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MKAH
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Posts posted by MKAH
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3 hours ago, GBArmy said:
toddt's advise is right on. If you check the letter generator, you often will see your ratings change before you receive your decision letter. You can also keep an eye on your direct deposirt. That can also show up befor your decision letter, but that usually happens on straight forward claims that don't have large back pay and complicated EDD.
HI GBArmy,
Yes sir, I have been looking at the letter generator and my bank account, based on the advice I have received from Hadit members.
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13 minutes ago, pacmanx1 said:
According to your post, the appeal decision was made July 10, 2020 which was (yesterday) a Friday, I would say give it a few days to see if it changes. Also keep in mind that BVA normally will either grant or deny a veterans' claim. Now your claim has to go back to the VARO to actually be rated and given a percentage of degree. If I am wrong please correct me. You are over the hump as your PTSD has been granted but now you have to wait for your rating decision. This could still take some time for the VARO to implement your BVA grant. Yes, in the mean time you should get a grant award letter from BVA. You can also check with your Attorney.
On a side note, when I was finally granted 100% scheduler, I thought that would make everything right again. I was so shocked and exhausted from fighting VA, I had to realize that my conditions were permanent and I would have to live with them for the rest of my life. Basically a letdown but I am still here and still fighting.
Thank you for your reply pacmanx1, I really appreciate it.
I'll make sure and keep everyone posted as this process develops and I hope that information will be useful to other veterans.
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Now that I have processed this a little bit, I looked at VA.gov again and see the last timing event in the claim history sceen of VA.GOV:
Disability compensation appeal updated on July 10, 2020
Status: The Veterans Benefits Administration granted your appeal
Issue on appeal: Service connection, Post-traumatic stress disorder
Submitted on: September 20, 2016
View details
But unlike the other historical claims which have been completed (for better or worse), I do not see the notice:
"We sent you a decision letter"I wonder why that would be?
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On 5/26/2017 at 6:10 AM, shipdog7 said:
After 50 years I received a 100% disability rating. At 73 years of age I was awarded it about a month ago.
I am speechless, and grateful that you finally got to the other end of the tunnel. Your perseverance is simply incredible.
Thank you for sharing this terrific news.
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Thank you Toddt,
It's my understanding that my attorney (Woods & Woods) will file for TDIU if it has not already been done by the VA. I have not been able to work since January 2016 which is confirmed by the social security earnings website and my past tax returns.
With the new SC of PTSD, any percentage other than 100% (which I will not get), I can only reach 90% "scheduler" (I hope I am using that "term" correctly)?
Interestingly, I thought I would be happier with this great news, but I continue to feel like a second class citizen (former soldier) , beat down and tired. However, I would have been psychologically crushed if I had been denied again, so I suppose I should just suck it up and be happy with the result.
With continued mental health treatment, I hope that someday I feel just a little bit better than I have for the past 40+ years?
One thing is for sure, the support and friendliness from members of this board have had an incalculable positive impact on my life. In particular, TBird, who years ago helped me navigate my way to the crisis hotline which likely saved my life.
Thank you Toddt and all the fine members on this board.
(Oh...perfect...now I'm crying my eyes out...good grief..)
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Hi everyone,
I just looked at VA.gov and this is what I see:
Appeal received September 2016Up to date as of July 11, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. ETStatusClosedGrantedService connection, Post-traumatic stress disorder_________________________________________
The Veterans Benefits Administration granted your appealThe Veterans Benefits Administration agreed with you and decided to overturn the original decision. If this decision changes your disability rating or eligibility for VA benefits, you should see this change made in 1 to 2 months.This appeal is now closed________________________________________However Ebenefits appears to not yet been updated as see below.You have a 80% final degree of disability.
Rated DisabilitiesDisability Rating Decision Related To Effective Datetinnitus 10% Service Connected 03/08/2011migraines (previously addressed as headaches)50% Service Connected 08/01/2017bilateral hearing loss 50% Service Connected 02/11/2016sleep condition Not Service Connectedpost traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Not Service Connected
PTSD - Personal Trauma
______________________________________________
I would expect that should happen soon and I will then be able to view the new percentage? -
On 6/17/2020 at 5:10 PM, broncovet said:
The board "only has jurisdiction" when the Veteran grants same by the filing of the I9.
So, if the board remands, and the VARO renders an unfavorable decision, the process starts over..you have an opportunity to appeal, to the board, provided you file a nod and appeal to the Board a second time.
Thank you broncovet. That's great information.
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On 7/2/2020 at 9:27 AM, Christie said:
I use Woods and Woods also and waiting on backpay, judge granted me my TDIU on May 20th but my RO is Phoenix and they are slow, my question is.... so you got your money from the VA itself and it wasnt sent to the lawyer first and then they issue it to you? Was curious how that process worked. I was under the impression ALL money went to the lawyer and then they sent us our share (so to speak). Am I wrong? If so, that makes me very happy that it wont take even longer for more people to touch it it and sent it out to me.
