ErinNick

My husband is about to appeal for the 3rd time.. his plan is to keep appealing since VA has said that he cannot work. In his case, we're hiring our own vocational expert to present on the next appeal.

Thanks for all the opinions! I do believe we are looking into hiring an occupational expert on our end to have my husband evaluated. His lawyer told him not to appeal if there was no new evidence to present, so we'll have that report to present.

My husband is rated 70% for PTSD. In January of 2020, he was finally marked unemployable and paid at the 100% rate. A couple months later, he applied for SSI disability since the VA has said that he isn't employable. He was instantly denied, so he sought out the advice of an attorney that specializes in SSI. The lawyer told him his case was a no brainer and he would be awarded social security disability. He had his telephone appeal at the beginning of this month and we just received the denial (attached here) in the mail. Based on what he received in the mail, should he even try to appeal again? The military says he cannot work. Shouldn't SSI take that into account? He's been working on this for almost a year and I would hate for all that hard work to go out the window. His lawyer mentioned trying again in a year, but that doesn't make sense to me. Has anyone been in this position? Should he appeal again? SSA Decision.pdf

So after appealing the VA to drop my husband's rating down to 50% from 70% and asking for TDIU as well, it seems his appeal has been closed as of May 1st and there is a deposit of over $5K in his checking account. I checked the disability tab and it's showing he's still at 70% and he's never stopped getting 70% pay, even while all of this was going on. So.. what do you guys take of this over $5K retroactive pay? Did he possibly get TDIU? If he was denied, he wouldn't have gotten any retroactive pay, right? We should be getting all the results soon, but I'm just so anxious!

We are seeking assistance from our county's veteran's assistance specialist. She doesn't cost us a thing and she sees that a lot is wrong with his case. After my initial post, my husband was fired yet again (that makes twice this year) and his employer told him that he didn't have to give him a reason for the firing due to living in Texas. The lady helping us says that he should also file for social security and TDIU, although I don't know what the later is. I'll have to research.

Sorry to not be more specific, but he received a letter, proposal from 70% to 50%. We talked to someone who helps vets with this sort of thing and she says the examiner left off pertinent details after she reviewed the findings. We are getting medical records from his hospital stay and writing supporting letters to show that he needs to stay at 70%. Fingers crossed as we prepare to fight the VA yet again..

So we got his results from the C&P exam today and they want to drop it from 70% to 50%. We are going to fight it, of course, but I don't see how they can think his PTSD is any better when he was just in the hospital a little over a year ago for 6 days and has lost 2 jobs this year. Just because he's attending his therapy doesnt mean he is getting better! Ugh, I'm so frustrated. He doesnt have a job currently.. if we lose his 70%, we lose our house. I'm a little on edge..

I should probably say he has a job after being fired now, but his employment has been so unstable. He cant keep a job for longer than 2.5 years. When he loses it (and I know when it's coming usually), it always puts us in a bad situation financially. The week stay at a private hospital was due to threatening to drive his truck into a building going 100 mph. He told this to co-workers at the job he was later fired from. He also just recently stopped going to weekly therapy at the VA and is now trying to find some kind of group therapy. His impulse habits are really bad. He'll do something and not even worry about the consequences. When those consequences involve me or our children, that's when it gets really bad. He also has no patience for the children. I wrote a letter in support for his disability when he originally received it. I just may have to write another highlighting all the lows we've had these past couple years due to his PTSD.

Hey guys! You all were very helpful when my husband was going through the PTSD claim process. He finally received his approval Oct of 2017. He just received a phone call on Thursday letting him know he has a new C&P exam scheduled for the 25th. He never asks a lot of questions, but can anyone tell me why? Are they trying to take away his 70% disability? Are they trying to rate him higher? What is the purpose for this after him being 70% disabled for 2 years. I can tell you, he is NOT any better than 2 years ago. He's lost a job and had a week stay at a private hospital for his PTSD during these 2 years. I'm just so confused why he is having to do another exam.

Sorry guys! Jumped the gun.. Woke up this morning with a pretty hefty lump sum on the day we closed on our new home! He was awarded is back pay after all!!

So, long story short.. my husband filed an Intent to File in September of 2015. He spent a year collecting medical records and everything he needed to submit his PTSD claim. He finally sent his claim in in September of 2016. He was finally awarded 70% disability in October of 2017, and with that award, he was backdated from September of 2016, when the claim was filed. Our thoughts were, he should have been awarded backdated pay to September of 2015 (when the Intent to File was received) so he sent in an appeal on the effective date. We converted to RAMP mid-March and have anxiously been awaiting the decision which should have been a no-brainer to me since the VA has his Intent to File. I can see on E-Benefits that a decision letter was mailed on August 1, but he did not receive back pay for that year in his bank account. We have taken this as a bad sign and that he didn't win his appeal. We think this way because when he got the original backpay, we were unaware until it just showed up in his bank account. What do you guys think? And if he didn't win, the appeal, why the hell not?! Doesn't an Intent to File start your claim when you file it?? I just can't see how it's not cut and dry.. Thanks for the help!!

