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Ddsr

Chief Petty Officers
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Ddsr last won the day on January 14 2019

Ddsr had the most liked content!

About Ddsr

  • Birthday 02/02/1971

Profile Information

  • Military Rank
    E-4
  • Location
    US NAVY GULF VFW 90-94
  • Interests
    Approved first time SSDI and TDIU. The key was having that VR Feasibility Letter.My son is my life. I enjoy sports and watching my boy grow and become a greater man than me.

Previous Fields

  • Service Connected Disability
    TDIU
  • Branch of Service
    U.S.N.

Recent Profile Visitors

2,268 profile views

Ddsr's Achievements

  1. Ddsr

    SMC-S1

    Yep thats why im fighting the SMC not being added. I was 80% IU then received an extra 90% Hearing Loss which then gave me the Scheduler 100%
  2. Ddsr

    SMC-S1

    I wanted to ask a question about SMC-S1 specifically from the CAVC–Buie (5) v. Shinseki (0) (2011) case. My situation is similar, and I was not awarded SMC-S1 upon 100% scheduler award. My interest is why does this continue to happen? Is it due to few Veterans even know about the SMC-S1? My thoughts are this is true or veterans just do not fight this much so the VA continues to now award the SMC-Veteran's because they use the bullcrap argument that more than one SC was used to give the veteran the IU. Reading the Buie case shows clearly that it does not matter in what order the SC were given as long as there is the 60% or more for one SC and the other qualification which is another single rated at 60%. Currently I am waiting for my Rep which as well who is waiting for his decision for the SMC-S1 battle which is similar to my case. I will fight this upon his decision to see how that goes. Mainly I am curious as to your thoughts as to why the VA continues to not award the SMC-S1 automatically as they state they will do, but in fact again use the well the IU was awarded for more than one SC
  3. If you want a Nexus from VA shrink good luck. They almost never write one out. If you get a nexus from independent source they would need to view your VA records and state such on the nexus.
  4. Best evidence you can obtain is a vocational rehab opinion. You can get this through Vocational Rehab which is free. If you are truly IU then they will not accept you into the program. If not accepted ask for a Feasiblity Letter stating such.
  5. You can appeal if you believe that your claim was not dated correctly. I will also show the choices. On Feb. 19, 2019, VA implemented the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (AMA), transforming a historically complex appeals process into one that is simple, timely, and offers Veterans choice and control. If you disagree with an initial claim decision you received after Feb. 19, 2019, you can now choose from one of three lanes to have the decision reviewed: (1) higher-level review (2) supplemental claim, or (3) appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board). What are the three lanes? Choose the higher-level review option if you don’t want to submit new evidence, but you think a mistake was made. A senior claims adjudicator will review your claim in an average of 125 days. Choose the supplemental claim option if you want to submit new and relevant evidence. VA will assist you in gathering the evidence you identify. This option will take an average of 125 days. Choose the Board appeal option if you want the Board to review your case. Appealing to the Board If you appeal to the Board, you will then choose one of three dockets: (1) direct review, (2) evidence submission, or (3) hearing request. Choose the direct review option if you don’t want to submit new evidence or have a hearing. The Board will review only the evidence the local VA office considered. The Board will complete these cases in an average of 365 days. Choose the evidence submission option if you want to submit additional evidence, but you don’t want a hearing. The Board will review the evidence the local VA office considered and any additional evidence that you submit within 90 days after VA’s receipt of your notice of disagreement. This option will take longer than one year. Choose the hearing request option if you want a hearing with a Veterans Law Judge. After the hearing, the Veterans Law Judge will review the evidence the local VA office considered, as well as your hearing testimony and any additional evidence you submit the day of or within 90 days after your hearing. This option will take longer than one year. https://www.blogs.va.gov/.../appeals-modernization.../
  6. 100% TDIU Congrats! Benefits include: • At 100% TDIU you have restrictions as to income. • Full healthcare with no copays at 50% or more. • Travel pay at 30% or more. • Dependent's pay at 30% or more. • VR&E at 10% or more. • Base IDs (Exchange/Commissary/MWR) for Veteran and dependents unless you are retired military. • VA dental or with VR&E or SC mouth or jaw injuries. • Possible SSDI (Time Limited!) • S-DVI waiver of $10,000 life insurance at 100% IU or SSDI (Time Limited!) • CHAMPVA (dependent's medical) if you are permanent (P&T) unless you have TriCare. • DEA (dependent's education) if you are permanent (P&T). • Federal student loan forgiveness or with SSDI. • VADIP (VA Dental Insurance Program) for Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare • VADIP (VA Dental Insurance Program) for dependent's if CHAMPVA eligible • Space-A Flights (Cat VI) - Veteran and dependents • Non-VA ER if you are permanent (P&T) • 3 free non-VA Urgent Care visits per calendar year at 50% and above • Don't forget, you may be reviewed in the future! Keep all your doctors informed of every rated conditions! • Hearing aids and eye exams and glasses are included with VA Healthcare. • Here is a link to all the federal benefits. https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/derivative_sc.asp • Don't forget each state has benefits also and may include tax exemptions, tuition waiver and more. Here is a link but check your state VA website for more details. https://www.blogs.va.gov/.../veterans-benefits-2020...
  7. 100% TDIU Congrats! Benefits include: • At 100% TDIU you have restrictions as to income. • Full healthcare with no copays at 50% or more. • Travel pay at 30% or more. • Dependent's pay at 30% or more. • VR&E at 10% or more. • Base IDs (Exchange/Commissary/MWR) for Veteran and dependents unless you are retired military. • VA dental or with VR&E or SC mouth or jaw injuries. • Possible SSDI (Time Limited!) • S-DVI waiver of $10,000 life insurance at 100% IU or SSDI (Time Limited!) • CHAMPVA (dependent's medical) if you are permanent (P&T) unless you have TriCare. • DEA (dependent's education) if you are permanent (P&T). • Federal student loan forgiveness or with SSDI. • VADIP (VA Dental Insurance Program) for Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare • VADIP (VA Dental Insurance Program) for dependent's if CHAMPVA eligible • Space-A Flights (Cat VI) - Veteran and dependents • Non-VA ER if you are permanent (P&T) • 3 free non-VA Urgent Care visits per calendar year at 50% and above • Don't forget, you may be reviewed in the future! Keep all your doctors informed of every rated conditions! • Hearing aids and eye exams and glasses are included with VA Healthcare. • Here is a link to all the federal benefits. https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/derivative_sc.asp • Don't forget each state has benefits also and may include tax exemptions, tuition waiver and more. Here is a link but check your state VA website for more details. https://www.blogs.va.gov/.../veterans-benefits-2020...
  8. Thanks for the 5,10,20 post. That is great information!

