GeekySquid

Typically a legal POA to a lawyer to handle a contingency case along with the services contract demands that any award goes to the Lawyer and the Lawyer then pays the client after taking their cut. The VA does not pay the same way insurance companies or other typical contingency case pays. These days we get a direct deposit to our personal accounts or to a conservatory account if found to be unable to handle our own finances. The VA is unlikely to just slice off a chunk and send to a lawyer without a process that likely includes a formal claim that reiterates their right to receive that money because of a duly signed POA and services contract. Maybe a lawyer will tell you the exact steps. as for the 5 year rules and other limititations https://themilitarywallet.com/can-the-va-reduce-disability-benefits/

approved for SSDI. it is not an automatic thing even with a 100% rating from the VA. Frankly if anyone were to tell the SSA people during the application process that they wanted SSDI but were planning to try out their 9 month back work trial after they give them ssdi, I doubt they would get the SSDI. you say you have SSDI so you would have an SSA account where there are all sorts of FAQs, and help lists and even phone numbers to call. They are the people with the best information on how the program works. I am not sure why that is not clear to you.

having never done it I cannot answer, but I will say that SS is the best place to get the answers to those questions. AFTER you have been approved.

my apologies, when I glanced at the screen cap you supplied my brain took a left turn on the dates. Your twenty year point is 12 years away not two. My bad. Your TDIU status brings with it a couple of serious considerations and parameters you have to follow. 1) you will have to submit annual financial statements demonstrating you don't earn more than the annual federal poverty level for a single person, this year about 12k. The law is specific and it does not matter if you are married with 8 dependents the income level can only be as specified....for a single person. 2) even as a "permanent" rating, it really isn't. None of them are. The closest is the 20 year law which can still be beat if the VA thinks you committed fraud at some point. not that you have it's just a point that proves it is not permanent. 3) With a 2010 date your cases is past the 5 year rule but before the 10 year rule. each policy has barriers the VA must get over to take away compensation. 4) if they catch you earning more than poverty wages outside the few tight restrictions you can end up with a big problem. I would like to caution you about getting so set in the idea that you won't be paying this lawyer. You might not end up having to, but I will bet it will be a fight and include you paying another attorney and several court appearances. you signed a contract with him when you gave him the POA. Without seeing it I can only tell you that it most likely has all the appropriate clauses that make is so even if you dump him before the appeal, he still gets paid. Then you have to take him to court to argue that. I told you in an earlier response that to get rid of him you would likely have to file a malpractice claim and win it. This is about the only way to void the contract you will have signed with him. Additionally as he has your POA on file with the VA the VA will pay him out of your money if he files the right paperwork quick enough. With that amount of money it will take a few signatures to get it approved and paid and as he has your POA he will be notified about the award. Since you have not revoked his POA (as far as we know from these recent posts) and the idea that it 'expired' is kind of absurd, you may have a fight on your hands to get that money back from him. I can promise you from the bottom of my cold black heart that if he wants to fight you on payment, he will have the time records to justify his claim on the money and work product. If you sue him for it, you will be in a civilian civil court in front of judge who most likely wouldn't know a NOD from a roll of Toilet Paper. Which means he will believe the lawyer and the massive number of hours of research he claims he did as well as the hundreds of phone calls he made, all divided into 6 minute increments. He won't need those things since what you signed is a contingency contract for a percentage. All he has to prove is he did 1 thing and his labor attaches to the contract and he has fulfilled it. As to your monetizing an invention while on TDIU. While on TDIU, even P&T, the VA will likely query the SS files to validate your reported income. As far as I can find being P&T on TDIU still requires you to submit annual financial statements and SS will also require them if you file there. IF you look up the 5 year plan and read the barriers in it you will see that before revoking or reducing your 100% TDIU status they have to prove beyond a doubt that for at least 12 months you have maintained stable productive employment and your conditions have receded to the point that you can sustain yourself working. They will have to give you at least 1 more C&P likely 2 or 3 and compile evidence. The law does not set an amount beyond the FPL that constitutes sustained income potential. The law does create exceptions for Closely Held Companies employing you (often a family owned business) and a couple other types of sheltered employment situations. ' These things mean there are grey areas that might or might not work in your favor if you try and monetize that idea you are talking about. People may offer you a lot of opinions on what you "should or should not" do. Some may make declarations about the legality of your choice and even the morality of a 100% vet working. Take those for what you will. The concepts about work, and what constitutes work, is based on antiquated views of how someone can work and still not be triggered by society and other common events that kick off some of our PTSD events. If I am correct on the history the original ratings schedule was written in 1925, updated in 1933 and then again in 1946. While there have been additions and changes to the schedule diseases and scales since then, the laws definition of work and how it must be accomplished has not yet caught up to the Internet Age and being able to work from home in almost complete isolation. This is now too long. In closing just be thoughtful and careful on what you chose to do next. Don't make a mistake is setting your expectations in cement or you might set off a downward spiral for yourself if your expectations are not met. Good luck

