SueEdel

I did suggest the media. Also our county Veteran's office and our Congressperson.

I am asking this question for a good friend whose husband is an Agent Orange/Vietnam Vet. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get this processed quicker? It would be the Toledo, OH VA--which is under the Ann Arbor, MI umbrella of clinics. Quote: "can you give me any suggestions on who to contact (other than Physical Therapy...already did that several times) for this? The arm of Pete's electric wheelchair fell off & we called over a month ago & they sent someone out right away....the guy checked it out, took pictures, wrote an estimate & said he would submit it & as soon as he got authorization fpr payment from the VA he would be back out to fix it. Needless to say, it is still not fixed. We did have it duct taped together & it was working ok for a while, but the last couple days it quit charging & no longer works at all.....this afternoon Pete actually had to crawl on his hands & knees to get to the bathroom. He has called several times to the VA and is getting nowhere & the company that fixes them says they can't do anything without approval from the VA. I dont know who to try contacting next." Thanks for any suggestion. Hate to have a fellow Veteran crawling to the bathroom when the rest of the nation is preparing to celebrate Veteran's Day.

It looks like some friends of theirs (a tad younger) will be able to make the drive with them. They should be able to keep the same date.

He is 86 years old. She is about 6 years younger. He has dementia, anxiety etc. She is part of every mental health visit at the VA clinic. I read that some medical examiners welcome the spouse. Just wasn't sure if there was any ruling that allowed spouse.

My MIL would like to be in the room for the upcoming C&P for my FIL. He suffers from some mental health issues related to his service in the Korean War. Is this always permitted? Can they deny her entrance? Any advice? She wants it in writing that she can go in with him. Is there documentation that I can find for her that states this?

There is a phone number of the letter. Are you saying this is NOT the number to call? I just hate the tone of these letters although I do understand that they need people to show up. Ultimately it is stated in what seems absurd fashion--that you can not reschedule and when the date and time arrives you will be marked a no-show and yada-yada-yada. Obviously he just received the letter and there are other people who would be pleased to get a C&P scheduled even if it is only 3-4 weeks from now. I had one scheduled only 8 days in advance.

My 86 year old father-in-law just received a C&P notice as he applied for an increase in SC and perhaps adding some other issues to the claim. The C&P is scheduled at the usual place 2.5 hours away on a good day. When he applied we planned/hoped to be available to assist in the drive and since it is 2 exams at 2 different locations we thought it might be a bit much for my mother-in-law to handle. FIL no longer drives and has dementia issues. The letter arrived and we will be out of the country on that date. One day later and we would have been fine. We are unable to change our plans. What steps can we take to request a change of date? The C&P letter always sounds threatening (I am SC too--so I know). It states you CAN NOT change the date. YOU MUST show up etc. How do they expect an 86 year old veteran to get to these exams? In the old days we could request a change of venue and go to Ann Arbor--which is 45 minutes away vs 2.5 hours--but that request is usually denied now. Any thoughts?

Great news!

I agree while I got used to waiting--then end phase is nerve-racking. Best of luck to you.

Congrats! Any updates?

I was wondering about my travel pay for a recent C&P. The last two were direct deposit. I received an envelope today with a check in it for the travel pay. Nothing like being consistent VA head honcho...

I really enjoyed reading your timeline. I started this process in 1977. I was SC in 1977 or early 78. It was sooo difficult in the early years as there was little to no support and a person could not hire an attorney if needed. Finding advice prior to the internet was almost impossible. I was lucky to have a VSO speak to me before I was discharged at Bethesda. He advised me so I knew who to see when I arrived in my home town and what to expect. At that time the Red Cross had VSO and mine was a strong, well-spoken female who wrote some well-worded documents to get my claim going. I worked with her for a number of years before the Red Cross dropped that service.

Wonderful news!

Thanks. That was it. Buried in the thread but a very good sample letter.

Yes. Mine is complete. 80% Combined. Was 60% Combined.

Is there anyone who specializes is helping look for legal errors? Another set of eyes who knows VA and has my best interest at heart? I really don't find VSOs to be that on top of things--unless it is a glaring error.

Excellent!

But if your TDUI was denied based on income alone - you should be able to appeal in that they didn't take the protected nature of your employment into consideration. My thought exactly. It is a family protected environment. I have several college degrees. I have a nice hourly wage. For several years I have had to curtail the amount of time I work due to SC condtions, medical appointments etc. All of this was thoroughly put into my claim but nothing was mentioned in the denial but the income--so I assume once they saw my income was over--they did not bother reading the rest. My claim was completed on September 30. The push to get claims completed before the end of the year. While some parts of my claim are very favorable to me--it is the most disjointed decision as far as writing style that I have ever seen--and I have been SC since 1977.

Denial appears to be solely based on the income. They were provided with all the family sheltered work environment info--doubtful they even read that as they found a reason to deny. I am working less hours due. They based denial on income for last 12 months. This year the income will be below the poverty level. I had a closed end case once with SSI--just needed to file for a particular time frame and they turned me down as I made too much $. My attorney showed them how much I spent on health care (still do) and that effectively lowered my income. Had to fight for it--but it was resolved in my favor.

DRO or NOD? How do you decide which is best in your own situation? Trying to weigh my options.

I read somewhere here on a very long thread about the best method to request a C file in a timely fashion. Something was mentioned about a 90 day window that the VA is supposed to adhere to if the request is sent in a certain way or requesting/demanding the C File. Is using VA Form 3288 best bet? Any particular language I should use on this form?

Mine was actually time stamped September 30-end of fiscal year. God knows how late they were working that night!

Congrats!

I know I have read other case where TDIU was granted when a person was employed marginally in a sheltered typed work environment. Most responses about TDIU state that you can not work--however the following info from a case states things a little differently. I am marginally employed in a sheltered environment. TDIU was recently denied as I am a few thousand dollars over the poverty level for the past 12 months. The reason I am over is that I have a decent hourly wage--although I am working about 10 hours per week or less. Quote from below: Marginal employment may be held to exist, on a facts found basis (includes but is not limited to employment in a protected environment such as a family business or sheltered workshop), when earned annual income exceeds the poverty threshold. Entitlement to TDIU, however, is predicated upon an inability to secure and follow "substantially gainful employment." 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). For purposes of 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a), marginal employment generally shall be deemed to exist when a veteran's earned annual income does not exceed the amount established by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, as the poverty threshold for one person. Id. Marginal employment may be held to exist, on a facts found basis (includes but is not limited to employment in a protected environment such as a family business or sheltered workshop), when earned annual income exceeds the poverty threshold. Id. Consideration shall be given in all claims to the nature of the employment and the reasons for termination. Id.

Thanks for the info as I may need to submit another letter although I suspect that the original letters were not included in their decision. They are not acknowledged or mentioned as even existing.