Philip Rogers

JHawks - to me, if someone is adding the contention of Chap 35 then the rating must be 100% or TDIU and they are considering adding P&T. jmo pr

rakk - I understand that. The VA was trying to skirt around it but the court is saying "no can do." This gives me more ammo. Thanks! pr

I found this quite interesting! The court recently remanded my claim, for SMC, requesting an opinion from the C&P doctor as to whether my PTSD kept me from leaving the home, to go to work. My latest C&P doctor stated she could not answer that question as it would be mere speculation. From this I can see that the VA has instructed the C&P doctors to respond to that type of question, in that manner. Just another way to keep the claimant running in the hampster wheel!!! pr

CUE = clear and unmistakable error. EED = earlier effective date. pr

Just be honest!!! Tell the examiner how it's affecting/effecting your daily life and relationships. Don't hold back!! You'll probably cry but then I haven't met anyone w/PTSD who doesn't. Eye contact is important. The more eye contact you have the less sick you are. It's important to admit suicidal and/or homocidal thoughts/ideation. They won't drag you away and it does have bearing on how they'll rate you. The less problems you have the lower your rating. Good luck! jmo pr

I'd need to see the C&P exam report before I could respond. Would you please block out any personal identity info(name, SSN, claim number, etc.) and scan/post it, here. Anything I could say, about it, w/o seeing the exam report, first, would just be a wilda*s guess. Thanks! pr

hawkfire27, Chapter 35 can't be an inferred issue until the claimant "is" rated 100% or TDIU. So, to me, the rating will be either 100% or TDIU. jmo pr

I'm going to go out on a limb on this. One must be either 100% or TDIU to be considered for Chap 35, as it is a benefit of being P&T. In order to be P&T, and considered/inferred for Chap 35, you must be 100% or TDIU. I personnally feel there's a good chance the rating will be, at minimum, 100% or TDIU, and may or may not include P&T. That's just my guess! pr

It'll depend on your claim date. Married w/5 children pays $3232 monthly. Two months would be $6,464. pr

ren - you need to apply for everything "in writing." Nothing they "tell" you needs to be true. They cannot be held responsible for anything they say. I know they do provide hot tubs/spas and most likely exercise equipment, if you can get your doctor to write a prescription, for it. pr

Berta, I'd be willing to bet, without a doubt, that Max Clellan received 100% plus SMC, ever since VN. No one could ever dispute he deserved it. jmo pr

Berta - if it were me I'd pursue a CUE claim. If it's in his SMC's he should be able to win. Or were you thinking do the new and material reopen and once he wins that going after a CUE for an EED?? jmo pr

WAC-Vet75, I think you've got it nailed!!! Now, we'll have to see how the VA handles it. I wouldn't be surprised if the VA hasn't been misleading claimants by, denying claims, using the combined ratings chart for SMC, much like they mislead claimants for TDIU, by explaining 4.16(a) but not mentioning 4.16(b). It's sad that they do this. Thank you for all your work!!! pr

I agree w/Berta. He should get paid for the loss. Just because they patched it doesn't mean he doesn't have a loss. I mean if you've lost a leg and they give you a prosthesis, it doesn't mean you haven't lost the leg. jmo pr

Pete - I agree w/the others. "It's your money and you neeed it now!" ;-) jmo pr

slangpdx - sounds like the check is right, using Feb 8, 2010. If they awarded 2/8/10 as claim/award date, they begin payment starting the 1st of the next full month, meaning 3/1/10, and since they actually pay in arrears the actual first paycheck would be 4/1/10. Congrats on the win!!! pr

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Unbelievable, they're watching the size of your aneurysm??????? I'd check on that!!!! I spent about 10yrs, '75-'85, as an EMT, and to my knowledge, when an aortic aneurysm blows you have seconds to minutes, to survive. The bleedout could be so fast that you couldn't dial 911, depending on the size of the blowout. If it were me I'd do some research. I was resently told, by my CBOC doc, the VA is recommending scans for Nam Vets, over age 50yrs. Interesting!!! Maybe AO related??? jmo pr

WAC-Vet75 - I'm really busy Monday & Tuesday but I'm going to try to talk to someone, at the NVLSP, and see if I can get a clarification. Everything points to standard math addition, once the claimant has reached the 100% rating. Using the combined ratings chart penalizes the veteran/claimant twice and I don't believe that was Congress' intent. The purpose of SMC is to help the vet who is already 100% disabled and since a person can't be more than 100% disabled, Congress/the VA uses SMC to fill in the void. pr

Thanks, Carla, for the clarification!! pr

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Veldrina - WAC-Vet75 correctly explained my question. The claimant has a single 100% rating and was denied SMC(s) for HB/A&A. They now have 100%+20%+10%+10%+10%+10%, which I feel should qualify them for an SMC(s) award and am just trying to confirm I'm correct. It concerns me that the VA now has an SMC calculator. Could you perhaps run that total on the calculator and see what it brings?? All our research shows that once a claimant is 100% the additional disabilities are combined using standard math addition, not using the combined ratings chart. You might want to try 100%+30%+20%+10% also. If the calculator totals 50% for SMC then there could be a programming error. Again, thank you for your assistance!!!! pr

Hi Veldrina - I'm looking for how the VA decides SMC(s) claims/awards. As near as I can tell the VA is not supposed to use the combined ratings chart when totaling the additional 60% for a SMC(s) claim. Can you tell me how they handle these claims, specifically regarding the 100%+60% claims?? If so, can you link me to any official documents(M-21, fast letters, OGC decisions, etc.) telling the RO's how to handle the claims?? Thanks!!! pr Oooops - wrong forum title- any moderator, please move to SMC Forum. Thanks!

dittybopper - I would say send it in. Sure sounds like it will help. I can't think of any reason not to submit it, can you?? I'd apply for TDIU at the same time. Remember, VA considers how your disability effects your usual employment, not your general ability to do "any or some" kind of work, like SSDI. jmo pr

eman - CAPS stands for Clinician Administered Ptsd Scale and here's a link: http://www.istss.org/ClinicianAdministeredPTSDScaleCAPS.htm Wait for your decision before flying off the handle. At minimum you should get service-connection(SC), which is a big deal. SC is hard to get 35-40 yrs later, so be happy. If you are steadily employed, with minimal problems, same employer, etc., they will give you a low award. Your award is based on how the PTSD effects your daily life today and tomorrow, not how bad your stressor was 40 yrs ago. Hang in there. You'll win what you deserve but it may take some time. jmo pr