free_spirit_etc

I would say this is very good advice. In my Social Security case - I began to realize that someone in SSA was not helping our claims. They were not just "losing" papers - they were not filing them. When I requested our Hearings, I took them to another local office and had them date stamp copies. As I suspected, our Hearing requests were not filed. Though I sent a significant amount of evidence by certified mail and kept indicating that it was for our HEARINGS, they eventually sent my son a letter dismissing his appeal - telling him that he had been told to ask for a Hearing, and that he had merely asked for another Reconsideration. So they dismissed the appeal. Luckily, I had date stamped copies of the actual Request of Hearings that we had submitted. I sent those directly to the Hearing office, and asked to have them accepted as of the day of the date stamp. We were scheduled for our hearings. As someone was apparently trying to get our claims dismissed - those date-stamped copies saved our claims. As far as the VA - I have sent in requests to receive date-stamped copies of what we submit - and they said they can't do that. I send my info by certified mail. Will they only date-stamp if you deliver them in person?

And if it is a review - they probably would not need your entire C-file. They would most likely be looking for records of treatment that has occurred since you were awarded benefits. So you might want to clarify exactly what files they need before sending your entire C-file. Or better yet - ask your attorney to clarify it. In my son's case - they sent him a bunch of papers to fill out about his current level of functioning, and sent him to an exam. Once he went to the exam, he was approved for continuing benefits - before we even sent the other paperwork in.

Congrats!!! ..... I need some of those patience pills.

http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-1594.htm § 404.1594. How we will determine whether your disability continues or ends. (a) General. There is a statutory requirement that, if you are entitled to disability benefits, your continued entitlement to such benefits must be reviewed periodically. If you are entitled to disability benefits as a disabled worker or as a person disabled since childhood, or, for monthly benefits payable for months after December 1990, as a disabled widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse, there are a number of factors we consider in deciding whether your disability continues. We must determine if there has been any medical improvement in your impairment(s) and, if so, whether this medical improvement is related to your ability to work. If your impairment(s) has not medically improved we must consider whether one or more of the exceptions to medical improvement applies. If medical improvement related to your ability to work has not occurred and no exception applies, your benefits will continue. Even where medical improvement related to your ability to work has occurred or an exception applies, in most cases (see paragraph (e) of this section for exceptions), we must also show that you are currently able to engage in substantial gainful activity before we can find that you are no longer disabled.

Mooshi, Is this for a re-evaluation? If you have already been granted disability, I think they need to show your condition has improved in order to take away your benefits. I don't think that happens very often. You don't have to prove you are disabled all over again. You have already done that. Do you still have an attorney? A call to him would most likely help put your mind at ease a bit.

Make sure we keep copies of everything!

I have been out of the loop for awhile, so I am rusty on the NOD / Appeal process. I welcome any feedback concerning my proposed appeal. This would be an attachment to a Form V9. Thanks in advance! In Reference to: xxxxx January 5, 2012 I am appealing the decision dated November 21, 2011 indicating the payment of $300 toward my husband’s burial plot represents a total grant of benefits sought on appeal. I take exception to and preserve for appeal ALL errors the VARO may have made or the Board hereafter might make in deciding this appeal. This includes all legal errors, all factual errors, failure to follow M21-1, all due process errors and any failures to discharge the duty to assist as violation of basic VA laws and regulations within 38 USCS and 38 CFR. Some of the specific errors of facts / law on the most recent decision which I disagree include, but are not limited to: The decision indicates the $300 payment toward my husband’s burial plot represents a total grant of benefits sought on appeal. I disagree that this decision represents a total grant of benefits sought on appeal, as the decision did not address: My claim for Dependency & Indemnity Compensation (DIC) (appealed September 8, 2010) My claim for Accrued Benefits based on my husband’s claim for service connection for his lung cancer, as well as any other benefits that were reasonably raised by the record at the time of his death, including increased rating for his other service connected conditions. (appealed September 8, 2010) My claim / my son’s claim for Helpless Child Benefits. (BVA Form 9 submitted November 29, 2011) The decision also indicates that the reimbursement is for the burial of a veteran whose death is not service connected. As whether my husband died from a service connected condition has not been finally decided, I request to preserve the right to receive the service-related death burial benefit for my husband. Respectfully submitted,

Thanks Medic! I will!

