AprilNC

Hello, my husband has the current ratings 70% ptsd sc 10% tinnitus sc 0% bilateral hearing loss sc 100% TDIU for the ptsd. last summer my husbands doctor upped his olanzapine dose from 2.5mg to 5 then 10 he was suffering panic attacks ...the idea was to help with the panic while the new dose of Prozac was getting into his system. What this ended up causing was Parkinson’s like symptoms, and they were scary.We reduced the dose back down to the original and even lower, by December he was only taking the olanzapine every 3rd day per my request with a doctor who was covering until a new psych was hired ...the doctor who upped the dose had retired. On Dec 23 he had a dose that was less than 1/4 of the smallest pill ...so approximately .75 he threw him right back into the full blown Parkinson’s like episode.. I informed the doctor I was not giving him another dose of this medicine, period. He of course went thru withdrawal and because his psych was gone, I contacted his primary who has always been awesome ( and now he’s retired ) finally after lots of waiting we got in to see his new psych in person ... she dx Parkinsonism and wanted him to see his neuro. We contacted his neuro ( you guessed it ..he also retired ) so finally he sees va neuro in June 6 months after last dose she examined and per her notes his gait and other neuro symptoms are not caused by anything physical ..she also believes the drug was the cause. He’s been on two Parkinson’s drugs and neither are helpful ..we use Benadryl to control the symptoms of dystonia and horrible eye bouncing ... I know i wrote to much and that not even close to what all has happened ...he broke his hand due to the neuro stuff and fell and totally destroyed his rotator cuff ... because of the neuro stuff... he falls, he’s weak, he has tremors ....and is currently being tested for adrenal insufficiency or addisons by the va ....but the doctor we are seeing because they all stinking retired would not be bothering if I hadn’t insisted that something is very wrong ... I had to resign from my job to be home, he’s has good days and bad days but the bad days are starting to out number the good ones .. where do I start ? thank you ~April

I filed my husbands ramp form in May the VA can see it arrived and was scanned in on May 10 but hasn’t moved ... nothing it hasn’t been move to ramp and no one can explain it. Multiple calls and inquiries and still no one can explain anything. I guess my next email will be to our congressional rep she’s pretty user friendly.

I called back Monday spoke with yet another rep who told me my origininal iris was sent back with no answers because it didn’t supply the veterans information no ss# or claim# just his name. So another rep sent it again I have worked with our congress woman’s office before and they helped immensely I’m giving it a couple more days and doing the same. Best of luck to you

We seem to be in the same boat. I sent my husbands opt in back in May. The VA can see where the RAMP form was received on May 10. But nothing else has happened I was told give it until June as it takes 30 days to get it entered. Well I waited called back June 13 still nothing so an IRIS was sent to the RO , a month later still nothing no response from the RO or anyone else. I called Monday the lady I spoke with said she was handing it off to her supervisor as she couldn't understand what was going on with it either. May I ask what RO you are with? We are with Nashville.

I sent my husbands RAMP opt in on May 5 , waited 2 weeks to call to follow up they said it was received on May 10 but it took 30 days for it to moved to ramp...ok I waited and called again in June still not in RAMP can see where paperwork was received but no response or reason as to why it's not in RAMP yet. I called again July 11 still not moved to ramp and no response from the inquiry that was sent before. Nothing has changed on Ebenefits, and on the Vets.gov the section where his appeal was showing has been unable to show his appeal for since last week.....I guess I'll call again next week...

So I called back after being told it takes 30 days to get it into RAMP after they receive the paperwork...this time around on June 13, 2018 I'm told they received it back can't find where it is at so they have to send an inquiry to the regional office. Basically through IRIS and I should receive a response in 10-14 days.....I plan to call back today and see what the next rep says....

Even if we fire the attorney from what I read he is still eligible to receive part of John's award. As for forms I called the attorney we went over the notice he received in September and yes the attorney told me to fill out the TDIU paperwork and submit it. I got everything together and submitted it via ebenefits.

