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ArNG11

Master Chief Petty Officer
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Everything posted by ArNG11

  1. Having the C spine added to the claim is a good thing, going on the premise that they will service connect, which without seeing your file I cannot say, however, it could be that they realized a mistake and now are including the cspine because of the medical documentation surrounding the injury. This is not a bad thing if they are. Multiple issues being taking into consideration is a good thing. But as a wise man told me you can't shoot what you cannot see. Hopefully when the decisions come down it will be in your favor but no sense trying to figure out what is going to happen until they decide the claim. I know it's nerve racking but hold man, hold. Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.
  2. Thoracic and Lumbar are rated together caveat that you can be rated for muscles and nerve issues. The C Spine has it s own ratings and is rated individually. So Thoracolumbar will be rated as one segment. C Spine is rated separately.
  3. Not yet. Eventually the squeaky wheel gets looked at. That's okay, Im not the one breaking the law or not following regulations or tampering with medical evidence. I leave that crap to the VA, I just love catching them and proving how messed up they are, at least in my claims, it is personal, and I have taken it personal so they rile me up every time. I hate it even more when they do it to other brothers and sisters. It is not right.
  4. Different agencies same game deny deny and more deny expecting the claimant to just give up. That is the way it is but you have to be persistent and not give up, never give up, not with handcuffs on and vices on your lips, fight when you are in the right and have the evidence , regulations, laws and medical opinions. The law is on your side, sometimes you just have to remind them that the law is on our side and spell it out. I have been successful because of this. It is personal for me. I'm not going to fight for something don't deserve or have the evidence for.
  5. Yup that is sometimes my problem. Gotta know which fight to fight, when to fight it, and when to acquire another more attainable target.
  6. Rivet62 did you write you don't have a copy of your Cfile. What about your attorney does he not have a copy? This is the digital age and it is imperative to your claims that you have this information. I have multiple copies, both hard copies, CD Rom, and multiple electronic copies. Mind you I am paranoid individual but I make sure I know what evidence was used in my claims decisions. The VA is the most formidable entity that I have ever had to deal with much worse than Department of Labor, Social Security, OPM combined believe me that is saying something.
  7. Yes, however, my health issues have not been directly tied to this fact. We used burns pits in Camp Bucca. I know because we used jet fuels to always keep them burning. Granted I am just speaking from the details I had when it was my turn to do the detail. If I had to make an educated opinion I would say the Hypothyroid, GERD with IBS, Sleep Apnea, rhinitis and sinusitis, but am having a dandy of time trying to force the VA to come to this decision and acknowledge directly. I hope that made sense. It sort of made sense in my head but you know how that goes. Emotions and pain get in the way of reasonable thinking at times for me. Well to be frank, it is most of the time but I don't want to beat a semi -dead horse.
  8. I understand that part. I was partly successful because of when I retired, when I applied for medical retirement, all of the agencies coming to the same conclusion mostly because they would have been hard pressed to disagree with medical evidence to the contrary. Mind you they don't have to follow suit, however, I didn't really give them a choice. I was fortunate because of the timing and having my records in order. Filing for IU, I mean the VA has to raise those issues legally when they where informed that you retired medically. Don't hold me to this conclusion, but it gets into the realm that the VA knew that your service connected disabilities were part of the reason of your difficulties in sustaining gainful employment at which point the issue of IU should come up. If I am wrong in this pattern of thinking I ask that the forum correct me if I am. My case is complicated and every thing that applied in my case may not apply to your case per the circumstances, details, and time frames. I would discuss the issues with the attorney as he would be the expert in the interpretation of the law, however, I have learned in my experiences not to rely solely on an attorney. No one will care more about your claim than you will. It is your life, your struggles and your disabilities, they just have a 20% stake in your retro if you win. This is just my opinion so please understand that. Discuss when there is something that is contrary to the regulations and laws that apply to your case with the medical evidence that was used for your claims decisions.
  9. I will chime in if I may, I have a few issue more on my file because of my hiatus to the Gulf, however, Rivet62 your situation it has some similarities to mine. One, rather more than one of your conditions is going to be rated higher to get your goal. My IU is based on my bent brain, however, my other disabilities get me passed 90%. That in conjunction with medically retiring through OPM back in 2015 and getting on SSDI put over the hump for being unemployable due to some of my service connected disabilities being the reason for my having to retire medically. Your going to need increases in those 10% in order to get where you wanna get. Also you can force the VA hand with having other agencies declare you unemployable. You are on SSDI right? Though they don't have to follow other agencies decisions, it is compelling evidence of you're not being gainfully employed. One, rather more than one of your conditions is going to be rated higher to get your goal. My IU is based on my bent brain, however, my other disabilities get me passed 90%. That in conjunction with medically retiring through OPM back in 2015 and getting on SSDI put over the hump for being unemployable due to some of my service connected disabilities. . I noticed that your nerve ratings for each side have a 4 year gap, was this due to not having symptoms of both consecutively or did it progress? Did medical records not show notable symptoms of both or did it progress? Buck is absolutely spot on with his posts. This is similar to how I got my SMC housebound. In any case what you're suggesting can be done because other agencies will corroborate your unemployability, SSDI will be important here. My apologies ahead of time as I haven't had my go go juice but what I have garbled down on this post should be of some help. What's understandable that is. I need caffeine, so sorry.
  10. Heh Hamslice, long time. I hope you have a speedy recovery brother. Take care.
  11. Im all over the place in my head so Im gonna say good night.  I think I need to clear my head.  too many things going on, too many arguments in my head, I have both won and loss some to my self.  Damn I'm starting to feel like Cybill.  

