NavyWife

If I were you I'd email VA Sec Bob and his next in charge, Allison, and see if they can help. They have clearly retaliated against you. They should have awarded you P&T last year. jmo

pr

Non Attorney, with 30 yrs in consumer collection experience.

How large $$ and who is trying to get it? In civil actions, collection agencies and attorneys have been known to send out Court Ordered Garnishment Demands to "ALL" Banks and Credit Unions in the immediate geographical area of the Debtor. This tactic is used when they either don't know or think the the Debtor might have additional accounts. Each garnishment issued is supposed to be accompanied by a check for XX$ to cover the cost to the bank for searching their records. Most collection attorneys don't include the check when their doing this Shot Gun approach. Their cost is limited to Postage and Secretarial expense. You could even receive a court order to produce all your banking records at a Discovery Hearing where you would be under oath and subject to perjury charges. If your at this point you need an Attorney. If it's the FED's, completely different story.

If your talking LARGE $$, consider a Brokerage account. I think their currently insured up to 4 or $500K. If your talking about your VA Comp account. I think a non joint checking account at a local Credit Union is your best bet for Direct Deposit. When you set it up, give your significant other an account POA. In addition, list who ever you want to be your beneficiaries. If you anticipate, or a creditor actually has a judgment against you, set up a 2nd account at the same CU or Bank to transfer funds from your VA Comp account to pay your monthly bills. This account should be in your Significant others name with the same set up, you would be the POA and Beneficiary. Anything in your name or SS#, other than your VA DD Account is subject to attachment with certain limitations. That doesn't mean a creditor couldn't issue a garnishment against your VA DD account. The bank or CU would put a hold on your funds for what ever time it took you to prove that all the funds in the account were from VA or SS and not subject to attachment. Could cause a serious problem in terms of time and access to your $$.

You should probably talk directly to a Bankruptcy Attorney if you even think you have to worry about a possible Money Grab. State and Federal collection laws change, get educated.

Semper Fi

Gastone

The labyrinthine, juggernaut, convoluted, clandestine,antiquated VA disability 'process' needs to be scrapped and completely redone.

Is there a flow chart somewhere that details this absurdity?
Putting some numbers on that chart might give better insight as to what's REALLY going on, and I don't mean the fluff reports they do now.

I think most of the ''VSO'' or people at the RO or doing it hiding the claims, or doing what they are ordered to do? no tellin.

but someone is doing it claims don't just get lost on there own, someone has to be misplacing the claims,

what I don't understand is how can the VA make a HUGE MISTAKE sending Veteran a letter that's been decease over 7 or so years ago. a letter that states ''if you disagree with our decision''? wow that is a very bad & Huge mistake.

They should award his widow automatic DIC
this particular widow said she would be ''happy with just 400.00 a month''


Buck!

So what good is the OIG?

RootBeer

I don't trust any numbers the VA puts forward. They certainly have been known to "fudge", better known as outright LIE, about the number before.

Scotter04,

Periodically check your "Benefit Summary Letter" under "Downloadable VA Letters" on Ebenefits. Usually any change in rating status shows up on the Benefit Summary Letter before the veteran receives the BBE or official notification from the VA. Once your status on ebenefits changes to "preparation for notification," I would start checking the "Benefit Summary Letter" daily. I would also start checking your direct deposit account for your retro at this point. I think you will receive a decision in a matter of weeks rather than months. JMO.

Georgiapapa

Buck,

Perhaps the VA wants to wait a few years until most veteran's children are older than 26 and no longer eligible for the chapter 35 educational benefits. Also, children of P & T vets lose their Champva coverage at 18 for non students and 23 as a student. Note: A bill has been introduced to change the maximum age to 26 for children. Regardless, the VA saves a lot of money by not granting P & T status until after a veteran's children reach the age of 26 or older because the VA would only have to pay benefits for the veteran's spouse. Just a thought.

GP

VA will schedule a new C&P in two years, usually following a 100% schedular rating. You can attain P&T sooner by having your PCP write a letter stating you're not going to be ready for the Boston Marathon any time soon and may (or will) be even more debilitated by 2018. I have used it numerous times for my guys/gals. It helps to pepper the letter with the word "chronic" and "irreversible".

The 5 year rule is only to prevent clawbacks of a rating prematurely. You become substantially protected after five years against it but are only immune after 20 years. After five years, it will require at least two C&Ps to overturn a 100% schedular-or any rating for that matter.

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.

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?

Im sure he likely wasnt trying to mislead,, he was in 82ND Airborne , 82 is a special division, it is a rapid deployment division , ready to be boots on the ground almost anywhere on the planet in 36 hours. So in trying to connect with the homeless vet, I think he was just trying to get a rapport of brotherhood established to gain trust.
this is my personal opinion..