I called the ebenefits lines Thursday according to them John's opt in letter was received on may 10 but has not been scanned in and processed yet. The rep said it takes 30 days for them to get the info put in the system. Plus side of phone call she did state the VA has everything they were looking for for John's remand and his file is in the ready to work stage according to her that means it needs a someone to sign off on it ...lol on Vets.gov they have that little timeline thing at the bottom showing how many appeals are in front of yours 17,101 to be processed before John's and if that thing is just an estimate they are only processing about 250 a week or 1000 a month..so it would take another 17+ months for his appeal to reach the front of the line. I plan to check back on June 12 to see if it has indeed been moved to ramp. I'll up as I get info..lets see if 125 days is accurate.

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who thinks an attorney might not be in a big hurry to get your appeal settled because the longer it takes the more they stand to gain. My husband hired this attorney in 2011 before we met. Until I started handling the contact with the VA and the attorney literally nothing was done in John's favor for 5 years for the last 3 years I have been the one filing out all of the paperwork and submitting all of the necessary documentation. Unfortunately his "attorney" will gain from my work and I don't think there is anything I can actually do other than count that 25% as a loss.

Is there an actual negative to opting in? I received the invitation in the mail yesterday. My husband's appeal has been with the VA since 2011. September 2017 he was granted 70% back to his original date which was 2011 in the same letter granting him a 70% rating for his PTSD he was advised to file the paperwork for TDIU in the actual letter granting him the 70%. A deadline of Oct.22,2017 was given to file , we filed that was 210 days ago. I'm thinking why not chose the RAMP higher level review if we have to appeal we can in Feb.2019 not much more of a wait. I'm going to send it in.

Broncovet , I’m sorry you had to go through that. I hope you win your war. I’m fighting anothe battle with the va not just johns benefits. He was slapped by a va police officer while in a mental health crisis we’ve been fortunate to get some people to listen but it caused more trauma now it’s hell to take him to an appointment at the va campus. Good luck on your journey.

Thank you Broncovet, I do hope you're teasing about the first scenario I can be patient and if nothing changes or we don't get a letter I'll call. I've learned to keep copies of everything. thank you again

I'll try to make this as short as possible with all of the info. Husbands info granted 60% for ptsd back in 2011 filed appeal using an attorney his ptsd has become so bad (medicated and lots of trips to the psych's) he resigned from his job which coincidentally was with the VAMC. His attorney isn't worth a crap so I took over and managed to get him increased to 70% in march ( I faxed hardship letter and supporting doc's in feb and 3 weeks later he received the increase.) His appeal finally went in front of VA law judge and we received a determination that He should have been rated at 70% from 2011 and in the words of the document the veterans appears to have been eligible for TDIU recommend veteran files form 21-8940 so I filled it out and uploaded it as requested on ebenefits along with the other forms they required last work place and some more medical files from the civilian hospital I had to commit him to because the VA didn't have a bed. Now they asked for the forms to be completed before Oct 12 2017 I finished everything double checked and uploaded all the requested information and forms. 10 days ago it went from under review to pending decision approval, yesterday I logged in to see if anything had changed and where it all was under manage claims there are no open claims now and under pending disabilities it is also gone and has not been moved to historical claims...any ideas? Thank you

Thank you Berta I'll sit down this evening and send him an email I can also attach the pdfs of the witness statements ...

I'll edit the witness statement that outlines the entire scene so that names aren't visible and post it.

Buck52 , I'm not letting go of this va cop he's done this crap before our attorney told me johns not this guys first victim. John worked with this man for 4 yrs and made several verbal complaints and one written complaint against him for the way he treated the veterans that were in the homeless or sudp programs. This was his chance to get even. And I'm looking for a good attorney the federal defender walked me out of the courthouse and said now get a good civil and go after them. If John had actually been aggressive or had a history of violent or disruptive behavior that would be different. This guy has targeted more than one fellow veteran , yes he's an army vet and no doubt has issues. One of the witness statements refers to incidents like this oh they happen all the time we just don't talk about it. I'll get a copy of John medical records ever since September I've been keeping everything. Berta, john was 50% ptsd 10% tinnitus since 2011, filed an appeal in 2011 and nothing was done his attorney imo was dragging his feet. His mental health records read like a text book how gaf scores from 2007-2011 were consistantly 24-40 never higher than 40... how he maintained the facade of a normal life is mind boggling. He finally admitted to me he's battled this since 1985.... he was in Beirut with the marines that died in that barracks bombing. I pushed for the new c&p exam. And they granted him the 70% formthe ptsd . How do I check and see if he's eligible for the temp 100% for all that time he was hospitalized in September ? Lol your description reminds me of my mother same statue and I've got a feeling same ball of fire. How do I locate an attorney I've called several most only do medical malpractice . I've called the state bar and they gave me numbers . I've called and spoke with one receptionist and left several messages. It's a little frustrating.

