paulcolrain

yes the board issued effective date of Feb 2018 and gave DC 8521,8522,8524 and gave percentage of bilateral 10%
the reason i keep bringing up new questions is because with this award i hit 100% and of course thats an ACHIEVEMENT... SO THATS WHY I KEEP ASKING AND ANSWERING 

Congratulations! wow sounds like a real big win... fantastic!!! Never Give UP!!!

Broncovet - I knew you would support what I said-
what gets me is that the "widow" I mentioned cried the blues to everyone that she had no money and that the VA had denied her DIC claim.( 3 months after he died)
A year later she called me up and told me she wanted to apply for 'what you get' meaning DIC- and told me she had never opened the packet I sent her with the 21-534 in it.
I  asked her if any local vet rep had helped her apply for DIC yet and she said no.
The VA had not denied her claim-but maybe she realised they would because they would  need a copy of the marriage license- and there is none.
What did she tell the veteran's adult children?   One lie can lead to another.
 
 

What to tell a child ? That could also be what to tell a spouse.
There is only one answer-the TRUTH.
This is a little off the mark on yuour posts but-
I had the unfortuate experience of being contacted by local family  members of a few veterans-( there is a VAMC 20 miles away from this farm community- many vets live in this area) who were told a 'story' that fell far short of the truth.
I went with a vet and his wife and sister once to see a Vet Rep and when I got there, his story completely changed-
it had taken me hours to even hear the story from him-and his wife and sister in law kept calling me with more details...it sounded like he had a a good claim  but the vet rep called VA and then told the veteran he was not eligible at all for any VA benefits.The vet did not seem surprised- at all. His wife was stunned.
I guess he had gotten a Dishonorable Discharge ( he said his paperwork was still in another state so he could't show me his DD214 ) and he never told his wife .
Also a local widow who asked for my help told me a far different situation that her husband had about his VA disabilities and his Vietnam experience.....after trying to help her understand what she needed for a DIC claim, I found out she was not even his wife and we are not a Common Law state.
And there was no basis for a DIC claim anyhow-
 
 
 

You are pondering the legal vs philosophical definition.  I was injured in ait,  and eventually discharged,  but the process from basic to discharge took over a year,  and I was 2 weeks from graduating from ait  with my mos when I was hurt.   Legally im a veteran,  though sometimes I don't feel as such.  What others think,  I don't worry about... most don't know enough to question,  and it was 15+years ago at this point.  Those that know what happened know and feel a little sorry for me,  mostly because of lost opportunity.  It never really hit me until i had a 100% vet military id card in my hand again. 

Great point!  Never give up.
 
 

This is correct to a certain degree. Another option for SC is "aggravation due to service". Some veterans had some preexisting conditions prior to joining the service. The entrance exam is supposed to evaluate them and determine if they would be a barrier to service. Some conditions may be acceptable, such as eyeglasses, acne, etc... When the veteran gets out and files a claim for the preexisting conditions which got worse during service, the VA is supposed to look for objective medical evidence and the entrance exam to determine a pre-service level of disability based on the rating criteria. They would then deduct that from the awarded rating percentage. If the entrance exam was silent, they are supposed to deem the pre-service level as 0%, but it doesn't always happen. Of course, having a nexus is still a really good idea.
 
For some veterans, especially prior to 2000, the VA liked to deny unless the disability was diagnosed as "chronic" while in the service.

Hi,
I read your post three times (paulcolrain) and it makes sense, it is logical to me.  You make an excellent point about how illness/injuries did not exist before service...if illness/injuries did in fact exist we would not have been accepted into our respective branches of service in the first place.
Now after service we have to battle again with an agency that is supposed to help.  Crazy situation.
Never Give Up.  Never Give Up.  Never Give Up.

My SMR's had "chronic" listed 40 times with the back and 6 times with the neck. Below is what I was granted -
WE CANNOT GRANT YOUR CLAIM FOR DISABILI TY
VA FORM
( RO COPY)
DECEMBER 23, 1985 
BENEFITS,
THE DISABILITY LISTED BELOW IS SERVICE CONNECTED BUT IS LESS THAN 10% DISABLING AND COMPENSATION IS NOT PAYABLE,,
BACK STRAIN
THERE IS ENTITLEMENT TO NECESSARY TREATMENT BY THE VA FOR ANY
SERVI CE* * CONNECTED DISABILITY. APPLICATION FOR NECESSARY
MENT SHOULD BE MADE AT THE NEAREST VA OFFICE, OUTPATI ENT
OR HOSPI TAL, , BRI NG THIS LETTER IF APPLYING IN PERSON. IF APPLYI NG BY LETTERS PLEASE I NCLUDE THE VA FI LE NUMBER SHOWN ABOVE, ,
THE EVIDENCE DOES NOT ESTABLISH SERVICE CONNECTION FOR THE FOLLOWI NG*
SHOULDER CONDITION, LEFT
CONDITION OF THE SKELETAL SYSTEM

Hi Asknod,
Great information..Who does your nexus letters?
 

