JR Reihs

Best thing you could do in your situation is find a good orthopedic doc and get an IMO, connecting the hips to the lower back...this will not be an easy claim, but it can be done.

Well said Basser.......then again I think there are many many Bass that have met their demise due to the work of Lady T. Congrats to Lady T and Hadit for 14 years of unrelenting hard work.

WTG Carlie.........BIG congrats on the retro. Now when is the party?

Amazing......since the time I have been here, I have watched hundreds of Vets gain the knowledge to get some sort to normal life back in one form or another. TBird, you will never know how many life's you have affected in a positive way by a simple vision you had many years ago...Happy New Year and God bless as you move into your 14 year serving Vets through out this land.

Do not forget to file for Arthritis and the scar's as secondary conditions.

Do tell........I have never heard of that. Kids with "disposable income" Whats the catch?

WTG Basser, tell him he get to clean the next mess while you watch him drinking your favorite beverage purchased by him.

Don't get all bunched up on this issue........you are claiming a secondary MH issue due to your SC'd conditions. It really does not matter whether the VA calls it PTSD, AD , Mood disorder, the bottom line will be, will it be SC'd and will you get a proper rating out of it. IMO, this should be your focus regardless of what the doctors squabble about the label that it should be headed under.

If I were him I would fight the 20% rating, he will lose benefits if he takes it laying down, I think if he got a 30% from the Navy then he would be medically retired.

Congradulations............make sure that a copy of the award makes it to the SS file.

Congrats on your claim......Spend the award wisely.

You will need to get the NSC knee , SC in order to claim Bi-lateral. You will need to file a new claim stating the SC knee has caused the NSC knee problems.............Your doctor or C&P examiner will need to give their medical opinion a to how the SC injury caused a secondary condition with the NSC knee. It would be best in this situation that you have an IMO ( Ortho ), the VA is well aware of secondary conditions from a host of injuries, they just want the dots connected.

Did the C&P doc look at you IMO's, if he or she did, it should be mentioned in exam notes as to how their assessment is inferior to the C&P docs. If they are not mentioned you should file to have the C&P exam thrown out and request a new one that will include the IMO's. You should key in to the Ortho's IMO, this is the one that will get you over the hump.

" vet gets SSDI and IU based on last day *worked." .........Thats the way it goes, unless this work would fall under the IU exceptions, even that is a stretch.

No one can give you the answer you are looking for. You have two issues here. 1- The RO will send your husband for a rating on the issues addressed and awarded by the BVA. 2 - Then you will deal with all other issues not properly addressed prior and you will get a SOC on those then another fight may ensue depending on how those are addressed. IMO , I think the BVA is giving the RO notice that the new rating for the awarded issues will meet the criteria for IU alone, and this should be your main focus right now as the RO will need to address the other claims separately and this will take time. Just keep on top of the VA on the BVA awards, and if you have a POA make sure they are doing the same........If your husband is suffering depression because of all this, make sure this is also addressed.

This is routine in the Senate, it has to be voted on every year.........the Senate has given their blessing to a COLA, but the COLA is tied to the CPI and the CPI is still in negative territory. No positive CPI = No COLA, and the politicians get a pass because they did as required but the CPI stopped it.

Never have heard of that before........I went 7 years without filing taxes, and only do it now cuz of the wife's job. Best be getting on the horn with a good rep, or go have a face to face with someone at the RO.

Probably 30%..........if you have arthritis, you need to claim that also.

Since you are now a DAV, start applying for gooberment jobs....SS, VAMC, Fed Bldg's. You might need to put your foot down with VOC rehab......make them do their job.

I agree with Carlie, I see no good that will come with this. No one should be preforming a C&P without an MD beside their name, there is just to much at stake here. I see the backlog increasing due to awards being challenged based on the fact it was not preformed by a doctor. If I were in the position of needing a C&P now, I would have a IMO ready before the C&P took place................This is CRAP!

Yup, that be good news............Congrats.

Check with your VAMC on the job issue.........also you will get 100% for several months due to the knee replacement. You could also look into Voc Rehab.

I don't see why you could not, but why would you not focus on the sc'd injury that was the cause.......If you have different injuries that could be the cause then you need to have your doc state as such. I'm not seeing the point here?

Bergie, that is good info.......Streamlines are easy, and rates right now are crazy low. I have an FHA and have made the call to do this same thing. Since I will not get a COLA this year, I will gain an extra 125 bucks per month by shelling out the 500.00 it will cost.

The money you receive has nothing to do with it. This was the show stopper - ....."The reasoning was that my company still condsiders me an employee, so the va considers me fit for employment" As long as you are on the company roles, you are still an employee.........have you applied to be medically retired? The Voc rehab will be a big help, but not until you are off the company roles or can at least show that you have applied for medical retirement.