  9. That was a successful dispute used in an HLR by an agent.
  10. Thank You TBIRD maybe that way I wont have the same people being negative as to everything I post in attempt to help others.
  11. I have maximum for IBS. I am a Gulf Veteran and upon discharge I continued for 20 years telling the VA about stomach issues. Nothing was ever documented in service on IBS but I filed for IBS and was granted maximum. Hopefully you have been letting the VA know about your stomach issues since discharge. File for it and good luck.
  12. Protected Work Environment (AKA Sheltered Work Environment) for TDIU: What does it actually mean? If you are TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability or IU), you are limited in how much income you can have from employment. That limit is called "marginal employment" and is the Federal Poverty Level for a single person and is currently $13,300/yr or $1,118/mo GROSS. Marginal employment comes into play when a veteran is seeking TDIU, a VA disability benefit available to veterans whose service-connected disabilities make them unable to work. TDIU compensates veterans at the 100% disability rating amount and benefits, even if their total combined disability rating is less than 100%. When it comes to TDIU, VA considers a veteran’s employment “marginal” if the veteran earns less than the federal poverty threshold for one person (in 2020, $13,300 per year for all states other than Alaska and Hawaii). This comparison to the U.S. poverty threshold makes establishing “marginal employment” relatively straightforward and objective. But VA also acknowledges that some employers will make major “accommodations” for veterans with disabilities while continuing to pay them above the poverty threshold, allowing those veterans to maintain employment when they would otherwise (without the accommodations) be unable to work. VA refers to situations like this as “employment in a protected environment” or, more simply, “protected work environment.” Some examples of a protected work environment: a family business and a sheltered workshop. Though not all employment at a family business or sheltered workshop automatically qualifies as “protected work environment”, these examples give us a better idea of what VA is looking for. These are examples of job environments in which the veteran is excused from the standard work requirements. What is a Protected Work Environment, more generally? There are a few things inferred about protected work environments from past VA decisions, Court/CAVC cases, etc. Generally, in protected work environments, a disabled veteran is paid the same or similar amount as other employees doing similar work and one or more of the following is true: -The veteran is excused from critical functions of their job due to the limitations caused by his or her disability. The veteran employee may, for example, be allowed to skip meetings or trainings that other employees have to attend. -The veteran is less productive than other workers. For example, a veteran with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) who works on an assembly line might produce half as many things that another worker would produce in a day (because it is harder for her to concentrate). If the veteran receives the same pay and benefits as the person without a disability, then her work environment might be considered “protected.” -The veteran is less reliable than other workers. Another example: A veteran who has PTSD works for his brother’s company. Because he has PTSD, the veteran has trouble sleeping and often shows up to work very late and sometimes not at all. But his brother (the employer) does not deduct pay for the days the veteran misses or comes in late because he knows his brother’s actions are the result of a disability. -The employer does not penalize the veteran for behavioral issues and/or mistakes related to their disability. Some mental health and other conditions cause people to have trouble with interpersonal interactions or unpredictable behavior. Such conditions might make it easier to make mistakes on the job or forget to do things. A work environment where the veteran’s employer and co-workers accommodate these kinds of limitations might be considered “protected,” especially if it could be argued that the behaviors wouldn’t be tolerated by the typical employer. NOTE: The type of work you do is not enough on its own to show a protected work environment, as defined by VA. If, for example, a veteran chose truck driving as his career specifically because he has PTSD and prefers to work