vetquest

I do not know why but they always seem to lowball migraine ratings. Maybe it is in relation to the fact that the VA recognizes the max for migraines is 50%. On another website they will tell you that migraine disabilities is the most abused disability. Whatever, I started at 10% and had to fight for 30% and 50%, even with migraine diaries in my medical records reporting several a week. This was the reason that I lost my job was the migraines and the side effects of the medication. The VA does lowball these ratings.

Peggy will not tell you the outcome of your claim, they will tell you to wait for your letter. If you have a VSO or lawyer though they should be able to access VBMS and tell you the status though.

One of the complexities of VA ratings is that the ratings are defined in the CFR's or congressional ratings. If you disease is not in the CFR's than it can be rated as analogous to another similar rating. The VA can also claim that your condition is not a defined disability. My disability on discharge was not defined in the CFR's so I could not be rated when I was disabled out of service so I originally received nothing, a zero percent rating. Since my discharge and long fight with the military and VA my disability is now ratable, it has affected many service men and women over in the middle east. The VA now recognizes that such an injury can cause life long complications and disability. The injury is heat stroke and it can really mess up your day. Most people will recover but some people may not, depending on how serious the injury was.

I think I have to agree with Pete here. I have an NOD that is supposed to take two years for completion. I am at somewhere around a year and a few months, I try not to dwell on it and look it up. I think they are punishing the veterans who stayed in the old system. I have never seen an NOD take this long before.

Gordie1958, with a little more information we can help you a whole lot more.

The BVA may hasten your claim in response to your age. They are usually pretty good about that, especially when the judge mentions it. Your case will be decided and you will get a statement that defines your award and why the board decided in that way. I doubt they will remand for residuals, unless you have already requested them. At your age, I would get appointments to have the residuals looked at with the VA as your VSO advises. They may still ask for C&P's and that is totally up to the regional office, even on a remand. Good Luck.

Congratulations on your win.

A remand by the BVA usually is telling the RO that things were done incorrectly, either not enough information to make an informed decision or the decision is in error. This can be very good for you. You will get a copy of the remand and in it a description of the error that the BVA thinks that the RO has been made and usually a route to correct the problem. Read this decision carefully and you can ascertain the information that the BVA wants to be included or the error of the RO's decision. When you get the decision, if you are not sure what the BVA is looking for post your decision here an you will receive all of the help that we can give you.

Congratulations. Whatever backpay you get, take some time to think about what to do with it, then pay off bills and see how much you have left. Some us waited so long our bills ate most of our backpay and we were right back where we started, just in a little better financial condition. Go for 100% or at least TDIU.

@Jared, go ahead and start a new post with your concerns. When you post in a thread that is older and belongs to someone else you get lost in the weeds.

Been there @LanceJoseph, I do not have SDVI either.

I went on FMLA due to no longer able to continue my job due to service connected disabilities. After my FMLA I was let go from my employment. I had a doctor's letter, letters from a former manager, coworker, and my current manager. I applied for SSA and received that. It took ten years and two trips to the BVA before I was declared TDIU/SMC S and scheduler. This was the opposite extreme of brokensoldier's experience. The VA made some really bad decisions and tired to sever two of my disabilities illegally and I had to get two IMO's to counter three bad neurologist C&P's by two VA doctors (two of them done in 30 days time). I should have gone to voc rehab and gotten a report by them. I wish you luck, just do not give up no matter what they may try to pull.

Unfortunately the VA lives and dies by their dates. I had a case where they tried to end my appeal to the BVA by stating that I and/or my VSO did not file the proper form 9. I was lucky in that I filed a statement with my appeal and it used to be that you could file your form 9 on a napkin and have it valid. The VA has since closed that loop hole. I know of no way to override a date error on our part.

Good Luck.

First off I have heard that an EED needs a lawyer due to the intricacies of such an appeal. Second; if the VA is not following the 38 CFR's I would see about a lawyer. In my last appeal to the BVA the VA was playing fast and loose with the regulations and I decided I wanted a lawyer to call them on it at the BVA. They have a relationship with the BVA that we could never have. They can bend the ear of the board in our favor. Sometimes I believe the RO mistakes are not really mistakes but attempts to circumvent the regulations. They forget to read evidence and do not follow the CFR's. It seems that the mistakes never go in the veteran's benefit either. It sounds like you are looking at getting a lawyer so do your research and contact a few and do not pay more than 20%. NOVA has a list of lawyers that are certified by them.