I would have no idea how to do that in the VA system shy of filing a malpractice suit against your current lawyer and have that lawyer notify the va that any actions between xxx date and today by him are part of that suit. This is likely to cause grief with him as it might just mean he loses his license to practice at the VA Bar. I don't think anything will let you slip out of line quietly. I don't think suspicion is a concern in any fashion. Your award shown above says your are P&T as of Nov 13, 2010. If that holds true when your BBE arrives, you are two years from be statutorily protected from ever having your rating reduced except for fraud. This is the highest protected status possible. Decide how that factors into doing anything to rock the boat. As your for your "young man" as you call him, look into SMC-K for loss of creative organ. It adds 106 bucks a month to your compensation. I just found out mine was approved today, but with an Effective Date of when I put in the claim. I will be looking to file for an Earlier Effective Date as it was present 5 years ago when I got my initial rating for PTSD and is documented then. I believe it should have been inferred back then and who knows, I might be able to convince them of it too! I don't remember what claims you have ratings for, just be aware the if you are mental health related, there is controversy on the forums concerning being 100% P&T for MH claims and working. Frankly you are over 55, have a P&T rating and are near the 20 year mark. Unless you put in for new conditions or an increase in something, the VA has absolutely no reason to review your Social Security data and won't as a matter of policy order a new exam unless something changes.

hopefully one of the elders like berta or asknod or buck52 will chime in on this question. I only know that there can be negative consequences down the road with appeals that were withdrawn. I see it in many of the decisions I have been reading about my own claims. The vet will have withdrawn an appeal or claim and then a few years later they are trying to get the BVA or Court to decide on some part of that same issue. just as a question, this tied up with the appeal information? if it is not related, then they "should" not affect each other. I suspect the existing appeal will be denied or declared moot relatively soon, since if I remember correctly it was about the TDIU award your lawyer didn't tell you had been awarded. If I am not mistaken they may also send you a letter telling you it is moot and asking you to withdraw it. The elders can chime in here too. one, the marines belong to the navy...hehehehehe... and two, the rank there is a measure of your experience and involvement on Hadit, not your military rank. I am old Navy Chief and here I am a lowly E5 right now..lol you can go to your profile and add your actual rank in the comments section.

congrats to you..