Someone (VA?) is blowing smoke up your rear end. I can get anyone SC for anything at any time regardless of how many times or when they got denied or in which order.  Here's a pertinent example. My Vet goes to Vietnam and loads caskets on departing C-141s at TSN for 8 months. He helps unload wounded from Dustoffs. Finally, it warps him and he begins snorting smack. The AF pulls him aside and gives him a one-time shot at rehab and a clean sheet. They evac him to Wilford Hall MC at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. He is cleaned up but his psyche is irreparably damaged. They 86 him and give him a DD 257 as an incorrigible drug addict with personality disorders. I wrote this in 2015- a full year before I was accredited by VA. https://asknod.org/2015/08/20/the-good-humor-man-at-tan-son-nhut-ab/
He filed for bent brain as he left in '70. VA denied and said his Heroin and ETOH were the cause of his mental disorders. He lost 5 more times to the present (2015). I filed anew last fall and tuned up the claim with a good, rewritten stressor. No buddy letters. No evidence of PTSD or GAD (back in those days we called it Generalized Anxiety Disorder) in service.  VA examined him and denied yet again this spring. Denial was for "no dx of PTSD".  VA insisted he had a MDD secondary to drug addiction for 48 years. Suddenly, now, there's no mention of all those denials based on drugs being the reason he's bent. I promptly went to my nexus doctors and got a beautiful dx of PTSD due to all those human popsicles in caskets he was loading. I got the shrink to say the drugs were an attempt to self-medicate and good medical treatises on the fact that drug use doesn't cause bent brain syndrome. VA just scheduled a new c&p to rate him on Friday last. Never ever, ever depend on VES/QTC doctors to write a favorable nexus. VA denied for every reason under the sun for 48 years. I won on attempt #6 because it's a simple recipe. If you refuse to follow it, you lose. In the instant case mentioned above, you (dlove74us) are being given bogus info and told to believe it.
One thing I have learned in my 30 years of doing this is the need for essential, valid knowledge. There is a lot of incorrect info out there being disseminated to Vets-often by VSOs. Once you understand the "game", you cannot lose. This presumes you have a legitimate claim (but I treat that as a given). VA denies by depriving you of a nexus-not because you are not entitled- but because they are an Insurance Co. That's what they do. They deny and frequently in case nobody noticed. You merely have to get the nexus letter to win-even if you don't get it for 48 years. 
One trick most do not realize is the old "benefit of the doubt" rule we laugh about. You file. VA denies. You get your IMO and file it with your NOD. VA is forbidden to develop negative evidence against you so the claim is now in equipoise. Equipoise = tie goes to the runner-ergo you win. You may have to go to the BVA on some contentious point of law like a jetgun claim for Hep C. In that case, you hand your IMO to a VLJ rather than a dumb-s__t rater. Bingo, you win. Let VA deny. They have to have a succinct "Finding of Fact" to deny with. Let them develop this finding so you can rebut it with a nexus. Turn their game against them. Once they commit with their negative nexus, you have the opportunity to rebut with your IMO and will win.  Sadly, I see many develop their claims and think VA is going to see the light and agree with them. Not. The M 21 was not developed to grant claims. It sounds good but the manual is designed to provide the excuse needed to deny with. I buy my nexus letters for a flat $2,000 apiece. They are always bulletproof.
I've had 4 losses in about 1000 attempts since 2008. Reasons? 1) Liar (was never in Vietnam); 2) Liar (admitted to drug addiction in 1993 and then testified in 2014 he was clean as the driven snow); 3) Lied about OTH discharge; and 4) Liar (lots of UCMJ violations for more things than I can list here and most were not LOD). You win because a) you're right  and b) you told the truth. If the STRs and the claims file bear out your contentions, you will always succeed. If you failed, you forgot to supply one of the needed three ingredients. If I can get a Vet SC for glioblastoma for Camp LeJeune water and it isn't on the list, then you folks can do it too.  https://www.va.gov/vetapp18/files3/1815897.txt
I'm not a miracle worker nor do I profess to be one. I use VA's game against them. I suggest you do the same.

got my update..... RO corrected there error and increased me... now on to get the correct E Date... thanks Hadit for all your Help once again... a win!!!

The VA says its reviewing cases of August 2015, my case was given a docket number July 2015. Would this mean that they have look at my case because are now doing the next month August 2015? If so, how long will they take to review my case and give to judge?

Did talk to Vso and they approved claim for increase to diabetes but only back to aug of 2016.  We filed claim in oct of 2012.  The denied it from 2012 back  because of the wording our dr put  down in was, “patient on insulin, and restricted diet, and limited mobility.   And the one he put down in, they say aug 16.  Because that is the one that our family dr wrote, “ patient on insulin and restricted diet and restricted activities.  Which to me they mean the same thing.   Should we ask for reconsideration on the effective date?  Because I think they are screwing him.  Now they remanded the renal disease also.  And the tdiu was also remanded.  Now hubby did not file for the iu, but the Vso says they, the va, is sending him the form to fill out for the iu.  So we will see.

