john999

No wonder my percoset did not arrive on time.

Sonny Get a VA lawyer. I think you may have a CUE, but the VA will just hit you with everything including the kitchen sink. I have a CUE and I got a lawyer, and yet it has taken almost 6 years. Unless the CUE is almost a clerical error you will need help from a person who is not emotionally involved with his claim. I can almost swear that you won't win at the DRO.

We could form a club of guys with old claims who got screwed for a few decades. I would try for the CUE since it is clear you had in-service problems and the VA did an end run around the facts to deny your disability. I am not saying you will win but it is worth a try.

If a congenital condition is aggravated by military service you can get SC'ed. It sounds like a bunch of bull to me since they accepted you as able bodied when you enlisted.

If they had not called you and you had not been home you would have missed the Friday appointment. Then your claims would have been denied for failure to show for a C&P. The same thing happened to me.

Do you have any combat medals or badges? That makes a PTSD claim easier.

I think SSD is designed to employ a lot of lawyers and administrative judges. I got lucky and got it myself the first time I applied. I had very good medical reports from doctors who did SSD work for SSD lawyers.

I used the VBM to get my heart condition secondary to DMII. I read a discussion of artery disease and DMII in the VBM. The VA knew about my condition but never told me there could be a connection. If you read it cover to cover you would learn something on every page.

I think they see the second exam as being enough for 70% rating as opposed to the first exam which is more in line with 50%. If they grant you 70% then TDIU is almost a given. I think they are trying to figure out how to find a reason not to grant 70%. Knowing these bastards that is probably how they think. I would write them a letter and tell them to go with the evidence they have, but they may not do that since that does not fit their ideas. This is my opinion only.

Sonny I have a CUE claim where I am asking for retro back to 1973. I have a lawyer. I would advise you to get one if you can since the VA will fight this claim of yours. I have been to the DRO,BVA, Court of Vet Appeals and back to the BVA on remand. It has taken almost 6 years. You may think your claim is obvious, but the VA will find fault with every part of it.

I am giving you a nick name: Stone. So, Stone, did you file your CUE? Papa: I did not get a c&p either. My rating in 1973 was a joke. 2 pages with just some letters to signify parts of the rating. They did not even use my SMR or my doctor's report. The relied on the VA psychiatrist who saw me once for ten minutes.

About the only way you can get them to go back many years is if you filed a claim and the VA made a CUE in the original decision. This does happen, but be prepared to fight a long hard battle. They don't like to grant 35-40 years of retro for a error they made and will fight fair, or dirty to avoid it.

I have heard good things and bad things about them.

A lot of vets suffering from PTSD were DX'ed as personaility disorders because of drug and alcohol abuse. They were self medicating since they were not getting help from the VA.

If he was denied for a heart condition then his claim would have come under Nehmer. This could mean big retro.

Do you have a permanent address? If not get a P.O. box. The VA has to be able to send you mail. The best evidence you have is your SSDI approval if it is for PTST etc. Are you homeless? You really need a permanent address and phone. The VA can help homeless vets. Try not to change VARO's while you wait for your decision. Big moves across country etc can foul things up for you. When you are young and down and out there is the temptation to think going some place else will solve your problems, but it ain't so. I was disabled at a young age (21) and I drifted around with no fixed address. My permanent address was my mother's home for mail and phone messages.

Get a lawyer.

I think a lot of Vietnam vets avoided the VA in the early days. I don't think they are avoiding it now especially with presumptive AO claims. I avoided the VA for about 20 years but when my disability got worse I started trying to get justice.

If you want to plan your disability retirement make sure you retire for your highest rated SC condition. If you are rated 50% for PTSD and have five other 10% ratings you retire for PTSD. You file for SSD based on PTSD. You request TDIU based on your total rating, but basically the PTSD which is what makes you unemployable I learned all this the hard way, and I was lucky.

If you are 50% or more you don't have copays for NSC treatments or pills. They will bill any private insurance you have for NSC issues and treatments. Since you are priority one you should get expedited treatment availability. What it is is that when you call the VA you often talk to dummies who have no idea what they are talking about. Come here to check things out first. John

Did you serve in Vietnam. It may be a Nehmer thing if you did which could mean retro pay. You might want to visit your VARO and talk to a human about this. I would not get nervous about it since I doubt you will lose your IU unless you go back to work.

Berta I was referring to what the veteran had posted about VCAA regarding his CUE. Yes, I think he should hire a lawyer.

If I had worked 30 years at the Post Office and retired on a full pension and SSA I would be making much less than what I get on VA and SSD. Their lousey 401-K hasn't made a dime in 10 years. You don't want the VA or SSA sniffing around your door.

Being unemployable is the biggest factor in getting a high rating for an emotional disorder like PTSD or Bipolar. If you work 40 hours picking up garbage with a PH.D., and make more than minimum wage you won't get 100% rating for PTSD or any other mental disorder. I think it is also a fact that almost no one who gets TDIU or 100% for emotional disorder ever goes back to work.

VCAA does not apply in CUE claims as far as I know. My lawyer tried citing the fact that the VA never gave me appeal rights in a 1973 decision and the BVA came back with answer that this was part of VCAA and did not apply to CUE. When you file a CUE the VA does not even have to send you a VCAA letter. Did you hire a lawyer?