john999

When I worked for the postal service I had to file a claim with workers compensation to get accommodation. The USPS fought it all the way until I won. They never forgave me for that and made things hard on me until I retired. All I asked was to return me to the day shift after working as a window clerk for 6 years. To get even with me for being a union steward they killed my bid and sent me to the graveyard shift. I would say almost all employers outside government won't give you the time of day if you are a disabled vet. If you become a problem you are history and then you can sue and see how your government takes care of you.

VA did not even mention my PTSD DX by the Vet Center when I filed for IU back in 2001. They listed the DX of chronic PTSD,Severe by the Vet Center, but my claim revolved around my IMO. I don't believe the VA gives any weight to DX by the Vet Centers. The C&P exam and treatment records by VA and other doctors is what counts.

When I say the VA is stupid I mean they don't read the evidence. Now I sent them the Fast Letter regarding Bradley v Peake. They won't read it. They will just see that I am TDIU and then deny the SMC "S". Then I have to NOD it and ask for a DRO. If there is any controversy he will deny it. Then off to the BVA. This will take probably three to four years from the time I drop the claim in the mail. If they grant the SMC first time around I may drop dead.

I have a lawyer who is fighting for me right now on my CUE that goes back to 1971. If there is a chance of a good payday the lawyers are there. You have to file a claim and get a NOD to hire the lawyer. Just do a generic NOD if you plan to get a lawyer and let them take it from there. If there is retro involved and you have a good case I think you can get someone to represent you.

I was on workers compensation for a few years and those people really would spy on you. The VA is like Thanksgiving Day and sitting around a nice fire compared to workers compensation. They are vicious jerks.

When I had my cardiac C&P the NP was using my exam to train another NP. The NP did a hell of a job. She just guessed at things that required tests. I read the rating schedule exam. A doctor signed off on that joke of an exam. Without more evidence I would have been sunk. The IMO is the major tool of vets. Where the VA has tried to get around the IMO like with PTSD it is a real crime. All based entirely on cost. Save a buck and screw a vet. "To care for those who have borne the battle" is a joke at the VA water cooler.

Pete If I remember your HB appeal was about the fact that they never considered you for HB when you got your original 100%. So you have to show they made an error when they did not consider you at that time, but only later when you filed for it. You have HB based being housebound and not on the statute of total plus 60%. I don't even know if they are going to allow claims for retro on the statutory SMC "S" as I read Bradley Fast Letter. Of course, if you don't file you don't get.

Yes, you can run out of time to file for SSD depending on the last quarter you worked. File for it. If you get SSD and IU or 100% it is enough to live pretty well.

Phil's idea is to try and not mention HB because it seems to trigger an exam. I am claiming SMC "S" as a statutory benefit due to TDIU plus 60%. Maybe if these morons at the VARO don't think about it too much I can get them to just look at the Fast Letter and my claim. I do have a DX of agoraphobia way back for 2002 so if this approch does not work maybe I will have to claim housebound.

Phil Good Idea!

Augoldminer You say you got a Nehmer notice. What was the reason you got the notice? The VA is great at keeping us in the dark.

The thing is the people at the VARO are so stupid they will just see "claim for HB" and probably ignore the law and schedule the exam. However, I am still sending in my statutory claim for HB before they change the law.

I would bet that any of us who put in a HB claim who have TDIU plus 60% are going to be called in for C&P exam for HB. The VA is going to ignore the statutory nature of entitlement and make the vet go through the C&P and then very likely deny it. If you ask for the HB as a statutory benefit and the VA calls you in for an HB exam what should the veterans do?

I am filing out my claim right now. I am using the Statement in Support of Claim form and attatching Teac's copy of the fast letter. I became eligible as of July 2008 because that is when I got an extra 60% rating. Before that I had 70% TDIU and five 10% ratings. Now I have 70% TDIU plus 5 10% ratings and a 60% rating. I am asking for HB as a statutory benefit. My VARO is such a mess I bet they schedule a C&P exam for me for the HB. They will ignore the fast letter and just call me in for an exam. Hey, I am SC'ed for agoraphobia anyway since 2003.

You know the SMC "S" may be only 295 bucks but it also figures into DIC. It is worth claiming. Why are not the VSO's trumpeting this? Why do vets on their own have to find this stuff out? Without hadit I would have just assumed that you had to be 100% schedular forever since the VA is never going to review all these IU total plus 60% claims. Just like Nehmer gets ignored until you quote it in your appeal. How many vets are afraid to ask for what they deserve because they think the VA will retaliate? The VAMC does not do outreach, and we will all be dead and in our graves before the VBA ever reaches out to a single soul. The VA actively discourages vets who have a total rating from filing new claims.