GEEZ!!!!........ For 10 days, then a 17 day in patient for his otsd and then another 8 days for psychosis brought on by a med change. Was this a consecutive hospitalization? I am thinking of the 21 day Temp 100% comp.But that might not work here. The month of September he was hospitalized for 21 days total and yes consecutively but not in the same facility 2 were civilian because the VA didn't have room for him. Others here will opine on that. What does the VA attribute his seizures to? The civilian neurologist says his anxiety labeled them pseudo-seizures Does he get TDIU (paid at the 100% rate) or just 70% comp. just 70% so far I'm getting his LES from the VA and after I get those will file for his IU "then another 8 days for psychosis brought on by a med change" Can you elaborate on that? Bless his heart they put him on a very strong anti-psychotic and it caused rapid weigh gain and several side effects , so when he entered the inpatient program the Dr. running the program thought maybe they should try another drug...big mistake..it was worse and caused him to swell and pushed his anxiety over the top , thus inducing more seizures. So when I picked him up from the program and saw the med changes I called his psych and let them know , took him to see her the next day and he was committed again for another 8 days to get him straightened back out. Since November the psych has been slowly lowering the dose because he gained 60lbs plus developed mask like face and cogwheel rigidity.But because of the stress he was under over the VA police officer and federea court the Dr. didn't want to lower it to much. Now that that is over he plans to lower it again and maybe try a different less damaging drug. What does the VA attribute his seizures too? the VA listed the seizures as "seizure disorder" but there are notes relating them to his PTSD Maybe they could have been due to the wrong meds???? I thought that too, John can't take Klonopin or valium they have the reverse effect on him and the civilian HP used valium while he was there , his first seizure in 5 years happened about 8 hours after his discharge. Have you searched for info on all his meds at good internet medical cites,to see if they are contraindicated or completely inappropriate for his conditions? Yes, hes on prozac for major depressive disorder, which can cause anxiety, also prozac depletes melatonin so that explains the no sleep sometimes...He was so over medicated 4 yrs ago that I loaded him up and took him to a different VA and told them hey he's drugged and it's not helping he's actually worse and the psych he had before wasn't hearing him when he said the klonopin jacks me up...she just upped the dose. All the drugs he's on together state they can cause suppress the central nervous system. I mentioned this to his Dr. and he said thats why we are tappering down hoping to try another drug. He's allergic to everything. he was in ICU on life support before because one MH med caused seratonin syndrome and almost killed him. I won FTCA because VA killed my husband and one way they did it was by giving him 2 contraindicated meds,one of which was the wrong dose ( per the OGC medical report) and the other med was for a condition he didnt even have. I'm so sorry for your lose...it's like they don't see or hear what is being said to them or what's written on the paper in front of them. They also never diagnosed or treated him for heart disease or diabetes, he had both ,and he too worked for the VA. Wow I got his buddy at the VA 100% P & T under 1151 a few months after Rod died. The going scuttlebutt for a while at VA dietetics department they both worked in , was the disabled vets all feared the VA would kill them all. I also proved that M21-1MR guidelines at that time, for VA doctors, said to treat employees with the idea of getting them back on the job within 3 days of any ER incident. When John was having massive migraines they would take him down tom the ER , load him up with a narcotic and after about an hours nap. He'd be back up at his desk. They were not treating him as a SC combat veteran except for PTSD care. And thats BS! They told my husband ,after he collapsed on the job, that he had a sinus infection, but after he died, I proved it was a heart attack, and VA called here relentlessly to make sure he would be back at work in 3 days.But I think he took some sick time days too. It took them a few more years to kill him. Bastards. Does your husband have a copy of all of his VA medical records? Only what's on My HealtheVet

