john999

25% is very low for this type of claim. I think in Florida the malpractice lawyers usually get 40% plus expenses beyond the award. I used a nursing home and we won 575,000 bucks and the lawyer got almost half including expenses. When I say "we" I mean the estate.

Is Stardust an FM station and what is the number on the dial?

The VA is failing in all respects. The VA health care system is failing. Expect severe rationing in the future if these endless wars continue. I bet we get sucked into medicare one day.

Where were guys like that after the Vietnam war. The state prisons were full of Vietnam vets.

One thing about the AO Registry is that even if they find conditions related to AO exposure you still have to file a claim. The Registry is not an automatic claim system. For instance, if the AO Registry exam finds you have DmII you will still have to file a claim and most likely go for a C&P exam. If you have any secondary conditions identified in the AO exam you may still find yourself in a battle with the VA to get those conditions service connected. I really don't know what the purpose of the AO Registry is except to provide statistics for VA doctors to use to write articles for scientific journals and advance their academic careers. The AO Registry is a big ongoing statistical work to see what we die from and our morbidity and mortality.

DAV loves to take credit for small victories while sitting on their asses.

70% is enough for TDIU if you are not working.

I spent a whole year in RVN and it was on my DD214 and the VA tried to say I was not in Vietnam. I had all the "been there" medals. They told my congressman I was never there. I had medical records from Vietnam.

You will probably find that all your disabilites are listed under non-combat codes regardless of what happened to you.

Well, one of the professionals just wasted five of his buddies in Iraq. I think draftees enriched the military. I don't find too many college graduates volunteering for the infanty these days. I think a universal draft would be a good idea. Let the other half find out what it is like to fight a war. The biggest danger we face is a military divorced from the civilian population who follow their military leaders, and see themselves not as citizens but as centurians. If we wanted to bring a speedy end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just reinstitute the draft. These wars would be over in 6 months. Plus we would have a very healty anti-war movement. People just naturally want to save their skins.

Pilgrim They granted the reconsideration, but I don't think it was much faster than a DRO appeal would have taken. One thing to remember is that the NOD clock continues to tick while you wait for reconsideration. I would not wait too long to file the NOD. You have one year from the date of your rating decision. Most of us win these things on appeal. Did you write in capital letters "THIS A RECONSIDERATION REQUEST AND NOT AN NOD" on your reconsideration? If there is doubt they will consider it a NOD.

You got to consider that there are vets who have severe combat PTSD, and you are guys are talking about alligators and having sex with transexuals. Unless the alligator or transexual attacked you I would say your PTSD claims are going to get no respect. It is hard enough for combat vets to get PTSD claims through the system.

Probably not more than a year, but there is really no way to tell. It is whenever the VA gets around to working the claim. Where do you live and what is your VARO? Some are worse than others. I did a reconsideration and it took 8 months I think. I provided new evidence and asked them to reconsider.

If the VA diverts you then they are on the hook. I know the VAMC's (there are two of them in my area) divert a significant number of vets to private hospitals. I think at Bay Pines the ambulances automatically diverts to a private hospital for emergency. Carlie might be aware of this. I believe I read in in St. Pete Times. What the hell kind of care it that? I hate to say but diverting might just save your life considering the stories I have read about vets at my VAMC ER dying while the doctor ignored crys for help.

You could be waiting for years for the VA to make you P&T. As soon as I got denied for Chapter 35 I would appeal. This is what I did and it took about a year for me to get P&T after I got TDIU. If I had waited I think I would still be waiting and that was 8 years ago.

Just rembember, Rich, that you are not alone. Many of us have been treated by the VA the way you have been treated. You came back at them with evidence and commitment to fight on using their own system to fact back. This is how you win with evidence and with fighting them using their own tools (a few good IMO's).

What was your MOS in Iraq? Did you get an combat awards or purple hearts. This would be proof of stressors.

The military also will look at a person who has a psychotic disorder, and find some evidence they have a PD (like taking drugs or driking too much) and use that to kick them out with no compensation. Then they get to the VA and the VA waves the PD diagnosis in front of them. All designed to save the military and VA a buck. With the VA you are forced to prove that you are crazy in order to get compensation. That is part of the humiliation process to break you down and get you to go away.

I would do my best to get a chemical stress test for your heart. I found out I had artery disease in legs due to an accident. I was getting a CT scan on my leg for a problem and the scan discovered calcification in my arteries. I have DMII. If you hav them in your legs you also may have them in your heart and brain. This is very common problem for those with DMII. You may not have any symptoms until you keel over dead.

Allen Has you claim really been at the BVA for 11 years. You need to write a book about this.

You should have IU but you probably need a private doctor to evaluate you and your SMR's and VA medical records and say that you cannot work due solely to your SC conditionss. I know people who have much weaker claims than you, but they got medical opinions to rebut what the VA said every time they were low balled or denied. They won their claims just due to persistence and getting new evidence in the form of medical reports. You could even apply for voc rehab and if they turn you down, which they probably will, use that as evidence of IU. Voc rehab does not communicate with the VBA. When you ask for your C-File you won't get your voc rehab documents.

What is riding on this claim is your percentage of disability. This C&P exam is not the end of the story. If the exam and your rating does not go the way you want you go out and get another opinion from a psychiatrist and rebut the rating if you get low balled. I have never gotten the rating I wanted without going through the appeals process. This is what separates those who get a low rating, and those who eventually get a higher rating. You have to be ready to appeal every decision. The C&P exam is just round one in the fight.

Purple With ChampVA you have to keep your temper and talk nice. My wife is a master at it. I get mad and start cussing which ends up with the phone buzzing my ear. Ask to talk to the person's supervisor and get their name when they tell you something is denied. I have had trouble with ChampVA because BC/BS is primary and ChampVA won't pay until primary pays. It really gets my goat because months go by, but you have to talk to them slowly and play nice.

I was taking morphine and then methadone for chronic pain. These drugs made me sick. I ended up taking percoset which just makes me dizzy. These are the only choices the VA gave me for pain meds. If you can't stand the morphine, methadone or even percoset then tough shit. I have been taking the percoset for years so I know I am dependent on the stuff. I take it because I hurt so just stopping it won't work. I did learn that complaining about your pain meds will get you in trouble with the VA. It is the best way to get them to try and cut you off.

It might be better to just reopen the old shoulder claim and ask for more money based on increased disability. Then pursue the CUE. CUE can be a will of the Wisp. Perhaps focus on now and then go after CUE.