kkarlson

Hi Bluevet, I am actually good to go. I received my rating last Friday (after a two year and two week wait) but they propsed incompetence. However, I checked the bank account this morning and for whatever reason, the retro was released! I have 4 letters to support my competence, so I will send these off to the VA and hopefully it won't interrupt monthly payments. My entire claim went very well and I am satisfied with the outcome. I have read so many horror stories so I feel fortunate that I had a very fair C&P exam. I thought I was rated Total and Permenent, but it says that there will be a future examination made... this isn't a condition that goes away, so I am a bit perplexed by that (hoping they don't try to lower my rating a year or two down the road!!!)

Award letter came today and Rick, you were right on. Fortunately, that December 2012 date was only the "Cost of Living Adjustment" and not the effective date as I had initially feared it was. I spoke with my VSO today and he told me the quickest way to handle this "proposed incompetent" claim would be to send off a statement of support by myself, my wife and my parents which I did today. I am hoping in the next 60-90 days I get a resolution to that. I will post once this ordeal is over with in hopes that somebody reading this in the future with the same issues can sleep better at night having the info and timeframe I dealt with. Kris

I think I'm going to have a freaking panic attack now... I just went to check the eBenefits status again and now there has been a new claim opened as of today... the same day my one and only claim closed. The status shows as "predetermination" and I don't know what the hell is going on. I was found to be incompetent per the VARO, but I am lost and not feeling as good about things anymore... I hate this process :( Does anyone have any idea what is going on? Not speculation, I'm hoping for personal experience. I don't think this is rare, but then again I really have no idea.

John, You make a very valid point; the only aspect I would appeal would be the incompetent part. Full disclosure, I would feel dirty if I was to be rated at 100%. I've seen 100% disabled before and it would not be fair to claim I am as bad off as others deserving of that rating. I feel 70% is a very fair rating and I will be meeting with my VFW rep to discuss my options in erraticating the incompetency ruling. I only hope this doesn't hold up the disbursement of the retro too much. I read some horror stories.

Thanks, Rick. I guess that is what I am afraid of... are they saying I will only get back pay to December 2012 or will it be back to the date of my application (June of 2011)?

MY CLAIM IS COMPLETE AND I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS!!! I was rated at 70% TPD per my A8P Aware Verification Letter (haven't received the packet in the mail just yet,) but I was caught off guard by something I am hoping someone can shed some light on. It said I am rated 70% with an effective date of December 2012. The problem is that I initiated my claim back in June of 2011... I am missing something here? Either way, I could not be more excited. My wife and I have a third child on the way in November and now this baby will come into this world without mom and dad having tons of credit card debt . This site has been a tremendous and valuable source of information. Being able to share each others stories and lend advise has been such a great thing to have during such trying times. I thank each and every one of you that contributed to this thread. Hopefully this 14 month conversation can help put someone's mind at ease in the future.

John, I certainly don't want to get my hopes up to that level. I don't know if "incompetency" always dicates a 100% rating or not. I would be more than OK with my wife as the fiduciary, but will she need to provide expense reports on a periodic basis? If that is the case, I would probably push back on the determination. As always, I am hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst case scenario. Thanks for you input, sir. Kris

Got a call yesterday and I was told that I am "Incompetent" which, after doing some research on this, sounds like the kiss of death. My wife, however, is has a finance degree from a very good business school as well as a very good credit history. What will the ramifications for such a designation be? I am totally screwed? If my wife is the fiduciary, I am totally OK with that. Does this indicate any kind of rating (I still don't know what it will be)?

Just checked eBenefits this morning and my status has once again changed; only this time going from "Preparation for Notification" back to "Pending Decision Approval." Not the status I was hoping to see. I am hoping that it is because I have two contentions and not because something was wrong, OR if it required additional signatures for retro pay being over $10,000. Either way, I will continue to update this thread in hopes that it can ease someone else's mind in the future if they are to encounter some of the same things. Does anyone know if you can see your rating online once it goes to "Complete"?