Hi Christie,
Sorry I did not reply earlier as I did not have notifications enabled for this thread.
"so you got your money from the VA itself and it wasnt sent to the lawyer first and then they issue it to you?"
Yes, that's how it worked for me.
Immediately after the Regional Office determined the % of disability the the BVA judge had ruled was service connected, Woods and Woods filed two comp and pen claims. One for the 20% of the award (which was approved and paid directly to Woods & Woods, and the other one (which has not been decided yet) that has the vague description of "Due Process". I am guessing the "Due Process" claim is for Independent Medical Opinions, Mailing costs and other Doctor interviews, records review and examinations. However, I did get a bill from Woods and Wood detailing Independent Medical Opinions, Mailing costs and other Doctor interviews, records review and examinations, which a gladly paid.My current open claim (PTSD) filed 11/14/2014 was ultimately appealed to the BVA, and then remanded back to the RO for a C&P that the RO never performed prior to my denials. That BVA remanded C&P happened on 8/9/2019. This C&P was in support of service connection at a disability level which appeared to be the 70% tier. Then recently (about six weeks ago), the RO requested that the same C&P examiner perform a "records review". But I do not know what portion of the records are being reviewed or why.
Woods and Woods explained to me that even though the C&P was in certainly support of SC, the RO could and often does deny SC connection based on the combined information. I believe if SC is denied by the RO, the BVA judge will have another look at the appeal to make the final decision?My hope is that this claim will be decided one way or another by the end of this year.
I see that your are 100%, are you able to share that process?
Thank You
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5 hours ago, broncovet said:
No. The BVA makes the ruling and the VARO is supposed to implement it.
"If" you dont agree with the VARO implementation, you can then appeal it to the Board. This is the Remand hamster wheel some have spoken of.
I have been riding the remand hamster wheel, and dont recommend it, unless you have no choice but to give up which is worse.
Hi broncovet,
So I'm correctly understanding you to say, that my "C&P" and possibly the "records review" will eventually go back to the BVA for the ruling, then the BVA judge will say yes or no.
Then back to the RO for the percentage of disability if determined to be SC's, otherwise an SOC explaining why it was a no?
I'm with you, this seem like a redundant and convoluted process. But I really don't have even a basic understanding of how this all works so, I shouldn't complain too much.
Thank You
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6 minutes ago, pacmanx1 said:
The VARO is supposed to make a decision on your claim, If the VARO grants your claim, they can rate it and then send it back to the BVA but they will send you a decision letter and you can agree or disagree and BVA will take it from there. Also if the VARO denies your claim the VARO will send you a decision letter and then it still goes back to BVA and they will take it from there. Either way the VARO will send you a letter and you will have the right to agree or disagree and appeal.
OK, got it. Thank you pacmanx1.
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Hi everyone,
I have a PTSD claim that eventually went to the BVA on appeal. The law judge remanded my claim back to the RO for a C&P, which happenedd roughly a year ago. Then a few months ago the RO ordered a records review by the same C&P examiner.
If the RO determines my ptsd claim is service connected, do they send it back to the law judge for further review, or does that only happen if they rule it not being service connected?
Thank you
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Thank you Buck52,
I will wait to see what happens and use your advice to guide me.
As for the SSDI, I was approved back in 2016.
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2 hours ago, broncovet said:
MKAH: The answer is well, no, not necessarily.
Yes, I know we think the VA is "out to get us", and there ARE reasons for our lack of trust in the VA and those reasons are usually justified. I say the VA got their reputation with Veterans the hard way: They earned our lack of trust, by lying to us. Still, many of those employees who lied to us in the past are no longer there, and, at least some of those have changed their attitude for the better. So, a bad result in the past does not mean we will also get a bad result this time around.
But, remember VA is not a "unified body", it consists of hundreds of thousands of employees, "each" with differing backgrounds as well as attitudes about Veterans. They range on a continium scale from "0" (hating all Veterans and denying them all) to "10" (loving Vets and handing them anything they ask for..or more!) and anywhere in between.
You dont know whether you will get a "zero" employee, a "ten" or somewhere in between. Most likely its somewhere in between.
A "record review" could have happened because:
1. All or part of the Veterans records were not available before the C and p exam.
2. The records WERE available, but, the c and p examiner did not read them, or, read them but did not STATE that he "reviewed your records" after c and p exam.
3. The VA has noticed an "irregularity" of the records, and that the examiner may not have had some important ones at his disposal and they are requesting a review.
Broncovet,
I appreciate the time and insight you put into your detailed answer.
Thank you (and everyone else on Hadit) very much.
