john999

Get a lawyer! Maybe he/she can help you off the merry-go-round.

If you are claiming 20-30 of retro nobody at the VA is going to want to grant that claim. I look at Cushman and I see where he won in federal court but still has not collected his money. He has been trying for many years and as soon as the claim is back in the VA system it stalls.

Keep going to therapy and don't mess with your meds without talking to your doctor. The prozac takes a couple of six weeks to really start to work. There are other drugs in that family that might suit you better. I take cymbalta and it makes me more mellow than prozac. It is ok if you mind is saying "kill" as long as your body is not obeying.

My denial for CUE for EED for TDIU was based on VA's contention that I was "not" on SSD at the time. They said that when I was granted SSD then I was eligible for TDIU. I think the VA uses SSD data however they want to when they want to use it.

I would be filing a disability claim for the bipolar disorder as soon as I could either in service or as soon as possible after discharge. You have DX and suicide attempt. I think you should be getting a medical discharge with your reactions to drugs and anti-depressants and your DX. Can the ADC help you with this? Failing PT test is just an excuse to get you out.

I requested and got mine in about 6 weeks. When I got to the BVA I found that BVA judge had about twice as much of my file as I did. My lawyer requested what the judge had right then and there. How can you get a fair hearing when you don't have the same evidence as you adversay?

I read a VFW congressional quote today that said about 2 million claims and appeals are in the backlog right now for compensation,pensions, educational benefits and survivors. I get these VFW updates with factoids. I remember trying to get A&A for my grandmother and my mother a few years apart. They could find no records for my grandfather because he served before WWI and my mother died waiting for benefits. The county VA guy said that was VA SOP to try and wait out vets and spouses in nursing homes hoping they would die before any decision was made. We have seen the high water mark with the WWII vets. John

Dean You want someone to do it that has done 5000 cataract surgeries at least. Most larger cities have clinics that do these surgeries like clockwork. I had mine done in St. Petersburg,Fl where the doc has probably done 10,000 cataract surgiers and has a team. They know everything that can go wrong. They actually implant a corrected lense in your eye so you come out with close to 20/20. I did. John

Most private doctors do both eyes. I had severe cataract in one eye. My medicare doctor did the bad eye first and other eye second. The VA was not even going to do one eye. I was 20/800 in my bad eye. If you have other insurance I would use it.

A friend of a friend says he was exposed to AO in Okinawa when his commanding officer ordered him to bury drums containing AO. How would he go about proving this? I told him to get a sworn statement from the officer or a buddy who knows. Otherwise I guess he needs some documentation, but what? He has Parkinson's disease now and was in the Air Force during Vietnam Era. John

This is just for pensions and not TDIU?

You first filed for TBI in 1981 and the denial became final? If it was final the only thing you could do I think is to file a CUE claim if you have evidence the VA made an error in the 1981 rating. You could do that any time. However, the NOD you have one year to file on the 3 years of retro. John

Can you get help from American Embassy?

If you die from SC condition the VA will pay a certain amount for burial including coffin. You must die from SC condition, however, for full (VA standard) reimbursement. This is why death certificate is important and possible autopsy.

I was in group therapy for many years, but not a VA group. If a shrink is going to induce you to relive horrendous events in your life he must be a real pro. Some things are better left as sleeping dogs. The expose therapy idea is from WWI where shell shocked soldiers were able to get better by talking about their experiences. My group therapy was very good for me. We had RVN vets in my group even though it was private. I respected these guys because we had a common experience, and one of them really set me straight on a few issues. My experience in 70's and 80's with VA groups and individual therapy was awful. I stopped going for 20 years. The VA used my group therapy sessions against me when I filed for compensation saying I did well in groups, so I could not be that disabled even though I was in locked ward. For the VA to force you into exposure therapy is really malpractice. You are in charge of your therapy.

