john999

When you file the CUE you must be very specific as to what the error was and where in the process it occurred. For instance, in you original rating if the VA ignored an IMO or information in your SMR's you have to point that out specifically. If your c&p doctor said "veteran cannot work due to service connected condition", and the VA denied your claim then that might be a CUE for TDIU.

Don't go out with money burning in your hands and buy an expensive toy. Wait a few months after you get the retro and let it cool down. Consider what it is like to have multiple thousands in the bank and how that can aide your sleep. You are practically a capitalist. John

Carlie You know I think it is probably VA SOP to argue that unconsidered evidence is often amitted to by VA, but then branded as not be conclusive enough to have changed the outcome of the decision. This is what VA is saying in my CUE. They admit not considering my evidence, but then say it is not "undebatable" that this evidence would have changed the outcome of the original rating. This is a very large hole the VA can drive a truck through because they say "reasonable mind" (their minds) must agree that evidence for the vet is undebatable. You can debate almost anything except maybe speed of light or gravity. VA says that evidence of CUE must be objective, but the method they use to determine that is very subjective. Phrases like "reasonable minds" and "undebatable" are subjective unless you have a math problem.

Berta So the fact the VA failed to get the SSI records is a failure in the VA's duty to assist. I know that " duty to assist" issues can't be part of a CUE. For instance, the VA fails to give you a C&P exam. That is a failure in the VA's duty to assist and not a CUE. This is what the VA told me and my lawyer anyway. If you have VA's records and the VA fails to get them is that also a failure in duty to assist? That would be enough for a regular appeal but not a CUE, correct? If the records are in the file and VA does not review them then that is a potential CUE. John

If I were you I would try and get an IMO/IME to say you are unable to work. I use the St Pete VARO and I find that unless it is spelled out by the weight of medical opinion that you can't work the VA may just deny TDIU. I was 70% and on SSDI and the St Pete VA denied my TDIU claim until I got more evidence in the form of an IMO.

If you had gotten your SSDI records ten years ago and turned them into the VA and they had not considered them in your rating decision for TDIU that might be a CUE. In the future don't wait for the VA to get records. Get them yourself. If you can prove that the VA did not make a good faith effort to get your SSDI records you might have something, but I don't think it will be a CUE. I might be wrong so you could try.

If I have new evidence I would ask for a DRO Hearing or a Reconsideration before I went to the BVA. Take all the bites at the apple you can get before getting in line at the BVA. In the last 11 years I have won all but one claim at the VARO.

I got out of the Army 42 years ago. I filed a claim within the first year after discharge. I waited about 2 years for a decision. I had SMR's, VA records, and private medical records. I got a rating of just 10%. I went many years thinking the VA had considered all the facts and made a decision in line with the facts as they were at the time. 35 years later after reading Hadit for many years I reviewed my old decision. I discovered that the VA had not considered my private medical records in the original decision. I am appealing that error right now. You really have to read your decision letter, and if you have reason to believe you have been given a bad decision then appeal. It can mean thousands of dollars and years of waiting if you let the appeal time expire. Back in the bad old days claimants were really on their own with just a service organization to help you. Now you have the internet and you have Hadit. You can even hire a lawyer. The VA is still bad but you have help now we never did back in the day.

Did you file a claim within one year of discharge and did you ever get treatment or have documented symptoms of schizophrenia while in the service? I filed a claim for schizophrenia within one year of discharge. I got 10% back in 1973 and the VA did ignore my IMO, so it is not a cake walk. I had in-service treatment records and they still tried to shaft me. I agree with what Pete said about getting your ducks in a row. You might even get a lawyer if you claim is denied. What kind of discharge did you get?

If you were discharged within 3 years you can ask that your discharge be reviewed and that it be changed to a medical discharge with retirement benefits. If it has been more than 3 years you must go to the BCMR and appeal your discharge. Not easy. Did you get a regular honorable discharge? In your situation you will probably need a lawyer if you want to have a chance to win. You are starting from ground zero.

