bluevet

As far as I'm concerned Berta, none of these statistics matter anyway. As long as 74% of BVA appeals are found to have been incorrectly processed and denied and nobody is being accountable for that number, then these statistics are meaningless anyway. With a number like that, the plain truth is nobody in the Federal government cares.

Were your knees and back disabilities that you were awarded for or denied? Did you file a NOD on the claimed conditions that were denied?

Freedomisntfree, They don't outsource the job of rating you. You will be assigned a rating by a VA employee, in this case a DRO. In most cases, VA ratings are reviewed periodically for changes in symptoms and severity that could justify a change in your rating. Once your disability has carried a rating for a certain length of time, it is then considered to be static and the VA will no longer request additional C&Ps, unless the veterans initiates a claim for an increase. Since it had been 5 years since your last exam, it isn't unusual that the DRO has requested a new exam. When the DRO looks at your claim, he will look at the entire record. He could continue your 50% rating or he could increase it, but he can not give you a rating that is less beneficial to you than the original 50% rating for the period between your original decision and the new C&P. It is also possible for you to receive different ratings for different periods of time. For example, the VA could decide that you were initially entitled to a 70% rating, but that your symptoms now warrant 50%. If this were the case, you would receive retro pay for the diffence between 50 and 70, dating back to 2011. If the DRO doesn't find in your favor, he will issue a SOC and you will have 60 days to file form 9 for appeal to the BVA.

Do you have any history of depression or other mental health issues while on AD? If you claim it non-secondary, you will need an in service event/illness of some kind to link it to in order to form the necessary nexus for service connection.

The VA requires a diagnosis of PTSD from a VA doctor Buck, but they still use contracted C&P exams for rating purposes.

Yes, this is normal procedure for the VA. The new C&P is being sought by the VA so they can get a more recent picture of your disability. If you filed your NOD in 2011, then your last C&P was probably in 2010. I'm having trouble understanding why the VA is just getting around to your NOD if you filed it in 2011. Did you request DRO review or are you going directly to the BVA?

Are you seeing this under the section for "unsolicited items"? When you say you went through your representative, do you mean a congressman's office or just a rep from your VSO?

The VA is required to look at the total disability picture to assign a disability rating. The Dr. has chosen a level of impairment which matches a 30% rating, however under "Symptoms for rating purposes", there are some symptoms that fall in the 38 CFR ratings criteria for 30%, some that fall under 50% and some that fall under 70%. It's hard to say what a rater will do, but if I had to guess it would be a continued 50% rating. This is because in order to reduce your rating, the VA must show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a reduction is warranted. They must consider the entire record and not just your latest C&P exam in reaching this conclusion. If the VA proposes a reduction, you have 60 days to get any evidence against the proposed reduction into the record for consideration. If they do propose a reduction to 30%, you should get an IME from a private doctor done right away. Here is the 38 CFR rating criteria for you to review: 1.The general rating formula for mental disorders assigns a 10 percent rating on the basis of occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or; symptoms controlled by continuous medication. 2. A 30 percent rating is assigned on the basis of occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events). 3. A 50 percent rating is assigned on the basis of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. 4. A 70 percent rating is assigned on the basis of occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. 5. A 100 percent rating is assigned on the basis of total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name. 38 C.F.R. § 4.130.

How did you get them to regress and review your claim? I believe this is exactly what should have been done with my claim. The decision on my claim was so outside of 38 CFR and VA policy, I have felt that if I could just get the right person to look at it, they would re-examine. As it is, I am stuck in DRO limbo.

I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. You have 3 different claims on appeal and you've filed 2 additional claims? Are any of the newer claims secondary to a claim on appeal? You want of these claims to be adjudicated separately and independently? Are you just throwing everything you can against the wall to see what sticks? If the Va is having to work 3 appeals and 2 claims all separately, just for one veteran, what does this do for an already overloaded claims system?

What?

