paulstrgn

It is the same for me, if I did not get a reasonable accommodation from my employer I would be out of work. I am lucky since I work for the government and they are mandated to give reasonable accommodation accept for in a few exceptions. I would gladly give up all my VA benefits to have my disabilities go away, I am tired of hurting as many here are. All I see in my future is pain and losing the ability to do more and more things. As bad as things seem for me I know there are many more on this site much more worse off than I am.

Buck as you know getting from 90% to 100% seems to be the hardest thing to do, it can be done but it takes a lot of extra disabilities to get there as you know. I know I never thought I would make it to 100%.

I had the VA ignore my evidence, IMO, and lay statements by the original raters and the HLR rater for SA. It was also the VA NP opinion they took over the two MD sleep specialist opinions. In fact, the HLR rater told me on the call that most claims are denied at the HLR but the BVA usually approves most of them. First, I was pissed and wonder why the hell even tell me such a thing whether it’s true or not, second if you know the BVA will approve it them why make me go to the BVA at all. Needless to say, the BVA did approve my SA claim. Long story short, I still recommend going to the HLR route and request the conference call, of the three I had two were professional and took their time to talk with me and I felt they truly listened. Those two both granted my HLR claims, the third one I mentioned above. I was not nervous on the calls and kept it professional even when the one told me it would probably be denied. Dealing with the VA is very stressful and I truly hate it, but it is a necessary evil if I want to get my disabilities approved. I started my VA journey 20 years after I retired from the military (I was too lazy to file before...just being honest). But when I started in 2015, I stuck to it, I first started at 40% but kept after it, by 7/2019 I made it to 100% P&T with the effective date back to 8/2018. I did it by sticking to it and the help of my fellow veterans here on Hadit. As stressful as it can be I highly recommend sticking with it, even if it takes beating your head against the wall a few times. Remember you have earned these benefits by the sacrifice you made to our country, don't let anyone tell you different. Keep filing and don't give up for you will get there. Good luck!!!

But everyone must remember don't think you need to do what the VSO says, they are human and can make mistakes or just plain don't know. Follow your own insticts and never ever give up. When you give up is when you lose.

Follow Vync advice, it is good. I use google for everything and use the quotes when I want it to find certain words. It is amazing what you can find with google.

Mine just said they reviewed my medical records and gave examples of relevant medical records looked at. The IMO he used had several check boxes for evidence looked at and the first one was "military service treatment records" which he checked. Now he did not look at all the records, I gave him all the relevant ones that pertained to my SA (I did the leg work to make sure he looked at what I wanted him too). They were BMI and blood pressure readings. His rational was that I was already obese and that the military failed to diagniosed my high blood pressure. He also marked "VA treatment records" and "civilian records". I had given him a copy of the medical opinion done by the VA (the NP had stated I had gained weight since leaving the service and became obese indicating it was not service releated), and the civilian records were the sleep studies. I believe if the IMO is well written and indicates that all relevant SMR were reviewed and any other medical records you should be okay. After all they don't need to review your medical records when you went to sick call for an unrelated illness.

If the test were performed by the VA you should be able to download the test results from My Health Vet. After logging in you can download your VA medical records. The IMO should state that they reviewed all your medical records in making the IMO. If the IMO is new evidence then you should be able to file a Supplemental Claim, if the VA already has it then you can file a Higher Level Review. You also have the option to file with the BVA. Unfortunately it is very common for the VA not to take our evidence into consideration, that is what happened to me with my SA claim. I finally had to file with the BVA but I did win and had a retro check back to 8/2015. Don't give up and make sure you file timely. Good luck!

This was the doctor who did my first sleep study. I asked the doctor to write it up and he said he would, he did not ask for any extra money.

Congratulations. You were smart not to listen to your VSO, no one cares more about your claim than you do. Looking at the first picture it is obvious you worked very hard to put your claim together along with solid evidence you earned your win with the BVA. When you get you decision letter from the BVA make sure you go over it carefully, make sure they used the correct dates in their decision. My BVA letter had the correct dates but the RO apparently could not read and made the effective date the date of the decision instead of when I first filed, I had to submit an HLR to have the date corrected it took less than 60 days. I hope you have a large retro check coming to you, the larger it is the longer it takes. It is normal to freak out about wondering what your new rating will be, just try to relax for it will come (easier said than done). Once again congratulations on your win!

@Vync I really appreciate how you always have wonderful references for us vets to use...your research skills are amazing!!!

Like GB stated you have a lot going on. Since you have COPD and SA you have what is called "overlap syndrome", I would ask you sleep medicine doctor did your COPD cause SA. I think a good sleep medicine doctor could give you an IMO that ties the two together. WebMD has some more information on this issue. https://www.webmd.com/lung/copd/copd-and-sleep-apnea-link#1 COPD, SA as well as hypertension can cause heart issues. I am sure your cartiologist can tie your your issues to both you COPD and hypertension. I am not sure if you are being seen by the VA or private doctors. I would start a claim as soon as possible for your heart issues and sleep apnea. You will probably need IMOs to have your claim approved. Good luck and take care of yourself.

