mobie16r

OEF21B,If you had a C&P exam,Oct 2010 and haven't heard anything,something is seriously wrong,maybe you need to take a trip to your Regional Office and see what is going on.If you still have your C&P results,could you download them. mobie

Like Carlie,claim look good for increase. This is just my opinion,the c&p examiner stated that he/she wasn't sure or not you could manange your funds,and they might be schudeling you another examination to see if you are capable of handling your own funds mobie

If i was you i would go ahead and file for Individual umployability on the form that you received (21-8940) from VA and you should have received another form in your adward letter,(21-4192) Request for employment Information,This form should be filled out by your supervisor and get he/she (supervisor) to write a letter for you,stating how your PTSD affects your ability to proform your job daily. This will save you a lot of time,because The VA aint that fast getting evidence. mobie

You could get service connected anywhere from 50% to 70% . If you are ganiful unemployable due to PTSD,you could get a 100%. mobie

You should be service connected for fibro,because it is a,condition of Gulf war service and your C&P examiner stated that in your medical notes mobie16r

Sound good John, it is now how the rater see it,the C&P examiner stated that sedentary work was limited,in "Essence" you are totally and completely disable,and it seen like a 50/50 posibility and if the rater look at it like that,you should be rater IU because when the evidence is balance,it is in favor of the veteran. GOOD LUCK! Mobie

You can stop by release of information after your appointment,and fill out the required forms and they will maill you your C&P results in five to ten days. When the rater seen your claim, he/she probably need more information and order a C&P. I Hope this help. mobie

twshort, not enough infomation,what exactly did the SOC va sent you say? mobie

Donna,if you have adobe reader downloaded on your computer,you can google up va form 10-5345a of 10-5345 (release of medical information) fill form out and mail to the VAMC where your C&P exam was done,and they will mail to you withthen 10 days mobie

abnmi,if you pick up your C&P exam notes, could you post the results on this forum, someone on hadit could better respond to your question mobie

If i was you,i would go to vamc where you was treated for these condition even private medical provider and get all of of treatment medical notes and submit them to the Regional Office where claim is being worked as soon as possible,although va is required by law to assist in getting your medical records,but i wouldnt take chances i would do this myself. mobie

This is just my guess,I take you to be 70% service connected for PTSD and if this the case,TDIU becomes a moot point and you was rated 100% for ptsd mobie16r

when your C&P examiner state that your service connected disabilities is at least as likely as not,that is 50% of more,that your service connected disabilities make you ungainful employable,and when the evidence is balance,it is like running to first base in baseball,if you get there the same time the ball do you are safe and i beleive you are safe. let use no the outcome. mobie16r

Evidently,you have enough medical evidence for V.A. to go-ahead and award you for hearing loss and the other issue ,that was deferred, was for more medical information and yes,a C&P examination for those issue also. Congrat on the award mobie16r

If you you haven't been schedule for a C&P, i would write VA a letter on form 21-4138 telling them to close my claim for Depression and Bowel dysfunction,but on the other hand,if you get schedule for C&P i would go to that appointment. Thanks for your service to your country and weclome home! mobie16r

Dependecy claim is just like any other claim,and it depent on the workload in your regional office and yes it will be retro back to the original date of claim.(if you had depentents when you first filed claim)

If you are unable to be gainful employable,due to your service connected condition,you could get a 100% rating for PTSD of you could be bumbed up to 70% and TDIU. GOOD LUCK mobie16r 100 PTSD

Individual unemployability and Increase for PTSD is two seperate claims.Individual unemployability is schedule for veterans when you are rated less than a 100%, and unable to be gainful employable due to your service connected condition.When you getting a 100% rating for PTSD,the claim for TDIU becomes a moot point and being rated a 100% for PTSD you become total disable. That means you shouldn"t work

\That is somewhat of a catch 22 kind of complicated,i see you are already 340 service connected and getting smc,if you haven't been pt for ten years and you decide to commit sucide because of the traumatic event that you experience during combat (PTSD) your wife might get left out unless you are service connected for PTSD

I feel you my "BROTHER" now go-ahead and file for a increase and make you an appointment with your shrink,and tell he/she how your combat experience is effecting your everyday life and if your psychiatrist or psychologist stated you are unemployable due to your service connected PTSD,you could be rated a 100% for ptsd of you could get a increase to 70% and get the TDIU,which would make you a100%.Welcome Home and Thanks for your service to your country. GOOD LUCK! mobie 16r 100% ptsd Vietnam 1966-67-68

jbasser wrote: You need to get an iron clad IMO and go over every sugar level reading you had in service. I agree with jbasser

