john999

I think the VA cheated me out of thousands in compensation and convinced me for years that IMO's were useless because they ignored my original IMO back in 1973 and got away with it. I filed a CUE back in 2006 and I hope to get some of that money back. None of my VSO's over the years ever looked at my C-File or noticed how the VA had screwed up my original claim. I never even got appeal rights back in 1973, and yet that does not reach level of CUE either. Where else would such a denial of basic rights to appeal be hidden from a person in a legal system?

I had a traveling Board with a single judge. My lawyer was there with his prepared brief. The judge just glanced at it and prepared to give us a lecture on the meaning of CUE, but then he read a little more and saw that my lawyer knew very well the meaning and that we were not just asking to reweigh evidence. The process lasted about 10 minutes and then 4 months later a denial. I think it is important to have representation in these affairs because it you go to CAVC you can't add new evidence unless they remand it. I am not sure what good my lawyer did at my BVA Hearing because no way in hell were they going to grant it. However, the lawyer became more and more familiar with the case law surrounding my claim so that by the time we got to CAVC his brief had become even better. When it was remand back to BVA from CAVC he was able to add a new argument. I was not up to that by myself. John

To go from 10% to 70% took me 30 years. I got so much bad advocacy for the first 29 years from DAV and VFW no wonder it took me so long. I never even knew what TDIU was until I logged onto Hadit. John

Three I think.

The VA refused to supply my lawyer with a copy of my file until we got to the BVA. My lawyer was using my copy. We noticed right away that the judge's copy was twice as large as my copy. The VARO was just too lazy to copy the whole thing for me and when I got it was a mess. Completely out of order and full of copies of copies. But it did contain my CUE from my very first rating decision in 1973.

Same thing happened to me. The VA cancelled my c&p and then denied my claim saying I was AWOL from my exam. I fixed it but you know it took time.

Betty We were all so happy for your victory that we felt it was our victory as well. How much was 16 years of retro? John

The new DSM has eliminated my original DX.

These days at my VA hospital after 180 of use the vet is dropped from data base. They have so many vets on cpaps they cannot take care of them. I have one from VA and one from medicare.

Imagine that you go for C&P exam and find your disorder no long exists. Most people seem to have more than one disorder and the VA usually misdiagnoses them. John

"How many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man" "The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind" OR Where is my money, man? It's in the wind, dude.

When and if you get official reduction then you file NOD and hire lawyer. I would not fool around after the NOD. Get a lawyer. You have the right and I would use it unless you are 100% clear and confident you can win on your own.

Greg88 Are you still unable to get a lawyer? Are you getting paid at 100% while all this is going on? John

After 4000 years they have found that nothing beats the poppy for pain relief (short term). They have long acting narcotic but VA won't prescribe thusually. They want you on that awful morphine or maybe on oxycodone. I got the fentynal patch which works for about a day. It is supposed to work for three days. It won't even stick for three days.

My lawyer at CAVC called me today to tell me that after my claim has sat with Judge Hagel for 8 months they have decided to go for a Panel Hearing to make the decision. Arguments are set for Dec. 11th, 2013 at 10:am. The lawyer says this is a significant victory. He will get to argue my case before a panel of judges instead of having Judge Hagel make the decision. He also says it is because of the nature of the case and the amount of money (retro) involved the judge wants cover. I am asking for 100% retro to 1971. I finally got IU in 2001. John

You sound like you are depressed and anxious about your SC conditions. See a VA psychiatrist! You sound like you have chronic pain disorder as well.

I have an appointment this Friday with my VA shrink. My mental condition is going to get worse if they start cancelling my appointments.

You are being treated at the VA with OTH discharge, correct. That's a plus. Did you claim PTSD and were denied? Have you had a C&P exam? Did you ever see a shrink or were DX'ed with a mental disorder while in the service?

If a vet has service connected DMII then there is a great many other diseases that can be connected as secondary with a little application of effort. DMII affects so many body systems from your eyes to your feet.

Now you are talking!

I wonder where AskNod is to comment on this topic. He was fighting secret war in Laos and around Udorn. I was in Nam watching grunts and 11th A/C preparing to head into Cambodia in 1970. I am not sure 11th A/C went into Cambodia but they were loading up everything that could fly with grunts at my airbase to go to Cambodia. I wonder if they sprayed AO in advance because the entire command structure of NVA and VC knew we were coming.

The best new decorations for Wash. D.C. would be congressmen hanging from lamp posts. These people who would shut down the government to gain a political point at the expense of the people need to be chastised with extreme prejudice (whatever that means).

Good medigap policies are expensive. I am lucky to have medical insurance as part of my retirement benefits. However, the family plan blows a hole in my gold plated federal pension. 30% of my pension goes to pay for my family plan for me and my wife. I say that if you are eligible for medicare take A&B for sure. Obamacare does not help those of us with medicare and this is unfortunate. My wife will soon have medicare and champVA and she will be better off than I am. I am paying $5000 a year for my private insurance, but I feel it is worth it as long as I have the money to pay. A severe NSC illness can destroy a person's finances. John

You should retire on FERS disability. FERS disability is the easiest disability to get. I got it 12 years ago. If you are 100% P&T then you are eligible to apply for FERS disability and SSD. If you retire under FERS the only offset is to your FERS if you get SSD until age 62. If you are P&T for a mental condition you should not even be working! You can apply NOW for FERS disability. You must apply for SSD at the same time. I applied for OPM, SSD and TDIU all at the same time. I eventually got all. I got SSD, OPM and TDIU in that order. You can message me for more info. Others here worked for the feds and are 100%. John

As soon as you filed your NOD you should have hired a lawyer. The longer you wait to hire a legal eagle who knows what they are doing the more F'ed up your claim is going to become. I have been waiting 7 years "With" a lawyer steering the boat away from the rocks. I predict at current rate your DRO will be denied and then if you persist in going it alone to BVA you will end up in "No Man's Land" for about ten years.