john999

CUE claims are the hardest claims since errors must be cut in stone with zero wiggle room. If there is the least bit of judgement required in your CUE you will probably fail. If you can find another way to get more for the skin condition I would go that route before a CUE. You could spend a decade waiting for a CUE to be denied. I almost spent that long on one.

When these VA therapist don't like you for some reason they will do a hatchet job on you regardless of how much damage they may do in the long run. Back in the 1980's I had a C&P exam and the doctor asked nothing but leading questions to "guide" the interview to show I was a personality disorder which cannot be service connected. Like you I was already service connected so the doctor's scheme did not work. If I had not been SC'ed for 10 years the VA may have tried to sever my SC.

VA's reasoning on rating percentages can be weird. With AO disabilities a disability that is conceded can often lead to secondary claims that can be higher percentage than the original claim. Has your hubby ever been DX'ed with impaired glucose otherwise known as pre-diabetes? A DX of AO related DMII opens the door for a host of secondary conditions. The difference between a DMII DX and no DMII DX is just a few points on a fasting glucose level test. Fasting glucose of 123 no DMII diagnosis. Glucose of 125 you have DMII.

If the VA knows you are getting SSDI they are supposed to get the records from SSA and consider it in a rating decision. This can take a long time. If there is some way you can get the records of a SSDI decision and send it to the VA as evidence that would make it go much faster. The VA can take months if not years to get something from SSA. If you are getting SSDI for your SC condition you should be able to get IU pretty easy.

I filed a CUE on a 1973 rating decision. The VA regs changed from the time I filed the claim in 1972 until I got the decision in 1973. The BVA did not catch it, nor did Court of Vet Appeals right up until it was on the dock for a decision then it was remanded back to the BVA. This took an extra year. Then because I could neither prove or disprove that the VA had considered all the evidence in my claim I lost. Old CUE claims are a real battle because the VA knows it will cost them big money. However, if you have the evidence as Berta says then go for it.

I agree with Buck. Unless there is money involved I would let the sleeping dog stay asleep. Yes, you can get higher levels of SMC, but beyond "S" you usually have to really be massively disabled to get them. If I lost use of my legs or something like that due to SC condition you bet I would be asking for highest level of SMC I could get, but I hope I don't go there. For compensation purpose there is no difference between 100% and TDIU. Total disability is total disability for DIC purpose and SMC purpose according to Bradley V Peake. Every time you file a claim there is a small risk of these guys reviewing your entire file and trying to reduce you. If your life or bank account are involved then go for it. Otherwise, leave it alone. If you get 100% due to having 10 different disability ratings you are still not considered 100% scheduler in the same way that a vet with a single 100% disability is considered according to AskNod.

There was a period of time when I was getting VA compensation, SSD and Federal Worker's Compensation. These programs were so tricky and there were so many offsets I finally had to choose between TDIU and Fed. Worker's Compensation which really got me in the pocket book. I read a bunch of regulations to find those rules that governed each program I was entitled to get. Nobody in any of the government agencies knew anything about the other group's rules, but the worst by far was the Fed. Worker's Compensation who would go out of their way to screw an ex-federal employee to the wall even if they were dealing with other agencies like SSA, OPM or the VA.

Your husband received no medical treatment at a hospital or medial unit other than from a medic? Even my crappy Vietnam medical information was recorded in unit medical system.

The VA considers marijuana use to be drug abuse. If you get opioids from the VA they will cut you off if they find pot in urine test. The feds consider use and/or possession of pot as a crime. I don't think there should be any laws regarding drug use. What happened with the Topomax? Did it affect your eye sight? If the VA finds pot in any of your lab work that will be a big black mark on you and they will consider you a drug abuser. I was taking the VA prescribed pain meds and the next thing I knew I was getting a bill from the VA for treating my "drug addiction". They are really stupid but you have to watch them. All that stuff goes into your records and never comes out. I don't know how to reconcile medical marijuana with VA policy. My state has legal medical marijuana, but the counties and cities fight against allowing having marijuana stores or clinics. Look before you leap.

Do the NOD to preserve the earliest effective date for a higher rating. I got a reaffirmed rating of 30% back in 2001. It took well into 2002 to get 70% TDIU, but it was retro to 2001 since I filed a NOD with DRO decision which admitted an earlier effective date for the TDIU and P&T.

If "S" is automatic with TDIU P&T I would be surprised. If S with TDIU is automatic then it should be with 100%. I never found anything automatic with the VA if there is some way they can get out of paying. Just think the VA was saying a few months ago that vets who are 62 and older would have their TDIU cut off and reduced to their actual rating. That would have put many a vet and surviving spouse into poverty.

If you do get 100% then you should be considered for Housebound SMC "S" which is another $300 a month. I hope you get the 100%. Take a break and don't worry about crappy C&P exam. If you nudge the VA do it for a claim that will mean more money. Don't bother with rebuttal to exams or questioning your rating decision process. Take a victory lap and let the old dog lie down for a while.

