vetquest

Awesome, that should be a real help.

The VA works on VA time when the ball is in their court. As I stated to another veteran, if you have a lawyer ask them to file a writ of mandamus and then call the VA. I got my remand and back pay within three months after a writ was filed in my case. They seem to not want to mess with lawyers.

Sad but true. I have had some real trouble with Indian doctors. If they treated civilians like they do us veterans they would be out of a job in hours.

I believe PTSD is never worth it. It can ruin your life. Summer is here and I am anxious due to the weather. My wife notices it, my kids notice it. Even though I can now handle the heat it still bothers me. (heatstroke injured)

This is so true lawrencebe. Never trust your VSO 100%. I almost lost five years of TDIU because my VSO did not file the proper form 9 when appealing a decision. He apologized and told me to re-file. I went to two other organizations and they told me to re-file since I had lost my original date. I did some research myself and found that at that time the form 9 could be written on a napkin. I had filed a statement when my VSO sent in the NOD without a form 9. I challenged the VA who said it was too late to file and won my original date.

I would contact a lawyer about this. You are looking at eight years of backpay of which 20% goes to the lawyer but you probably would not win this on your own. The lawyer will tell you upfront if they think if is winnable. If you are denied take it to another lawyer and see what they say.

Mine was six months but my lawyer had to file a writ of mandamus.

You are going to need to get an IMO to disprove this exam. He did a royal job of stating that your favoring your right shoulder due to a left injury is not plausible. What you need is another doctor to refute this. His one Achilles heel in the exam is he appears to have gone overboard in denying your condition could be cased by the injury. Find some peer reviewed medical reports that state this is true and you can blow his whole premise out of the water. Start at the nearest medical library to research this.

Remands with grants are supposed to have the grant made while the remand is being processed. That is in a world where the VA follows the regulations congress puts forth. In the real world the grant is withheld until the remand is finished. It makes less work for the VA this way. Did you have a lawyer handling the case for you? My lawyer filed a writ of mandamus and the VA got right on it. Having a lawyer sometimes comes in handy.

Nice touch Bwaveteran. I always like when the VA errs in favor of the veteran.

In my request for earlier effective date, which is in the legacy NOD path I showed cause for the effective date that I requested. I requested SMC to Nov 2007 because that was the date that I got another disability assigned that was over 60%. I used the date because I could show cause that I should have been awarded to that date, at least in IMHO. This has been made more interesting in that the BVA came back and stated I was UI due to one condition earlier. I am not sure of what date you are requesting but if you can show a certain date is most accurate I would go with a date. Otherwise the VA is free to select the date they want.

@Hammer46, nothing at the VA gets done quickly. I know after many years you just want the darn decision, my case took ten years and when I knew a decision was made it only made it worse. Now is the time to relax a bit and find a hobby to distract you from waiting. It is a drawn out process, after you get the decision you have to wait for the RO to implement it, that can take a year or more nowadays. So much for cases from the BVA being performed in an expeditious manner. The VA recently has delay down to an artform.

@gba, please do as berta asks and scan and attach your decisions here after redacting personal information. Berta, Buck52, and Broncovet responded to you in October 2018 but they cannot help without seeing your denial. Let's not let you slip through the cracks this time. Please follow this post.

Voc rehab will evaluate you for employment and make a decision whether you are employable or not. I would get that doctors letter filed to the VA as soon as possible.

retired, you are correct about them not want to take cases they will not win. As for cases that take a long time it was five years from the time that I hired a lawyer until my case was won.

I would just make a copy and mail it. You never want to mail originals to the VA, they get lost in a black hole.

I can only say that if your claim is not approved to file with the BVA. I was put through the ringer to get IU, even after I was medically released from my job. I really hate general discharges, it is a way of the military side stepping a disability retirement. My original discharge was general but after fighting at the Board of Correction of Naval Records I was retired from the military. Once you get this all worked out you might want to see about filing at the proper service Board of Correction. If you now have a diagnosis of PTSD you might get retirement. It comes with medical and other benefits.

Going and getting a letter that you are not employable for Voc Rehab is a great thing to have for IU.

Fearless, I would hope that this letter is enough to stop your reduction. In my opinion, in the letter they show cause for IU and at least a 70% rating. Can you see about getting a letter from the VA voc rehab people, this would also help with IU.

Yes, the VA will reach out to your employers or the SSA when they are thinking about IU. How much you used to make and how long you have been out of work are two areas of interest. Also why you left your previous job.

I agree with asknod about getting an attorney prior to the BVA decision. An attorney can make or break you at the BVA. Yes you lose some of your retro but they have access to the BVA that we do not. Access is everything when dealing with the higher levels of the VA.

Wait on the letter and read it carefully. I would then re-appeal to the BVA. Get IMO's if you can. If their doctor says no and your doctor says yes the BVA might just grant, they did in my case. Except for PTSD claims.

It looks like you have the caluza elements needed. If you are denied this time make sure you appeal the denial. As I stated before the VA will most likely try to lowball you if they award benefits. That is where I would get buddy letters from you supervisors about how your condition affects your job and appeal to the BVA. IMHO migraines are underrated by the VA in that you max out at 50%. The headache association has tried to get migraines changed at the VA so that they are rated higher unsuccessfully. The 50% rating requires severe economic adaptability.

I am one of the veterans that berta mentioned. Just do as buck52 says and you will be all right.

@Tbird, sometimes you have to do what is best for you. You have been helping veterans for years and now it is time to take some time and focus on yourself. I do not know where veterans would get their information without this website. Stay strong and get the chair, there may be veterans worse off than you but they would be much worse off without this website. Semper-Fi