I need to learn more about inferred claims and how they are decided/spotted by the va raters and acted on. The situation is I was rated 70% PTSD in 2013 around july was that C&P. In april 2013 I had a C&P for Bilateral Hearing loss and one for Sleep apnea. I knew nothing about secondary conditions, inferred claims, etc and by this time my VSO was awol dealing with pancreatic cancer (so I don't blame him). This year in July I was notified about a Review PTSD C&P, and that started me on the information hunt. I learned that ED, which was well documented in my VA med records before the first C&P, was/could be a secondary to PTSD. I also learned the Sleep Apnea was/could be a secondary to PTSD and my Sleep Study produced a CPAP and diagnosis of OSA and my Epworth Sleepiness Scale: 20/24 Since I knew nothing about secondary claims then I did not file for them then. With the PTSD Review this year I filed a claim for SMC-K for the ED. Today when Ebenefits was unaccessible I called Peggy who told me the claim was partially complete and a letter had been/was being mailed out today. The only issue left was on dizziness. This was in the A.m. Around 1 p.m. I tried ebenefits again and it was up. Under my disabilities tab it shows that I am 0% for ED Service Connected and awarded SMC-K1 with an effective date of 20 Aug 2018 the date I filed that claim I have filed an ItF on the SA claim but was waiting until this cleared. What I need to find out are the boundaries on "inferred claims". Meaning what does and does not need to be in the record for me to claim an EED back to the date of my PTSD claim. The ED was in my record before the PTSD C&P and the doc and I discussed it. He did not opine either way and the benefits award letter is completely void of any reference to it. Is it likely to be worth the trouble trying to file a claim for the EED on this? the evidence is there but no statement tying the two together back then, but I feel i should have been inferred by the rater. The SA claim is the same but a little different. The VA recently changed its requirements for granting service connection for OSA. It used to be, until this year, that being prescribed the CPAP was considered to be sufficient to read as "being medically necessary", but the new regs require that specific statement in the file. For this claim I know I have to have the diagnosis made as service connected as a secondary to PTSD so what I would like opinions on are what the value of asking to have the VA decide based on the old standard as I was unaware it was even a ratable condition. No one at the VA mentioned it. The rater on my initial Claim did not comment on it in the Award Letter. I believe this should also have been inferred. the two items are all over my records as being present months before the C&P and I am hoping that the Duty to Assist which includes a Duty to Infer will cover my claims. Any thoughts?

uhmmm what links did you click, exactly, on va.gov? I just went there to see what it says about my claims and it is exactly what the announcement for va.gov said it would be, a portal linking to the various other va sites. so what url was exactly where you found that information that you are saying shows your claim as closed?

So today, being the obsessive that I am, i tried to log into E benefits at 5 AM PST and got a big red error saying they couldn't log me in, might be a problem with my DEERS info. Call xxxx to fix problem. XXX recording says DS LOGON is having problems. Okay so no Ebennies until it is fixed. At 8 a.m. PST I decided to call Peggy, not expecting much since I can never get through to her...surprise today I did and on the first try. She told me that a partial decision has been made on my request to reopen bilateral hearing loss claim, my SMC claim for ED and the TDIU request I put in before my Review ptsd c&p bumped me to 100% According to peggy the only outstanding part of the issue is on my claim involving dizziness. Said the letter was prepared and ready to mail today and should be here in 10 days or so. So now I get to try and be patient, something I am not good at.

do you mind telling us how long ago you appealed? I am trying to wrap my head around some of these time frames. They make no sense. As I understand things, the VA is not supposed to hold up paying one claim just because all parts are not completed. I was also just bumped to 100% P&T for PTSD and all the ED evidence is in my med records at the VA and my STR's. I am considering trying for an EDD on the ED as the VA knew it existed when the PTSD claim was first rated, and the C&P examiner mentioned in their write up. Nothing in the Award letter and I did not know then, that anything about SMC's or that ED was a ratable condition secondary to PTSD. heck I did not know that any secondary events were even possible, and my first VSO was good, but the man was dealing with pancreatic cancer when my award came through. I never saw him again and no one from American Legion contacted me or took over active control of my claims. I might be able to cobble together a successful argument for the EDD as an inferred condition, who knows but it is worth the try if they ever get the current stuff resolved.

I will repeat what Vetquest said to you, get your C-file before you do anything about your attorney. As Berta asked, did you get an award letter tdiu? if your attorney did get one in your name and did not notify you of it, then you have a malpractice claim against him. That would be completely outside the VA's scope. If he tried to "up the ante" by filing a NOD against that award without your knowledge, you have significant legal damages the Bar will NOT be happy with him about. His insurance will pay you and he might lose his license to practice at the VA bar. Without an award or denial he could not have filed a disagreement, that means if he did file one he had a letter either way. There will be no confusion about the dates or sequence of events. I would also suggest in the interim you go to Ebenefits or Vets.gov and see who if anyone they list as your representative. That person/group is only there if you signed a POA. In theory if you filed a new POA with a new person/group that person would file it with the VA and the named representative would change, but it is not always quick. Your POA should be in your C-file. It would be unusual if it had a time limit for a VA case, but it is not impossible. odd yes, impossible no. your only way to know for sure is in your c-file. did I say get your C-file enough times? While you are looking for a new lawyer, before you fire this one, also look for a lawyer that enjoys suing other lawyers for malpractice. It would be even better if they are also allowed to practice at the VA bar.