I am not an attorney...but I would think you would need to check with a Thai attorney to see if you have a case. I don't know if you can even sue doctors/hospitals in Thailand. Each country have their own rules.

I enjoyed reading the link. It shows that you should never give up. Thanks for sharing, I will save the info in case I should need part of it in the future.

Who says Friday the 13th is unlucky. Congratulations on the win!!!

As mentioned above that is only if the C&P was performed by the VA. The one and only I ever had showed up 3 days later via the blue button, this was in Oct of this year. All the other ones I have had done were by LHI, QTC, and VES and I can oly get those with a FOIA request. I try to do a FOIA request about once a year if I have had any rating changes during that time, this way I have my entire Claims Folder.

Buck you are spot on for each state is so different when it comes to property tax exemptions.

@Mawm Unfortunately dealing with the VA can be very frustrating and waiting for the VA to decide a claim is like watching grass grow. It can be painfully slow and by checking the system daily or sometimes more than once a day just adds to the frustration (I know for sadly I have done that myself). I have NODs go quickly and I have had them go incredibly slow (I currently have one where the dust is piling up on the claim for lack of movement). Basically is what everyone is saying try to be patient and try to get your mind off of the claim (which is easier said than done). Good luck with your claim and enjoy the holidays!!!

I had a BVA win in 7/2019, in my case it had to go back to the RO to figure the percentages and determine if there was any retro pay. Well the RO screwed it up and instead of making the effective date 7/2015 they made it the date of the BVA grant. As soon as I got the decision I filed an HLR for an EED which was granted (eBenefits had the correct percentages and effective date) 45 days later. I received my first retro check in October 21, and the second one in November 28. Is your appeal actually closed? I ask because after my BVA grant the appeal was not closed it was sent to the RO to finish the processing with the correct percentage and effective date. Congratulations on your win and I hope your retro pay comes soon!!!

I would think you can make an argument that it was an error on the part of the federal government. I would think that there is an appeal process for property taxes, I would lay out the time line of when you filed for your disability and the timely process you followed. After the federal government realized that they had made a mistake that they corrected their error and awarded you 100% P&T in 2008/2009. I would make the argument that you filed for tax exempt status as soon as you were able to and that it was not your fault but the federal governments. I am not saying it would work but I would fight it as far as I could. I would even contact State Senators and Congressmen to ask for help. The worse that could happen is they say no, but you won't know until you try.

Bronco...can you please elaborate? Is this copays for doctors appointments or something else? Sorry, I am not sure what you are referring to. I am not sure if it matters that I work full-time or not. As always thanks for answering my questions.

The sad part is there are too many vets who are broke and either homeless or on the verge of losing their home. Glad to hear it's cola....hahaha

@Vync I hope you are entitled to a refund of property tax. Now I know they never will, but if you are not eligible then why isn't the VA liable to you for the back taxes? After all it was their fault for not approving your claim in a timely fashion, so why is the vet penalized for the VA mistakes? I think it sucks that they aren't liable. Good luck Vync!!!

Is how I did mine, when I found out I was 100% P&T I contacted the county tax assessor to let them know and they told me what I had to file and submit. I submitted the letter from eBenefits that showed I was 100% P&T along with the effective date along with completing an online application. I had also asked for a letter to submit to my mortgage company. Once I received the paperwork from the county, I then submitted it all to my mortgage company and I asked that they run a new escrow analysis. My mortgage company pays 1/2 the property tax in June and the other half in December. The mortgage company is in the process of mailing me the second half of the property tax that was still in the escrow account. For the rest of the property tax (first half of 2019 and Aug 2018 - Dec 2018) to be sent back from the county to the mortgage company and then they will send it to me. This will take several months to receive all the money, I do not mind waiting needless to say. They also told me what my new house payment would be after they ran the escrow analysis. As Bronco stated all this depends on the state you live in.

It may be different for each state. I was very surprised that they processed a property tax refund for 2019 and also 2018 (back to Aug.), I was really expecting at best only 2019. Virginia also has a personal property tax and they also refunded back to August 2018. It's not a lot of money, but it does work out to about $3K for the house and $800 for the personal property tax. Needless to say extra money like that is nice to get around the holidays. Vync hopefully you can get some extra money back, good luck.

I always take copies of my records to the C&P exam, some will take them and some won't. But I always take then just in case they want to see them. Even if they have your records a lot of times they are given all of them to go through and they don't want to. So by giving them a copy helps them as well as you. I would also take the results from my DBQ by the specialist. Good luck with your claim.