"MAY 25 I WAS GRANTED AN INCREASE FOR THE 5252 FOR ABDUCTION WITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE REOPENED CLAIM OF MAY 16. RATER ONLY USING LATESTS C&P FORM 2018 AND TOOK THE WHOLE THING AS A CLAIM NOT A CUE AND THIS WAS DONE FROM THE SAN DIEGO OFFICE .... TELLS ME  THAT THE CUE WAS NEVER EVEN LOOKED AT."
Maybe.... you can sure file a CUE on the May 25 award, for a better EED, 
"MAY 8 I GET AN EMAIL FROM VSO IN D.C. SAYING THAT THIS CUE SHOULD BE CHANGED TO A CLAIM FOR INCREASE BECAUSE ITS TO HARD TO WIN A CUE AT THE LEVEL OF THE BVA.  I CALLED HIM AND SAID NO PLEASE LOOK AT MY EVIDENCE AND I POINTED IT OUT AND HE SAID GEE. OK.. I SEE THIS... SO YES THE CUE SHOULD GO AHEAD."
Did he file it or do you have proof that you filed it?

what my plan is to try to reopen it, request a dro, then contact a lawyer, and have CUE as my last alternative.  its never been as far as the RO

I did appeal, but since they said I was not eligible to make a claim for TDIU there was nothing to appeal.   I appealed the proposed reduction for PTSD the VA proposed to reduce from 70%-50%, and made me ineligible for the TDIU claim, then I sent an appeal letter, the VA said that they made an error and that my PTSD would stay the same.  My claim for TDIU was never adjicuated, they never sent another 21-8940, even though they had evidence of unempolyability from the PTSD C&P exam

ALL VA correspondence is logged and recorded you can access in your c-file, sometimes if the VA mails to the wrong address the date for appeal is still open.  
 
my argument rests on 1) the VA never properly evaluated me for TDIU, they also never sent me a form 21-8940.   2) they never denied me TDIU, they just said that I was not eligible because I did not have a SC that was 60%, all because they proposed to reduce.  I was 70% PTSD, they never reduced me, My PTSD effective date is 3/2005.  The VA had to evaluate my claim for TDIU because I was eligible, and they had knowledge of my unemployability 

also , VA will no longer presume a claim for TDIU is a claim for increase in all service-connected disabilities. this was the ruling to force veterans to select a specific service connected disability for a tdiu claim.  before this you were able to claim tdiu for several service connection.  once the VA has evidence that a veteran is unemployable due to a service connected disability, the VA MUST send a form 8940, even if they deny it 99% of the Time

No offense, but give us a summary, of "your" reasons its CUE.  Cite the specific regulation(s) you think VA violated.  You have to show that any error they made was outcome determinative.  If they forgot to dot an "i" that does not mean you deserve 100 percent back to the error, for example.  
If you cant put your finger on the regulatory violation, chances are it wont fly, OR you just are not familiar with regulations.   
Have you thought of reopening due to 38 cfr 3.156 b (if its still pending)  or 3.156 c if its about service records?  
Remember, you just have had to sent that new evidence to them, you dont have to write  them a letter and state that you are reopening due to 3.156.  If you did that in the appeal period, or while the claim was pending, then you should go that route instead.  

How about posting a redacted copy of your Rating Letter, all pages. The Rater's discussion regarding Rating Decisions, Authorities and Evidence Reviewed, would be very helpful.   
Are you working with a POA-VSO Rep or are did you do a DIY project? Might be prudent to have a sit-down with a POA-VSO Rep to discuss future moves.
You may not be aware that the "Bilateral Rating with the 10% Factor" has been used to determine your CSC. As an illustration, your Bilateral hip SCs are respectively, 20% + 10%= 30% x10% = 3% + 30 = 33%. You won't see this figure on your Rating Letter. it would be in your C-File, that your POA-VSO could view and Print in his office. 

I just looked at ebenefits this morning, nothing new.  I just checked again . It says judge has made decision and we should be getting letter soon.  This day marks the fiftyth anniversary of my husband leaving Vietnam!

Do you have an EBenefits account? If not, you should do that first. You need to see enrollment at the VA to get ID verified to get an advanced account the allows you access to claims and appeals info.
NOD should not take longer than 13/14 months. They are strange, sometimes they are done in 3, others much longer.
to get up to date info on the NOD call 800-827-1000 for claims info
 

my guess is the judge wants to combine them into one rating if it makes it a higher rating instead of two lower ratings combined equals less money. How it was explained to me one 70 and one 50 won’t  make it 100 but combined under one table could make me 100 scheduler for one disability.