@Buck52 This is very close to part of my current situation. In my initial claim in 2012, there was a claim for bilateral hearing loss, it was denied. The C&P Audiologist stated 1) they fully reviewed my records 2) I only had one enlistment and no change existed between my enlistment physical and discharge physical 3) There was no OSHA event listed in the medical records 4) there is a hearing loss but it is not service connected. This C&P was done 5 months after my PTSD C&P, which was done by a VA shrink at the VA. The full DBQ and his diagnosis were in my records when the Audiologist was assigned that C&P. I have multiple enlistments and the physicals for all of them are in my C-File and the PTSD C&P references them. Actually the only hitch in the PTSD C&P is the doc wrote I was in the Air Force but I am Navy, I did not find this out until this year. I have the OSHA events listed. I have my hearing baseline reset twice according to the files (though I was never given a "quiet time out" and then rechecked. I had annual hearing tests because of my job and certain events, though the VA does not yet know there are several records missing for these tests. My final hearing exam for my final discharge had me at a 70 db loss in R and 75db loss in L. the loss progression can be seen in the exams that are in the records that the Audiologist did not look at. I have filed to reopen that claim. It is tangled up in an SMC-K claim that the VA folded into it along with another claim. I have had the C&P for ED and the SMC-K should be a no brainer, the doc is clear that my ED is completely related to my PTSD. These claims were filed Aug 20 2018, last Saturday the claim status went to Pending Decision Approval and today bounced back to Reviewing Evidence. I will call Peggy tomorrow, but I have never gotten through to her so I won't hold my breath there. My biggest concern right now is that they will continue to keep these claims all tied up together instead of at least finishing out the SMC-K. They are the ones who combined the claims and I don't find it fair for them to drag their feet on it.

I would tread very carefully in this particular minefield. Please read the following two links read section C 38 U.S.C. 5304(c) which says (c) Pension, compensation, or retirement pay on account of any person’s own service shall not be paid to such person for any period for which such person receives active service pay. ---------------------------------- https://www.knowva.ebenefits.va.gov/system/templates/selfservice/va_ssnew/help/customer/locale/en-US/portal/554400000001018/content/554400000014246/M21-1-Part-III-Subpart-v-Chapter-4-Section-C-Adjusting-Department-of-Veterans-Affairs-VA-Benefits-Based-on-a-Veterans-Receipt-of-Active-Service-Pay?query=return to service#7a The above link is from the M21 adjudication manual which (supposedly) explains what procedures the follow in each claim situation. The specific section is III.v.4.C.7.a. Relinquishment of Benefits Upon Return to Active Duty on that same page and section are two more links you should read if you doubt this applies to you. 38 CFR 3.654, and 38 CFR 3.700(a)(1), and There is also another set of problems for you if you do this. If you got out in 2016 it is highly unlikely your rating is a P&T rating, at best it is stable/static in the eyes of the VA. PTSD (and all MH) ratings that are not P&T have a mandatory review, at the outside it will be no later than 5 years from the original rating. There is movement towards 2 years, but it will definitely happen at 5 years. This will not only be a C&P, the VA can and does check with Social Security to see the reported income. There are several times and reasons the check is done, including a random audit. Folks that applied for TDIU are another time it happens and who knows when else. Policy and Law create several classes of ratings that are "protected" against being reduced. The most protected situation is you have been rated at your current % for 20 years. In this case the VA would have to prove fraud on the part of the veteran in either the original application or at subsequent reviews. The next 'most' protected status is by policy. A veteran who is over 55 will generally not be given a review of their rating % based on the general concept that their employability after that age is not going to go up in most cases. Don't misread this as they "can't" do a review after 55, it is just it is policy not to unless something changes that they find out or know about. Vets who are P&T are by policy not reviewed, unless the VA thinks something has changed. Despite the phrase being Permanent and Total it is not an absolute or a literal condition. if you feel you are ready to return to normal life, your PTSD is cured, never to return, and you accept that the VA will remove your benefits and will require you to undergo another C&P (at least 1) how wonderfully cured you are, then by all means ignore everything above. I don't know the military will even consider you, but if they do and you choose to accept the commission, be aware the law says your will lose your VA benefits. You will likely be rated by VA as not having PTSD any more, heck they might even decide you never had it and demand you repay them all your previous compensation and if you used Voc Rehab to go to school instead of your GI bill, you might have to pay that back too. You may try another path. If you have your MSW and or are working on your PhD in Psych, then consider applying to the VA for the same work. You will still be working with Vets and the VA is chock full of 70% an 100% rated vets who are in similar positions. This was you keep your benefits, do the type of work you want, and get a full government salary, all above board and legal. no reduction, no loss, and if it fails for you, you don't have to go back and try to redo what you undid in terms of being SC rated.