I get it. They send you this notice that a CUE has been discovered, but they don't even tell you what the CUE is. Must be scary. I wouldn't panic until you know, although I'm sure that's not easy. I'm thinking maybe it's the P&T designation that they could be re-thinking. This wouldn't necessarily mean that you would lose the IU, Just that you would need continue to qualify for IU to keep it, but without more info, who knows?

If they already had your SMR's then the DRO probably was after your 201 file and any other other records that can confirm your combat stressor narrative. Just so you know what to expect now. You will only get a statement of the case if the DRO doesn't grant your benefits in full and only for any claimed conditions that are not granted. Probably, what will happen next is that the DRO will set you a date for a hearing or an informal conference, before deciding your claim. He doesn't have to, but usually they do. The DRO may or may not let you know of his decision before you leave. Good Luck

I fail to understand how contacting the Under Secretary could possibly make a difference in this case. Everyone seems to be recommending this so often these days, I'm wondering if we're just going to end up clogging her email box, so nobody gets help from her office. I could be wrong, but it seems like her email is popping up in far too many threads lately.

Mr. Rob, do you have an attorney on this?

A request for a copy of you records is not a claim. There is no reason that you can not apply for an increase in a service connected disability. You can do this at any time.

You can call QTC and ask what conditions the appointment is for. They will tell you. QTC San Antonio4400 N.W. Loop 410, Ste. 100, San Antonio, TX 78229P: (210) 516-1500

The VA has immediate access to your VA medical file. It's electronic. There is no need to send it in as evidence, when the treatment takes place at the VA. Just calling to point out that you we're seen recently should not affect your FDC claim. I say should, because we're always at the mercy and interpretation of the person handling the claim and some of them are not too bright. You should be fine.

Which disabilities are the basis for your TDIU? In other word, when you applied for TDIU, the application asked you which disabilities prevented you from working. What did you respond with? Several scenarios could result in the termination of your TDIU status. If they rate you down a total of 20% or more, they could discontinue TDIU because you would no longer meet the rating requirements, since your rating would fall below 70% total. You must have at least one service connected disability rated at least at 60%,ORTwo or more service connected disabilities at least one disability ratable at 40 percent or more with a combined rating of 70 percent or more.

Right. I posted a white flag on this forum recently myself, when I was frustrated. There's just so much that can go wrong in this process. With me, it seems that everyone who has ever touched my claim has made unbelievable mistakes. There is no accountability at the VA. There is nothing you can do when someone makes an error, even one that is obvious and grotesque. There is nobody that you can just point it out to and have them see it and fix it. Currently, I am sitting on a denial that gives the reason as : (Your C&P examiner opined that bipolar disorder is due to genetic conditions and independent of service.) There is not a single word in my C&P examiner's opinion regarding me, my time in service, or my STRs. Not one! The C&P is so blatantly inadequate, it's disgusting. Yet, there is nothing for me to do about it except wait 2 years, hoping that the DRO I get assigned to takes his job seriously. If not, 2-3 more years to get to the BVA, where I have no doubt, I will win my claim. Why? Because at the BVA, there is documentation of the adjudication of the claim. It's the only phase of the process where the quality of work performed is open for all to see. Prior to this point, nobody involved in the claims process is being held accountable for the quality of the work they do. That goes for C&P examiners and the contractors they work for. Do you think these companies get charged back for C&P examinations that are deemed inadequate? Do you think the doctors do? If they don't, then It is actually in the financial interest of the C&P contractor to deliver C&P examinations that are inadequate, since this will ultimately result in another being ordered and paid for. Just ranting :)

Is it UPS or USPS? My meds come through USPS and when I track them through MyHealthVET, I get sent to the USPS website where I see all of the detail from pre-shipment to delivery.

You can track your shipment at https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/anonymous.portal?_nfpb=true&_nfto=false&_pageLabel=mhvHome. If it wasn't delivered and tracking shows it hasn't moved from it's last known location in days, you should be able to call the VA pharmacy and get it resent or have it filled and go pick it up if that's possible for you.

Bronco, Was this decision by a first line rater or a DRO? I assume it's re-opened claim, was it an FDC?

It's been happening to me since the site changes. Normally, I just refresh the page and the sliders return.