Second status update of the day! My status is now in the "Preparation for Notification" phase. I expected things to move quickly after the C&P exam, but certainly not this fast. WOW

The VA is FLYING through the decision process! As of Monday, my claim was under the "Gathering Evidence" phase, waiting for the C&P examiner to send results to the Regional Office. Yesterday it was "Pending Decision" and today it changed to "Pending Decision Approval." Not too sure how long that step takes, but I am hoping it is quick. Anyone who knows; will I be able to see the results on the eBenefits site once they are available or will I have to wait for the results to come in the mail?

I don't believe they do (someone correct me if I'm wrong) because ADD/ADHD is rarely diagnosed in adulthood, therefore making it a personality disorder which the VA doesn't service connect. I am by no means an expert in this area, but when I was in my C&P exam, the examiner told me that I wasn't ADHD since that would have been identified during my childhood. She said that I was bipolar and that those symptoms often relate to those of ADHD. I am hoping that statement from her is in my favor since they DO service connect bipolar.

Well, I had my bipolar C&P examination this past Friday and today was my C&P examination for degenerative disk disease and overall I feel they both went quite well. The exam for bipolar was about 1 hour 15 minutes, the psychologist was very sympathetic to all of my "symptoms" and at the end; she went through and checked off a majority of the rating symptoms that she was presented with... I am not sure if that is the end-all-be-all in this case or not. I feel it will only get stronger with the written evidence that I provided when I filed my claim back in June of 2011. The exam for the DDD today was FAR less subjective. The examiner didn't ask how symptoms affected my quality of life of anything like that. I gave her the records I was provided by a chiropractor I had been seeing for about 4 months but could no longer afford, she did a reflex and range of motion test, then ordered an x-ray. I was out in about 1 hour! I recently sought representation by a VFW rep that I was referred to by a family friend and he was a big help in explaining the process. I would recommend to anyone who is currently in the process of a disability claim, or thinking about initiating one, to seek the assistance of a VFW representative. Many of them worked for the VA at one point and they can be a wealth of information to you! He told me that all claimants who filed their claims PRIOR to July of 2011 will have their claims processed by July 1st of 2013, so that was obviously GREAT news to me since I just met the cut off. Also, he informed me that since I was service connected prior to discharge and I received severance pay that will immediately come off the top of any award received by the VA. That was a bit of an unexpected (and disappointing) bit of news I would have known two years ago had I been represented by the VFW sooner. Lessoned learned! My fingers are crossed for a favorable outcome since I don't want to have to go back have to file an appeal. The advice that I would give those who recently filed, or are waiting for their C&P exam would be to BE PATIENT! I can tell the VA is working their butts off to go through as many cases as possible, with as much accuracy as possible and this type of thing takes time. Don't check the status every day; you will drive yourself crazy. Calling the VA call center will NOT expedite your claim in any way, shape or form. Expect your claim will take upwards of two years or more... it may be less, but remember that if you are given a disability rating, you have essentially had savings bonds you were waiting for to mature before you can use them... you will get that retro pay which can be significant. I will check back in over the next few weeks to share the results.

John, Thanks for the reply. Truly appreciate it. I have never been hospitalized but I am very confident that the symptoms I suffer from are closely related to bipolar disorder. I say closely because I have never been diagnosed by a private physician; I was diagnosed while in the service and discharged medically for it. I did see a phychiatrist for about a year who prescribed me several different types of medication, trying to find the right balance. Since he is not a psychologist, he didn't give any "medical opinion." At the very least, the VA will be able to see my attempts at finding a proper medication through this doctor which can't hurt.

Well, after nearly two years, I FINALLY received communication from the VA requesting two appointments (one on the 31st of May for my Bipolar claim and the other on June 4th for my Degenerative Disk Disease.) I am excited that things are finally moving along, but terrified at the same time that the examiner manipulates my exam to the benefit of the VA to deny my claim. If anyone has experienced a bipolar VA medical exam (with understanding that they are all going to be very different) and can shed some light on what I can expect, I would greatly appreicate it. Any advise, or knowledge on the types of questions they will ask etc.? Would it be strange for me to bring in a list of problems that I have so that I don't forget any of them? Thanks in advance!