john999

Just hearing your VSO via VFW say their computer is down makes me want to tell you to get another VSO. You need to visit these VSO's in person. My opinion of VSO's is that they are ok to represent you at a hearing , but you must supply the evidence and see that VA gets it.

When VA asks questions about your claim it is much better than having them just deny your claim. Give them all the information you have now. Don't hold back for appeals. Don't decide on your own what the VA needs or does not need. Send them what they ask for if you have it. If you don't have it try and create it via your own doctors. VA is the one that decides on initial PTSD claims so you must give them what they ask for.

With the VA you want to think long term. Set yourself up for more and greater disability compensation if you can. You never know just how disabled you may become. I have DMII. I think it will progress. I am hoping it won't but the day I have to take insulin you can bet I will ask for an increase, because that affects my life.

These claims are a heavy burden for most spouses except Berta. Can you shop around for a legal eagle to help? The lawyers generally don't work unless they can collect via some kind of wrongful death or malpractice. I did work at the VA in 1984. I saw some shocking things. I transferred to the USPS. The people working at the VA at that time were idiots. They like to practice on old, sick and poor vets who were just looking for clean sheets and a warm place to die.

If money is involved I would appeal. I got P&T and as years went by I claimed a couple of SMC's including Housebound. That is an extra $400 tax freer which probably is $600 taxable. Get every penny you can from the VA. If you don't get it someone else will. If it just means another 10% I would not worry. You are not being greedy if the VA owes you.

Perseverance is the ultimate key to winning almost all VA claims. That is the Gospel! I have truly awful OSA which is not responding well to cpap and eveother surgical applications. Some days I feel so bad I wish I was dead. I still have hope, but I need a ton of encouragement to go through it over and over again with poor result. I would like to be compensated if possible but mainly just good sleep. I wake up feeling worse than when I went to bed.

If you have a written decision that says you are 100% scheduler I think that speaks for itself. If you could get rated at 60% for other issues related to your joints that might be good for the SMC "S". Have you spoken to a shrink to explain how this constant pain is depressing you and harming your intimate relationships? I have not met one major disable person that does not feel anger and depression. These sorts of emotional problems can be compensated.

Now I have four AO conditions including DMII, Heart Disese, P.N. in all four limbs, Chronic pain disorder. I think my high blood pressure is most definitely related to the other AO conditions. I take pills all day and I some times forget to take 10 pills at a time twice a day. I found the VSO's not very helpful and some downright hostile and dismissive. I saw a female vet breakdown into tears due to attitude of VA DAV counselor. They have nerve wanting 19$ a month to do what? So they can party hardy? I have been a life member for 40 years and they have done little for me..Hadit deserves 20$ a month since they actually help. VA knew I was out of work and never mentioned TDIU. It was a VA secret in 1970 I guess.

The older the CUE and the more money involved the harder the VA fights. The laws change as well over time. What would be a CUE today was not in 1968. The whole burden of proof has evolved since then. In the old days VA did not even have to justify their decisions in writing. The assumption was that the VA did a "careful and complete" review of all the evidence. What a lie! I won a CUE regarding SMC "S" because it was as obvious as the moon and stars. Still, the VA made me file for my "S" money. That is a violation but you get no money for punitive damages. If you were cheated for 50 years you get not interest on the money.

I had my old 1972 claim for 100%. I lost that claim because I was young and ignorant of just how screwed up the VA rating team was in my case. I was so dumb I did not appeal my 10% rating because I believed the VA had actually reviewed all my evidence. In those days the assumption was that all evidence sent to the VA was reviewed. At long last I could not prove that the VA did review my IMO's evidence. I assumed they did because they said they did. Not smart and I kick myself for not appealing the VARO decision to just grant me 10% based just on my very incomplete SMR's. The Army lost half of my records including my last duty assignment and all records of basic and AIT. I was in the hospital at for six weeks and the Army and VA lost those records. Half of my Vietnam records were lost. In those days vets did not usually ask for their medical and personnel records at ETS. I was so happy to get the F**k out of Dodge I did not even think to ask. What this means is that every vet should appeal any decision that does not grant all benefits sought. Don't settle! If you want to go back 10 years later it is very hard even with the best of evidence. When you file a CUE you no longer have the benefit of doubt. This is important because now VA sees you as an opponent to be crushed. They will crush you unless your CUE is perfect. Berta is the master here and can weave gold out of straw. Her record of CUE's impresses me!

Remember that a CUE is a very special kind of claim with very harsh rules that do not favor vets. These are claims for which their can be no doubt or judgement. I did file a couple and lost one after 7 years at the Court of Vet Appeals. It was obvious to me and my lawyer but not to those monkeys at COVA. When you get to COVA VA lawyers can twist any doubt or judgement into a hangman's noose for you. The error must be obvious to a six year old.

