Ricky

My primary care doc (Tricare) is a D.O. He has provided many IMO's for my stroke, SA, DMII etc.... he writes very well and once he felt out what the VA was looking for his statements have been given much much weight in the rating process. Some MD's look down on them but they have the same qualifactions as the MD.

Wait for them. It is not your responsibility to notify them to do their job. It in no way affects you.

Good luck with your claim. You gotta watch those old boys in Montgomery. They have a hard time when it comes to reading and writing!!!!

Jessie - with the evidence on hand that you state you have I will go out on a limb here and say it appears impossible for VA to deny the claim. The SSDI award should go a long way in getting the claim awarded. Thank you for your hard work and support to the veteran's community. However, you have to take care of yourself also. I get in those positions myself where I simply get over-loaded. You just gotta slow down a bit and smell the roses my friend.

As you have already determined written correspondence is the only way to communicate with the VA.

VA provides me with daily stress tests. Every time I communicate with them on a claim issue.

If you do have to travel to Jackson, MAKE SURE you do not look them critters in the eyes for there ain't no telling what they might turn you into!!!!

Those numbers along with supporting write-ups should get you somewhere in the 50-70 percent range. Don't worry about having two GAF's for look inside the medical records jacket of a mental patient will reveal many, many different GAF scores. It changes from day to day and sometimes even during an appointment.

Filing the form 9 is key since you have received a SOC/SSOC. VA raters interpet the evidence, decided the weight to be apply to each piece of evidence and then use the rating schedule to see were each interpeted and weighted evidence falls within it. If you believe that the evidence was missed, not interpeted or weighted correctly you can as part of your due process rights request a personal hearing with anyone within the VA system to discuss your claim. This can be done as long as the claim is active. Most in your situation would request a hearing with the VSCM or DRO. The RO may come back and tell you no but simply remind them that it is part of your due process rights governed by Title 38 and not some this is how we do it regulation. Another argument at the local level about how your evidence was or was not used could result in a favorable action for you. Some will say no but after filing my form 9 I continued to beat them in the head demanding a hearing with the VSCM. They gave me a hearing with a DRO instead. As I sat there explaining the valid points of my claim she took notes and shook her head. The results - full award of benefits sought with a 100 percent rating! So the point of my story - try it for it might just work. If not nothing then nothing is lost and you simply let it go to the BVA. I would suggest that in preparing for the BVA you obtain a private IMO or two and insure that they get rid of some of the language I referred to in my previous post. If the medical condition of the vet meets the schedule requirements then most if not all will right the IMO in any style you desire with any wording you request. Many will even entertain the thought of you drafting the letter for them with will allow them to see what you are talking about. They will then issue their IMO using VA speak............ Good luck to you and your husband my friend.

Zen - why do you think that your claim would have been awarded via direct service connection? thanks

Most RO's appeals are taking from 6-18 months with the lower end 6-9 months applying to OIF/OEF vets. Just my opinion based upon morning reports and speaking with vets in my RO's area of operation.

Joey, the VA will always place more weight on confirming medical evidence - xrays, mri's etc....... The notes you said she put in the report appear to all be self reported or based upon reported history and the rater will place little to no weight on these. Did the C/P doc provide a diagnosis of GERD in the report? Also the approved by sig is standard for a C/P exam. It simply means that the doc's boss reviewed and approved the report.

Ok I am old and the mind no longer works quite right. This post indicated that a SSOC was received. Then we went into CUE's, NOD's, DRO hearings, reconsiderations etc....... Where are we? If a SOC or SSOC has been received then the NOD and DRO process is over and the form 9 needs to be filed within the required time lines (60 days). A seperate letter needs to be sent to the RO requesting a hearing with a local RO rep if one is desired (this is different than the DRO hearing process). However, the key is to get the form 9 filed, review your evidence and bounce it off the rating schedule. CUE is not warranted at this time. The rater has simply made an interpertation of the evidence. After all is said and done fight like hell and move forward.

Belle, looks like you are going to have to go to the BVA. Not knocking your evidence this is just a couple of things to think about: -First don't get wrapped upon on this thing about the doc saying 70-100. He can say that but it has NO bearing on the level of disability assigned. A better statement would have been "veteran is totally disabled due to his SC condition." -As I read the summary of the doc statement there were simply to many "you saids", "you reported"..........These are history statements provided by the veteran and have no place in the medical opinion. In other words instead of saying you reported that you have difficulties maintaing family relationships...... the doc should have said veteran currently has difficulity establishing and maintaing family relationships....... etc....... I hope this makes since. I understand that mental issues rely a lot on the history of the veteran, the opinion just can not be written that way for if it is the rater will not place much weight on it. -There were references to treatment which included the words "normal" "mildly" "calm" "speech within normal limits" "No suicidal idelology" etc... way too much...... - 70 percent and up will not happen without: Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, DUE TO SUCH SYMPTOMS AS: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. I know that your husband is sick and you have worked yourself to death on his claim. Slow down, breathe and re-attack. You are going to have to have an IMO which provides: He can't work or go to school due to his continued inability to control his desires to sit or stand facing windows (rituals which interfere with routine activities;) He is unable to communicate with his peers due to his intermittent and illogical speech patterns (speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant;). He suffers from continuous panic attacks that do not allow him to travel outside the home alone. (near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently. He has periods of unprovoked anger inwhich all he wants to do is fight or hurt someone (impaired impulse control such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); etc............. I hope I do not make you mad but just sit back and re-read the SOC and then look at the requirements for 70+. Although the evidence sited in the SOC sometimes tends to hit the requirements other parts of it negate it and give the rater the leadway he needs to continue the 50 percent rating. Ricky