Vietnam veterans with DMII,IHD is a presumptives,but sleep apnea is not,if you have medical evidence that sleep apnea occur during your service of with-than one year after being discharged,you have a chance of getting service connected for sleep apnea,but sleep apnea can be claim as secondary to PTSD,DMII if you got the medical evidence to prove it.I hope this help.There will be some-one else along can explain more throughly

Remember<if your condition developed before your military service and you was ammitted a year after you was in service to a hospital that means that the military caused your condition to worsen and with the evidence you have you can say that military service agitated your condition and you can be service connected because your service made your condition a lot worst affter you enter the military. mobie

Abhean,If Va proposed you incompetent,i think you have either 30 or 60 days ,in which to explain why you think that you are competent or to submit any evidence that you have to support your assertion.In most cases if someone protests an incompetency proposal VA will do another C&P exam with the examiner specifically addressing competency.If i was you,i would start asap protesting incompetency. You need to get a statement from your private doctor that you are competent to handle your own funds, bank statements,mortgage payments or lay statements from friends and relatives. And to answer your question about competency placed on most veteran service connected with PTSD,thats a no,when you have a GAF below 45 and diagnose with dementia secondary to ptsd and any other mental issue,the VA C&P examanier will most of the time propose the veteran Incompetent for VA purpose I hope this is helpful and keep fighting and good luck. WELCOME HOME! mobie16r