as I suspected I am now in the bounce house. The last status of pending decision approval had an est completion date of Nov 7, 2018. Today as of 5:02 PM PST the status changed back to Review of Evidence with an estimated date range of 11/23/2018 - 12/20/2018 so much for my hoped for early holiday present. I suspect this bouncing may go on for a while. wah wah wah wah wah....

I would file the Intent, assuming you have ED and the records to prove it. Place your Intent as ED secondary to MDD. In that form you may have to type in what you are looking for if it does not appear in the drop down lists. The form is made to allow that. as for the IMO, get the DBQ and have your non-va doctor write their opinion to address what it asks and for you to get service connection it must have the magic words. Is a least as likely as not view this link for more information on the magic words https://www.hadit.com/less-likely-likely-not-va-disability-legal-phrases-imo/

true but if he does not have to have an IMO and as we all know many VA docs are unwilling to declare a service connection for anything. The C&P examiner will make or deny service connection. The majority of an ED exam is self-reported and or "lay" statements (no pun intended). you don't actually "need" to have tried viagra or ciallis but having done so with no/little improvement helps support the claim. With MH an ED diagnosis is common as lack of interest and eventual atrophy from non-use is known to be part of all ranges of depression, anxiety, mania, etc.

as with all things VA the most correct answer is MAYBE. As @buck52 says a service connected condition is needed to link the ED too. MDD is a set of conditions considered to be tied to ED, however they are not the only things that are known to affect the ability to use our creative organ (actual VA statement is the rating is for Loss of Creative Organ). @Buck52 is right about doing your homework on any condition you have, are rated at, denied for, or that you have but don't know you can be rated for. For example until this year I did not know ED could be rated or that things like SMC's existed. I also did not understand that some conditions were considered "secondary" to other conditions and having them might amplify your rating. On the VA website search for DBQ;s. These are the Disability Questionnaires the C&P examiners must fill out. In each are the questions the Rater is supposed to find the answers to to determine if you A) have service connection and B) how serious is your condition in terms of the severity which translates to percentage. In the DBQ for MH there are 7 statements that the C&P examiner has to chose from, the 1st means you don't have a problem, the 7th means you are mentally toast. Note that you can have a disease or rated condition but have it rated at 0%. In the DBQ for ED it asks about function and performance, do you have injuries to your genitals, have you been diagnosed for ED, gotten meds for ED etc. Then it goes into a whole long set of questions about your urinary situation and incontinence. I don't know if the two are on one DBQ for convenience, because they both involve the genitals, or if there is some documented tie between the number of times you pee every day and how strong your stream is to ED. I am guessing it is all three. Prior to my C&P for ED I had NEVER in my life discussed incontinence with anyone. I find it creepy to share that kind of information with anyone, and even typing this makes me shudder. That said it is relevant to your question and I have to face the things that I don't like or make me upset. In the DBQ they will ask you how many "pads" do you use a day. I didn't know men had "pads". I think it has ranges like 0, 1-3, 4-6, 7 or more...something like that. The VA can provide you the pads by the case load. That question threw me off and i had to ask what he meant about pads as there are other ways to deal with the problem including those adult diapers which qualify as pads. Again be honest, if you dribble or leak, let them know in the C&P. Oh and if you have outside medical records related to your ED and or other urinary problems submit those through ebenefits and take them to the C&P just to make sure the examiner has them.

