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GBArmy
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Posts posted by GBArmy
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Buck and all... I would agree that it makes sense almost every time to file for any new or additional disabilities. As you say the more you have the harder it will be for the VA to move the needle if they try to reduce. But I would not just go in for an increase if it wasn't a strong case just when you are getting close to 20. It might be the VA's policy to do a thorough review when you close in on 20, but they are also have been known not to do what they are supposed to do. It's possible the anniversary date could slip by and you get to 20 without any mandatory review. Why call attention when you are close to the end date? Yes, have the claim ready to submit if they do have a re-exam, but don't put it in without a notice first. And you still have a chance to rebut their reduction in benefits if they do. Those are my thoughts.
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No, they have not yet made HTN a presumptive to A.O.
However, an under secretary at the VA was quote that Wilkie will make a decision on 4 presumptives by July 1, 2019, and it is supposed to be one of the 4 to be decided. Keep your fingers crossed.
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What was his rating for CAD: 30%? Who did the c&p? I would try to call and get a copy from that dept. If it is an outside vendor, they should be able to give you a copy. Do you use a VSO or somebody that can look it up for you. What is the reasoning to reduce his rating? If it was done by an outside vendor, they don't put the notes in the system, but I believe they can provide a copy to you, I mean, it's your exam!
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If you already have gone thru this disability claim stuff, you know by now that the VA (Benefits) is NOT your friend. They are down right anti-veteran often. I was thinking that if it were me, I would type up a nice letter requesting what you need, make a copy for your self and keep that in a safe place, and then send it registered mail to your RO. The reason I say that is, if the remote possibility that you can't get a letter that supports what your employer needs and you should lose your job, it may help in applying in the future for TDIU. Sending the letter is just a confirmation you requested the VA to HELP you keep your job, and they refused to do so. Might be a nice piece of evidence for you. But it is a little thing that you can do now that can't hurt. And planning for the future, if you are rated 40% for at least one disability (you are), if you have others that can get you to 70% combined, you could possibly qualify for TDIU. So, do you have anything else that might be pursued as a disability? If so, start working on it.
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Have you ever filed for PTSD, Etc.? If not, do it. If you are service connected for that specific disability, it is stated on your award letter. They have to make a ruling if you put in a disability claim but they won't before hand. So, if you are rated at say 30%, there has to be rationale why you are rated at that rate. You are are able to do certain things and not other things. If you are going for continuous treatments, you have a right to those records.Take that info and get your previous doc to write the letter based on that finding.
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You are going to have to wait until you get your decision letter. The VA giveith, and the VA takeith away. Put the money in a safe place and don't spend it until you get confirmation. Seriously. They make mistakes all the time and if you end up getting more than you are supposed to, they start to take it back out of your monthly disability check.
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There are a lot of guys that would never trust the VA to do anything proactive that would actually help Veterans. That said, if asked, I always say we should register, because facts are facts. Eventually, the VA has to see there is a connection with "X" disease and A.O. If they don't get those numbers, it just easier for them to deny. Same holds true for the Burn Pit Registry. My heart goes out to those veterans because I see it to be A.O. all over again. These guys are going to suffer from all kinds of maladies and illnesses before the VA starts to recognize the connection. I don't know the numbers, but it has to be a very high rejection rate on Burn Pit disability claims. The more numbers show a connection, the harder it will be for the VA to look the other way. JMO.
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Buck, are you saying that if we have an A.O. disability the VA automatically puts us in the Registry?
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I think Vetquest has the best advise, and Kanewnut confirms it. Not a big fan of higher level review. For it to work it has to be a hands down decision the the first decision was wrong. Most will just agree with the first decision and know that a majority of the veterans will not appeal AGAIN; they will just give up in frustration. Higher level review doesn't do anything for your claim except maybe allow the claim to continue while you gather more facts/evidence for a Supplemental. You hardly ever hear anyone commenting any success stories because of a Higher Level Review. Follow their advise.
- dawsonatl and ShrekTheTank
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Geeky, obviously if the results from your C&P are not favorable to you not only do you have a strong case to appeal or even CUE, but it is something you should do just to keep this insufficiently qualified doctor from doing inadequate exams on other veterans. Good luck on your results.
- ShrekTheTank and Vync
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I could never figure the VA Benefits philosophy out. You would think that they would cherry pick a few claims that they could knock off easily and quickly do just to improve their turn a round numbers. They did it for Paulstrgn but for Verquest, nope, let him wait. But it would still be good to know what actual "testing" goes on during the ED exam so guys would know going in what to expect.
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What kind of checking did he do. My understanding is that a few years ago at least, they hooked up some electrodes to you to see if there was any reaction to electrical stimulus. Just a verbal exam; nothing physical like that?
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Just got this today. The DOJ has notified Congress that the VA is dropping any appeals to the court decision on the Bllue Water Navy Agent Orange fiasco. If this isn't a success story, I don't know one:
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Paulstrgn, what actually happened at the C&P? Did you have a dbq with your claim. Curious as to what they do for SMC(k). I had a tinnitus claim along with my hearing and they asked me maybe 3 questions on the tinnitus and that was it; practically the whole time was on the testing for hearing. Yours wasn't combined with anything else?
