john999

If the change involves the VA having to pay extra compensation then I would think it would be harder than an act of congress. I think you would need a heavy hitter to really get a change in anything that involves compensation.

I remember suggesting to my local chapter of VVA that we might do some kind of informational picket at the local VARO. The Prez acted as if I has suggested we all try and bugger Miss America. He said all the vets in the chapter liked the VA just fine and were scared anyway to protest. I gave up and cancelled my membership. I suggested a little parade at my local AL post on Veteran's day and they looked at me like I was insane. Scandals and dead vets is about the only thing I think moves vet issues.

If everybody played by the rulebook we would not need jails and judges and lawyers, but we do need them.

I wonder how the military expects to get women in the service if the word gets out that they are treated as second class citizens? This is the all volunteer military and yet they just don't get it.

I am sure it is a violation of HIPPA but that is standard for the VA. I would send the exam to the veteran if you have his address and tell him what happened. He probably can file a HIPPA complaint. I don't know what that entails. It is a clear violation of medical privacy on the part of the VA.

You need a diagnosis from a shrink to say that you have depression secondary to chronic pain disorder.

MyMisse I would be careful about moving to a coastal community in Florida. You will find that your property insurance will cost you a fortune. I like the North Central part of Florida. It is not so crowded and is pretty rural. I think you can buy a lot of house in the part of Florida away from the coast for 150,000. Near the coast I don't think you can buy much for 150,000.

Talk to a divorce lawyer ASAP. Has she cleaned out the joint accounts yet? You need to protect yourself.

I recently had a DRO Hearing at the St. Pete VARO on a CUE claim. I had a lawyer with me. The DRO sounded sympathetic at the hearing, but I got the expected denial. The transcript was was scrubbed to erase the statements by the DRO where he agreed with us. The DRO process is not a magic wand where very difficult claims are won. I think the difficult claims are kicked upstairs to the BVA. For instance, if you are trying to make a connection between a disease that is not on the AO presumptive list I don't think a DRO is going to do that. That is just too heavy for them.

I don't think combat MOS and Vietnam campaigns are enough to prove combat with the enemy. I could be wrong since I had combat MOS and Vietnam campaigns but no CIB since I was in an aviation brigade. I had Pathfinder MOS but ended up in Aviation.

I am not sure but I believe you should get the care for PTSD and worry about paying later. The in-patient care for PTSD will go a long way towards helping you get service connected for PTSD.

I have had many of those shots in the spine. They are not that painful. They may help you or they may not help you.

If your 2000 claim was final then the only way to get retro back to that date is to file a CUE. You won't get effective date back to 2000 if you re-open a claim in 2008.

I am using a lawyer for my CUE claim. No question that my CUE will mean big money for the lawyer and for me. I wanted a very objective opinion about the chances of my winning the claim. I figure if the lawyer is going to spend time and money on my claim he must feel he has a good shot at winning it for me. If I win then he wins. That does not happen if you use a VSO. If you can win a claim before you have to file a NOD then there is no point in getting a lawyer except in regards to the VA's habit of lowballing VA claimants.

Here is another interesting and important point. If you file a CUE and get a higher rating that rating is protected as if it were the original rating. For example if you are 10% for twenty years and file a CUE in which you maintain that you should have been rated 50% originally due to an error, and you win then it is as if you always had 50% and that rating is protected. That is probably another reason CUE's are so hard to win because they are so powerful, and could result in many thousands of dollars in compensation. I guess they could also result in refunds of co-pays and maybe even education expenses.

Alex told it like it is with no BS. He could puncture hyperbole very quickly.

Go with a condition that you can back up with records. You get 100% for MDD more easy than one for PTSD. I sometimes think that the VA believes they can guide vets towards filing for PTSD knowing this is one of the harder claims to prove. I was already SC for a mental condition when I went for TDIU and the doctor I saw kept repeating PTSD, and I was not claiming PTSD. I eventually got SC'ed for PTSD, but I never actually claimed it. I knew about the stressor and I did not want to have to verify a stressor when I was already SC'ed for a mental condition. I got my TDIU for schizophrenia and all the other conditions were grouped under that one diagnosis. When I filed for a mental condition in 1972 there was no such thing as PTSD, so the VA had to hang some other dianosis around my neck. Once it was SC'ed I stuck with that diagnosis and did not try and reinvent the wheel. I think the VA believes that every vet who files for an emotional disorder is trying to claim PTSD, and that is just not the case.

Being 100% and working for the VA is different than being 100% and working in a prison. Do you work with inmates? If you have seizures that might be a security risk for yourself and other prison workers. I don't think you want your employer to know this about you. That might be a good reason for a disability retirement. I don't think there is anyone here who gets 100% and works full time.

Do as Berta says and see if you can sue the DAV in state court. I would never trust any VSO to file an appeal for me. I learned the hard way just like you.

How is your employer going to look at you if you are 100% service connected? One of the factors that is keeping you from getting 100% is probably the fact that you can still work.

You know the VA rated me 60% for a cardio condition and I have never seen a cardiologist at the VA. I saw one in the private sector on my own dime.

You don't need to get you whole C-File to see your C&P exams. Usually, you can get copies from the VAMC or from the VARO. I got a copy of mine recently from the VAMC records dept by just filing out a request form. I don't think you want to ask for a complete copy of your C-File at this point. Regarding your stressors, do you have combat action medals or PH? If so your stressors will be verified if your letter was plausable. I think I would sit tight for a while. How long ago did you have the C&P exams? You should be pretty close to getting a decision.

Even if you have a secondary condition from DMII you need a doctors report to make the connection. The VA will not connect the obvious dots without an exam. I have three secondary conditions to SC DMII and I had to get letters from doctors to SC every one of them.

I am on FERS disability and SSD. You really need the TDIU to be able to survive. Your FERS will be offset by 60% of your SSD (if you get it). Either way it is peanuts. Civil service retirement was gutted in 1984 when it was taken into the SSA system. You will find the FERS is a pitiful amount of money especially after your deductions for medical insurance. I get only $325 a month because of the SSD offset and my insurance. That makes TDIU all that more important since it is more than your SSD and your FERS combined. It sounds like you will get your TDIU. When you reach your regular retirement age the SSD offset goes away and you get the whopping amount of about $1000 a month for 30 years of federal service.

As Berta says the actual regulations say that if you are unable to work due to a SC condition you are eligible for TDIU. The 70% rules is just something the VA has added on to discourage vets with lower ratings from filing. Even if you have 70% the VA can and will fight TDIU if they have an alternative reason for you being unemployable. I know because they tried that stunt on me.