john999

Unless Voc Rehab says you are not able to be rehabilitated this is not going to help your TDIU claim. What are you trying to accomplish? If you are accepted for rehab are you going to be able to work at the end of the program? Your SO is assuming voc rehab is going to say you can't be rehabbed. Voc rehab may not agree with that idea. You don't want to give the VA evidence unless you know what the evidence will say.

Like I said, get a lawyer who has done military divorces before to represent you. They know about this stuff and fine points of the law. Don't dare go into court unless you have a good lawyer. Many is the retired military guy who gets a divorce after he retires and finds his retirement going 50/50 to ex-wife as it probably should. I don't think they can touch disability pay for alimony. The courts hate any sort of possible dead beat dad so from what I know they will go after child support if you have a dime.

Failure of duty to assist is not the basis of a CUE. I know from experience. The VA did not even include my appeal rights in my original decision and the BVA says this is not CUE, so duty to assist is in the wind. If there is a single question of medical judgement in your CUE it dies. BVA says that no matter how unfair your decision is that is not a CUE. Think about that.

Ripper "Unemployable in his career field" does not equal TDIU. You must be totally disabled from substantial work in all fields due solely to SC conditions. This to me is a mistake on the doctor's part in not being clear about defining TDIU. The doctor probably means you are unemployable, but that is not what it says. The VARO quibbles.

Almost a million hits is great. Every vet should know about Hadit.

You should get your doctor to say you are P&T. Then ask to be made P&T. You just send in a Statement in Support of Claim. IHD is not presumptive for Gulf War. It is presumptive for Vietnam vets. How long have you been 100%? If it is more than a year I would send in a claim for P&T.

If you were denied Chapter 35 you can appeal . This is what I did and it took about a year after TDIU to get P&T. It was worth it. Many benefits come with P&T. I don't pay property tax and my wife has ChampVA. She gets better treatment through the VA than I do.

I would try and get the records myself since the VA will not organize them. They may very well get them all mixed up. If you did not file a NOD and appeal your old claim there is not much chance of gettting an EED. If you have more than one claim the VA will need to be hand fed the evidence so they don't make a mess. Do as Bergie has said and maybe you can skip the fee.

Congrats and shame on the VA and American people for making you wait 8 years.

RSG Do you have a CUE claim now? Where is your C-File? Is it at the BVA or VARO?

Chuck If the VA knows a vet is on SSD for SC conditions that is an inferred claim for TDIU. I don't know how Nehmer works into that, but it is to be explored by someone. I think a vet could possibly file a CUE on this. I think it would be a battle, but if the VA had these SSD records they knew the vet was totally disabled.

Clonazepam is probably the least addictive and safest of that class of drugs. If you stop take it suddenly you will feel it in a big way. Clonazepam stays in your system longer than valium or xanex, but to each his own. Some do better on xanex and some on clonazepam

I think the VA should and will view your claim as retro to 1999 when you first filed for CAD. That was a smart thing to do and I think it will pay off now. If this is the way Nehmer works vets should probably claim any condition that might become presumptive in the future. The thing is you claimed CAD and now it is presumptive and Nehmer kicks in for you. If the VA rejects your 1999 date I would sure appeal that. They may fool around and blow smoke but I think you have a good claim to effective date of 1999.

No, I don't think you are off base. I got TDIU at 70% in 2002 and then got an extra 60% in 2008. I got "S" according to Bradley V Peake. It was a CUE because the VA did not award me "S" in 2008. TDIU means total disability which is what is required plus 60% to get "S". Now if a vet got TDIU and then got an extra percentage that put him at 100% schedular I don't know what the deal would be. Once you get to 70-90% rating it takes a very high extra rating to get 100% schedular. I actually had 80% when I got the extra 60% and it only got me to 90% because of VA math. What I got was 60% of the remaining 20% that was left to me. One thing is the VA is going to hold vets to the letter of the law. On your CUE claim I think you are right on with that. Your husband should have been considered for "S" when he got 100% schedular for one disability. If the VA did not say they considered and denied it then they did not consider it regardless of what BS story they may tell you later.

Often units have websites where people can check in and try and find buddies.

If you are totally disabled by either being TDIU or 100% schedular and you have an extra 60% you can get SMC "S". For instance you get TDIU due to PTSD in 2005. Then you get another 60% for IHD in 2010. You are now eligible for "S" housebound. The same would be if you are 160% schedular. The other situation is that you are actually housebound. I think that in many cases you have to ask for "S". The VA gave it to me as a CUE. If I had never filed for it I never would have got it.

Are you able to work? If you are trying to get 100% schedular you need another 50% since you are 90% now. If you can get total plus 60% you can get SMC "S".

Are you going to ask for SMC "S"? If you are total plus 60% you get "S". It is an extra 300 bucks.

What is the 6700 bucks for? You are getting ten years of some kind of retro. Is it some kind of SMC since you are 170%?

Sometimes if you send in new evidence the VA will try and base your effective date on the date they got new evidence. Even more outrageous is when they try and make you effective date the date of your C&P exam. The VA really tries to cheat many a vet on the effective dates.

These are state laws and differ from state to state. In Florida where I live you must be P&T to get the property tax exemption.

Are you working? You have enough to get IU if you are not working. If you are working it is hard to get a higher rating for a mental health disorder. That is the main factor in gettting a higher rating.

Are you saying there are no records of your psychiatric treatment in the military? If that is so then you must get a medical opinion that your chronic pain is the cause of your depression. Was your ETS physical used in your depression claim.

I am pretty sure vets were allowed some medical care in 1969 including getting your teeth fixed. If you were broke they would provide some care. If you were SC they would provide care just for the SC condition. The VA in 1969 was really a hell hole from my experience.

Should be a direct deposit.