john999

I am old guy and waiting 7 years for the Court of Vet Appeals to make a decision. Waiting is the name of the game with the VA. They wait you to death. For us Vietnam vets they are literally waiting us to death. 870,000 left and falling. John

Why should the VA and VSO's team up on the backlog. They teamed up for years to discourage vets from filing appeals. This is no BS since it happened to me. I got 70% and was on SSDI. The DAV rep told me not to appeal the denial of TDIU. I filed the appeal and I got TDIU, and the P&T, and then HB.

If you are P&T you get 100% tax exemption in Florida regardless of the VA disability. I think you can get the same if you are on SSDI.

How long did it take to get to federal court? Did your case involve any referrences to Cushman where due process was denied? You might change the law for all of us.

I think if you have a very complicated claim or tons of retro then it is a good time to bring in a lawyer. If you don't understand how to win your claim then that is also a time to bring in the lawyer. If you have a claim that involved 30 years of retro that turned on some point of law and you are at least at the BVA then that is probably a good time for a law man. It is much easier for an objective person to get a grip on your entire claim and all ways to crack it. I remember telling my lawyer for my CUE that the VA doctor never asked me a word about my employment history. I knew this was not a good exam, but the lawyer knew the law that the VA violated by not focusing on both my social and employment impairment, and could quote precedents. A lot of times we vets know we are being screwed but we just don't know the exact legal terms. The lawyers know these things.

I agree with TestVet. The only difference in the amount of 100% in 1970 ($600 or so) and now is the COLA every year. John

I agree with Dot. I had a rehab counselor when I asked for that quality of life thing a few years ago. He tried everything to discourage me and I was P&T. If you are 30% they want to say there is nothing wrong with you and if you are P&T then you are a waste of time. Bonus Army where you at when we need you? John

I got handicap placard because of my foot pain (diabetic PN). My then employer wanted us to walk half a mile to our work place, so I got the card to hang off my rear view. I guess I would not get it for a mental condition unless I was on meds that make walking in the sun bad for me or something like that. There are so many older people who can barely walk and never enough handicap parking. There is not near enough handicap parking at my VA hospital. John

I would write a certified letter to your VARO and VSO and ask what happened to my CUE claim if I could not go there in person. The CUE may still be open. You may have some action against your VSO if he did not actually file the CUE. The CUE still exists if the VSO filed it or not. CUE's are not really like regular claims. The retro date is the date the CUE occurred and not the date you filed for it. I have a CUE that occurred in 1973. I discovered it in 2005 and filed on it then. It is at the COVA for second time now. None of the facts have changed and dates have not changed. John

There are a bunch of pain doctors at the VA who don't believe in narcotics. They think every vet who asks for pain meds is a drug addict. The VA has been prescribing oxycodone and fentynal for me for at least 8 years. Now they say that one of my medical problems is opiate dependence when they are the ones who got me dependent. The way to deal with VA and pain meds is to never give them an excuse to cut you off and take them just as prescribed. If they won't you off them then make them do it to suit you. If they pull that shit on me I will sue them for turning me into a drug addict. I am not an addict because I take the stuff just the way they prescribe, but if they give me a hard time I will go to the newspaper in my town. They are so irresponsible and have created many opiate dependent vets over the years. John

I made a claim for reimbursement for dental work one time. The VA worker just threw it away. I found this out from his boss. The worker was angry that he had to do my claim because their was some work involved. I was pretty shocked the VA admitted this. It took 6 months to get my money. The VA practically called my dentist a liar and a crook. There is a ton of deadwood in the VA at every level. I did work at the VA about 25 years ago at the lowest level. Even at that level there was politics and back stabbing. Then I got lucky and got a job at the USPS. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Joe If you are getting enough in your pension to pay your bills just relax. The VA takes their time. Do you get unemployment insurance, or are you going to really retire. I see you have plenty of disabilites. How old may I ask? Your body and brain have been through a lot. The Army gets their pound of flesh if you serve 2 years or 20 years. If you start to feel depressed or anxious don't hesitate to make an appointment with VA shrink. With those TBI's, injuries, illness and possible PTSD I can see the transition from army to civilian life to cause a few temper flares. Stay in touch. You don't need a reason to post. Let us know how it is going. I got out of the army in 1971. No exit physical, no records except for DD214. I just walked away into no man's land for a few years. John

Does your job include some kind of disability retirement? Your rating does not make sense to me. 60 GAF is usually the number you get for a 30% rating. Maybe wait until you get fired and then file for TDIU or 100%. I was fired from long term job when I filed for TDIU. I was rated at just 30%. When I lost my job I asked for the increase and got 70% but was still turned down for TDIU. It took me another 8-10 months to get TDIU. By that time I had SSD and disability retirement from my job. If you have a mental disability having a job is poison for getting a high rating at the VA. What is your combined rating for physical and mental disabilites? May I ask your age? This does not supposed to have an effect on getting TDIU, but do you want to be 100% unemployable for 40 years perhaps? My intermediate advice is to complain a lot and never say you feel OK. John