https://cck-law.com/news/va-disability-back-pay/ https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/effective_dates.asp read those two links. What they say is that the date you are paid "from" is either the date the claim was filed or the date the medical evidence shows your condition exists, which ever is later. Your post is unclear on a couple things which may have led to the confusion in the below response to you from Doc25. If for example you filed a claim on 3 Jan 2016 and the VA did not finish adjudicating the claim (for whatever reason, it happens) until Jan 2018, you would get paid for those two years paid as Retro pay. Additionally if VA letter showed up in Jan 2018 but you don't see the increase (or in the case of an initial claim, you don't see the first payment) until Feb, March, April, etc. you get retro pay for those months too. The VA pays our compensation for the trailing month, so if your Effective date is 1 Jan you will get that money on what we typically think of as the 1 Feb check. That check in VA terms is actually the "last workday of Pick-A-Month" check because they pay trailing. What Doc25 may be talking about is if you NOD the Effective date and claim they owe you to an even earlier date, there are only so many reasons it will be granted. One of which is CUE. The earlier date is called the EED, Earlier Effective Date, in VA terms. Another condition might be coming into play with his answer. A veteran who files a claim in the First Year out of the service is typically paid to his First Day as a Civilian. This is an automatic mandate set into law but only applies to vets in their first year out of service. So the answer to your actual question is a Rated Claim will be paid to the Effective Date listed in the Benefits Summary Letter. If you disagree with that date you file an NOD for an EED. If there is a CUE or other documentation/facts that change that date, you will be awarded that earlier EED.

i should have been more explicit and asked you to post those other ratings and conditions. However based on just a line by line reading of what you posted, you seem to have a lumbar condition. Assuming that is your 70% or the stuff associated to that condition, being rated for depression would likely be as a secondary to your back problems. You also don't say if your rating(s) are P&T, are they? This line from the C&P connects the MDD to your service connection conditions, that means it will likely be rated. Mental health ratings only come in a few percentages, 0, 10, 30, 50, 70 and 100. MDD is probably not gonna be a 0 or a 10, 30 would likely be a low-ball, 50 or 70 is a good bet. 100 might be a stretch but that is dependent on your entire file, documentation and other information they may have that is not shown here. Doing the VA math. If your current Combined Rating is 70% A 30% rating adds up to 79% which rounds up to 80% for payment purposes A 50% rating adds up to 85% which rounds up to 90% for payment purposes A 70% rating adds up to 91% which rounds down to 90% for payment purposes. a 100% is of course 100% no matter how you slice it, but in your case might trigger SMC consideration for House Bound or possibly even A&A. Your current 70% allows you to be consider for IU. If you don't become 100% schedular but do get a rating, it might be to your benefit to file for IU. Just remember that getting an IU rating means that over and above getting paid at 100% ($2,9xx.xx per month for a single person, basically $35 K a year) you would ONLY be allowed to earn additional income (from work) of approx $12k a year, which is the current poverty level for a single person. This might be what you need, that is for you and your doctors to decide. However if you are rated at 100% schedular there is no limit on the amount of income you can earn over and above your compensation. If you have ED, and have not filed for it, do so. It would be an SMC-K award and it is like $106.00 a month more for "loss of a creative organ", which bumps you to $36K annual in tax free compensation at 100% schedular or TDIU. Without any further information I would believe you are in good shape to get a rating increase with MDD service connected as secondary to your Lumbar issues.