It is not the Government Rock it is the damn banks and all of them are the same. Money in means profit (interest) to them. They are out of control with their damn money making rules. My daughter over drew her account with Compass by 4.38. They paid the check charged her 35.00 dollars and then 7.00 dollars per day that her account was overdrawn. The original check of 9.86 ended up costing her almost 100.00 dollars. She then moved the balance of her savings account which was 50.00 and then they started charging her 8.00 dollars per month for the zero balance in her savings account. I did a little research and last year thes SOB's made about 28.6 million dollars on charges such as these!!!!!!!! Watch them. All of my money is direct deposit. On payday I run to the bank and withdraw every penny from my checking accout and hold it at home. I try real hard not to let the SOB's make any money off me!!!!!!

jb: That is not what the rules mean. This is how it would play out: -if you are 100 percent and drawing say SMC L and you have an additional disability/disabilities that equal 50 percent then you are authorized an intermediate rate (1/2 step). This would take you to L 1/2 or say you were already L 1/2 then to M. However, in no case will this rule exceed O. -if you are 100 percent and drawing say SMC L and you have an additional single disability that equals 100 percent then you are authorized a whole step raise which would be M. If you were already drawing say L 1/2 then the jump would be to M 1/2 (a whole step). However, in no case will this rule exceed O. As an example if you were already at the M 1/2 rate you could not go to O 1/2 for the rule forbids it to exceed the O Rate.

Wow, someone gave you some bad poop. SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income. It is a needs based, federally supported welfare program overseen by the social security gurus, for low income famalies. If you withhold information about changes in your income status then that constitutes fraud - so yes they do have a need to know about your SC comp for it will definitley reduce your SSI payments.

Why do you always have to use big words that I do not understand? I spend half a day reading your posts and the other half looking up words!!!!

Usual as always. The ole I did, I did, I did, OIF, OIF, OIF, ain't I great, Ain't I great, Ain't I great!

Your BVA denial should have included the steps for asking for a reconsideration at the BVA level. I would obtain an IMO and take the IMO if favorable to your cause and the Voc Rehad paperwork and ask the BVA to reconsider their decision.

Sounds like a good plan just watch the timeline for the NOD. Montgomery VARO is really screwed up. They probably issue more denials resulting in remands than all the RO's combined. Letting them know that you contacted a congress idiot will only make them laugh. I would do as Berta suggested and write the OIG etc.... and state your concerns about the possible loss/destruction of claims evidence since it was not discussed in the reasons and basis - this is a requirement if they use the evidence to deny the claim which they would have had to do if the doc's all agreed that he was IU. Well we are speaking of the Montgomery VARO and they most of the time simply thumb their noses at the laws of Title 38.

The residuals will be things such as loss of range of motion, pain, stiffness etc....... If the hematoma resulted in residuals it will be covered.

That is going to have to be a doctor question I am afraid.

First let me say the if your denial was based upon a mix up by the VA in 1987 and that same mix up was not disclosed to you until you got to the court, the decision to hire an attorney is one of the best decisions you have ever made. He or she will have the legal know-how to maybe get this thing awarded with much back pay. As to your anger it is understood. However, keep in mind that even us 20 year war vets are treated the same as you by the VA. If you are not part of the VA political manuver group (iraq/afghan vets) then you are left out in left field all by your self no matter if you served on month or twenty years. As to you anger at this site: this site, since I have been on it and that has been a while, does not turn its head on anyone. We have vets that served just the min time to obtain benefits, we have widows of vets etc...... all are treated the same - they are treated as human beings with a little special touch for being a vet or the loved one of a vet. Now you may not have heard what you wanted to hear, that which we all want to hear "hey yes you will win your claim" but that does not mean we have turned our backs on you. As your claim is now at the court, it is apparent that no matter what did or said would have made any difference to the VA - your claim was destined to be denied by them. Let your attorney work the issue for he or she holds the legal degree. However, come back to Hadit for moral support for regardless of what you think at this point there are many terrific people here. Calm down abit and I know that is hard for this VA road will wear one down quickly. God bless you and I wish you the best of luck at the court. I will review your old posts to see if I can find any issue for you to discuss with your attorney that may assist you. However, keep in mind I am not an attorney and any thing that I say is simply based upon my personal opinion.

My little sniplets are to just show that doc's, all of them to inculde VA doc's deal in reasonable degrees of medical probability. The VA terms that we quote so often are just an interpertation of those probabilities. If you can get your doc to use the interpertations for probably (more likely than not), probably not (less likely than not) etc then that is great. However, it is nothing to fall on your sword over and piss the doc off (expecially a civilian doc). When you submit the med opinion and outline it you can remind the rater as such: The doctor stated that my injury in service is probably (more likely than not) the cause of my current disability.