alone, this does not count as a “protected work environment” unless the veteran is given special accommodations (for example, allowing him to drive fewer miles than other drivers, but not reducing the pay he receives or penalizing him for being less productive). The above situations, of course, are not set rules for what counts as a “protected work environment.” They can be used as guidelines for veterans who think they may qualify. Potential Evidence for Protected Work Environment Claims There is a wide range of potential evidence that could be used to show that a veteran is employed in a protected work environment. One key for these types of claims is a statement from your employer. The employer statement should include the specific accommodations made for you in the work place, duties you are excused from, examples of situations where exceptions have been made for you on the job, etc. It’s also important for the employer to tie each of these accommodations back to the effects your disability. A statement from your fellow employees would also be important. Additionally, you should include documentation of your salary or contract. If available and relevant to your case, you may want to include a record of your attendance. Similarly, documentation of interpersonal troubles or mistakes that were forgiven, could also be useful. You may also want to include Social Security Administration descriptions of the typical duties involved in the type of work you do (or the role you have) or anything that would allow VA to see that there are widely accepted critical functions of your job that you’re excused from. A copy of the employer’s own job description for the position can also be helpful.
  13. Doctor's Letter Head Date: Subject: Medical history of Mr. Veteran Reference: C-File # and/or Social Security Number To the Department of Veterans Affairs: I am the primary care provider for Mr. Veteran. In my capacity as a primary care provider, I have cared for Mr. Veteran since 01/07/20xx. While I've provided care for Mr. Veteran, I've become familiar with his active duty medical history from 07/24/19xx to 08/07/19xx and from VA medical records from 19xx to present, past and present ailments and I've reviewed pertinent parts of his military record that document his injury, disease and clinical conditions related to the events that occurred. I am aware that Mr. Veteran was injured during his active duty military service on or about 1981 in Fort Army while (events description, time and place). A primary condition the veteran suffers is Lumbar Paravertebral Myositis (an Inflammatory Myopathy) and an L4-L5, disc desiccation and disc narrowing. MRI reports note sacralization of the L 5 representing a developmental abnormality and also that paraspinal muscle spasm is suggested. Further noted are mild thoracolumbar dextroscoliosis as well as mild spondylosis and degenerative endplate changes. Schmorl's nodes in the superior endplate of L3. L3-L4 and L4-5 degenerative disc disease are seen. There is an L4-5 small posterior disc bulge and small posterior central disc herniation and L2-3 vertebral hemangiomas. Mr. Veteran has chronic pain due to his injuries. The veteran suffers radiculopathy with pain, muscle control difficulty, tingling, numbness and weakness in the legs, likely due the sacralization of L4-L5. Mr. Veteran suffers increased fatigability because of his chronic back pain. Standing for more than 15 minutes will make him become weak and exhausted. There are multiple other clinical conditions diagnosed that are more likely than not secondary to or aggravated by the primary back condition(s). The veteran takes numerous medications for both the primary condition as well as secondary conditions that are aggravated by said primary back condition. (Medicines and secondary conditions are listed separately.) The veteran is not a likely candidate to be rehabilitated. After examining Mr. Veteran, his chart and medical records it is my opinion that Mr. Veteran is totally and permanently disabled due to the above discussed back condition. The veteran cannot hold gainful employment as a result of the injury he sustained while in the military. It is also my opinion that it is more likely than not the that the physical traumas suffered during the veteran's military service as noted in his record (description of events and dates) caused, contributed to and aggravated the totally disabling back condition(s). Respectfully, Dr. Physician, MD Diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine
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