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Hi Ms Army. welcome. You haven't told us very much about your process. Have you had a C&P exam and did they tell you if there was to be another future exam? Waiting 3 years must really wear on your patience. If you are handling the claim by yourself, I would call the VA info line 800-827-1000 and see what they can tell you. After that, because it has been so long, I would give the White House hot line a try at 855-948-2311. You might get some kind of status/time line from them. Let us know of your progress.
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Hi John: Welcome aboard. I can't offer anything on that cigarette smell problem, but if I am right, you are a brother who served in 'Nam. Welcome home brother. I also pick up some bad vibes from you about your health situation and it is causing you problems, maybe depression, or worse. If I could, please make arraingements to go to the VA and speak to them about how you are feeling. You got family to think of, and things can go from bad to worse pretty damn fast. Up here in the Northeast, we also have Vet Centers and they can really help too. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think so. Hope I hear back from you.
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That's good; at least you woke them up. You can get a little more visibility tracking your status if you sign up for ebenies, or more accurately www.ebenefits.va.gov Not too hard to do but you need to get the premium account for it to work. It provides a lot of visibility on your disability status, dependents, change of VSO, benefit payments, etc. I say a little more visibility because if you have a supplemental claim, the turn-around time is supposed to be 125 days, so they don't put much info on changes. It is better for original claims, because there are more steps in the process.But, it is another tool that is available for veterans to use, so I would fully recommend it. Your VSO, the DVA, should be able to provide some input on your status, but they often don't do a very good job of that. You can also call Peggy from time to time as well. Just expect it is going to play out over 3-4 months and as some of the guys say, in the meantime "get yourself a hobby."
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Sorry, Mover. That's the VA general info line for benefits questions. 1-800-827-100. Don't call first thing or at lunch time, but usually other times can get you to a real person in 20-30 minutes. As to the quality of the info you receive, or how accurate or up do date it is, believe the verbal only after it is confirmed in writing.
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It's the VA so it is very hard to predict anything they do on a regular basis, but it does seem a bit odd. Have you confirmed that it was actually submitted by the DAV yet, or is it in their queue? If yes, I would call "Peggy" and see what they can see.
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They have a duty to assist. That means they should be providing your military medical records; if you went a dozen times, there has to be at least some record of your problems. It's going to depend on what show; you have to have evidence what happened in the service is the reason you are in bad shape now. If you have to show range of motion in the exam, don't tuff it through; if it hurts, stop and tell them. Your dd214 may also have a notation code about re-enlistment eligibility. If it does, look up the code and see if it helps your case with the examiner. Dollars to donuts you are going to get low-balled if you get any disability at all because of the lack of detail on your supporting evidence. But getting rated, even 10%, would be a major win. Then you can appeal to increase the rating. Go in to the exam, be polite, but try to convey your a hurting dude, and wait for the results.
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Like doc25 said, don't fix what ain't broke. If you are getting 100% now, let it ride.
- ShrekTheTank and Ronc531
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If you have medical records, xrays, mri's, etc. that show the progression of your injuries, I would bring COPIES, not the originals , with me. Kind of late now, but you could have gotten an additional exam/ eval and a dbq from a civilian doctor as well. If you already submitted all the stuff that you bring next week with your claim, ask the examiner if they have the info and he looked at it, OR, would they like to see what you brought now. You have a lot going on and what I would do is to make sure the examiner has all the medical records he needs to make a decision. Don't push it on him; just offer it because you want to assist them in doing a thorough job.Ask them politely when/how you can get a copy of the exam as well. Remember, don't try to push thru the pain during the exam; try to relate how you act on your WORSE day. Lastly, try to work into the conversation how bad it is, and how it is extremely difficult to work now, never mind 5-10 years from now. I would be good to get positive comments from the examiner about your future unemployability. Think future TDIU. I think your mind set should be positive, but unless you are really lucky and most people submitting claims are not lucky, you should be thinking that you are probably going to submit a NOD because they are going to low-ball you on your claim. Hope I am wrong, but...
- kanewnut, vetquest and GeekySquid
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Sure is a lot of good comments on this. On the payment of a lawyer or agent I'm pretty much in line with Alex and Bronco. You do your homework, weigh it all out and if you come to the conclusion that you need to hire a lawyer, you do the best you can and settle on a fee. No sour grapes on that, if you don't like the results, don't enter into the agreement in the first place. As for using this to vent, not so much. I go along with Shrek on it; I'm here to learn and, with a little luck, I can pick up something that maybe I can use to help another veteran out. If I have some knowledge I can share along the way, all the better. As the saying goes: "A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others."
- vetquest, ShrekTheTank and dawsonatl
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Partially Rated + Deferred claim questions
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
Buck, voiding technically is defined as emptying the bladde. But if you look at the dbq 21-0960j2 section 3b thru 3e it is talking about the whole thing; storage of urine, peeing, stop peeing, leakage or dribbling, etc. It is better defined at https://urology.ucsf.edu/patient-care/adult-non-cancer/endourology-nephrolithiasis/male-voiding-dysfunction So, as typical with just about any C&P, the definition defined by the VA is going to be a moving target, especially as it relates to the examiner.