john999

Usually the VA puts you through years of rating increases before you get near 100%. You start out with maybe 30% and get to 50%, then 70% and then TDIU or 100%. By the time you actually get 100% you are ready to retire.

The VA does often go over IMO's with a microscope looking for anything they can use to deny the claim. All it takes is one unsupported statement and out it goes. They love to twist the meaning of an IMO by taking a few words out of context. They did it to me more than once with strong IMO's. Speculation is a death sentence for an IMO.

If you are P&T then you probably won't get voc rehab approved for obvious reasons. However, if you are TDIU or 100% it makes all the sense in the world for the VA to try and rehab you and get your compensation rate down after you get a job. If I was young and could be rehabilitated then I would take a stab at it.

Maurice When you ask for a secondary condition to be service connected you have to have a medical opinion that states the nexus in 99% of the cases. There are a few conditions that are presumptive as secondary conditions for other conditions, but not that many. Cataracts for Diabetes is almost a sure thing as secondary but you still ought to have an opinion for any secondary condition. It says it in the VBM in bold type. The VA is always on the lookout for potential alternative explanations for medical conditions that are not SC'ed. They don't connect obvious dots. I am talking about the VBA.

Levesque is the guy to talk to in St. Petersburg area. You can call or email him. He does respond to vets. I discussed with him the horrendous parking situation at the Tampa VAMC.

My doctor at the VA had a form in her computer that she used to help me get SC'ed for a secondary condition. I did not have to give her a letter to sign. It was in her computer in language that was letter perfect. I told her what I wanted and she cranked it out!

I would give the VA Health Care System a D, and the VBA an F-.

My experience is that you give the shrink the evidence and let them write the letter. I don't think any shrink I have ever delt with is going to sign a letter like that, especially with all those other conditions. The shrink is not competent to make medical opinions about those non-psychiatric conditions. Plus, the shrink is going to want to make his own GAF.

John That is what I did. I took the award letter from SSDI and a letter from the SSD records that said what condition I got SSDI for and hand carried it to the VA. If I had waited for all the official channels to funnel paperwork for my TDIU I would still be waiting I think. I also took my paperwork from my previous employer showing my disability retirement date to the VA. The VA just stalled at every step of the way. I had to prove my final day at work via my Form 50 from the federal government. I worked hard to get my TDIU. Then, of course, I had to prove P&T. In my AO DMII claim the VA said they did not have my DD214. I had to get a certified copy and bring it to them. I did not want to wait a year for them to get it.

We pick on Larry because we like him. He is feeling picked on just because he wears a weird hat. I wear my Vietnam Veteran hat just to show the public we are not all dead or in jail.

What are symptoms of Hep C?

Send you SSA records to the VA yourself.

Ask for a higher rating. 70% is the next stop from 50%, and 70% means TDIU if you can't work or are heading towards not being able to work. What condition was the rating for originally? Take a break but don't let this thing die if you have any chance of getting a higher rating.

I took the AO exam back in 2000 and they found three conditions that the doctor said were AO related. It says in the exam that the exam does not represent a claim for benefits. I think you have to claim any benefit for a registry condition. I know I had to do that for every condition, and I had to show the nexus for secondary conditions via a medical report other than the AO exam. The VA says they do inferred claims but, in reality, it does not happen often if at all.

I would like to know why in the computer age our C-Files are not scanned into a online system so that clail files would not have to be shipped all over the country when you move or file an appeal. People still have their entire C-Files disappear. It is crazy in this day and age that all the C-files are not backed up on disc or tape or something besides just sitting there in a box at the VARO's warehouse. Someone could just drop your file in the shredder and you would disappear.

Larry Are you sure you were not in "Full Metal Jacket"?

Send an Iris inquiry about your evidence. You should get some kind of answer pretty quick, maybe (covering my ass in case VA exceeds expectations in reverse).

What I tell people to do is to appeal a denial of Chapter 35 benefits when they get 100% or TDIU and they are not granted the P&T status. This way you don't have to start from scratch. You just send in more evidence of being permanently disabled. That is how I got P&T within one year of getting TDIU. I appealed the denial of Chapter 35. By the time you get your claim reviewed enough time has passed to get P&T.

Did you know that an application for SSA survivor benefits is considered an application for DIC or a death pension from VA. I read it in the VBM. I believe you still have to fill out the VA and SSA forms.

They used to do the risky stuff on institutionalized mental patients. Now they don't have that population to test so they use veterans. Maybe they will start doing lobotomies on vets to cure PTSD. They did that in the past.

One the decision is made you should get compensation within weeks of the decision date. Usually, if there is retro it will show up in your mailbox or bank account pretty quick after the official rating decision is made if you are getting an increase or original benefit. These things are always approximate, and there are always exceptions to the rule.

I remember a VA C&P exam psychiatrist saying that based on the fact that I had an undergraduate degree in psychology he suspected fraud. I got that C&P exam thrown out but that is the mentality of some of these clowns at the VA. You could have ten PH.D's and it does not mean you can hold down a job in the real world.

A traditional appeal means a trip to the BVA. That is two years. You would have been better off going for a DRO Hearing.

Chris Keep posting so we can help you and your family. John

Hoppy I remember getting ink blot test from VA doctor. He said I was a schizophrenic psychopath because I said I saw bloody body parts. I was just throwing answers off the top of my head because I was mad about being an in-patient. The ink blots are entirely subjective. It is just BS.