JR Reihs

NP's are becoming problematic in a system that is aready broken. the OP's situation wil continue on a dead end street unless you get a IMO for your husbands conditions. The VA "IMO" is skirting the requirements of their own regulations by letting NP's do any C&P exams, they are not DOCTORS. If this continues without Veterans and accociated Orgs fighting back you will soon see RN's and LPN's doing C&P's.

You need a good IMO Orthopedic statement along with a MRI to document an increase, you should also apply for arthritis as a secondary condition.......My Knee is at 30% it can go no higher, but I did get 10% for the arthritis that came with it, as well as 10% for the 14 inch scar. This was not possible without a good IMO to show the degree of the injury.

Chris Mathews from hardball on MSNBC was doing a show on this tonight, I hope my DVR picked it up.

WTG, testVet, you have fought a long fight, now your case may help others that were used by the Government.

I am no expert in PTSD, but from my readings on this site and others, you are putting your 50% rating in jepardy with the apprenticeship program for heavy equipment , I see the VA looking at this different from your veiw. The Voc Rehab from the VA is a realy good program.....yes, you get monies from a apprenticeship program , but it has been long since I looked at them, you might find links on this site or go to VA.gov for better info.

Ricky, If the Va has denied you Voc rehab......you should use it to your advantage for a IU claim.

You need to file your papers for IU..........you would stay at 90% but paid the 100% rate. When you were given your 90% the VA should have looked at the IU, did they not state anything about it in the most recent award?

IT covers everything period. It would seem your dentist needs a tude adjustment. Play the game with him as you would a RO in a claim. Go to a outside dentist,pay him to tell you what is wrong and what it would take to correct it, take the paper to the dental clinic and tell them to correct it ASAP before you fell the need to file a 1151. ( I think that is the correct Claim Code ) It is a medical fact that those with unhealthy teeth and gums can and most will have heart problems related to this, not to mention bone loss in the mouth. I realy like my denist a the VA, he has done alot of good work as I have a bad Mt Dew habit, but he told me last week that the dental clinic is now being turned over to the Admin in the VAMC....its all a money deal, but he assured me that he refuses to scrimp on dental because of other complications that would cause.........we will see.

I have had this problem for a couple of weeks now, I just thought it was Vista (Junk), but it just recently started.

nlualum82, You have been kicking this horse for sometime now. As I have stated before, you are entitled to TDIU, and you have been since your increase. The dollar difference in the new VERA and what you could receive from disability retirement from OPM is probably very minimal based on your years of service. I would suggest that you contact HR and compare the 2, but you must also keep in mind that under the DR OPM rules, your time spent under DR also increases your retirement amount at age 62 when it is recomputed, so you might not be doing yourself a favor with the new VERA. DR from OPM is not that hard to do, and based on your VA disability's, and your relationship with the PO it should flow pretty smooth, and it would give you better grounds for VA TDIU. OPM is somewhat backlogged right now so be prepared to wait about 4-6 months....so you can continue to work now while waiting for your application to be approved. Either way you go, now is the time, as the PO is a sinking ship unless things are turned around ASAP.

Well said, and that is the way it should be, but most often the kid is stuck in the middle or used in someway. I am glad it is over for me in that area, but now my kids are older and starting to realize what took place putting more strain on them.

There was no legal standard set there, it worked for the OP and the judge bought it, besides the child graduated so I suspect the kid was coming upon age 18 very soon so the support would end anyhooo. My x also kept the support when the last moved out upon age 18 to the day, boy was the X pissed to find her check no longer in the mail.......it also went into my daughters hand until the last day of HS, then Chptr 35 kicked in and they lived happily ever after.

WTG BETRAYED, and a BIG Shout out to the new Admistration for FINALY putting a foot forward on the medical side of the dreaded "ERB" and let the states decide the issue. Now maybe people will start educating themselves instead of believing the bunk the previously surrounded this issue.

Great news Jim. Kicking the debt load in these times is a smart thing, as it will leave you with a good balance sheet when a recovery starts, should you need it.

"john,all that is done,c and p's done,hearing loss granted,they just balked at the sheduled award." Are you saying DOL accepted the claim, then deneied the SA?

simple fly, By your post, DOL is blowing smoke up your A$$, as is the norm for this sort of claim. Did you file a CA-2 for this claim?

simple fly, How long have you been getting the tinitus from the VA? As Sharon stated they are not the same, there are several things that can cause tinitus. You need to get a reconsideration notice ready for DOL, and go get a IMO on your own. If the doc says its the JOB then its the JOB, if its the VA then push the claim. DOL will send you for a SECOP if your Doc says its job related, if the SECOP says its the VA then you will be sent to a referee exam, this Doc will be God on the claim with DOL, if he says its JOB related you get your SA, if he says its VA related then you have lots of medical on your side.......Point is you will play one off the other, either way somebody will pay.

Thank you Berta, This should be tagged on this site and added to when needed for all to see.

If you were removed based soley on your SC injuries you should be ok on the IU, but realize I said Should, the VA does no always do the things it should most of the time. Just make sure your doctor is 100% on your side. OPM will rate the retirement different from other employees as you were police, this will give you a higher annuity than a regular joe under the same situation. Just make sure that you follow up with OPM for status after you get a Ca number, it will be a card from OPM. I read a case last year that involved unemployment beniees, I remember the court ruled that there is no offset as the funds did not come from the same system therfore it was allowed with no penalty......I will look for that case if needed. Also check the TSP fund, you will not pay the 10% penalty for withdrawl under OPM disability, but you will be paying taxes, but there are several ways to withdrawl to lessen the effect, you can find the info on the TSP website or call them.

"She will be the Main Secretary one day." I agree I think this is the best choice. She has seen the system at its worst, she may very well bring in a very pro Vet attitude.

I do know that there is remedial training offered, but it is very limited in the scope of what is offered, and yes it does count against the remaing time left.

Good question, one that I have no answer for. Your wife should go the the college and speak to the VA person in charge over VA benefits to get the right answer.

Skunk, VA homeloan is not so much score driven, but if they pull your reports and find that you owe you most likley will need to pay them off........you may also want to check into a FHA loan.

Great job. What a way to start the new year. Take a deep breath and yell. Repeat a needed!

Berta, I thought it might have had something to do with AMU, but I wasn't certain. Again you have caused some change.