NavyWife

Amazing news!!!! It's been a long road for you to reach this point. You studied a lot, kept pressing forward and didn't give up!

I certainly understand why you wouldn't want to deal with VA anymore. But it might make sense to talk your case over with two or three veterans disability lawyers and see what they think about the past decisions and if maybe he should have been rated 100% previously and if there is a cue etc. etc. VA continues to make mistakes and get away with it, because many people just don't want to deal with them anymore.

I think we are lucky to have Bob as the Secretary. The media is just blowing this out of proportion. Why doesn't the media focus on figuring out why there are so many homeless veterans in California?

Good info. Thanks

Did you ever get a letter from Voc rehab saying you were denied or unable to participate? If so that letter could be used as evidence that you qualify for TDIU. To seek one out on your own you could look up "vocational rehabilitation counselor" in the phonebook or Google to find one in your local area. They would need to write a letter saying that, "the veteran is unable to work solely due to his service connected disability of PTSD."

Like Berta says, You need to get a letter from a vocational rehabilitation counselor stating "the veteran is unable to work solely due to his service connected disability of PTSD." You can go to one through VA or find one in the phone book and pay. VA is really trying to screw you over by focusing on the nonservice connected personality disorder. You have to put the focus solely on the PTSD as the reason you cannot work. And forget about the tinnitus, that isn't going to affect anything regarding the claim for TDIU. Clearly a C and P examiner paid by VA is not going to provide you the evidence you need. That is why you must seek out vocational rehab counselor on your own and submit a letter from them to the VA.

This can happen if there is still one or more issues pending. In the meantime, You can go on E benefits under start a new compensation claim. work through the pages until you get to the disability section and there it will say what percentages you are currently rated for.

Are you serious? After all this time! Wow! Do you think it was your email to bob that made someone really take a good look at your evidence?

This link has a lot of info about SMC. http://www.purpleheart.org/ServiceProgram/Training2012/10-M-%20SMC%20final.pdf

Yes , do what georgiapapa suggests above. Once the claim is completed it should show there.

Yes, it's a great benefit for those with a TBI rating. Essentially you would need a doctor to write a statement that you would need care similar to a nursing home.

very interesting! thanks for sharing

Ok, so that says you did NOT get a Permanent and Total or P&T rating. But that is ok! Getting 100% is amazing. Also do not be alarmed Where it says "you are scheduled for a future reduction in 2020" It always says that for those that are not P&T, but what it really means is you will possibly have a C&P exam around that time. Sometimes it happens sometimes it does not. Sometimes they might send you a letter saying they want to reduce you around that time. If that happens you will want to state all the reasons why you haven't gotten better but be sure to review the schedule of rating disabilities beforehand and the DBQs. http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5;node=38:1.0.1.1.5 http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/dbq_ListByDBQFormName.asp

Congrats! The actual effective date will show up in you letter in the mail. The effective date you see on ebenefits is actually the date of the last costbf living increase. It should be the day after you separate from service. If you want to know right away what your actual effective date is, you can go n ebenefits and "start a new compensation claim". Just go through the sections and at the "Disability" section it should tell the actual effective date for each issue.

For any issue that has previously been denied you need to find out what was the exact reason it was denied and then provide evidence to overcome that denial. For example if it was denied due to "no diagnosis ", Then you would want to seek out a doctor on your own and get the diagnosis. If it was denied due to "severity level is not high enough to meet a compensable rating ", Then you would want to have your own doctor write a letter stating what your severity level is. Here are some good links you may want to check out. http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/dbq_ListBySymptom.asp http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=38:1.0.1.1.5&idno=38

As of right now I wouldn't do anything else. First, Find out if your claim is an FDC or not. Before we get too ahead of ourselves I see that the treatment for seizures was through the VA. But did the seizures BEGIN while you were still in the military? If so then you need to find some medical records --from the military --showing symptoms, diagnosis or treatment. But if the seizures did not begin while you were in the military then that would not be a claim to file. Your claim is very likely to run into an issue called pyramiding. It means that VA won't pay twice for the same symptoms. Ménière's and minor seizures have a lot of the same symptoms. You really need to figure out which one you have so that you can make the best case for your claim. Also you want to figure out which one has the best medical records showing treatment and diagnosis to help prove your claim.

