john999

You may have read that COPD due to tobacco use can't be SC'ed. I don't even believe that is true. Were you a smoker? You were in the service for 7 years before the military discovered you had a genetic disease? That sounds like a bunch of BS. Your service could have aggravated the genetic condition even if we grant the military and VA's weird decision.

In my case I had 70% and the VA considered and then denied TDIU. I had to file an appeal to get the TDIU. I had already filed for TDIU before I got 70% and they turned it down anyway. So I say you should file for TDIU if you can't work due to your SC condition. Don't wait for the VA to infer something even if they should. We have discussed 4.16a and 4.16b many times. I filed when I was 30% due to the fact I could not work. Both the VA and DAV said it was useless. They were wrong because I got that date as my effective date.

I would hand carry a request for a DRO Hearing. The Form 9 is used to ask for a BVA Review or Hearing. You don't argue your case on the Form 9. You need to stick to asking for a rating on a DX you can prove. What is your evidence of non combat PTSD? It is all going to come down to evidence either at the BVA or the RO. I am not certain you understand the process. You need to file NOD's on claims that are denied within one year. That is the first step in the appeals process. Why have you waited so long? This makes things tricky. I wound hand carry my NOD's and appeal requests to the VARO and get date stamped copies. Is anyone representing you?

Are you going to ask for a DRO Hearing? I would do that rather than send it off to the BVA. You have enough to get TDIU at your VARO. An extra IMO would not hurt.

You need a statement from a doctor that states you cannot work for at least one year due to your disabilites. First thing is to apply for SSD. You can do this over the phone.

I don't think there has ever been a better time to get a claim approved than today. I would not wait for the DAV or take their advice. In five years when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are a bad dream Americans want to forget it will be harder to get any claim approved. If you have a claim file it pronto. The minor claim you have today will probably get worse in 20 years, but it will ten times as hard to prove it then.

No matter how many claims the VA is doing or not doing each month I don't think that affects the time frame of your individual claim.

If the VA knew you were on SSDI for a SC condition then I think you do have an inferred claim for TDIU. That could affect your effective date. Now you will have to fight for this. If it is significant money I might get my ducks in a row and prepare for appeals. The VA will try and avoid awarding an EED based on SSDI award because it opens the door for more claims. I know a vet who was on SSDI for years before he got TDIU for the same condition. He never would have gotten TDIU until he filed for it and the VA fought his TDIU claim.

If you are FERS your OPM will be reduced by 60% of your SSD. I got TDIU, OPM and SSD. When you hit 62 the offset for SSD goes away and you get what you would have gotten if you had worked for USPS until you reached age 62 as a regular employee. For CSRS your SSA is reduced anyway even if you have enough quarters from work previous to USPS. The bulk of your income in the future will be from the VA. Your OPM is fully taxable. I would apply for all three since you have nothing to lose.

If you are working in undergroud economy you can do all right. I also would be nervous about working at a SSA paying job where you file an income tax form each year and declare earned income. If you are getting 100% for some combination of physical injuries and mental problems I think that if the VA finds out you will have to answer some difficult questions. Think how a working citizen would view a vet who claims to be 100% and is working full time at a nice salary? It may be legal but I would not tell a soul.

I got rated totally disabled by SSA in three months. It took almost 18 months by the VA after I was retired on disability.

Kelly The working stiff has very few friends and many foes. The power wants us to fight the wars while they take the profits. They want you to be grateful every time they kick you in the pants. There is a class warfare going on and you can see it at the gas pump.

If I as a suffering disabled vet got caught fooling around with my VA pain med script I would be sitting in jail. I would never be able to get pain meds again from the VA and I might have my disability reduced. This nurse got off light.

Somebody needs to DX you with PTSD at the VA. If the C&P doctor does not DX you with PTSD you won't get SC'ed for it. It would help if a VA doctor also DX'ed you with PTSD. Do you see a psychiatrist at the VA?

Pete Oh, yeah, I agree with that. The VA are the major cheapskates. I even fear getting shots or having them draw blood. I really think profit motive drives private medical services and cheapness drives the VA. Patient welfare is done on the list around the bottom. Marcus Welby, Dr. Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare have been dead a long time.

Those dates are a dream. You are trying to make sense out of a crazy situtation. RELAX!

This is pretty awful, but I got a bad staff infection from a private doctor. The best place to get a life threatening infection is a hospital. If not for a month of IV anti-biotics I would have lost my foot. I have lost trust in all doctors.

dsgr You might be able to get some extra money via a SMC if you get rated for TBI. I say that if you have a serious disability then you should get it rated if possible even if you are 100%. Now little things that will net you 0% forever I would not bother with, but anything that could get worse or cause death then claim it.

There was some group calling itself Navy Veterans Charity that made off with about 60 million bucks here in Florida. The guy who was the boss disappeared into thin air. Nobody even knows his real name. He got his picture taken with George Bush.

If you are not working solely due to your PTSD then you have a good chance. I think they will bump your rating up to 70% before they grant TDIU. Are you on social security for PTSD?

If you are asking for TDIU I would not bring up NSC issues because the VA is likely to blame those NSC issues for you being unemployable. Once they are SC'ed then bring them up. The hearing is informal but you want it on the record. You can have witnesses to testify to how your disability affects you daily life. If you have any new evidence for an increase you can present it. The DRO probably won't make a decision at the hearing. He/she will gather evidence and listen to witnesses and to you. If you have to wear a brace or use any device to help you get around be sure to be wearing them. The main thing is for the DRO to get a look at you and for you to get a look at him/her. First impressions do count, so don't get mad or argumentative. Stay cool and let your VSO present the evidence. Just dress the way you normally dress.

I know in the past the VA has considered two of my hospitalizations as informal claims for benefits. That is how I got my original 10% back in 1971. I did not file a claim but was in the VA hospital and somehow the claim was made for me. I got an EED based on a hospitalization back in 2001 as well on my TDIU. I sure would get that C-File or look at it. My C-File contained evidence the VA never considered in my original decision 40 years ago and is at the CAVA right now. When I saw that evidence that was logged in but never considered it hit me like a thunderbolt.

I was 80% when I got another 60% and it only got me to 90%. That's VA math for you. If I was not working I sure would go for TDIU. Not many with 90% can work especially if they have chronic pain and take pills.

With a 70% disability I think the age factor will come into play. If you are over 40 years old in this economy you might think about TDIU. People who have impressive skills and credentials and are totally able bodied are having a hard time getting work if they are over 40 years old. Everyone loves and supports disabled vets until it comes to hiring them if they have major disabilites. What is your 70% for in general terms? It does matter and the employer has a right to ask at some point. The ADA says you must be able to do the main functions of your job with or without modifications or accommodations to your work environment. Vets like Cleland get 100% regardless if they work due to the nature of their injuries. If you are 70% for PTSD and get a good job I bet if the VA finds out you will be getting called for a new C&P exam. The VA kept me at 30% for 20 years because I worked at the post office doing grunt work with a college degree. Every time I went for a C&P exam they asked me one question: "Are you working".....increase denied. I remember my VA rehab counselor who made it hard for me to get that quality of life program was not even a veteran. I could not even get a job at the VA and I was a 30% disabled vet. I finally did get a job at the VA taking bed pans up to the wards for $7 an hour with a college degree. This was back in 1983. There is very significant discrimination against the disabled and the older worker.

Right, and once you become a disabled vet with any physical problems such as DMII nobody will sell you insurance except the VA. 20,000 bucks is not that much if you have a family but it would defray the cost of funeral and final costs with some money left over to your spouse. When I was young and healthy life insurance was cheap. Now I could probably not buy it at all.