New evidence can be an IMO/IME, buddy statement, or any new evidence the VA might have. I did use new evidence with DRO Hearings, but not always. I won almost every time. I waited about 9 months to a year each time. I don't think the BVA is that wonderful. I lost there twice recently. John

You know I was arrested by MP's for insisting to executive officer that I would not leave the office until I got help for my mental health issues. The Army used this to court martial me (special courts martial). My defense lawyer,JAG, (a joke) told me to take the administrative discharge offered for a PD (General under Honorable). I had 28 months in on a three year enlistment. I was under psychiatric care at the time, but having a hard time with the crummy army shrink. I was not offered MEB or PEB even after two months in the Army nuthouse. If you are getting administrative discharge I am not sure you get MEB or PEB. You just get a ride to the gate. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. Is the vet being discharged as unfit or unsuitable?

Thanks, Berta, I wanted to contribute to the CUE discussion because the BVA has thrown around terms like "undebateable" even as they admit I had a CUE since all evidence of record was not before the adjudicators at the time of rating. The CAVC is saying that my CUE is just a "reweighing of evidence", and that there is an asumption that all evidence in VA's hands is reviewed. This is typical BS. You have a terrific grasp of the CUE concept as does Carlie and Phil. This is our only shot at justice for these old decisions where we young vets were screwed to the wall by the VA. I went years thinking all I should get was 10% and thinking the VA had used all the evidence my doctor and I had submitted. Now I and thousands of other vets have to jump over a very high wall to get what we could and should have got 30-40 years ago. John

If you are mobidly obese and have DMII, High blood, or any heart disease then I would go outside the VA for an opinion. I would not go with just one opinion. All these surgeries have risks. Being morbidly obese has risks as well. This is not for someone who wants to drop 25lbs.I am obese myself now, but not morbidly obese to the extent I would risk surgery. John

That 50% opens the VBA door to higher ratings should your condition get worse. The way to prove it is worse is to get private IMO/IME. Study the regs that determine what constitutes a 70% rating. The VA low balls vets so often it is a crying shame. Congrats on your persistence! John

Maybe you should appeal the low ball effective date? If you filed three years ago then you should get retro to that date unless they based your effective date on your C&P exam which is wrong. Now I would get private medical opinions to try and get an increase to 70% and TDIU if you are not working. John

The VA ignored medical evidence from my treating doctor 40 years ago. I filed a CUE. The BVA agreed it was a CUE. The BVA agreed that my doctor's evidence was ignored, but said it was not "undebatable" that this evidence would have changed the outcome of my decision. My CUE was "denied" and not "dismissed". It is sitting at CAVC now. The evidence from my doctor that the VA ignored was the only evidence that addressed both social and occupational aspects of my disability. The VA's evidence was just notes from doctors and other VA workers on psychiatric ward. According to the VA note of an unidentified ward clerk is just as compelling as the report of a clinical psychologist. The BVA says if there is slightest shred of evidence to contradict any evidence you produce then your evidence is not undebatable, therefore, not a CUE. This is a standard that is almost impossible to meet. John

I had to ask in writing for my SMC "S". I got two years retro. I don't think the VA looks at old decisions with the backlog staring them in the face. I would just send them a certified letter and ask for the "S". I don't think it will hurt your rating at all.

I was 51 when USPS fired me. They did not know it but they threw Bro Rabbit into the thorn patch. Now I make twice what I used to make. I did hire a lawyer because I was a federal employee. I really could not do the job any more, but could not stand the idea of retirement until I just forced their hand. Something inside us knows when it is time. If they wanted to they could have kept me, but I was a pain in the ass, so out the door I went. John

If you have restrictions that say "no lifting beyond 10 lbs" don't let some doctor make you lift 40lbs. That makes a liar out of you and your restrictions. If it is over 10lbs attempt to lift but stop as soon as you feel slightest pain and drop it. I agree about the back surgery. That is 50/50 unless you can't control your bowls. One surgery leads to another and chronic pain syndrome.