Lets keep something in mind, people who have been terminated from the VA, by the hand of the new SEC, they are going to try and dig up any dirt they can to try and smear his name, lets not fall for that BS.

well my opinion
if he told a homeless veteran he was in special forces (101 1st Airborne) maybe he didn't mean he actually was special forces or meant it that way, although he had the training but that don't necessarily mean he was a special forces soldier.

If you had Navy Seal training that does not qualify you to be a Navy Seal, But in just a regular conversation its eazy to make that mistake and say you was a Navy Seal

I don't think his integrity is in question here unless this gets blown out of its context as to what Bob meant it to be, but the man apologized and recognized his mistake.

not sure what he lied about other than this???

From what the man has did for the Veterans and the VA Healthcare system so for, I can understand this mistake and put it to rest...who are we to judge? the claims alone he has had a large effect on that aspect and that's just a small part of his Job..to me Bob treats us veterans with respect and that means a lot to this old vet.
JMO.


Buck!

Congrats on your Win!!

Reading stories like this are EXACTLY why I started the Veterans Law Blog: I wanted to see more Veterans win their own claims and appeals without having to dump thousands into attorney fees (unless they wanted to, or unless they have one of those hard to win cases that demands a lawyer).

Too many Veterans are being forced to make the choice between 3 options:
1) A VSO that doesn't know a C-File from a C-Clamp
2) An attorney that is charging 20-30% contingency for one letter at the tail end of your claim
3) Wading - unrepresented - through a complex claims system.

A little bit of information is a LOT of power in your VA Claim. Way to go...if you think to, let me know what posts helped you the most so I can get MORE published like that.

Seriously - the Veterans Law Blog is for Veterans - tell me what you need to know. Email: Support@veteranslawblog.org

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.

This link has a lot of info about SMC.

http://www.purpleheart.org/ServiceProgram/Training2012/10-M-%20SMC%20final.pdf

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.

This link has a lot of info about SMC.

http://www.purpleheart.org/ServiceProgram/Training2012/10-M-%20SMC%20final.pdf

It is my understanding that eligibility for Chapter 35 and Champva benefits requires the 100% rating to be permanent and total and 100% TDIU would be eligible as long as the rating is permanent and total.

Navywife thank you very much for the info. I was worried about the reduction statement. Should I waiit to add my dependents until I recieve my brown envelope or can I go ahead and process it?

More disgraceful news. Even when you finally get Peggy, she/he often can not provide an adequate response or they give you a useless response that sounds like they are reading from a script.

cragwex - you can request P&T status by writing a letter requesting that you be awarded P&T status.

P&T status can be awarded if:

- you are 55yo or older
- symptoms have persisted without material improvement for five yrs or more
- the disability is static
- the disease is permanent and not likely to improve.

Whether you wait is up to you.

pr

Just for a start, he will need to request his C-file from the VA which should contain his original award letter and may or may not contain his SMRs from his military service and other evidence he submitted in his initial claim. He should also gather all relevant post discharge medical records from the VA or private medical providers.

If the veteran has the info or when you get it from his C-file, please post more info as to exactly what medical conditions were claimed in his original claim, list of evidence submitted, reason for denials of claimed medical conditions, etc. This will make it easier for Hadit members to give suggestions and opinions to help the veteran. Post as much info as possible. Any condition previously claimed and denied by the VA will require new and material evidence to reopen the claims for the denied conditions.

Depending on what info is already in his C-file or in his possession, he may need to obtain buddy statements from persons having knowledge of the 1998 accident, military accident reports, transcripts of legal proceedings related to the 1998 accident, documentation of proposed medical discharge and any other documentation related to the 1998 accident and the veteran's injuries from the accident.

Assuming he did not already obtain IMOs supporting his claims and once he has all relevant medical records in hand, he should go to his medical specialists who have treated him for his different medical conditions caused by the 1998 accident and ask them to provide IMOs. The specialists should review all of the medical evidence before preparing an IMO and rendering their opinions. The IMOs should meet the format and content requirements as shown in the IMO sample letter on Hadit.com. JMO

If you haven't already done so, set your direct deposit bank or CU account to notify you of all transactions via Txt and Email. Vets normally have the Retro in the bank at least 4+ days before receipt of the Big Brown Envelope. I had a Txt & E-mail waiting at 730AM following night of Retro deposit and didn't receive the actual Award letter for about 5 days. Start thinking and researching IU. Possible if not probable, you may get an "Inferred IU Claim" notification listed in your Award Letter. Keep in mind, you will still have to file a claim even if IU is inferred.

Are you currently earning in excess of $12,400.00 per year (Gainful Employment Income for 1 person under 65) which is one of the main VA IU Award criteria. Even if your currently ineligible to file for IU, start doing your research. At some point you may find yourself unable to continue full-time work due primarily to your SC issues and then you would be an IU candidate.

Semper Fi

Gastone

Berta,

As much as you have helped other veterans and their families, I would love for you to be able to post a message saying that all of your pending issues with the VA have been resolved in your favor.

Good luck.

Georgiapapa.