Are you able to work? If not you need to apply for 100%. Now you have been DX'ed with PTSD by the VA you can use your private doctor to help get an increase. How is your sleep? I know you said nightmares. You said you have psychotic features with your PTSD and depression. I think you should be getting 70% or 100% unless you are working 40 hours a week. John

Form 9 should have gone to the BVA. You are saying the VARO never certified your appeal to the BVA? The VARO should have sent your appeal to BVA by now. I don't know if VARO has to get your File back from BVA, if it is there, to answer your inquiry.

I think the government will just award a bunch of claims since this is the easiest way to get the backlog, including appeals, back to an acceptable level. I know this sounds unlikely, but what faster more permanent way is there to reduce the backlog without creating a firestorm among vets, VSO's and the public? Most of the vets will take their 10% to 30% and go away for a few years. The disability backlog is just part of the 2-3 trillion dollars that OIF/OEF will cost the public over the next 30-40 years. According to military it will take all of this year and at least part/most of 2014 just to get out stuff out of Afghanistan. What do we do with all that stuff since a lot of it may be in bad shape or obsolete? I don't think we can get away with dumping it in the ocean this time. Our government is still paying big time for Vietnam. Who do you see when you visit local VAMC: broken down Vietnam Era vets. The actual RVN vets will die from AO, so their spouses will get DIC I hope. John

What gripes me is that a 100% mental health disability usually precludes working in official VA wording. Those with three missing limbs and damaged eye sight and hearing can work as much as they like if they can find something they can do. I think the VA will go all the way to try and rehab these physically disabled people. Now that I have lived long enough I have both mental and physical disabilites that make me unemployable in the real world. I do know that if the VA granted me 100% twenty years ago I would have found a way to work and hold onto that money. I fought so long for decent compensation that I would never give anything back. I did have to choose between workers compensation and VA compensation but that was not hard (It took me about 30 seconds). I guess if my employer had come to me and said you have to choose between 100% and keeping a job you like I might have found a way to get knocked back to 90% and keep my job. I don't know if that is really possible. In this day and age I would not give up 100% from the VA unless I wrote a book and got a 2 million dollar advance. I earn more from my total VA disability than I earn from my federal pension and SSD combined. If I had known I would have gotten P&T 20 years earlier (I am trying to do that now) and found a way to get VA Rehabilitation to go to some kind of school for as long as possible. In a few more years pensions will be a thing of the past and many of those that come after baby boom generation will be living the way our great grandfathers lived working until they dropped dead. Even baby boomer mostly do not have enough to retire at age 65 and live without anxiety over money. To think someone can live on SSA and some small IRA is laughable. John John

Just put the 100% money aside and keep working. If the VA had granted me 100% when I really had a chance to rehab myself I would have kissed the ground.

I wonder if your VFW guy ever filed your CUE? The thing is if he did not file your CUE you can file it now. The date of the CUE is still the same. Is there anything on the VFW CUE that says it was received by the VARO on such and such a date. If you live close to the VARO I would go there with the CUE claim from your file and ask what happened. If it was never actually filed and denied you could file now. If it was filed and denied there should be a record of a denial. John

Is your CUE date stamped? You never got a denial of your CUE?

Now apply for SSDI.

You can't be expected to have every symptom of PTSD. If you did that would make the VA suspicious.

They will probably ask you when you were last admitted to the hospital for psychotic disorder (bipolar). They will want to know what meds you are on. They will look for signs of depression or mania. The will ask about suicide attempts. They may ask about your spending habits, sleep, work history, and your social relationships. I would read up on bipolar disorder to see which of my symptoms match those of bipolar. Have you ever seen a private psychologist? Have you ever done a MMPI? If you are having a manic or deep depression a competent shrink will identify it. That means that since you are dealing with a VA contractor or VA doctor you may have a hard time. It is best to have an independent medical opinion. I had at least three private medical opinions. If I had depended just on the VA I would still be sitting at 30%. I really don't understand why all vets claiming a emotional/mental health issue does not get a MMPI. John

There are vets in the appeals process that have been there for 20 years.

I requested P&T within one year of getting TDIU. I got my private doctor to just say that my condition was permanent and would not improve. ChampVA is a good benefit and so are educational benefits and state benefits for those that are P&T. I sure would claim it. If you have SSD then you should be good to go for p&t, but as John and Carlie say get a statement from your doctor to say your condition is static. That personality disorder gag is a dirty trick. The Navy knew they were screwing you out of benefits. John