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******** I'm keeping this question in this thread so it's easier to follow everything. *********
In looking over other comments regarding C&P evaluations that are RECORD REVIEW (the kind where veteran does not have to go to an exam) most if not all of the comments pertained to what a RECORD REVIEW is.
In my case, I got a letter via FedEx about three weeks ago from the VES and the RO is having the same outside civilian Psychiatrist (PsyD) that conducted and wrote my C&P, perform a "record review".
This leads me to believe that someone at the RO is currently looking over my claim so they can either deny it and send it back to the BVA, or approve it and assign a rating?Is this a reasonable conclusion?
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19 minutes ago, GBArmy said:
MKAH Just to be sure you got my point; have you specifically looked out the cautions/side effects for your headache and other meds the VA prescribes. If you have any of them, that would be a key considering how bad your symptoms added up. A lot of veterans don't think about a secondary s-c disability could be caused by meds. I'm just saying.
Funny you mention that, LOL.
This may make it difficult to determine the specific cause of a given problem. The VA medications I take (as many other veteran do) have a wild variety of mild to terrible side effects, that span every possible thing that could ever happen to a person. I am pretty sure its largely a liability damage control strategy, but I have personally experienced many of the side effected described.
To name a few, Worsening symptoms, Vertigo, Suicidal Ideation, Headache, Sexual disfunction, Blurry or vision changed, Sore muscles, Lack of energy, Insomnia, Tinnitus, Negative interactions with other drugs and alcohol, Violent behavior, weight gain/loss (mostly gain), Nuts fall off, ect.. ect...Like they say, I you gotta consider the side effects vs the benefits.
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2 minutes ago, pacmanx1 said:
Yes I do agree that the camaraderie here is what really helps out. The one thing I forgot in my post is to make sure you pay very close attention to your TDIU effective date. I am not sure what happened when you were rated at 80% but VA should have considered TDIU at that time. So you may have a really nice retro check.
Yes, I wrote a spreadsheet to calculate retro pay which includes cost of living increases, date of claim(s) less current and historical payments and the agreed 20% legal fee cost which was sent directly to Woods & Woods. For the headache claim, it my retro award was accurate within a few bucks of being in balance with my spreadsheet.
I didn't mention it, but my recent headache claim detailed the 50% award and also said; "An Extra-schedular evaluation was considered, but did show an exceptional or unusual disability picture with such factors as marked interference with employment or frequent hospitalization....bla bla bla."
My attorney wants to wait until the PTSD claim is decided and rated and file an appeal for TDIU on the PTSD claim as it has a much older filing date. That is, if the PTSD is SC, other wise probably file for TDIU on the combination of current SC disabilities. So I am following those directions.
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4 hours ago, GBArmy said:
I believe pacman is spot on. They should be evaluating you for TDIU as you would meet the required criteria. My only thought, and I am sure that you are aware is you would be very close to rounding up to 100% scheduler. Are you absolutely sure there isn't some additional disability you haven't gone after that can get you over the VA math hump? Maybe meds causing some stomach (GERD) issues for example.
GBArmy,
Interesting development.
When I was recently awarded 50% headaches due to tinnitus, the C&P examiner said that she would also be adding language in her report detailing that my Vertigo (which keeps me from driving - the DMV based on VA reporting suspended my license due to frequent falls). She said that she believes my hearing loss and tinnitus in particular, are significantly contributing to my vertigo.
The only problem I see with, is I think this would be considered what I believe is called "stacking" secondary disabilities. I am already SC for headaches due to tinnitus, so I don't think the VA allows tinnitus to be the cause or contributor of another disability, eg; Vertigo? I may be misunderstanding this though?
Hopefully someone with more experience in this matter can weigh in?
Thank you again.
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5 hours ago, pacmanx1 said:
The good thing is that you already meet the TDIU criteria. Now that your claim is in the remand status and the VA working on it, VA should address the TDIU issue. If you have not filed for TDIU, VA should send an application along with the decision letter. If not, you can always apply once you get the letter or if VA address the issue and deny it, likely all decisions you can file an appeal back to the board.
Thank you Pacmanx1,
I will hold tight for the decision letter and see what happens.
The REMAN PTSD C&P was last summer (prior to my headache award) and now that the RO has the same Dr. reviewing my records again I feel like my case may be reaching a conclusion?
This process has been so long and difficult, which makes it great to have this forum to correspond with fellow veterans.
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Hi everyone,
I am currently SC at 80%
Tinnitus 10%
Hearing Loss 50%
Headaches 50%= 78 rounded up to 80%
I have not worked at all since Jan 3, 2016 due to my SC disabilities.