Below I have copied and pasted what the rating schedule says. Here is the link. http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5;node=38:1.0.1.1.5#sg38.1.4_180_64_184.sg2 6204 Peripheral vestibular disorders: Dizziness and occasional staggering 30 Occasional dizziness 10 Note: Objective findings supporting the diagnosis of vestibular disequilibrium are required before a compensable evaluation can be assigned under this code. Hearing impairment or suppuration shall be separately rated and combined. 6205 Meniere's syndrome (endolymphatic hydrops): Hearing impairment with attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring more than once weekly, with or without tinnitus 100 Hearing impairment with attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring from one to four times a month, with or without tinnitus 60 Hearing impairment with vertigo less than once a month, with or without tinnitus 30 Note: Evaluate Meniere's syndrome either under these criteria or by separately evaluating vertigo (as a peripheral vestibular disorder), hearing impairment, and tinnitus, whichever method results in a higher overall evaluation. But do not combine an evaluation for hearing impairment, tinnitus, or vertigo with an evaluation under diagnostic code 6205.

Lots of people give up with the VA because they make it excruciatingly difficult. You're not alone there! A FDC is a fully developed claim. It means you have all the evidence and medical records to prove your claim and you submit them all at once. A TBI is a traumatic brain injury. I see they have head injury listed in your list of claims. No a diagnosis and treatment are not the same. Do you have a copy of your service medical record or medical records from the treatment of these issues? If this was filed as a normal claim, Since the claim was just opened last month it would be okay to add seizures now, if you want. But if it was filed as a fully developed claim then you may want to wait, there are special rules for FDC claims. Is the American legion or someone helping you with this claim now?

Seizures are extremely complex. Even the doctors and researchers do not fully understand them. From what you have described, dizzy spells & loss of balance --that could be minor seizures. They have many names such as partial, complex, etc. Not everyone has major seizures--those involve convulsions and black outs. But it could also be Meneire's.... There is usually a hearing loss that goes along with it. What exactly have you been diagnosed with?? Seizures or Meneire's. Did you have a head injury while in service? If it is documented, you may want to file for TBI at some point. If you have been diagnosed with seizures, and it is currently bothering you, then at some point you may want to file a claim for that. How long ago did you file this claim? Is it an FDC claim?

I think you did real good getting approved so quickly. That was the hard part.

The reason I ask if it is your first ever claim and fully developed claim is because VA is offering additional retro for those specific type of claims that meet those two conditions. Here's the link. http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2464 I guess check with your VSO what type of claim he filed for you.

Is this your first ever VA claim? Was it filed as a Fully Developed Claim?

Sorry to hear about these health issues you are having. Yes definetely pursue these gwi claims and also pursue getting medical treatment for them. I wasn't saying don't pursue them, just letting you know they can be very difficult to win. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter whether your claim is approved for gwi issues or ptsd, just that it GETS APPROVED :) I read about your ptsd claim and it sounds pretty solid to me. Just get that diagnosis from a VA Psychiatrist or VA PhD level Psychologist. These are the only 2 kinds of doctors VA will accept the diagnosis from.

Good job being proactive and asking to see a different Healthcare provider. But a month seems like a really long time. If that is not acceptable to you then you need to keep asking for a sooner appointment with a psychologist or psychiatrist only. It's unfortunate that the social worker is not recording in his notes accurately What you are telling him. But the good news is that he is not a psychologist or psychiatrist and certainly not a doctor. So it should be fairly easy to dispute anything he wrote-if it comes to that. When you have your appointment with the psychologist say, "I would like to be evaluated for PTSD ". If they give you an official diagnosis that will dramatically help with your VA claim for ptsd. With your CIB, and combat time, the stressor should be conceded (they accept it). With the PTSD claim the three main parts are: 1. Get diagnosed by a VA psychologist or psychiatrist 2. Get the stressor approved-yours should be approved automatically 3. Get a proper rating based on how severe your symptoms are. You can do this at the C&P exam as well as in your appointments with the new psychologist. Many veterans will get approved for PTSD but start out with a lowball rating. You can help yourself by accurately describing your symptoms according to how you feel on your worst days, Not just the day you are there. You also want to make sure and point out how this issue is causing you to not be able to work full time. Here is how the claims are rated. General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders Rating 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. 100 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. 70 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. 50 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). 30 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. 10 A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication. 0

Good info. Thanks for posting. If you're not an early bird you can also call in the evening after they close and arrange a callback time for the next day.