July 12, 2010 New Regulations on PTSD Claims Quick Facts: This new rule is for Veterans of any era. The new rule will apply to claims: o received by VA on or after July 13, 2010; o received before July 13, 2010 but not yet decided by a VA regional office; o appealed to the Board of Veterans' Appeals on or after July 13, 2010; o appealed to the Board before July 13, 2010, but not yet decided by the Board; and o pending before VA on or after July 13, 2010, because the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims vacated a Board decision and remanded for re-adjudication. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS “Stressor Determinations for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” 1. What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition resulting from exposure to direct or indirect threat of death, serious injury or a physical threat. The events that can cause PTSD are called "stressors” and may include natural disasters, accidents or deliberate man-made events/disasters, including war. Symptoms of PTSD can include recurrent thoughts of a traumatic event, reduced involvement in work or outside interests, emotional numbing, hyper-alertness, anxiety and irritability. The disorder can be more severe and longer lasting when the stress is human initiated action (example: war, rape, terrorism). 2. What does this final regulation do? This final regulation liberalizes the evidentiary standard for Veterans claiming service connection for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Under current regulations governing PTSD claims, unless the Veteran is a combat Veteran, VA adjudicators are typically required to undertake extensive record development to corroborate whether a Veteran actually experienced the claimed in-service stressor. This final rulemaking will simplify and improve the PTSD claims adjudication process by eliminating this time-consuming requirement where the claimed stressor is related to “fear of hostile military 2 or terrorist activity,” is consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of their service, and a VA psychiatrist or psychologist, or contract psychiatrist or psychologist confirms that the claimed stressor is adequate to support a diagnosis of PTSD. 3. What types of claims for VA benefits does the final regulation affect? The final regulation will benefit Veterans, regardless of their period of service. It applies to claims for PTSD service connection filed on or after the final regulation’s effective date, and to those claims that are considered on the merits at a VA Regional Office or the Board of Veterans’ Appeals on or after the effective date of the rule. 4. Why is this final regulation necessary? The final regulation is necessary to make VA’s adjudication of PTSD claims both more timely and consistent with the current medical science. 5. How does this final regulation help Veterans? The final regulation will simplify and streamline the processing of PTSD claims, which will result in Veterans receiving more timely decisions. A Veteran will be able to establish the occurrence of an in-service stressor through his or her own testimony, provided that: (1) the Veteran is diagnosed with PTSD; (2) a VA psychiatrist or psychologist, or a psychiatrist or psychologist with whom VA has contracted confirms that the claimed stressor is adequate to support a PTSD diagnosis; (3) the Veteran's symptoms are related to the claimed stressor; and (4) the claimed stressor is consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of the Veteran’s service and the record provides no clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. This will eliminate the requirement for VA to search for records, to verify stressor accounts, which is often a very involved and protracted process. As a result, the time required to adjudicate a PTSD compensation claim in accordance with the law will be significantly reduced. 6. How does VA plan to monitor the need for examiners in various regions of the country, and how does VA plan to respond if is determined that more examiners are needed in a particular region? The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has written in to the FY11-13 Operating Plan the need for additional staff to support doing adequate, timely exams. VHA proposes: “A8. Increase mental health field staff to address the increase in C&P examinations and develop monitoring system to ensure clinical delivery of mental health services does not decrease in VHA.“ Specifically, VHA has requested 125 clinicians for FY11 with additional 63 staff in FY12 if the need exists. If the Operating Plan and the proposed budget are approved, VA proposes asking the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) to develop plans for distributing the funds in order to ensure adequate coverage at sites based on number of claims being processed; the VISNs are well positioned to determine these regional needs. 7. How does the regulatory revision affect PTSD service connection claims where an in-service diagnosis of PTSD has been rendered? The new regulation does not apply to the adjudication of cases where PTSD has been initially diagnosed in service. Rather, under another VA rule, 38 CFR § 3.304(f)(1), if a Veteran is diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder during service and the claimed 3 stressor is related to that service, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, and provided that the claimed stressor is consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of the Veteran's service, the Veteran's lay testimony alone may establish the occurrence of the claimed in-service stressor. 8. Is the new regulation applicable only if the Veteran's statements relate to combat or POW service? No. The rule states that the stressor must be related to a “fear of hostile military or terrorist activity,” and the claimed stressor must be “consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of the veteran’s service.” 9. What circumstances will still require stressor verification through DoD’s Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) , VBA’s Compensation &Pension Service (C&P Service), or other entity if a Veteran claims that his or her stressor is related to a fear of hostile or terrorist activity? The regulatory revision will greatly lessen the need for undertaking development to verify Veterans’ accounts of in-service stressors. Now, stressor development may only need to be conducted if a review of the available record, such as the Veteran’s service personnel and/or treatment records, is inadequate to determine that the claimed stressor is “consistent with the places, types and circumstances of the veteran’s service.” In such circumstances, the Veterans Service Representative (VSR) will determine on a case-by-case basis what development should be undertaken. However, it is anticipated that in the overwhelming majority of cases adjudicated under the new version of § 3.304(f), a simple review of the Veteran’s service treatment and/or personnel records will be sufficient to determine if the claimed stressor is consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of the Veteran’s service. We also believe that, in some cases, a Veteran’s separation document, DD-Form 214, alone may enable an adjudicator to make such a determination. 10. As the regulatory revision seems to require an enhanced role for the examining VA mental health professional, whose role is it to determine whether the claimed stressor is consistent with the Veteran’s service? VA adjudicators, not the examining psychiatrist or psychologist, will decide whether the claimed stressor is consistent with the Veteran’s service. 11. Is a Veteran's testimony about “fear of hostile military or terrorist activity” alone sufficient to establish a stressor? Yes, if the other requirements of the regulation are satisfied, i.e., a VA psychiatrist or psychologist confirms that the claimed stressor is adequate to support a PTSD diagnosis and that the Veteran's symptoms are related to the claimed stressor, and the stressor is consistent with the “places, types, and circumstances of the Veteran’s service.” 12. Are the stressors accepted as adequate for establishing service connection under new § 3.304(f)(3) limited to those specifically identified in the new regulation? No. The examples given in the revised regulation do not represent an exclusive list in view of the use of the modifying phrase “such as” that precedes the listed examples. Any 4 event or circumstance that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of the Veteran or others, would qualify as a stressor under new § 3.304(f)(3). 13. How will the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) work with Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) on the new regulation? VHA was actively involved in discussion with VBA of the new regulation and fully supports the new regulation. The new regulation will provide fair evaluation for Veterans whose military records have been damaged or destroyed, or for whom no definitive reports of combat action appeared in their military records, even though they can report such actions and it is reasonable to believe that these occurred, given the time and place of service. This will be especially beneficial to women Veterans, whose records do not specify that they had combat assignments, even though their roles in the military placed them at risk of hostile military or terrorist activity. This means that more Veterans will become eligible for VA care and thus be able to receive VA care for mental illness related to their military service, as well as receiving full holistic health care.VHA will work actively with VBA on implementing the regulation. VHA staff’s main role is as clinicians conducting C&P interviews to establish diagnoses and obtain other information to be used by VBA raters to determine the outcome of claims. The new regulation will not change the diagnostic elements of the C&P interview, but may change what additional data are collected for use by VBA rater I HOPE THIS SOME HELPFUL INFORMATION mobie16r