usnhmret

It says "We assigned a permanent 100% disability evaluation for your service connected disability/disabilities effective December 21, 2010." Does that mean it's a P&T rating? Does that mean I won't have any more exams? That would be great, but for some reason with all the uncertainty going on in DC, I fear that would be one of the tools to reduce paying veterans.

I haven't said too much on here, but I have read a lot and gained a lot of knowledge, so I figure I should share my experience just in case it could help someone else. I finally received my big envelope today. I knew to expect it because of the info I found on here. I found out about eBenefits here and had signed up about a month ago and was monitoring my status there pretty much everyday lately. I retired 6 years ago and first filed my claim in Buffalo, NY. I had a lot of help through the Amvet office. I eventually received a 90%(94%) rating about 9 months from my initial claim. There were some things that were denied that had pages of documentation, but for whatever reason were denied. My rep and I agreed at the time that 90% was good. I'd always heard that 10 years after retiring your body will go to crap, well my didn't wait that long. I was putting in for an increase this past November/December. With my wife's work, she had a conversation with an older gentleman associated with NY State Division of Veteran's Affairs. He told her that they had a good track record and had helped him with his increase. So I decided to give them a shot. The guy who I spoke with has since moved but I'm sure they all would be helpful. Like I said, I've been using eBenefits now for a month. That site really helps the compulsive people like me. Until that point I really felt like my claim was never going to get anywhere, but really, we are waiting on the government. When I stopped by the NY State Veteran's Affairs office, the secretary told me the average turnaround was 6-12 months. She also said something about Vietnam vet claims were moved to the front, so things could be delayed. eBenefits was a new lifeline. At least there was an actual status to see. When I first logged on to the site I was already in the "2-Decision" phase, so I'm not sure how long it was there, but I can't tell you how great it was to see it switched to the "3-Notification" phase. That was for only 1 day though. Here is something else I picked up from this forum, use the letter generator on eBenefits to find the results. But let me add this, don't take the results too soon. I did the first night that I was in notification status and I was still 90%. The next day I logged on and my status was switched to closed! I was really confused since I hadn't received anything yet, so I tried the letter generator again and there it was, 100%! I know this sounds paranoid, but even still I wasn't convinced. When I went the next day to the VA Dental clinic to get my status updated I was half waiting them to tell me that it was an error. Well, 3 days later my envelope arrived. One more thing, I want to give a plug for the Buffalo VAMC. I was a corpsman for 20 years and I can tell you, I get better care at this VA than I did at ANY military hospital I ever worked at or was treated. I know not all VA medical centers are the same and get a bad rap, but this one, in my case in particular has been spectacular. Thanks for all the info and support. I know most vets out there have real reasons to be pissed at the system we deal with, I can only hope they get treated the way they deserve. Good luck and God Bless.

When I retired 5 years ago the VA rated me at 30% for depression. This past December I had a reevaluation. Yesterday I went by the release of information office to get some lab results and I ended up getting the notes from my C&P exam. In there it was noted that my condition was more severe and that my Axis V GAF equals 50. I agree that my condition has worsened, but when I look up GAF score up the wikipedia scale of 50 mentions a score of 50 as (e.g., suicidal ideation, severe obsessional rituals, frequent shoplifting). Now I can't recall anything from our conversation that would indicate I was suicidal or anything close. My main concern is while I would welcome the increase in rating (rated 90%, actually 94%) I fear that could one day threaten me from being allowed to get a hunting license. Anyone with any more info on this stuff?

I was talking to a buddy of mine who got out of the service several years ago. He was rated like 50 or 60% but then found to be 100% unemployable. He gets SS disability too. His VA amount sounds really low though. He gets around $2200/mo for him and his two sons. Is there a different chart for the vets who get rated unemployable? I told him to contact the VA, I hope I didn't send him on a wild goose chase. I only ask this because I know he needs the money, both of his kids have special needs.

Just get your Voc Rehab rep to fax the eligibility form to the dental department.

The claim for TDIU was done automatically by the VA. They denied TDIU, luckily, a while back. I'm not really wanting to close the door on working. I'd like the chance of voc rehabbing and starting a new career at some point. Maybe I'm being greedy by wanting to get rated 100% and still work, but I don't do well with situations where I'm told I CAN'T do something. I'd like to have the control in my life that would allow me to figure out what I'm capable of doing in terms of eking out a living. My main concern now is with this re-evaluation ordered by the VA. I can guess had the Doc said that I was better today than when I was first rated my rating would be reduced pretty quickly, but is the opposite true? Does the VA increase my rating without any effort on my part?

I am 90% SC which was rated about two years now. A month and a half ago I was informed that I was to have an appointment with the mental health department. It was a different date than my usual appointment and with a psychologist and not my usual psychiatrist. It ended up being a C&P exam. At the end of the appointment the Doc said that he determined that I was worse off than I was previously rated. That wasn't a surprise to me since my appointments that I have every six months usually last only 5 minutes and consist of the doc either rewriting my script or trying to add some med based on little or no input from me. (the med was commonly used for patients with schizophrenia, I don't have, but once mentioned that my youngest brother suffers from) I went home and read about the med and decided that I didn't want to sit around the house drooling. On my next visit told the doc this and he removed it from my meds. I realize that the shrinks are probably overwhelmed with returning vets, but for me the care in this department has been sub-par to the rest of the care I get from the VA. the good thing to come out of the re-eval was the doc gave me several ideas on how to pursue my recovery in mental health. I have an appointment this week and will be a little more pro-active. Sorry it took so long for my question. With the C&P doc saying that I am worse off, do I have to file for an increased rating? The reason I ask is by the charts I'm at 92% and an increase would put me at 100%. The dental care alone would be worth putting in any paperwork I need to. Or should I bother my VSO rep who did my initial claim? Thanks guys. BTW, does anyone have any recommendations for a VSO in the Seattle area? A friend just retired and is letting the VA do his claim for him. I tried looking up the AMVet rep in that area but I can't find one.