I have a herniated disc in my neck. It causes me a lot of pain when I type. I don't want to get surgery so I have to limit how much I tap away on the keyboard. I have had so many opinions on what to do about it. I will be on here as much as possible. I think about you guys. I am somewhat behind in every thing. I can give my own story of pursing VA benefits for 45 years. I have gotten my TDIU and three SMC's over the years so there is hope for 100% benefits and extra money no matter how old you might be. Back in 1972 when I started to claim benefits the VA system was so corrupt and worthless. Maybe if is better now, but I doubt it.

I was discharged with some sort of mental condition and granted 10%. I knew this was a low ball since I was unable to work. I began the fight in 1972 after I got back from Vietnam. The VA lied to me about what happened to my IMO and most of my health records. I never even got a C&P exam. I was in the VA nuthouse for a couple of months and that is where they made the decision to deny my appeal for more that 10%. I went on for years appealing and being denied increases on the most flimsy exams. Typical exam would be one or two questions from a VA shrink: "Are you working" and "Do you hear voices or see things?. By that time I had to have been working or I would have starved. I did not hear voices or see funny animals. Therefore no increase. Finally, I got a exam shrink who actually asked me a few questions. I got increased to 30%. I knew it was possible to get increased at that point. I went at it seriously and got 70% and when I lost my postal job I got TDIU. It took 30 years. Thanks to help here on Hadit I got through the VA minefield. The VA system is really a disgrace and the VA tends to keep you in the dark. If we lucky few win our claims imagine the thousands who fail and give up.

Hi john999, Thank you for your donation! We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Your donation includes 1 month of ad free viewing. If you prefer the ad free view, you can subscribe for a monthly or yearly subscription. Thanks Tbird/VA Disability Compensation Benefits Forums - HadIt.com Veterans

I filed an appeal when I got TDIU but was denied the Chapter than includes P&T. It took about a year for p&t to be granted. If you were explicitly denied P&T as part of your claim then appeal that denial. I think I have appealed just about every decision I ever got from the VA because they are almost always do not afford complete relief. A few years after I got TDIU I was granted another 60% for a separate condition. The VA did not immediately grant "S" like they should have done. I had to file a CUE to get that benefit. If you don't ask for it you often don't get it. The VA is sloppy and lazy. If they make a mistake that costs you thousands of buck they don't miss any sleep. The VA is just a machine. We hope to be the monkey wrench.

These claims are often based on who is the bigger pitbull, you or the VA. They know if they just dream up any reason to deny you half of vets quit right there. So this is a long distance race. These VA docs are not punished for writing up reports that make you look like 18 year old Olympic swim team member. Persistence is key, plus all the good advice you get here on IMO/IME format.

Has the VA added any new AO presumptives to the list as of this date? I think they are trying to time it so that they add new conditions when we are all dead. This would be perfect financial management by the VA.

He who dares, wins

If you can show an additional 60% for another unrelated disability you can get Housebound which is another $300. Between the time you got TDIU and now did you get rated 60% or more for another unrelated condition.

When you get all your good evidence in hand and the VA stalls I suggest you get a lawyer who is known for kicking stubborn cases to the goal post. I had one like that in a civil case. No one including the other lawyers and judges wanted to touch the case. My guy just did the dirty work and we got the other side to pay for the delay. Maybe you talk to your local Bar Association to get names. I have noticed that the VA can look at perfectly logical evidence and turn it into something from the planet X.

I actually did have a foreign doctor write an IMO for me. Her IMO was perfect. I was eventually granted 60% on my legs due to her IMO. I saw here a few times and then she disappeared. I wonder why?

Almost all doctors will accept Medicare. The administrative cost of medicare is about 2% of revenue. For private medical providers it is about %20 overhead. Much of that 20% goes for profits to providers. Why must doctors and hospitals need to make big profits off treating people who are sick and dying? This seems unjust in the richest country in the world. If VA was set up like Medicare with 100% care for severely disabled vets it would be a winner IMO. I am not so sure about Medicare for All since I wonder about all the premiums I have paid since I was 12 years old. If all citizens get Medicare for All with no premiums, payroll tax, deductibles , or limits what about the millions who have been paying all along? I want a refund.

You have nothing to lose by filing the CUE. These CUE claims are often a long shot just because of how tricky these claims are made to be. I have won one and lost one. I pursued a CUE for six years and it went COVA and died there. However, I am glad I filed it because it was an education.

You can file for TDIU. If you get 100% then your TDIU will go away.

I think your original denial of TDIU is a CUE. You were 70% for a single disability. The VA admits you were unemployable. They should have granted TDIU. They are stupid. This is just a mistake they should not have made. Also, they may figure that you might just accept the denial and go away. They get away with this crap all the time.