john999

Berta No matter how good your claim is and how good your evidence is you have to remember you are dealing with incompetent idiots who are always safer denying a claim than approving something they are too dumb to understand. We know you had your ducks in a row but those SOB's don't care. You know you are going to win in the end but the mindless delays and VA %%%$$ ups really get to me. It is always a crap shoot with these people.

When I filed my claim for AO the VA would not process the claim until they got a copy of my DD214. I was already TDIU. If the VA does not have a copy of my DD214 after 34 years of being service connected who should??? I had a certified copy so I hand carried it to the VARO to get the claim going. How could they have granted TDIU without a copy of my DD214? Too lazy to look in my C-File. They never got my SSA records or requested them. I had to hand carry a copy of my Disability retirement from the post office because they were waiting for a copy from the department of personnel management. That would have taken months. I live close to the VARO so I was able to constantly moniter the progress of my claim and take immediate action if they stalled out over some paperwork BS.

Bill Even the best laid claims can go astray when dealing with the VA. Try to keep this claim local if you can, so you don't get into the BVA remand cycle of death and rebirth. Bad Karma. The VA can screw around with the remands for years and every trip to the BVA is a couple of more years off your life.

What catches the public's eye is some poor vet in a wheelchair with a wife and baby living in his car. The fact that vets are sytematically screwed over in the claims process does not seem to bother anyone except the vets.

The Army just screwed me over so bad when I was discharged and I got a outrageous low ball initial rating from the VA in 1971 is just pisses me off when I think about it. I have gotten just about everything changed over the years but I spend years unemployed and underemployed. It has taken 30 years to get it half-way right.

If you are 100% SC is there any good reason to try and upgrade a discharge or change a discharge code or the nature of the discharge. I am talking about money matters. I think I should have gotten a medical discharge.

Jim S You are right. The failure is at the VARO level. That is why you need to keep it there and get it right before you go to the BVA or COVA as a last resort. Some RO's do a fair job and others are just horrible. Even at the same office you can get pretty good decisions and other times just the most incompetent ratings imaginable. I don't know why this happens.

At Fort Benning in 1969 they took a guy with a heart condition. He wanted to stay in but every time we marched or ran he passed out on the side of the road.

It was Peter Sawyer who has the flat feet 30%. I thought you were not supposed to be drafted if you had flat feet?

Wildcat The VA will shoot down any opinion for any reason. You just have to get the best board certified doctor to write your opinion for you and keep fighting. Me and a friend went to the same shrink for IME's. The VA accepted mine and shot down his. I read his IME and it was perfect but the VA would not accept it. They said he was doctor shopping.

Morgan Your IME said "could" and "probably". I think you should try and get stronger language. Why docs say things like "may" or "could" or "possibly" is beyound me when dealing with the VA. If the doctor would just say " at least as likely as not" you would be better off. With two 100% conditions you should win the claim anyhow with luck.

In the case I am thinking of my buddy was 70%TDIU when he applied for HB. They then bumped him up to 100% schedular and granted HB. He did not have a new C&P exam. The VA said the claim for HB was a new claim. I think if they are going to grant HB they will make you 100% first just like if they are going to grant TDIU they will bump you up to 70% and then grant the TDIU. That way they stay within their guidelines so the can cover their asses. This is just what happened in the case I know about personally. How much is HB in dollars anyway? Is it worth reopening your claim to evaluate you rating? If you are TDIU what do you have to lose since unless you have gotten a job in the meantime all they can say is "NO' housebound. Am I right or wrong?

I retired from the USPS at 51 years of age and with 20 years of service. That place is an injury factory and they just hate disabled vets especially PTSD. They are just dogs and you are lucky to be getting out of there.

If "they" don't believe your private shrink of 9 years get the shrink to refer you for an independent medical opinion to connect your service with your PTSD/Depression. Be sure you have your service medical records for the new doctor to review. The IMO doctor should do a medical history and review of your medical records. Review the report before you send it to the VA. Tell the shrink what you are trying to do so he/she knows what the goal is. Most docs know how to play these games when dealing with agencies like the SSA or other government agencies.

Is it possible to take a disability retirement from your job. It is hard to get IU if you are working above the poverty level. Does you job offer any group disability insurance policy? Sometimes you can sneak into these plans without a physical.

82 If you get at least 70% SC put in for disability retirement from the USPS. Once you get the retirement and stop working you can get TDIU from the VA and probably get SSDI. As long as you are working at the USPS (I worked there too) you won't get 100%. I got OPM disability, SSA and then TDIU in that order. You are very near your goal so just stay the course and you can get away from the USPS and start living.

If agoraphobia is part of your PTSD diagnosis then you can get housebound. I know someone who got it for agoraphobia. He had an IMO to back up the VA's own diagnosis. It was considered a new claim. I don't know if that means they open your original claim back up and look at it again. I think it is a couple of hundred bucks at most, but money is money.

I am always troubled by the fact that for many injuries the pain you experience is far in excess of some range of motion study or the objective findings. I have chronic neuropathic pain disorder but all I got was a 10% rating. The pain I suffer is much more disabling than the lack of range of motion. How does the VA rate pain as a disability?

Hank Hill I think you will need a medical opinion to say that due to SC condition you fell and this resulted in injury to healthy leg. I think you need some kind of medical rational to show that weakened leg contributed to your fall or that your NSC leg was weakened by having to bear the burden for both legs. This is just my opinion. You want medical evidence to make your case and not rely on VA to do the right thing otherwise the VA will say " there is no evidence of in service injury blah, blah, blah."