Dinnard

I have a friend who is a former Marine that was stationed at Camp Lejeune during the time period of contamination. He has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (which according to my research is a presumptive) by two doctors. One doctor is a General Practitioner and the other a neurologist. Although provided with the information on the contamination the neurologist said he could not write a letter due to his not having knowledge of the effects of or his exposure. He lives in Louisville, KY which is where these claims are being processed. Does anyone know of a doctor in this area who might be familiar with Camp Lejeune diseases contributed to the contamination? Or any other suggestions for obtaining a Nexus letter? Thanks

After waiting since the decision in December I decided to take matters in my own hands again. I sent an email to the VA Undersecretary expressing that while expediting a decision in two months was great having to wait an extended period of time to actual receive the benefits defeated the purpose of expediting. The next day my husband received from the Louisville Regional Office advising that all the paper work had been processing, payment had been approved and money should be deposited in the next couple of days. Two days later ALOT of money dropped in our bank account. It went back 5 years which was all way back to the date I said it should go back to and was permanent and total. Stay strong and never give up!

They will wait longer to get money then they do to get decision.

Congrats on a great win! Just sorry that you went thru so much and it took so long for it to finally happen.

Got my husband's decision in mid December 2014 granting TDIU. Have received nothing from RO and nothing on eBenefits. Had him call his VSO and he was told it was in cyber space and if he didn't hear anything by June 1 to call him back. His claim was expedited at the BVA and only took 2 months for decision. Seems to me if they determine it meets requirement for expediting at BVA the same should be true for paying the benefits.

Great news! Hope you can take a deep breathe and relax a little.

My husband was granted TDIU December 18, 2014. We have yet to see Retro or the increased monthly. Nor have we seen anything in eBenefits stating the new rating and benefits. It makes no sense that they can expedite a claim and get a decision faster than they can pay the benefits.

Great News! You did an amazing job! I'm still waiting to see if my hubby is P&T. Still nothing from VA since we got the BVA decision granting TDIU.

Here is the link to the BVA Decision. http://www.va.gov/vetapp14/Files7/1455940.txt

Sure wish I could have it but I see two issues for me. One, it says no MRI and I have MRI annually due to a brain tumor and two, I have a mechanical heart valve. I hate having to take CPAP and oxygen concentrator whenever I travel. It's particularly a pain when flying with both and my husband's motorized chair.

I have Medicare and see private physician but i still have to go every month for a refill. "Under the new regulations, only doctors can write hydrocodone prescriptions, and each prescription must be handwritten. The prescriptions can no longer be called in or faxed to pharmacies. Hydrocodone prescriptions can also now only be written for a 30-day supply, and no refills will be allowed. “They now have to go to the physician's office, get a handwritten prescription and bring it to the pharmacist's office,” Lynch said. “What that means for the pharmacy is a lot more record-keeping, also a lot of time on the phone explaining the new rules.”

You have done an amazing job that has helped countless numbers of Veterans and families. You can't do an internet search on "claims" without finding countless links to this site. Thanks for being here all these years!

Great news! Will be watching how your P&T goes. We may also be filing after just receiving TDIU.

We got Decision from BVA on 12/18/2014 and still doesn't show up in eBenefits. Was told by BVA attorney it could take up to six months. Sure hope not.

Yes, got it on the Monday prior to Christmas. He was granted TDIU. No mention of P&T or effective date. So far nothing has changed in eBenefits. Hopefully you will hear soon and it will be good news as well.

I'm going to chime in here! There are good and bad in every job field. I've worked in private sector and Government jobs and there were hard workers in both but there were also people just taking up space. My husband is a former VSO for the State of Kentucky and he worked his buns off. He carried cards with him everywhere he went and if he ran into a Veteran or family member of one he gave them his card and told them to give him a call. When he could no longer walk he rode his scooter around. Now the office he had is empty and has been pretty much since July 2010. My suggestion is if you have a complaint about the service you are getting from the VSO then go up the chain of command with the specific complaint but also remember they can't change when decisions are made or what the decisions are. They are there to serve you in processing your claims and answer your questions. If all of them were gone like my husband is who is going to be there to help? There will just be a bunch more empty offices. By the way, I took over his claim because his VSO wasn't doing anything. I also got my own Social Security Disability all the way up to appearing before a Hearing Officer and fought my way to get disability from the State of Kentucky Retirement Systems. I'm not bragging, just saying that there is a lot of excellent information here and if your VSO isn't doing something and you read about it hear call them up and suggest they do it. Research your disabilities and read all the ways they affect you, including meds side-affects. I included a list of some of my husbands meds and there side-affects with the BVA appeal and it was referenced in the decision "it is clear the side-effects of the medication he is on will prevent him from doing even sedentary employment."

We've been fighting for this since October 2010 first at the Nashville RO and then BVA. Just at the BVA was almost 1 1/2 years. It would have been at least another year had I not filed a Motion to Advance. The Motion to Advance and the Decision took 2 months but I was told it could be 6 months before we see any money.

We live in Frankfort! Small world. My husband's face has been rearranged by the Lexington VA due to skin cancer, not because they didn't do a good job, they just had to remove so much it didn't leave a lot to work with. They've removed several other spots on his face. He always comes home with new holes. He was a flight-line machine in the Air Force but was never in Vietnam so they denied SC.

Thanks everyone! Gastone: I have been 100% from Social Security since April, 2010 so we've been getting a deduction. Bad news is they only take $36,000 off the value of your home and you pay taxes on the remainder so our property tax is still $1600. Our house isn't even valued at $200,000, but that is Kentucky for you. I also took disability retirement from Kentucky State Government and they are slated to be out of money by 2017 because they "underfunded" and made some really bad investments. I'm only 62 (used to think that was OLD) so don't know what will happen when that time comes. Letter hasn't come up on ebennies yet but hoping that it will say TDIU P&T. As soon as it pops I will be getting the paperwork done to get the cards from DOD. Then I'm making the first reservations available at one of the Florida DOD owned campgrounds!

We use it frequently to stay at campgrounds for full hook-ups at only $11-$12 a night compared to $35-$50 at other campgrounds.

Two months and two days from the date I filed a Motion to Advance my husband's appeal Decision was made in his favor at the BVA. It was fairly short and did not contain any "history making" comments. It also did not give an effective date. Although an attorney at the BVA said it was P&T all it actually says is that he was granted TDIU. It was a wonderful Christmas Blessing but it would be nice to see a little greenbacks soon.

Congrats!

It's not the VA that is making these changes, it is new laws. I've been on pain meds for many, many years and up until recently could go to doctor every 3 months for 3 refills. Now you have to go every month and can only get one refill. Wonder why it's hard to get an appointment? If everyone who is on pain meds has to go to the doctor every month there is "no room at the inn"!

Must have been a good week at the BVA. Our decision was also made. I contacted the attorney there that I talked with previously and he advised we won the appeal. He told my husband it was P&T but won't feel too excited until I have the decision in my hands.

Awesome news! I hope to do some prospecting (sort of) this summer. I want to go to Crater of Diamond State Park and dig for diamonds. It's on my bucket list!