SLEDGE

The top dog at the VA is a political appointee. I'm assuming that many of the managers under him are also political appointees. That tells me that, from the top down, the political agenda is much more important than following 'any' rules that would improve the claims process. IMO, changes are made at the VA just for the sake of change, not to actually improve anything. Politicians are speech makers first and experts at smoke and mirrors second, law enforcement is about number 12. The VA is simply a political organization that answers to nobody except the President. Changes in how they operate just serve to slow things down even more. Changes ment to lower the amount of claims waiting to be worked will only decrease the accuracy of each and every claim. I've seen a lot of changes over the last 30 years and I'm still on appeal. The VA has never done anything in my case that proved to be an accurate assessment of the claim. sledge

Any reputable building contractor has plans that you can choose from. Most of those guys will be happy to modify any existing plans to suit your special needs. Realtors usually have a list of the better builders. sledge

Going on 32 years. We just sent another brief to the Court. sledge

I believe the standard policy is to work messed-up claims as a priority. Nehmar would fit this classification. However, in my case, the effective dates on my claims precede Nehmar. Claims should be adjudicated in the order that they were received in the first place. However, I realize that there are circumstances in which the priority rule does not apply. If a knowledgeable person recognizes a CUE in an old WW11 claim, that CUE should be processed before my stuff. Common sense and logic goes a long way with veterans. sledge

Mine is not service related so I have no idea. sledge

The VA is just collecting stats. However, in the future, those extra exams could lead to confusion at the RO. In my past I thought it was stupid to be getting a rectal everytime I saw a VA doctor. My private doctor says once every 10 years if often enough. Then it occurred to me that we are all just pieces of meat to them. They, all of the student doctors, have to have performed a certain number of procedures to receive a proficiency rating. Nowadays I just bend over. Cooperating with the jerks will get you farther down the road. Any kind of complaint will just put a golfball in your garden hose. sledge

More smoke. sledge

"What era are you from? When did you receive your award of TDIU? Did they start out low and then add on over what period of years? Who did you use as your VSO all these years? When did you finally begin your journey with this lawyer?" Viet Nam. October, 2002. No. Started at 20 and went to TDIU all at once. DAV for over 20 years. 2000. Less than 2 years compared to 20+. sledge

"Sledge, when you stated that your 1985 appeal had not been adjudicated, did you mean that V.A. failed to prepare a Statement of Case after receipt of a notice of disagreement with that appeal?" I believe that's correct. They have been under the assumption that the claim had been adjudicated and then dropped by the vet. However, there isn't any evidence to substantiate the dropped claim. They failed to invent any false records to back up their actions. I have 28 pages of what the VA screwed up since 1985. There is a potential for 17 years of 100 percent retro involved here. sledge

They can keep the apologies and parades for the Viet Nam troops. Our legacy is better served by bringing attention to PTSD and organic brain injuries from trauma. It's about friggin time. sledge

At least I have a solid case at the court. Until yesterday I did not realize that the 1985 appeal was not adjudicated. My seemingly poor performance in my own claims is medically justified. There is no moral or legal reason for why the VA has handled their part in such an unprofessional manner. Their excuse would still seem to be, it's politically correct to screw veterans. Nothing within the VA system is tied to good performance or becoming better at your job. It's kinda like the bad guys in World War 2, just following orders. When confusion sets in get a lawyer. sledge

Just a quick update on the continuing saga of sledge vs the VA. I filed an appeal of a denial of a claim in 1985. That's correct, 1985. By not being very smart in the workings of the VA and by having multiple claims going at the same time, I was too sick to notice that my 1985 appeal had never been adjudicated. In a later decision, based upon another appeal with a later effective date for the exact same medical condition with the same medical records as evidence, they granted the 1985 claim that had not been previously adjudicated and assigned the much later effective date. No new evidence has been submitted since 1979. So the unadjudicated 1985 claim appeal is still open, to receive the effective date in 1985. I'm pretty sure this is the difference between 50 percent and 100 percent based upon unemployability. In my recent past my lawyer decided to study everything that the VA has done in my case since 1974. This is standard procedure before letting any 'possible' earlier effective dates fall by the wayside due to not pursuing any more appeals. In other words, before dropping my client status into 'previous client' status, one last look had to be performed by the legal folks. This reminds me of the C&P appointments that the VA sent me to that only existed in the mind of the person making out the paperwork. I showed up but, somebody forgot to schedule the clinics. Which they used to deny my claim. And the hearing that they canceled in 1996, which they then used as an excuse to deny my claim. (The Vet never showed up for the canceled hearing.) I'm back in the Court of Appeals for Veteran's Claims again. The court had previously mentioned to the VA that they had really screwed-up this case from the word GO. Which resulted in hardship for the veteran. I wonder what the 'remarks' section will look like this time? sledge

