event in my past. So I took a copy of the exams on DVD and hard copy and made copies for myself and walked them into the Regional Office and made them a part of my VA Record as 'New and pertinent Evidence' showing that my injuries I had been complaining about since 2003 were not just in my head, and that the new MRI backed up the previous MRI. So, enough of the back story. On 14 Mar 2011, I recieved a package from the Board of Veterans Appeals. The issues remaining on appeal were for the service connection of the cervical spine, increased rating for the lower back retroactive to XX date. Here is what was decided: Service Connection for cervical spine disorder - Granted for entire appellate period.Initial rating >10% Lumbar spine prior to June 2008 - DeniedRating > 20% After Jun 2008 and < 1/2010 DeniedIncreased rating on Lumbar spine after 1/2010 to 40% -Granted**New Rating** Lower Left Neuropathy 10% for entire appellate period - GrantedSo, my current rating will be 60% Service Connected, IF they grant my Cervical Spine rating at ANYTHING > 0% (10% or Higher) I will be at 70%. So it only took me 8 years to get from there to here.. Seven of which were on appeal.. I guess the moral to the story here is, don't let them discourage you, don't get frustrated, stay always vigilant, and you will get what you ask for if you are deserving of such. Darren

Congratulations.. :)