john999

I think I agree with Phil on this and while you are at it file for an increase now and file the CUE for what they missed or incorrectly rated back in the day. They are separate claims.

If you were granted total disability soley for PTSD then send a statement in support of claim and ask for "S" based on Bradley v Peake and quote the other ratings you have that equal 60% above and beyond what you were granted total disability for in 2009. This is how you kick it off and see what the VA comes back with regarding the other disabilites.

You should tell the VA where the evidence is and what the evidence is and for them to get it since it is in their data base. You could include a copy of the evidence with the NOD, but if it is in the VA data base there is no point. The NOD is just your first step in appeals. Are you going to ask for a DRO Hearing?

When you file a CUE the VA uses the old regulations at the time of the decision. Whatever existed as far as the law for rating scars in 1971 is what would be considered. If the VA did not apply the 1971 regulation correctly you may have a chance. It is a long and hard road. Try and get an increase now and then go for the CUE.

I have been interacting with the St Pete VARO for 40 years. It is a black hole. I have nothing good to say about them. Decisions out of that office are a puzzle even when you win.

Bob If they really owe you lots of retro see how it goes but if you see that they are not going to grant the claim no matter what then get the lawyer. When you present them with clear cut evidence and they still deny you know they are afraid. No VARO wants to grant 40 years of retro for a mistake.

I don't know but you would probably have to hire a lawyer and go to court to get them. They are not going to release the records that say "This guy is just faking. Don't give him a damn thing".

Bob In my claim the BVA did agree that since the VA never referred to or listed certain evidence in my file then it was not considered in my original rating. However, they come back with "Well, even if it was not considered it would not have mattered anyway". They have done this in other heavy claims that went to federal court. They just kill you with time. I read a claim where records were altered after a decision and the poor vet still ends up in federal court. This guy Cushman has been fighting this case since 1980 and is still in remands. I mean the VA fakes medical evidence and all the guy gets is a remand back to the same rotten RO where the fraud took place. Nobody will step up and award this vet 20 years of TDIU retro. They would rather wait him out until he dies and then wait out his widow. The VA has gotten away with ignoring,faking and altering vital evidence for years. Unless the vet examines their file they will never know. Cushman was turned down for SSD because he used altered records in his SSD claim and did not know the records had been faked to kill his TDIU. The BVA, COVC and Federal Court know this and yet he still has not gotten his retro. If you know the VA has done something like this I would hire a lawyer because they will try and wriggle out of it. I am waiting now on a remand because the BVA used the wrong rating schedule in denying my CUE. I will wait months and they will use the right schedule and still deny my CUE. This is all to kill time in hopes I die. John

If you meet the exact criteria for "S" you should be able to get it pretty quick. It is a CUE if they did not award it to you when you first became eligible for it. You are not even supposed to have to claim it. I am sure there are thousands of vets out there who have been denied "S" because unless there is some lawsuit the VA is not going to go back and look to see who should have gotten it. The thing is you probably have to claim it, so the system fails again.

If it is not in the C-File then the VA does not have it. If there is some hospital report that is part of your SMR's and it is not in your C-File then it was not considered in the decision. That is my theory of the case. If there is evidence in your C-File and the VA does not refer to it or list in evidence then they did not consider it. That is my other theory.

It is a QTC thing. The greater number of exams the doctor does the more he and QTC get paid.

I can't understand why the VA does not give every vet they think has an emotional problem the MMPI except they are cheap bastards. The MMPI is the Gold Standard psychological test. How can a shrink tell you have PTSD with a 15 minute exam?

A person with ChampVA has to enroll at a VA hospital. I never heard of a military hospital or clinic accepting ChampVA. I bet they thought it was Tricare. You may get a bill or maybe not.

You know any federal employee hired after 1984 has to pay into SSA. Their pension system was gutted by Ronald Raygun. I paid about 7% of my salary into the crummy pension and I contributed 10% into the Thrift Savings 401K. The gummit matched 6% I think. I bought back three years of military time. It did me no good since I never made my 30 years. I lost ten years of contractual increases. When I hit 62 I will get full pension from feds minus contract raises which will be around 13,000 a year before taxes and insurance. If that is living high on the hog then feed me no bacon. Working for Uncle Sam is good if you are a retired General.

You know I get a federal pension. It is not squat. My SSD is more than that pension. If I had to live off my federal pension and SSD I would be asking for food stamps. I got the federal pension because I had to retire on disability after 20 years. The government subtracts 60% of my SSD from the pension. I have just enough left to pay for insurance. I net $250 a month from that pension before taxes. I get fully taxed on my federal disability pension. When certain groups estimate government worker's income they include benefits. There are not many benefits left.

Phil One thing to consider is that most of the national leaders of business, politics, media and academia avoided the draft and especially service in Vietnam.

The VA has found the best cure for PTSD is to just not DX it.

Pete992 You are right because I did it. I was hospitalized in August 2001. I filed for TDIU in February 2002. When I finally was awarded TDIU with a date of 2/2002 I appealed and got an EED of 8/2001. The VA granted my appeal based on the date of my hospitalization and since that was the last day I worked.

Old man This is a case that has been batted back and forth between RO and BVA for nine years. I suggest you hire an attorney. When these cases get old and remanded back and forth for years it is good for someone from the outside to pick it up if they will. If there is potential retro they probably will. Why go round and round with this when you can hand it off to someone who has a legal duty and monetary motivation to see you win if possible.

The main difference between those who get correct ratings and those who don't is persistence. Appeal everything until you are satisfied. Watch your deadlines and dates.

You need to file an appeal. No telling what my turn up between time of appeal request and day you get a hearing. Don't let it die. Ask for a DRO and if that fails go to BVA. This will take years and give you a chance to find more evidence.

You need a new doctor.

I disagree in this sense. If you don't file for SSA or TDIU you lose your earliest effective dates. As soon as you file your retirement papers from the police file for everything else. Big Red is right that police will probably be the easiest, but you want to file for everything as soon as possible. I retired on disability from the feds. I used the same date for SSD and TDIU. I did not get all monies at the same time but that was the effective date I was awarded for all. If psychotherapy can't help you then file for everything.

I think you will need one separate rating of at least 40% unless you get 100% schedular combined. That is hard to do.

In Florida you are put in metal container so if you just get a pine box it is same/same as expensive coffin. I can wait to be resurrected in a cheap coffin just as easy as expensive one even if I have to wait 1 billion years. "I don't care where you bury me when I die. You can bury me down by the highway, so my old evil spirit can catch a greyhound bus and ride?"....Robert Johnson.