That website will take you to an exel worksheet. I don't have that. sledge

The good kind of a statement of a disability goes like this; I'm a spine specialist. This guys 100 percent disabling back pain and leg numbness is caused by the gunshot wound he got while serving in Irag. The wound is on page 169 of his inservice medical records dated Jan. 10 2006 while serving in Irag. The folks who set your ratings of disability are not medical types and need it spelled out in simple terms. Short, unemotional and right to the point. When they shoot it down you need to start giving them evidence that a judge can refer to. Giving it to them short and sweet just to set the effective date. None of my severe spinal problems were deemed to be connected to my inservice injuries. 3 surgeries and lots of shots later, oh well. sledge

I'm in my 31st year. sledge

Lip service, smoke and mirrors. Typical of how our government handles complaints from us. "A note attached to one veteran's case read: "Not ready to rate because of the incentive." VA case workers are rewarded for screwing us. What else is new? sledge

My co-pay refund was over 1700 bucks. Today I received a letter from the pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator. One of my medications does not fit the mold any more. So, the pharmacy is changing it for me. Isn't that just swell? sledge

Based upon the track record of the VA and congress, I'll believe their rhetoric when I see the positive results. What they are really after is more data for their studies on toxic chemical exposure. How's it feel to be a lab rat? sledge

It's human nature to ask, why, are you trying to increase your service connection if you are already rated at the maximum high? I understand and sympathize with you all the way. But, the worker bees at the VARO probably do not. I have service connected medical conditions that I have never tried to get recognized by the VA because I'm TDIU and P&T. I get severely stressed whenever some jerk calls me a liar or uses fabricated BS to deny my claims. BTW, my medical records simply state that the VARO has caused my PTSD symptoms to become worse. I could sue the pricks if I wanted to. Pressing the issue further will do me more harm than good. When you have a service connected medical condition, that could someday cause an early death at any age, hopefully at 160, your spouse and descendants could apply for more benefit money based upon the service connected demise. Go for it and don't let anyone talk you out of it. It's legal, moral and justified. sledge

Extra-Scheduler? Basically it stands for a rating that is not covered by the tried and true ratings schedule. If athletes foot keeps you from working part or all of the time that would probably be considered unusual. Unusual circumstances may require an unusual rating that is not covered by the schedule. Extra-scheduler ratings might be hard to accomplish if the raters are having a bad year. This is something that you have to ask for and be prepared to prove and fight for. I'm curious as to why they can't give you better relief these days for what they are calling athletes foot? Like I stated before, mine was only cured by a fresh doctor who took into consideration where I was stationed when the 'rash' first hit me, SEA..... You could be looking at a metabolic malfunction instead of a parasitic invasion. Or something as weird as Hanson's disease. (leprosy) Which always responds to simple antibiotics. Without knowing anything more I believe you could benefit from a fresh face in the medical field of dermatology. I was cured by a 'fresh from medical school' GP. He has recently retired from a long and productive private practice treating fat folks. I totally understand your misery. Good luck. sledge

" My question is will this be a temporary increase and if so how long will the temporary increase last and how often will I have to visit the VA. " That sounds like a question that only the VA can answer. Question for ya. Who decided it was just athlete's foot? That's what the idiots told me my incurable rash was for 8 years until I sought a diagnosis from a private sector specialist. It turned out to be a tropical disease that us northern folks had no resistance to. A weeks worth of the proper medication and my skin peeled off revealing new skin much like that of a baby's bottom. Hands, feet and 'other' places. Anything that develops while serving in a distant land could be just about anything other than athlete's foot. And the symptoms usually look the same. They will never rate a bad rash to a high enough level to suit me. I got rid of it and they can keep the money. How much does your athlete's foot effect your life? If it can't be cured, which unfortunately I believe is quite possible, you may need an extra-scheduler rating. sledge

They tried to give me some kind of pre-existing condition. My lawyer had to explain to the RO that being accepted into the service with no defects on the entrance exam, is the ruling document. They can't come back to your case after you get out and add stuff to the entrance exam. It's called tampering with the evidence. If your disability is not a recognized genetic defect you will prevail. sledge

As long as they keep up the rhetoric on the total success of the volunteer services there will be no politician advocating a new military draft. sledge

" authorize VA construction projects, " Well, when you purchase a can of beans the ingredients are listed in rank by volume. Beans will be listed before salt. The government does not follow that legal guideline when expounding upon their latest piece of legislation. Of all of the things mentioned in the bill, the last one is the only one that I believe will be fully realized and implemented immediately. That's because expensive construction is involved, a political football. Actual veteran's health-care will not improve and the new construction will just eat up more of the already limited parking areas. I'm not against giving a chaplain a reserved parking space either, but I have never seen a chaplain who really needed to park next to the entrance to the facility. Doctors and chaplains need more exercise, not the veterans in wheelchairs. In other words, we should be considered first, not a distant 3rd or 4th. What the hell is new construction going to accomplish when our healthcare still sucks? sledge

This subject is getting pretty worn out. Some of us spend way too much on our health care because the VA will not. If you are living high on 100% I'm happy for you. I'm 100% and I enjoy much less actual income from it than many others. The idea of getting even less is abhorrent. sledge