vetquest

It looks like they are only showing closed claims on their website. My open claim has disappeared.

I used an individual lawyer and he pulled a bad move on my case so I do not recommend him. I looked for a lawyer in the Virginia area to handle my case. Others can chime in with the names of lawyers they recommend.

First do you have copies of your service records that show where you were treated for these conditions? That shows the first part of your nexus. Second do you have evidence of being treated for this condition today? That shows your current diagnosis. Finally you need a doctor to state that the current condition is connected to service. Your C&P doctor is supposed to provide the nexus but it looks like they did not. I would appeal the decision to deny service connection for the conditions noted in your SMR's. Are you on RAMP or the legacy system. I you are on the legacy system you need to file and NOD if it has been less than a year since you got the denials. Read the BBE letter and carefully find why they denied your claim. They are supposed to give a reason on why they denied you. That decision is what you need to fight.

I do not know why they have scheduled you for a second exam. They should not be trying to find you not service connected after you provide a physicians letter showing a nexus. In my understanding they cannot provide negative evidence to refute another physician's decision. In a situation where there is positive and negative evidence the tie is supposed to go to the veteran's favor. My advice is to go to the C&P exam and be of the attitude that the doctor is there to help you and be very cooperative. Sometimes this is not the case but we never want to miss a C&P and we always hope for the best. I would be sure to bring the nexus letter from your physician to the exam and any other pertinent evidence. I have found that the doctors appreciate this generally. I have had some real jerks for C&P examiners but I always try to be helpful and considerate.

CUE is clear and unmistakable error. You can file for this when the VA has made a mistake in your claim processing. As Doc25 pointed out it might be time to have a lawyer look at your case and see if they can assist you. They take 20% but I would rather have 80% of an award than nothing.

As I understand you can under one narrow avenue. If you are rated for IU and one condition is considered serious enough in itself to cause full disability you can receive SMC. Read your IU decision and it should say whether this is true for you.

That's awesome. Now that they are showing an appeal you have some standing. I have to agree with 11cvolley that it might be time to consult a lawyer. I find it distasteful that we have to involve a lawyer to get justice at the VA but that is what I had to do when the VA started pulling illegal shenanigans in my case. A lawyer has avenues of approach that we are not allowed to use or even know of.

I you are making less than the poverty level I would apply for IU and get a statement from your employer why you are only working 20 hours a week. Is it due to appointments as broncovet stated or is it because you can only get to work so many days a week? As broncovet stated it is hard to get IU when you are working but you can try.

Awesome.

I believe we have so much better luck at the BVA because they really do read your whole file and consider all evidence in your favor. It seems that the RO's are just trying to get the case finished and they overlook key evidence. I know about not having more screws to lose. After my decision by the BVA my daily stress went down, a good decision can be validating.

This looks like it may be a case of the RO not reading the records fully. A quick sloppy decision is worse than a decision made in depth. What I would do is file an NOD on this. It may also be time to get a lawyer involved. I hate to say that because they take 20% of your award but sometimes the VA does not follow it's own regulations and we need someone in front of the BVA to fight for us. That is what happened to me, sloppy decisions that did not consider all of the evidence and the BVA said as much. In a perfect world we get it done right the first time and no lawyer needs to get involved and we keep all of our award but the VA is not a perfect world.

That is sad they will not support you.

Doctors on the outside are not all good either. I had one civilian psychiatrist tell me "get over it".

Sealvet, the VA looks at quitting as you leaving your job voluntarily. I was separated from my job because I could no longer perform the duties. What I would suggest is to try and contact your former employer and ask them to do a letter about your difficulties on the job. This falls under buddy letters and is given weight.

Quitting your job is different than being fired or relieved of your position because you cannot any longer fulfill the job duties and responsibilities.

Don't fret about not speaking to a lawyer before the hearing. I had a SSI hearing (I managed to work for twenty years before my disability canned my ability to work) and also had a lawyer from out of state. On the morning of the hearing the lawyer showed up as anticipated and talked to me for about half an hour and then we were in before the judge. The lawyer had done their homework on me and knew her stuff. I second the Vocational Expert Opinion. The state had one there at my hearing and he said I could work as a parking attendant or light office and I thought I was sunk. He then said due to my recorded lost time at work I could no longer hold a job in any field. Good Luck.

CVA cases are legal precedents decided on the law. Unfortunately BVA cases are not considered precedents because they are supposed to be judged on their own merits, ergo your case is different and no other case is similar. I know as well as you that this is BS but the VA claims this. Life would be much simpler if we could claim precedent. Add that to all of the cases we never hear about because they do not make it to CVA or BVA there is most likely many cases approved on the merits at the RO that we do not see similar to ours. I am in a unique situation because my case was decided before severe heat injuries were considered disabling. I have since seen BVA cases where veterans were awarded benefits on evidence that was not allowed in my case. You can never go backwards in a VA case, only forward unless there is CUE and in my case the medical evidence was not accepted or known at the time of my injuries. Therefore the decisions made in my case were based on the best interpretation of the known facts and therefore stand. What you can do though is cite the CVA decisions in your request for benefits or appeal. I have used the CVA precedents on other BVA cases similar to mine to argue the law in my case. I hope that this makes sense, I am on some medications that can cause cognitive dysfunction and things do not always come out right.

You do not feel comfortable downloading, I can understand that but it helps to figure out what is going on. Redact your name and SSN from the information you upload.

I use medicare and it is a good program for a vet. Spend your benefit wisely, sit on it and ponder the best way to spend it. You may now be eligible for IU. Speak to you representative about it. And congratulations.

Congratulations of receiving 70 percent. I know the validation that an awarded appeal gives. Yes I would file for unemployability.

We all know that the VA is not always good at following the regulations. I was in the same boat and experienced an award for TDIU with six years backpay and a remand for further development. I did not receive the backpay until the remand was completed and sent back to the BVA. It should also not take longer than a few months for the remand, the BVA states that the remand is to be done in an expeditious manner and we know that this is ignored. What got them on the ball was a writ of mandamus from my lawyer. Do you have a lawyer and are they willing to do one for you?

This looks like a highly positive diagnosis. General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders: Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name .......... 100 Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships .............................................................................. 70

I found that while I was at BVA that my status went back and fourth. The decision making body can request further evidence and your status will go back to a previous status. That can be a good thing in that they are considering all factors of your claim and want to get it right.

My lay letters were not notarized. They also did not contain any statements that they were true and honest. They did include contact info though. I would recommend you get a letter from your employer. An employer letter helped me greatly in getting UI. I can say that the RO's do not seem to put much thought into lay letters but I have found that the BVA read these letters and chastised the RO for not properly applying what the letters said.

You must apply for it. Are you working right now? Don't quit your job to file for IU. If you have lost your job or are not working then by all means apply.