I have a PTSD REMAND pending at the RO with a C&P on 8/9/2019 that contains line(s) that specify, OCCUPATIONAL AND SOCIAL IMPAIRMENT=
[X] Occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking
and/or mood
It is my understanding that this level of ..impairment.. may fall into the possibility of 70%, but not necessarily a slam dunk by any means?...OPINION AS TO WHETHER IT IS AT LEAST AS LIKELY AS NOT (50
PERCENT OR GREATER PROBABILITY)...=
It is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the veterans major depressive disorder
and obsessive compulsive disorder were incurred during, caused by or are otherwise related to his active
service.I got a letter via FedEx a few days ago from the VES and the RO is having the same outside Psychiatrist (PsyD) that conducted and wrote my C&P, perform a "record review".
This leads me to believe that someone at the RO is currently looking over my claim so they can either deny it and send it back to the BVA, or approve it and assign a rating? My guess..The question:
Lets say by chance, I was approved and received a SC PTSD rating of 70%, this would bring me up to 94%, rounded down to 90%.
Will the RO automatically consider an Extra-scheduler evaluation or TDIU during this rating process, or will I need to apply for that if and when the time arises?Sorry for the long winded question, but I thought the explanation may be useful considering how close it would be to 100% Scheduler and the significant problems associated with serious hearing loss, serious headaches and serious PTSD.
Thank you very much.
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1 hour ago, Buck52 said:
You guys may want to check your c-file, for medical notes from your past units that you were in..I found some very important medical notes in my c-file from just going to sick call , it had my unit name address apo the whole 9 yards while i was in germany...these notes helped me prove I was in Germany as my dd 214 never reveal that.
I have my c-file on compact disk and its easy to read through it of course this was at the bottom of about 9.000. pages but I found them. look and read very carefully and you just might find what you need.
Thanks Buck52, I'll take a look as I have my C-File on a disk in PDF format.
The only thing I noticed with the data on my C-File disk, is it is not all searchable like most PDF documents are. I have the feeling that some of the information, at some point was scanned to maybe a JPG file, then later saved to a PFD file?
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4 hours ago, 63Charlie said:
Did you have any symptoms(low frequency significant threshold shifts present on audiograms, ear pain, hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus) attributable to Meniere's Disease recorded in your service treatment records while on active duty?
If so, a claim for Meniere's Disease may be in order.
Frequent bouts of vertigo relevant to Meniere's Disease should be awarded a 100% rating..
My military medical records are mostly lost forever. The only notable things I can personally verify that occurred during my enlistment, while serving in Germany assigned to an 8" Howitzer Battalion, is hearing loss, tinitus & severe headaches.
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I called the 800 number and spoke with Peggy about my updated claim (4/18/20 and no receipt of envelope or direct deposit. Peggy said three sperate deposits were waiting for approval and that the envelope was being mailed today (4/27/20). Peggy gave me the amounts of the deposits and they are within about 100 bucks of my back pay calculation less a 500 dollar outside doctor opinion and attorney fees of 20%.
So my impression is that the VA Regional Office has paid my attorney fees including the attorney arranged doctors opinion, directly to my attorney.
Is this the normal process for paying legal counsel, or am I totally overthinking this process?
(sounds like a really great idea, I was just wondering). -
3 hours ago, Hucast21 said:
Hi MKAH,
The VA loves denying service-connection for migraines, and I am in a similar situation. I was diagnosed with migraines in the service and continue receiving treatment from the VA. I too, was denied on initial claim, denial SOC on NOD, and now my claim goes before the BVA. I am also claiming depression secondary to migraines as I have been hospitalized with suicidal thoughts multiple times over the years when I get severe migraines.
It is sad how us veterans need an IMO in order to win our claim. I am also going for TDIU.
Thank you for the reply.
Killer headaches in conjunction with mental disorders are a real problem for sure....as I am a member of that club.
A BVA judge determined the service connection for my headaches, then returned my claim to the Region Office who then hired a contractor to do the C&P.I wish you well sir.
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5 hours ago, pacmanx1 said:
If you have not applied for SSDI and you are still not working, I suggest that you file for it. Make sure that you get the benefits that you earned. Please forgive me for not being sensitive but IMHO, anyone that has a severe mental health condition should really consider filing for SSDI. The fact of dealing with (stupid) people and work related stress could cause or trigger an episode. As stated I am not trying to be a jerk, I am just trying to help.
Hi pacmanx1,
Yes, I have been drawing SSDI since early 2016 for PTSD and went thru a CDR at the three year mark. I am not sure if stupid people bother me more than unpredictable people though. :)
Thank you for the suggestions.
Appeal Nearing the end (Appears to be Good News)
in Appealing Your Veterans Compensation Disability Claims NOD, DRO, BVA, USCAVC
Posted
Yes sir, I have been looking at the letter generator and my bank account, based on the advice I have received from Hadit members. It still shows the old percentage and no commissary letter option (in the event it is ruled as TDIU to 100%).