You sure as heck don't want to mix NSC disabilites and SC disabilites when you claim IU. IU must be based only on SC conditions.

Getting the IMO is probably the most important part of getting any secondary condition SC'ed. The doctor needs to say your secondary condition is a result of your SC condition. The VA is not going to connect the dots no matter how obvious. The VBM says this regarding secondary conditions. Just remember never to mention any other conditions besides the SC condition that could account for the secondary condition like pain disorder. If you got hurt in service and also has a car wreck ten years later you don't want to volunteer that information if you are trying to get a secondary pain disorder SC. When vets get smart and start claiming secondary conditions and the like the VA starts trying to find ways to defeat these claims.

The VA originally told me they could not determine if I was IU because I was unemployed. I don't know what tops that?

So what we agree on is if a vet is total plus 60% he/she has a statutory right to the SMC S. What you are saying, John, is that the Code overrides the CFR. This is what I took away from Bradley. You don't have to prove you are housebound. If you were total and did not have the extra 60% you have to show that you are housebound due to your disabilites. The VA has been claiming for years you must be 100% schedular and the Vet's Court said that was wrong. Is the VA trying to go beyond the Veteran's Court of Appeals to overturn Bradley? Did Bradley get his SMC?

When you add Bradley v Peake to it then should not the VA consider IU and 100% schedular as equal in all but name. They are equal regarding SMC potential in most cases as I read the long and confusing Bradley 2008. So how are they different for a mental disability? There is almost no difference. If you extrapolate from Bradley then when a vet gets IU for a single disability that would be almost exactly the same as 100% schedular. Read Bradley and see if you agree.

I think it will open the VA to even more appeals. I had a PA do my cardiac C&P. A cardiologist who never read it signed off on it. It was a joke. No testing at all. The PA just guessed at various things such as METS. I appealed and got stress tests. I went from a 0% rating based on the dumb PA's exam to 60% on appeal. You know that insurance companies use PA's and nurses to do disability exams and they overturn exams done by cardiologists. Maybe the VA is trying for this ability. Now PA's and NP will do all the exams. The VA will have PA's doing neurology exams. They will just smack you on the head and ask if you feel it.

The VA deferred one of my claims. I got sick of waiting and filed an NOD. They had all the evidence they needed to make the award. A few weeks later I got a call from the VA asking if I had any more information to file on my deferred claim. I said no and go ahead and rate it. They did and I got the rating. They were just fooling around and not wanting to grant the SMC money.

The hospital stay can be considered an informal claim for a disability or an increase in an existing one. I went to the hospital in August 2001. The VA eventually used that date as the date of my IU award. They did not use it at first. I had to appeal. The first effective date was March 2002 when I filed the IU claim. The VA never seems to make the legal inferrence even when it is in their face. You have to claim it which bugs me. If you don't know you have an inferred or statutory claim the VA will never tell you.

My lawyer's office called me today to ask me to renew our fee agreement since my CUE was denied at the BVA. More lawyers are getting in on the act. My lawyer Karl K. has gotten another lawyer in on the case. Would my agreement have expired just because I lost at the BVA or is the lawyer trying to find a way to get more fees out of my potential award. I know they are anxious to win my claim since it means big money and they are pissed about the loss. I am pissed also but I don't want to share my award with three lawyers. I guess I just have to re-read the agreement. I think I also have a new CUE due to Bradley v Peake. I don't know if I can stand the strain. Any suggestions? Should I go ahead and file the CUE on Bradley? I have one disabilit rated as TDIU and 6 others that came later that are over 60%. As I read Bradley the VA made a CUE when they did not give me HB when I got the extra 60%. I also have a dx of agoraphobia from 2001, but I don't want another mental health C&P if I can avoid it. I am nervous!

I got 60% for CAD secondary to DMII in 2008. I was already at IU since 2001. Should I file another claim for IHD? It won't increase my rating. In Johnjrr's case if he got a separate rating for the IHD he might get the housebound. If he is still considered total plus at least 60% for IHD then he could get the SMC according to Bradley v Peake as I read it. I should have gotten the HB automatically according to Bradley because I was IU total for one disability and then got at least 60% for other disabilites.