  12. I agree with you there. I think it would level the playing field substantially if a Veteran with a claim had access to their file from the get go. There would n't be so many delays in getting records, or adjuctating claims, and more importantly deciding claims improperly because of lack of evidence or lack of SMR's . I ponder the idea of what that kind of access would do to processing times, waiting times for benefits, waiting time for decisions, remands, heck the whole system. Transparency would change the whole game and level the playing field where the VA has the upper hand. Hmm. I really wonder how that might go. Hmm.
  13. Man I guess it depends on the VARO, they technically have 30 days to respond. Whether letting you know they are processing your request or send you a CD. There is no excuse for it taking so long these days. Things are to streamlined for it to take so long and it shouldn't. 21st century y'all (to VA) can't use that excuse anymore.
  14. wow Hamslice, that is by far the fastest oops we messed up mistake, on money withheld when they say we messed up, heh I guess "they" make mistakes as well. Keep searching and keep fighting bud. Good luck
  15. So good morning folks.   Had my morning coffee, meds, and breakfast.  Also had my morning snuggles with my fur babies even the feline, ( she's a kitty though)which I will gladly accept.  I take my test today and see if I am COVID free, which will be grand because I already miss not riding my Vespa around town.   It really is a bit silly, in my head but it's the small, inconsequential things that bring me joy, even with all the crap going on.  Have a great day folks.  Seriously have a great day and if you can just breathe and take a moment to enjoy what you have.

  16. I would tend to agree but I don't want to feed into the emotional aspect of what he should be rated for in my wording. Per the CFR and the rating criteria and if his medical records to state these statements, then Im in agreement. If indeed these statements are in his medical records then I don't see much trouble in him getting the rating. At worst an IME might be needed, however, the service connection has already been made so its just a matter of VA or his docs medical opinion trumping. An as we all should remember in a situation where there is relative equipoise it should be decided in the veterans favor. Should being the key word. Hotdiggity you should fight for the rating in my opinion, again please note, in my opinion. I am not a lawyer or VSR, or anything above just another Veteran tryin to help out another Veteran. You have no better advocate than yourself, no else will care more about your claims. It is worth its weight in gold to consider the opinions of folks that have gone through the fight and have a better understanding of the specifics regulations around certain claims. Anyone please interject if I am out of line here. I'm just trying to give the best advice from my experiences. Good luck and good hunting.
  17. No worries I understand the pain thing, it messes with you and can sometimes interferes with your perception of people who are trying to help you not hinder you. Things will be okay. Cover your bases, get the information you need and you can make educated decisions to suit your situation best.
  18. Walked my Husky and I have forgotten how good it feels to walk around and be in the sun for a bit.   Had to be masked but quarantine is over for me so I'm gonna start taking advantage of that fact.    

  19. All I can say is wow. Not only do Veterans have to navigate through the minefields of VA system, but that some people exhibit this type of behavior, is beyond me. So many of us out there that still need help, that have actually been wronged, yikes. This was an interesting read, I'm glad you posted this, it gave me some perspective on being open to see, shenanigans are just not on Veterans Administrations, they can be caused by the other side of those taking advantage of system. "Be truthful in all your endeavors, especially to one thine self" Glad I had some java this morning. Thanks for posting this Berta
  20. Getting too excited, maybe should ponder on this some more and eat some dinner.  Have a good rest of the night folks.

     

  21. I did find the March 02 Decision of last year. Hmm curious indeed. Thanks pacmanx1 and of course Brokensoldier. I needed this realization. I may survive until my next run.
  22. Okay so I was curious and ran some numbers with the Code sheet in my CFILE. When I win the Hypothyroidsm and GERD to 30% as the should be by regulation changes and law I will be a combined 96% hence 100%. This is without the BVA service connecting my hips, which has a good possibility of happening. Knock on the gavels wood? I never gave those sheets a 5th look see. HMMM Knowledge. GOOD WEAPON> GOOD TARGET> WEAPONS AWAY.....
  23. Oddly enough the 2nd part of that sheet is not with my records with the last VA decision or a few of them actually. I can't seem to find it in my digital copy of my file. HMMM food for thought. Seems like I may do an FOIA request after my decision. Good stuff guys. GOOD STUFF!!
  24. You need to go to your electronic personnel file, you need your CAC card in order to be able to access the system. From there you can the numbers and information you need. When I decided to do it I did it within a week. Mind you, so you know this is not a fast process and I had many an issue getting to the information without hostile WS supervisor being on my case. What you are interested in is disability retirement through OPM. You need your VA benefits letter, an application to SSDI, because you are currently working you will be denied when you apply, this is a good thing, as you need that denial in the application in order to file for OPM disability retirement. It's a pain stalking process if you let it be. By the numbers, and step by step. You will end up where you are wanting to go. Folks on here genuinely want to help. There is no need to get defensive or for that matter accusatory. We have been down this road and are only here to help. Take things with a grain of salt. Breathe and calm down. Just my opinion and only trying to help you through the process.
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