john999

Once you file a NOD you can be represented by a lawyer. When did you file this claim? I say get a lawyer if you just feel that you can't handle a claim. There is not all that much they can do until you get to the part where they really have to argue the law. If you are lost you have to start somewhere. If you lose at the DRO you want your claim to be pretty tight before you go to the BVA and beyond.

You ought to throw in a claim for depression just for good measure.

What kind of discharge did he get? Was he treated for schizophrenia while in service? Did he file a claim within one year of dischage? Was he treated for any mental heath problems in service? When I look through my file 40 years later it is stressful for me and always gets me angry and depressed and I have been TDIU for ten years. The VA puts you through a meat grinder.

How much retro is involved? You might just wait for the DRO hearing and see what that brings before you hire a lawyer. The lawyer will get 20% of your husband's retro. However, if you just feel this is all too much for you then hire the lawyer. I hired a lawyer for one of my claims because I felt it was over my head and it was and is over my head. 80% of something is better than 100% of nothing. All the DAV guy does at the DRO is just to present the evidence. You could do that as could a lawyer. Are you gettting a Review or a Hearing? I guess I vote that you get the lawyer and give him your husband's POA. You have too much on your hands. John

I am not filing any new claims for psychological disability but under the new rules for PTSD I wondered if this or something like it would qualify as a stressor. Hey, you are in a combat zone. You hear and see explosions and gunfire. Unless you are actually in a firefight that is about as close as it gets to actual combat. The thing is that for many Vietnam vets this situation was the norm and if there were snipers or stray rounds going over your head nobody made notation of this. Unless somebody was killed or wounded it was just business as usual.

Use the VA email system to send them a letter and ask if they have received your claim. The St. Pete RO is so bad that if you don't get acknoledgement via VCAA letter I would worry. If every issue you have brought up is not in your VCAA letter then I would make a trip to the RO if you can and find out what is wrong. I have found that if the VA does not referrence every issue via VCAA then it probably is not in the system. I have been told St Pete RO gets 10,000 pieces of mail a day.

Your 1980 decision looks like my 1973 decision where they just ignored my doctor's evidence. The VA only relied on evidence that made my claim look weak and ignored evidence that showed true extent of my illness. In one sentence they say this vet just has a personality disorder and in the other that he has bad reaction to anti-psychotic meds. They say I seem to get along well with others, but the others are fellow inmates on the psychiatric ward. Run your claim by a lawyer if you have your whole file and can show him where the VA made mistakes in original denial. My CUE is very obvious. Yours is bizzare. I did not get appeal rights or any of that either, but no CUE based on that line.

Bradley vs Peake is the decision you want to examine for the total plus 60% for a "S" award. I was 70% when I got total. Some years later back in 2008 I got an extra 60% for a AO DMII secondary claim. Teac and Phil began to talk about Bradley v Peake and I tought about it for a few days and I filed. I was actually 90% at the time just like you including the 60% rating for a single issue. I have the rest of my life to fight with the VA. I have a CUE that is 6 years old and I intend to fight that baby to the supreme court if my lawyer will go there with me. The VA cheats many thousands of vets out of money so we are just making a small dent in what they owe. I don't think they are going to go back in your case and refight all those ratings. I have 7 different ratings myself. You can take that 400 bucks and put it right in the bank when you win. John

What I see is that you were SC'ed for some condition in 1980. I see old letters J,I ect and under (I) I see service connection for your wrist condition. These old decision are very hard to understand. How in the world could you get TDIU for a NSC condition. I can understand your confusion because I am confused. In 1980 were you SC'ed for a wrist condition? The 1980 decision seems to contradict itself on the same page. John

I would go for the SMC's since that is an extra $400 plus a month tax free which equals about $500 taxable. I feel the same way as you about most of the small stuff, but if you are falling or having mobility problems that are increasing your compensation may increase due to different SMC over time. If you don't need the money right now save it for the day you are not around so your spouse will have it. None of knows how long we will live. I got "S" and "K". Bradley vs Peake handed me "S" and two years of back pay as well since it was handled as a CUE back to 2008 to 2010. I say go for it. John

If you pulled perimeter guard duty at a small air base and saw and heard firefights within less than a half mile of the base on a nightly basis would this qualify as a stressor under new rules? We often expected to be underfire any minute.

Your handbook may show a new rating for you. Take a look at it. I would say you should be getting a decision letter any day. If you have not claimed anxiety and depression like John says I would sure do that next. John999

Hey, my former employer the USPS put me at a table for injured employees that was unofficially referred to as the table for the " Lame, Lazy, and crazy". I helped other employees file workers compensation claims as well as one for myself to keep from going crazy sitting there all day. Then one day my employer threw me into the briar patch.

Great and Welcome! Hadit has some great nexus letter formats as well. We are in this together. John

London KY is where OWCP has their HQ. This place must be some kind of hell. I guess they use ex-coal miners to do claims. I saw some coal dust on my last letter from OWCP. Now I have black lung.

Your C&P sounds like an IMO I got some years ago. I got a rating of 70% but was denied TDIU for some dumb reason since I was already on SSD for the same SC condition. I think you could get 70-100 percent if you are not working. I am guessing so don't take my opinion to the bank.

I get HB and the handbook has nothing to say about it.

Do you get TDIU?

Who is your VSO? Usually, when something is deferred they are waiting for more information, but who knows what that is? Your rep should find out for you. If he is blind from his SC injury he should be gettting 100% rating plus other SMC.

If your 100% is for physical injuries no problems. You can work all you like. If for mental then it is more tricky. If VA finds out you will probably loose your P&T in a hurry.

I got that exemption back in 2002. Not bad and now if the government could offer me low property owner insurance which costs me $3000 this year. We in Florida are paying for Hurricane Andrew. One more bad storm and I am leaving. If a bad one were to hit Tampa bay forget about it. You could not buy insurance at any price in Florida. Many people just go naked on home insurance in Fla. John

If the VA was a Wall Street bank we would all be millionaires. Every time the VA screwed up the government would send them a 100 billion dollars. John

Quik St. Pete VARO is just about the worst place for a vet there is in the USA. It is a black hole. If you even get a feeling that something is wrong with your claim at St. Pete start calling, writing or visiting to find out what is wrong. Your instincts are probably right. I wonder what happens if I were to move out of the area and have a new VARO. Would my file just vanish? Would I have to prove P&T all over again? Dealing with St. Pete has turned me into a paranoid person. When I get a letter from them I get this sick feeling even when I am waiting for something good. john

London, Ky is where the Office of Federal Workers Compensation has their HQ. What kind of place is this? OWCP makes the VA look like your mother's kitchen on Chrismas Day.

Have you filled out the TDIU official form? I don't know why they would defer TDIU other than they don't have medical evidence that says you are unemployable. Then there is the VA thing where they just like to hold onto the money for as long as possible. They are praying you might die or get hit by a runaway beer truck. John