"It aggravates his ptsd so badly the day we went to court I had to give him 2 extra doses of a very powerful antipsychotic drug" Yes I was told by his prescribing Dr. it was ok. I actually split a dose and gave him 1/2 before court and hoped he wouldn't ned the other half but it was necessary. You asked this under FTCA/1151 forum. The FTCA regulations are here and they (as well as Section 1151 claims info -possible in this case) that anyone injured during the course of VA treatment ,to include an ER exam) has legal recourse, yet they would have to prove they received a ratable additional disability. I'm not certain we will file a section 1151 as of yet , he was rated 50% when this happened , he had a new C&P exam in Feb and they increased him to 70% for the PTSD Was his nose broken? Did they X ray it to rule that out? His nose wasn't broken , some swelling and he complained of it hurting .For the next 10 days he was inpatient on a locked unit at this facility , he had already spent 11 days prior to this in 2 seperate civilian hp's because the VA didn't have an open bed. What is his PTSD rating now? He could apply for a higher rating due to this, but would need a medical opinion to support that. I assume he has had no history or violent behavior. None, He actually worked for this VA in the homeless veterans program and the SUDP programs. He cared for the veterans living in the domiciliary and had excellent work history with them. I assume also that he might have had a panic attack ,due to his PTSD, that triggered this event with the cop. One of the witnesses stated the cop kept yelling at John to hit him , come and and hit him and see what happens. Yes John was upset he was in psychosis and the time he was already under a certificate of need we just had to bring him to ER for a formal commitment. But these are just my personal assumptions. Because something happened prior to the cop slapping him.Do the witness statements account for what happened before he got slapped. John was upset after his seizure a nurse had hurt him pretty badly during his seizure trying to get an IV line in his arm. He was being vocal but never moved to aggressive. That's not bow he is. His PTSD makes him feel paranoid and unsafe. When he gets this way I have to do everything I can to assure him he's safe. When the cop slapped him he begged me to take him home he didn't feel safe there. "he required John to take a disorderly conduct ticket". The federal prosecutor was a brand new young fellow who wanted to show his stuff. The first day we were there he looked at John and said I can let all these other citations go, but this assault on an officer one is a serious deal. Which I agree assault on an officer is a big deal. John would agree too, he was shot and stabbed as a Georgia State Trooper if John had assaulted this officer but it was the other way around. His Federal defender agreed with me that there was no way in John's mental state that he could sit through an jury trial and that's what it would have taken to fight the ticket. So we opted to take the ticket. Did he get appeal rights for that ticket? Was he represented by a lawyer? Was he hospitalized for PTSD right after the ER incident? For 10 days, then a 17 day in patient for his otsd and then another 8 days for psychosis brought on by a med change. Did the VA and or the VA police Department write up an incident report ( I am sure they had to) and if so, do you have a copy of it? Oh Yes I have copies of everything. It's funny how the original citations and narrative changed as soon as I got the OIG involved. I have eyewitnesses including the officer's partner who was in the room beside John when it happened and 2 nurses who were in the room and one nurse who was standing outside the door but heard the slap.

Long story short if possible , took husband to VA ER for his ptsd his Dr called and said a bed had cleared and to bring him the ER was aware and a certificate of need was already in place. At one point I was made to leave him ( never before have I ever been told I couldn't be with him in ER) when they let me back in I was informed a va police officer had slapped him across the face bloodying his nose. When I asked about filing a complaint I received the run around for about 10 days . In the mean time this officer issued John 4 federal citations including assault on an officer. I filed a complaint with OIG witness statements prove my husband never even made a move to touch this guy and so the federal prosecutor dropped the tickets except he required John to take a disorderly conduct ticket. So I have in my possession all the signed eyewitness statements that this cop slapped a man who was there for help , assaulted and battered a patient who was already committed then tried to cover it up by writing a pile of tickets. I also have the video footage from the ER showing my husband didn't move to touch this man nor ever touch him. The officers statements change once his hand was in his face , the second interview says he poked him in the chest and stomach neither happened ... I have 6 witness statements .... now how do I go about handling this? It aggravates his ptsd so badly the day we went to court I had to give him 2 extra doses of a very powerful antipsychotic drug... we've lost sleep and some times getting him to go to his va appts isn't that easy since joe he doesn't feel safe there..... suggestions welcome