I am 90% SC which was rated about two years now. A month and a half ago I was informed that I was to have an appointment with the mental health department. It was a different date than my usual appointment and with a psychologist and not my usual psychiatrist. It ended up being a C&P exam. At the end of the appointment the Doc said that he determined that I was worse off than I was previously rated. That wasn't a surprise to me since my appointments that I have every six months usually last only 5 minutes and consist of the doc either rewriting my script or trying to add some med based on little or no input from me. (the med was commonly used for patients with schizophrenia, I don't have, but once mentioned that my youngest brother suffers from) I went home and read about the med and decided that I didn't want to sit around the house drooling. On my next visit told the doc this and he removed it from my meds. I realize that the shrinks are probably overwhelmed with returning vets, but for me the care in this department has been sub-par to the rest of the care I get from the VA. the good thing to come out of the re-eval was the doc gave me several ideas on how to pursue my recovery in mental health. I have an appointment this week and will be a little more pro-active. Sorry it took so long for my question. With the C&P doc saying that I am worse off, do I have to file for an increased rating? The reason I ask is by the charts I'm at 92% and an increase would put me at 100%. The dental care alone would be worth putting in any paperwork I need to. Or should I bother my VSO rep who did my initial claim? Thanks guys. BTW, does anyone have any recommendations for a VSO in the Seattle area? A friend just retired and is letting the VA do his claim for him. I tried looking up the AMVet rep in that area but I can't find one.

John, Thanks too for a quick response. Your response worries me though. If this isn't the norm, then I feel that I should be concerned. A point of clarification, I did file a claim, that's how I got the 90% rating. So do most people file another claim for IU even though they meet the ratings criteria? Once again, I may be worked up over nothing, but this was only the second bump in the road. I've tried to get a good understanding of this VA claim stuff, and for the most part I've gotten it right. The first bump was the whole back or retro pay thing. I'm still trying to get my brain wrapped around that issue. I've had it explained to me by a few persons in the "know", but I'm still not getting it. Thanks again

Berta, Thanks for your quick response. Are you in the Buffalo area? If so, this week's weather is making it a lot easier on living here . My wife and daughter had a difficult time with our moving here from New England. This weather makes it a little easier for them to acclimate. I'm not exactly sure why they sent most of my claim to Philly. My rep said that the Buffalo VA may have had too many claims and at times they send new claims to VAs that are "under worked." I'm hoping that I've found a way to earn an income where a majority of the time I'm working out of my home. I've picked the law field because I have some experience with it and can envision conducting a practice here in my home office. So if I were to keep my 90% rating and then be found unemployable, I'm guessing that Voc Rehab would end. As far as being unemployable, I believe that I am and would be in a majority of occupations. I just want the chance to get trained and feel like I'm still contributing to my family. My wife is great about the fact that she is earning the lion's share of our income, it's just more of an ego thing for me. If for some reason it doesn't work out and I have to face the facts, I'll deal with that then. I have no idea what they meant by "We are working on an inferred service-connected compensation claim for IU." My question is do I fill the paperwork out? I read where I have a year to respond, but the VA can decide in 60 days if they have enough evidence. I'm trying to get a hold of my rep to clarify, but was hoping that someone here could shed some light on this IU status. I've read through a lot of the posts here and it seems that a majority who receive the IU rating were seeking it. Its odd how when someone wants something they have a difficult time getting it, and the opposite for someone like me, who doesn't. Maybe I'm concerned over nothing and this will all pass. Until this point everything has happened as expected. I filed my claim early December 05 and just got my rating within the last 2 weeks. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it is working, I just want to be as informed as I can. It only took 4 months to start receiving my stipend for Voc Rehab and I'm told that my next retirement check with start this next first of the month.

I just received a request for a reply from the VA. It is concerning an "inferred service connected compensation claim." I didn't request this so I'm not sure what it really means. My initial combined rating is 90%, but there are a few disabilities(big ones) that were denied due to "lack of evidence" that I ever had these problems in the service. I have a copy of my medical record and I plan on submitting copies of what I clearly see as chronic documented evidence. I'm not sure how it was missed, but then part of my rating was farmed out to Philadelphia instead of all being done here in Buffalo. But anyways, if I were to get 100% without IU, what advantage would there be with IU? I'm not ready to call it quits yet and give up trying to find work after I'm done with school. I'm in the Voc Rehab program taking classes through Kaplan University online. If I pursue IU, I'm guessing that would end right? Thanks for any info.

Added rating codes and disability descriptions. Fixed final rating computation. Unhid rating codes and escriptions. VA_Math.xls

Fixed an error in the combined rating worksheet. Added Table Rate into computation. CRDP.xls

I hope this can help someone. I had to put together a spreadsheet for school, so I made this.