You know self-employment is a good deal for those with pretty serious disabilites. You don't have anyone telling you that you are not working hard enough etc. If you can find something that fits your limitations and be your own boss you will last longer. John

Hoppy If you consider that I spent two months in a military hospital for depression, anxiety and drug abuse after Vietnam it makes me wonder why it was so easy for the army to discharge me as a PD. I was taking stelazine right up to the time I was discharged. The army shrink who said I was a PD never even spoke to me. They wanted me out and the only issue was unsuitable or unfit. I then spent 2 weeks in a VA hospital a few months after I got discharged. The VA DX'ed me with schizophrenia and after I filed a claim I got 10% for schizophrenia, but the PD was still hung around my neck. Getting a PD dx removed from your profile is a difficult job. The VA even tried years later to sever SC due to the PD dx, but I had been SC'ed for over ten years. They tried to deny my CUE pretty recently harkening back to the PD dx some other VA doctor cooked up about 25 years ago when I asked for an increase. The PD motivated discharge routine is a scandal.

I was discharged for a PD by the Army after 28 months and then SC'ed for schizophrenia within one year of discharge by the VA. The Army rode me out of town on a rail called a personality disorder. It took them 28 months and a tour in Vietnam to discover the PD. Years later they changed the DX to bipolar disorder and PTSD.

Yes, you actually can go over 100%. If you get 100% plus an extra 60% you get "housebound" which is an extra 300 some odd dollars a month. You can also get special monthly compensation for a number of conditions that would pay you more than 100%. I got TDIU plus 60% and I got "housebound". With your rating you could get vocational rehabilitation which is training which pays for all your materials for schools and gives you monthly money. That is if you can't find a job. You can get unemployment while you look for work. If I was 37 I would want to work as well or go to some good school where I could get a job that I could do with my disabilites. No physical labor jobs. I worked at the USPS for 20 years and that made my problems worse due to hostile working conditions and the work itself. John

Paxil is a good long term drug for panic. It has other side effects people don't like but compared to panic attacks they are probably worth it. If you are afraid to go out of the house due to panic try Paxil for six weeks and see.

If you are going to apply for TDIU you can't work. Keep going to the VA and maybe some of your conditions will get worse and you can appeal and get 100%. It is really hard to get from 90% to 100%. I know since I am 90%. Like you say, you need at least another 50% to get to 100% schedular. How much can you earn? If you are under say 50 years old and can get by on your work income and your 90% I think I would rather work and maybe get vocational rehab. John

I got an EED based on a hospital admission. I had a GAF of 40 at admission. When I filed for TDIU about 6 months later that was the date I originally got as an ED. I appealed it based on my date of SSDI but the VA went with my hospital admission date which was the same as the SSDI date. You figure it. I filed for TDIU when I was 30%. I did not listen to those idiots at the DAV who told me I could not get TDIU unless I had 70%. I did get 70% 6 months later. John

Streetwalker If you can get OPM, TDIU and SSDI you can make it. You will be taking home more than you did as a postal worker. I got OPM then SSDI and after about a year TDIU. I was already rated 70%, but the VA dickered with my rating and I had to appeal on the TDIU. I had just over 20 years of service. You will have your OPM offset by 60% of your SSDI until you reach age 62. I waited until I got fired so it was unpleasent. John

I know that topomax can affect your eyes and it works sort of like neurontin.

I retired from the USPS when I was 51. The pain and depression had gotten to be too much for me. This is a decision you have to make for yourself before the feds make it for you. OPM is easy to get. SSDI and TDIU are a little harder. Can you survive on OPM for at least a year with your savings? I am pretty sure you will be able to get IU but it takes time. If you go out on OWCP you will end up owing money when you get approved by the VA for TDIU if you have retro from the VA.

DMII is a big item since it involves so many secondary conditions.

Go for mental health appointments and get a diagnosis. I take meds and they make me feel somewhat better. You have to shop around with medications until you find one that works. If you don't go for treatment somewhere it is hard to get SC for a mental health claim.

I think he will get 100% and I hope it is permanent and total. A GAF of 35 means he is at a very low level of functioning. Denial is one of the major symptoms of ptsd.

Did you know that with retirement you could have gotten tricare?

I would take the insurance. I just wish we could get a lot more at a reasonable price. If you are young and have dependents you need a whole lot of insurance. I also wish DIC was much more.