AAFES will price match competitors. If it is under $10 they are supposed to take the patron's word for the competitor's price. If it is over $10 they are supposed to see the ad, or contact the competitor to confirm the price.

I am not as versed in the VA as John but I agree with the advice to appeal within the time-frame. I find the VA to be particularly frustrating because even if you claim everything at the same time, they split it off into different decisions, and send letters about one issue, but indicate the decision is for everything. To help assure that I keep all my claims alive (DIC, Helpless child, Accrued Benefits, Burial) I send an NOD / appeal to any decision that does not grant me full benefits of everything I have applied for - which thus far, has been every decision. In my appeals I reiterate all parts of my claim. I am sure there are people who know far more than I do who will also offer advice. So please pay heed to them. I was just adding my two cents.

I am thinking the veteran is supposed to get the heightened benefit of the doubt if the VA can't locate all their records. When you request records you might want to also ask for the doctor's notes. When my husband got his records from the base, he got the hospital records - but they were very brief. (These were post discharge medical records). He asked how an entire hospitalization and surgery could be reduced to about 5 lines. He was told the other information would be in the doctor's notes and that he had only requested his "medical records," not the doctor's notes. He requested the doctor's notes and received a copy. It may be different for service medical records - but I just thought I would bring it up because I was surprised that even if you ask for medical records, that doesn't mean they always give you all of them.

kubrickbrawlik, I am so sorry you are in this situation If your state Senator's office wants to help, you might want to take them up on that offer. Perhaps they can connect you with some resources that can keep you afloat right now. I understand the sentiment of getting them involved in a VA claim having the tendency of slowing down the claim. But I am not sure if that applies for requests to expedite a claim. And again, they might be able to connect you with some other resources to keep you going. I wish you the best of luck!

Something interesting I read in a blog written by an ALJ HERE

Thanks! That is so sweet! I have popped in from time to time - but have been working WAY too much for the past couple of years. Seeing as the VA has not been speedy in caring for the "widows and orphans" and SSA has been a particularly difficult - I have found the "safety net" to be not particularly trustworthy. It's there - you just have to survive long enough without it, before you get it, that it loses a bit of its purported function. It is good to see you again!

Congrats!!!! What wonderful news!!!

I agree with you about them not changing the status. But at this point, he has not been approved yet - so he is a bit more vulnerable in regard to his status.

I agree. You certainly have the right to apply for benefits before a decision is made in regard to whether or not you are entitled to them. Sometimes they try to short cut it and tell you that you can't apply because you are not entitled. The decision as to whether you are entitled should come after you apply for benefits; not before. In my husband's case, he was told he could not apply because he was no longer insured. His last date insured was December 2005 and he was applying in (I think it was) May 2006. But the question was not whether he was insured the day he applied. The question was whether his disability started while he was still insured. We talked them into letting him apply to see if he could be considered disabled back in December 2005 (when he stopped working) or August 2005 (when his his income dropped below substantial gainful). They processed his claim and he was approved 3 weeks later. (That was kind of fast, but they processed it as a "TERI" claim due to his terminal illness.) I am certainly glad we didn't just listen to them and not even try to apply because they told us it was too late to apply. In my case, I had to fight to apply. I was trying to apply for Mother's benefits after my husband's death. They kept telling me I could not apply because I was not eligible. They tried to tell me that an adult child has to be physically disabled to be considered to be "in your care," and that Mother's benefits are not applicable if the adult child has a mental disability, rather than a physical one. This is not in compliance with the law. Mothers who have mentally disabled adult children in their care are very much entitled to Mother's Benefits. But I couldn't seem to convince them of that. (And yes, they tried to say I didn't try to apply for Mother's Benefits). When I received my Lump Sum Death Benefit award letter - which stated I was not entitled to any other benefit - I appealed that - and stated I wanted to be provided with the opportunity to apply for Mother's Benefits before a decision was made as to whether or not I was entitled to them. They allowed me to apply, and I was eventually awarded benefits. It took a long time because they seemed to be dead set on not granting me the benefits, despite the fact I was eligible for them. (Thank God for the ALJ and the Appeals Council!!!!) Once again, I am glad I didn't just listen to them and not even try to apply. So my point is - You should apply for any and all benefits to which you think you might be entitled. The decision as to whether or not you are entitled should not be made until you have actually filled out an application, had your claim developed, and been afforded full protection of the law - including the right to appeal adverse decisions made on your claim.