For your nexus you need a doctor to state that they have reviewed all of your records, including service records and a statement that the apnea is at least as likely as not due to your SC rhinitis. Without this you will most likely be denied. It is usually the hardest hurdle to surmount when we try to get benefits with a private nexus. We all have gone through this at one time or another. Most civilian doctors will not do this for a SC nexus, this leaves you searching for a specialist in IME/IMO's who is not wary of the VA. I really wish we could guarantee doctors that they will not be called up by the VA to testify as it is this that most doctors appear to be wary of.

At this point I would go straight to the BVA if your HLR does not consider the IME. There comes a time when enough is enough. The decision you need to make at that point is whether to go with or without a lawyer. Some people have won at the BVA without a lawyer but the lawyer has a better inside track to the BVA. You lose 20% of your award but that comes with the fact of a lawyer. When I did my first BVA claim you were not allowed to hire a lawyer and were fully at the mercy of the Board without anyone to make sure that the laws were abided by.

If your VSO will not touch it, it might be time to go on your own. The members on this site will do all they can to assist you in doing this.

Yes, I have been examined by an NP several times. For a peripheral neuropathy claim also which was denied the first time out. Before they can reduce you I believe they need to do another exam if it has been over five years. If your appeal does not get granted I would suggest that you get an IMO by a doctor that specializes in PN if you can. PN cases are difficult sometimes in that a lot depends on the examiner because there is so much the doctor or whoever cannot see or quantify.

Good catch broncovet. You need a nexus to link your service connected disability to losing your job. They have to say it is at least likely as not that your service connected disability is the reason you lost your job and cannot work. I had a doctor's letter and it did not have this information in it and it took many years to get TDIU, that was before I knew of this site. As buck52 stated to you a voc rehab letter is also a very strong bit of evidence in your favor. I also did not have this.

@RockyA1911, if you are looking for a post you did yesterday, the best way to find it is to go to the upper right hand of the screen and select your screenname and select profile. If something is amiss on the site the moderators are good people to ask. You can look up Buck52 or broncovet and send them a personal message if necessary. Tbird is the site owner and is very helpful if you need it. Hang in there, the site is a good site and better than any other out there, I have been around.

That is good that your claim just closed. What was the decision, a denial or an award? If you redact personal information and post it here we can help you decide which route to take. I was once on salsulate, a form of ibuprofen at 1600 mg a day, prescribed by a VA doctor. When I went to see a urologist, he freaked out. Was this prescribed or just something you were doing on your own? It has bearing on how to file a claim. If it was not prescribed for you I would first file an higher level review or supplemental review depending if you have new information. You might need an IMO or independent medical opinion. These are expensive usually but are usually a win at the board of veterans appeals if they have all of the right information.

I was also terminated from my job for service connected disabilities. You should request TDIU and pursue this case through to the end. Sometimes the VA does not like giving TDIU and will come up with all kinds of ways to deny you. Just keep plugging and do not get discouraged. You need to fight until they do what is right. Do not worry though, just know you need to do what needs to be done. If you were working outside of the military for a long enough length of time to be eligible for SSA I would apply for SSA too. Otherwise I would apply for SSDI.

Broncovet has some good advice. If you make a claim that the VA misplaced your exam you better have backup or the VA will bury you. The VA also gets very unhappy when you tell them they goofed, especially if you are not nice about it. About a missing exam and an exam a month later I will believe anything at the VA. Once they did testing on my disability that was favorable and then lost all records of the testing. Another time they did a medical exam to refute an exam performed that the University of San Francisco, developed to deny. I agree that you need to take this to the BVA if you can get a copy of the missing exam.

Good move Buck, I took a loan out for durable medical equipment when I was first disabled. It took fifteen years for the VA to pay for the medical equipment but it was worth it at the time. If you want it bad enough you will find a way.