@severomen first, welcome to the forums second, words like "could", "can", etc applied to the VA are probably a bad way to think of things. The VA could and can do just about anything they want, which shifts the burden to you to fight to prove they were wrong. Many vets give up at that point and it sometimes seems the VA likes it like that. The better question is "are they likely to...." No one can say for sure that the VA will do something in any particular claim, but there are things that they are most likely to do. The really experienced veterans here can make educated guesses about what is likely to happen, but those are not guarantees . To help understand your claim, please post what conditions your are SC for and the percentage of each. Include the claims that are pending. IF you have not already done so, go to your Regional Office physically and get your DBQ's, the code sheet, and the requests for the various C&P exams. If you had a previous rating you are claiming an upgrade for, get that award letter and associated DBQ's etc. File to get your C-File now. it will take a couple months and by then all these records are likely to be in it. Your VSO, if you have one, can do some of this for you. Just as an example of what is "likely" to happen; Let's assume a vet has a combined 80% SC, with 70% PTSD and several 10% physical problems. Let's assume the vet has provided the VA proof that they have been fired for anger issues, poor performance, unsuitability in the workplace, and or problems with coworkers/bosses. Lets assume that vet has some police records associated to their problem. Let's assume this goes back farther than the ten months you mentioned and have gotten more frequent. Let's assume there are buddy letters/lay statements and employer statements supporting the idea you are unlikely to get and or keep a job for very long. In that example the multiple small physical SC ratings likely won't get you IU, but the PTSD at 70% with supporting documents might just tip the scale in your favor. IU is not allowed just because you have not worked for a while, there has to be a documented association with your SC conditions. In the converse, if your combined 80% is made up of serious physical problems with limited range of motion determinations, inability to sit, stand, walk, lift, etc, blinding migraines, or other major physical issues that are unlikely to get better, then IU is a strong possibility. so what do you do, is probably your other question. Get the previous DBQ's and stuff. Gather whatever other evidence you have like mentioned in the example and take all that to next C&P exam. For pete's sake be honest but don't make the mistake of contradicting your previous C&P statements. As a rule when talking to C&P examiners, counselors, etc you don't want to minimize your problems. People have a tendency to put a good face on our problems, to say we have "dealt with it on our own". You don't get points for that, in fact if you "deal with it" the VA assumes you don't need their help. I am sure others will chime in here, but please post those other claims and get those documents. It will help you.

First and foremost, do what Berta said, call the Whitehouse as well as the VA to make a record of this, and I would go further and call my congress person and senators, too. The second thing I would suggest is to install an application on your cell phone that automatically records all calls in and out. I don't care what state you are in, and some do have two party consent laws that recording conversations might violate, but do it anyway. There is a concept under the law known as exigent circumstances. Typically it is used to justify something like cops entering a house without a warrant, but it is actually much broader than that. In addition, unless you broadcast the recordings no one will know you made them. In a case like you described, having that recording saved to a permanent storage device (an external hard drive, drop box, etc) will provide you proof if you need it to dispute a claim of refusal. You will have time date and persons name and what they said verbatim. You must keep in mind that for the VA to "punish you" or in any way try to reduce your rating, they have high hurdles to cross and must notify you in writing and give you time to respond, gather evidence, etc. It is a process and not an easy one for them unless they have evidence you committed fraud. In the event some clown at the RO does try and start that process, that recording would prove your case at the RO level, in a DRO conference or at the BVA as none of them are a court and the rules of evidence for the VA are not the same as they are for a Civil or Criminal Court. The legalese may seem a bit wonky but the short version is a recording a person, in a two party state, only affects the second person who did not know they were being recorded. The right to privacy is the persons not their company's, not the VA, not the RO, the DRO or the BVA. Therefore only that person would have legal standing to object. Since she will not be in any of those conversations or hearings, she won't be able to object and no one can do it for her. Furthermore, let's assume the VA heard the recording and decided to investigate. Assume they told her you specifically recorded her without her knowledge. Assume she went to the Cops or feds and filed a wiretapping charge against you. Assume the prosecutor accepts the case and presses the charges. Doing all that will make the recording evidence, which makes it hearable by the Court and unless the court seals it, the public will hear it too. The court would hear the statement and directions to you and then you would present the evidence that she told the VA something different. She would then have to explain not just lying to the VA and intentionally harming you, she would have to explain to the court why she should be allowed to shield her intentional act behind the law. Courts typically don't like defendants who shout "you can't use that proof to convict me with my own words". They take a very dim view of that type behavior. The court in this case will probably accept a very liberal expansion of the exigent circumstances doctrine as you knew you were likely to be harmed, you rightly knew the defendant would lie about their actions and blame you. You would have no other way, besides making the recording, to protect yourself from a real and reasonable belief that harm was imminent. In all likelihood you would win that case and then you can sue her for intentional infliction of emotional distress for acts already admitted to in court. Plus about 8 more things I can think of. As I said it is a little wonky but the reality is that is the trajectory of using a recording to prove a functionary employed by the VA (or vendor) is screwing over a veteran. The vendor will probably change course real quick once they learn a tape exists and proves their person lied. Good luck and definitely call the VA and White House.