Thanks Pete and PR! I am sure glad I posted in here before I wrote my appeal. I had not thought of that. I always knew they would just give me the non-service connected amount until I got the service connection granted. (I did not think it would take 5 years though...) I got the $300 funeral allowance several years ago - but the VA wasn't convinced that I actually incurred any expense in burying my husband - they seemed to keep losing those receipts. But I had just thought I would have to re-open the burial claim once the SC was approved. It hadn't occurred to me that I needed to appeal the $300 payment in order to preserve my right to get the additional SC burial amount at a later date. Thanks so much! And yes - it is good to see you again. Thanks Notorious! And yes- I will.

Name is Dr. Barson. Here is the info I had on him at the time he posted: Links aren't active anymore - as they were from 2008. http://www.vahealthp...rch_results.asp LICENSE # 0102201485 Issue Date: 8/6/2003 Expiration Date: 7/31/2008 Status: Current Active http://app.hpla.doh....i..._id=129818 DC license Licensee Details Data current as of: January 29, 2008 Name\Phone Business Address DENNIS B. BARSON 100 J-50 7574451549 UN NAVY-NAVAL MEDICAL CENTER NORFOLK VA 23511 Number: Profession: Type: Obtained By Method: DO034220 MEDICINE OSTEOPATHY AND SURGERY Waiver of Examination From State/Prov: Issue Date: Expiration Date: Status: 11/1/2006 12/31/2008

I was thinking his area of specialty was Occupational Medicine. And it seems like he had worked for the VA. When he came on hadit, he offered to do a brief review (to see if he could write an opinion) for $25 - and would charge several hundred to write an opinion. You had to pay through paypal. I paid him for the brief review but he said he couldn't write an opinion for me.

It has been a long time. The VA finally agreed that I did, indeed, bury my husband - and sent me a check for $300 (almost 5 years after my husband's death). They also included in the letter that settled ALL claims I had with the VA. (Sneaky little varmints...) Need to appeal to keep the DIC and Accrued Benefits claim open... "To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan"

I vote for this answer. You will probably want to discuss accommodations you will have to have to be able to go to school. Most colleges have programs for students with disabilities. Use them. Do you need additional time to take tests due to your anxiety? See if you can get accommodations to take your tests in the testing center. Do you need help with taking notes due to chronic pain? Ask for a note-taker. Do you need a tutor sometimes? Is it related to your disabilities? (Anxiety, Pain, Taking meds, or other reasons...) Keep a record of the accommodations the student disabilities service provides for you. Meet with your instructor and discuss your program with them. Most instructors should be accommodating and supportive (if for no other reason than the Americans with Disabilities Act). And then EMAIL the instructor briefly reiterating everything - thank them for their understanding - reinforce that though you may have some difficulties due to X, y, and Z - and may need some consideration - you take the class seriously. (i.e. "Please be assured I want to do well in your class, and I will not miss, leave early, or ___ (whatever it is) unless my pain is intolerable.") If you miss class - or have to leave early or arrive late because of your disability - EMAIL the instructor - let them know - and let them know why. The instructor will generally give you a bit more slack - AND you will have a paper trail. If you have any trouble with the class - or any of the work - once again, email the instructor. SAVE THE EMAILS!!!! Save any and all papers you get showing various accommodations you may need or be getting. And talk to your attorney; talk to your attorney; talk to your attorney!

The standards for what is considering your ability to adjust to other work changes with age. The categories are Younger Person (under 50), Person closely approaching advanced age (50 - 54), and Person of Advanced Age (55 and older). HERE

It is good that you got an attorney. They know how to handle this stuff - and increase your chances of winning. The ALJ will be able to take a lot of things into consideration that the Initial Decision and Re-determination did not. They follow POMS. The ALJ has a lot more leeway in applying the law. Something interesting I read in a blog written by an ALJ is HEREHe says of the cases he has seen about 10% should obviously be paid, about 25% should obviously be denied, and

Bonzai, Hang in there! Hang in there! Hang in there!