There is a reason the VA does not make it easy to win a PTSD claim. They don't want to spend the money and you are no longer of any use to them. You and all of us vets are in the liability line.

I was denied a housing grant because I was told that since I was not missing legs and was not in an iron lung the VA would just wait until I fell down and broke a hip. The VA denied me so fast and I get "S" and have PN in all four limbs and chronic pain disorder. I got the strong impression that unless I was helpless no housing grant.

Were you diagnosed or treated for sleep apnea while in the service? Expect that if you don't have medial evidence in your military records that the VA will question if it is service connected, pre-existing or due to some non service connected cause. How long have you been out of the service? Just tell the truth. Do you have private medical records for the sleep apnea and the GERD etc.?

RV You are making my point better than I can. I did something like what you did but it was back in 2002. I used three IMO opinions. I used one to get 70%. One to get TDIU and one to get P&T and an EED. It was worth the small investment and it was the only thing that got me what I deserved. Arguing with the VA about case law or bad exams etc. will spin out your appeal time when the IMO route RV describes is so much faster and has so much more weight with VA dopes at VARO.

If the VA reduced your TDIU because they say you are no longer unemployable even if you eventually win back TDIU on appeal you will have a period of months if not years when that source of income is denied to you. Is it worth it to push the envelope when you have TDIU P&T? Look at it from the point of view of the person on the street. You are a vet who is getting paid because you can't work, and yet you are working and getting TDIU at the same time? This won't look good for you unless your income is very low or sheltered work environment etc. I am not saying you are doing anything wrong, but look at it from VA's or man in the streets point of view. It does not pass the smell test. The VA would love to slam/dunk someone in your situation and you can't afford it I don't think.

Well, it is possible you might get 70% but because you are working it makes it less likely. As long as you can work the VA thinks even if you are psychotic you don't rate anything above 50% usually. If you do get 70% then if you were to retire on disability you probably could get TDIU pretty fast, but they know this so less likely to grant 70% to a vet who is still working.

Yes, shoot for a "depression" service connected DX. It does not require all the stressor stuff and will get you to 100% or IU just as fast. I would say no more talking about the screw job you got from the VA to the VA. It amounts to nothing unless you can show they violated their own rules. Getting new medical evidence for a depression claim would be much faster IMO.

Did you get a purple heart since you say you were wounded? Even if you got a band aide from hostile fire that qualifies you. This would be all the stressor you needed. The VA has set themselves up as the only ones to be able to DX PTSD. Let me say that it does not matter if you get SC for depression, anxiety or PTSD. What do your SMR's say about any medical conditions or injuries while in service and/or in combat zone. Do you have any history of mental health treatment of DX while in the service? I may be asking questions you already answered but they all apply. When did you make your claim for MH condition?

Are you working?

Even if you are 100% scheduler and die from NSC issue or before ten years you wife will get nothing. IU means total disability and is as good as scheduler for DIC purpose and same rules apply. Anything that might result in your death or increased disability should be claimed IMO.

If you work for the Feds you can easily get a disability pension, but it is small money. I was a postal worker. I applied for OPM disability, SSDI and TDIU. I got SSDI first then OPM and finally TDIU. Between getting OPM and TDIU I was on OWCP worker's compensation for about two years, so I was lucky enough to cover my bills while fighting all these battles. You need to plan it out with your wife to see if you can afford to take the pay cuts until all your disability claims come through for you. If you just wing it until the day you just cannot work at all it may be a financial shock to your family. If you can afford to see a private shrink for about a year and start seeing a VA shrink on a regular basis that would probably give you enough time and evidence to win a higher rating and maybe TDIU.

You need at least 60% with one rating of at least 40% to be considered for TDIU without a hell of a fight. If you are in a lot of pain you should see a VA shrink and at least claim Chronic Pain Disorder and Depression which could help you get a higher rating. I don't know many people who can't work due to various injuries and who have constant pain that are not somewhat depressed. The medication for pain will make you depressed by themselves. The VA likes to believe that there is no link between physical injuries and mental health unless it suits their purposes.

Navy04 That is pretty goofy how the VA granted you sc for a condition you did not even claim. I wonder why you don't have SMC "S"? Are all those conditions part of your 100% rating? I got TDIU in 2001 based on 70% mental health claim and then between 2001 and 2008 I got at least another 80% for various agent orange conditions. I was granted "S" which is another $300 a month. It seems to me with your disabilities you should have been considered for "S" long time ago. If you are rated for hearing loss is that a SMC rating? If you were around any big guns, jets or any other loud machines that should be good, but I know they think unless you were in the Arty or inside a tank then you were not exposed to damaging noise. There are people who lost their hearing from one exposure to 155 howitzer blast without hearing protection. Famous movie director of WW11 had complete hearing loss from being close to a 155 when it was fired. He got some of the hearing back but not all.