I have to ask about this statement. Do you currently have a 70% rating for some other condition?

Make it happen, I was there 3 years ago and to my mind it is still stark but beautiful near Sig and up Mount Etna. Yep they do shoot if you don't stop. we lost 3 marines that way. It was their fault but it was tragic to die that way just the same. two more short stories. First one We had an XO who died and a CO who was Retired against his will; it was that or Leavenworth. That meant that a new CO and XO showed up the same week. CO was cool. I had flown with him in Special Projects, partied with him and his wife, and their kids used to babysit my infant daughter. Great folks and I was stoked to have him as CO. XO was a different story. He considered himself a Godly man, and he damn sure not only told you he was, he told you that you would be one too or he would F you over. I kid you not, that was how he introduced himself. That's not the funny part. About a month after they got there and things settled out, their wives took a trip to Naples for a couple days. Nothing strange there. The next month the Skipper had a party at his house and he made sure that me and my crew were going to be there. He was cool to party with so I had no problems with showing up. My crew did not know him so really didn;t want to go. Typical thing, summer, drinks, BBQ, inside outside, kids running around and thirty or so brown nosing Junior O's trying to kiss his butt. XO and his wife showed up and you could tell he was not amused that alcohol was there and that enlisted folks were mixing with officers. Heavens! Now the funny part. I was inside talking to the Skipper and his wife and the XO and wife joined our group of people. Then someone asked the XO's wife how she liked Naples. She got in a huff and wanted to (rhetorically I assume) know who "those people" thought they were. She literally said "Don't they know I am a U.S. Navy Captains wife?" Since she was in Naples Italy without a diplomatic escort or bodyguard, you have to assume the answer is a resounding NO. Anyway, trying to diffuse all our stunned looks the Skippers wife started laughing and said "I still don't know why they gave us $25 Dollar tickets for standing on a bridge." Now I knew and so did others that that could not be why the got the tickets, so I asked her if she still had it and she went to get it. When I read the ticket I did a spit take and spewed my Crown Royal all over the XO and a couple of others I was laughing so hard. There was only one other person there who spoke and read Italian and she grabbed the ticket and started howling. As you can imagine everyone was curious and a bit bemused over what was so funny. I asked the XO's wife if she got one too, and she stammered that she had, and I started laughing more. I finally caught my breathe as did Linda the other Italian speaker, and I looked at my Skipper and said in as flat a tone as I could. "You are now married to a licensed prostitute in Naples, Italy". The Skipper and his wife howled with laughter, the XO and his wife almost had strokes on the spot and did not find it funny at all. Skip forward about 3 months and I went back to their house and they had framed it and placed a placard on it saying what it was for and all that. In 3 more months the XO was caught forcing a young male sailor to "service him" in exchange for leniency on some trumped up charge. Mr. Godly did make it to Kansas and as I understand it he was very popular at Leavenworth after dark. Mrs. Godly snuck out of town in the dead of night flying commercial to avoid any contact with people at any base. Second story, really short. i lived at the top of Mount Etna when it exploded last time. My villa was in the middle of the lava flows. For months we would just walk right next to the flows any time day or night. There were moving like 2 meters a day which is really really slow. It was cool and I had some great pics. Keeping my daughter away from the flows was a challenge but luckily she never got burnt.

one of the weirdest things for me was the first time i was driving into Catania by myself and one popped out the lollipop. I of course stopped. He said I was speeding, which is just plain funny anywhere in Sicily, EVERYONE IS SPEEDING, all the time!. Handed me a ticket and when I asked him where i went to pay it, he said I was to pay him. That was so weird but it was only 2 Mil which at that time with a 3000 lira to the US Dollar exchange rate cost me like 80 cents. He and I then went to the bar he pulled me over in front of and had a scotch and espresso, each, and he used my ticket money to pay for it. it was fricking hilarious, I got pulled over because he wanted a drink LOL