Odd.. we are WAY passed 30 days for my husband's appeal. I can't call Peggy because I'm sure they won't talk to me and my husband won't do it.. I've got to be the one to push him to do this stuff. He'd rather just forget any of his PTSD crap ever existed!

All I'm able to see is that my husband opted into RAMP on March 19. It doesn't give me any completion date. Maybe it's coming..

What website are you using to view this information?

Your dad's appeal and my husband's appeal sound similar. My husband was awarded 70% disability in Oct. 2017, but they backdated the pay to Sept 2016 when the claim was filed when my husband had originally filed an Intent to File in Sept. of 2015. We are basically appealing to get an extra year's worth of backpay while he was collecting his various medical records and C-File. I figured it would be very cut and dry because the VA has a copy of the Intent to File but when I realized it could take 7-10 years just for the appeal to be looked at, RAMP seemed very enticing! We hope to hear something soon and they said we would get an answer between 90-120 days in the original letter received.

My husband opted into RAMP back in the beginning of March and we were initially given the time frame of 90 days to get a response. That puts us about right now to receive a response, so I just wanted to check up on the status, but not sure how to do that. If you don't mind me asking, who is Peggy?

Before my husband switched his NOD over to RAMP, I was able to track the process on E-Benefits. Is there a way to track the process of RAMP appeals?

broncovet - He was officially diagnosed with PTSD by a VA doctor at the Waco hospital in 2013, so even if he had the C&P in 2017, wouldn't they base the diagnosis from 2013? He isn't expecting to be compensated all the way back to 2013. Just from the date he filed the Intent to File, which was September of 2015.

My husband also neglects any and all hygiene. What I did is I wrote a statement based on the rating schedule and how I could relate each thing in the 70% range to my husband. I gave examples of real life instances and I honestly think that helped him get his 70% rating.

My husband's representative encouraged his to move into the RAMP program. He submitted out NOD at the end of January sometime, and his NOD was pretty simple, in my opinion. We were disagreeing with the effective date of my husband's claim. We submitted an Intent to File in September of 2015 and officially filed his claim in September of 2016 after waiting for all of the medical records to come in. When he finally received his 70% disability decision, they effective date used was September 2016 instead of 2015. I didn't realize that we could be sitting in a queue for his NOD to be looked over for 4+ years just for the effective date, which they could easily verify that we submitted an intent to file in 2015. So we moved over to RAMP in March and we have been told that we will receive a decision by May 30th. Fingers crossed, as I don't see how anything can go wrong when we are just contesting the effective date, but it is upwards of $20K were talking here, so hopefully the VA does the right thing!

Long story short, my husband was awarded disability for PTSD in October, and at that time he received back pay from September of 2016, which is when the claim was officially filed. He originally filed an Intent to File in September of 2015, which reserves the effective date and provides you a year to file, which he needed the full year while he obtained his medical file. He submitted a NOD due to the effective date actually being in September of 2015 instead of 2016. Does anyone know how long this takes? I've read horror stories of it taking anywhere from 3-7 years, but it seems like such an easy fix to determine the effective date, especially if they have the records showing the Intent to File. Has anyone submitted a similar NOD and if so, how long did it take. My husband just signed to move his NOD over to the RAMP program that says it averages 125 days for a decision, also.

We have a new development in my husband's case.... In the mail today, we JUST received a check for $16,056.52 with a memo of VA COMPENSATION 9/1/17-9/30/17. There was only a check, nothing explaining anything. Can anyone explain what is going on? Shouldn't we have received an explanation for the check? Does this mean his disability is approved? We are soo freakin' excited, but confused as well!

Okay, my husband's exam just ended and when asked how it went, all he could say is that she (the examiner) recommended counseling, which he has done before. He thinks it went okay. What is the process from here on out? When is it usual to hear something or get the notes (not sure what it is called, but I've seen some people post doc's notes from C&P exam)?

Well that gives me no hope at all!! He should have been diagnosed with PTSD all along.. And L, unfortunately my husband wasn't showing he PCS'd at all to Afghanistan. We aren't sure why, so that's why we went to buddy statements and luckily one of his old leaders had a manifest with his info on it.

Well, he did not claim Personality Disorder on this claim.. only PTSD. Even though he was diagnosed with PD back in 2003, I truly believe it was a mid-diagnosis and what he truly has had all along is PTSD, as his most recent diagnosis in 2013 is PTSD (from a VA hospital doc).