GBArmy

LIke I said, check with your VSO and be sure how it's going to go. I'd even call Peggy 800-827-100 after getting the response from your VSO that you expect, and confirm that is how it will roll. But then, that's just me. Good luck brother.

MrVet0714 Yes you should go. It sounds like they want a new C&P to eval your requests. In the mean time, you got P&T. I'm not sure but I believe if you withdraw your new claim, they can cancel and your P&T remains. Your status will be as before. Check with others before you withdraw though as we don't have all the facts. When a veteran is rated P&T they really have to understand the risk they put on their status because they will re-eval your condition which is MH.

No John999, it is not (yet.) If you have the evidence from a doctor that links it you A.O, and refer to the National Academy of Science last study that says it is a cause, you should have a good shot. Research BVA decisions. You do need that IMO though. It was recommended to be added by N.A.S. several years ago, but was set aside (because of the cost impact to the VA), so the Congress just made the 3 others new diseases presumptive. Note that the VA has yet to release the method to submit those 3 new ones, bladder cancer, Hypothyroidism, and Parkinson-like disease, even after being directed by Congress to quit stalling and do their job. Good ole VA. If/when you do submit, make sure you tie in any previous denials because of the Niemer effect.

Broncovet-Good to know. If you can get them to take corrective action without making it a big production out of it it certainly worth a try.

Cloudbuster The VA won't accept a tel-med eval for MH. You got an original decision of 50%; appealed thru HLR and got 70% To get to 100%, which is a VERY high bar, you need some additional evidence to what you already have, or you will be denied an increase. Compile more and resubmit if you wish but understand it is a very difficult level and I wouldn't just submit because i "deserve" it, no offense meant. Look up the criteria for 100% under the MH criteria and be objective in your self eval, as you can also be decreased back down from 70% depending on the next C&P.

Wico1337 LHI is one of several contractors that do C&P exams for the VA. They may or may not be "better" than the VA, but they pretty much are the only game in town. If the C&P schedules a exam, yo must go. Bring any documents that are relative/import as evidence that was already submitted. They don't have to take anything since it should already be avail to them, but sometimes they do. Be polite but to the point with the contractor.

Wico 1337 Welcome to Hadit. Once the VA denies a claim it's like 5X harder to win on appeal. It's the way they roll. I would suggest that you are not a qualified med person, so your opinion on drugs and causing weight gain isn't going to fly. Take the easy road and get a IMO from a qualified person who can offer their own med opinion as to cause. If you got eval within a year of discharge you should be able to get presumption. There are also many who can argue that depression can and does cause weight gain. Get a qualified IMO/opinion from a specialist. You can win this.

Aggravating Sounds like you have Vascular Neurocognitive disorder, which doesn't get better. You didn't answer when is your next scheduled C&P. That disability can often be found to be static; if so, there is a little more light at the end of the tunnel. Call Peggy (800-827-100) and ask them for a copy of the coded rate sheet which lists more detail on the current status of your disabilities. It will also say if your disabilities are static or if there is RFE scheduled, which is what you're looking for. But take care of yourself; it is a dementia which progresses usually in steps or stages due to mini-strokes. I wish you well.

Whatever works, right!

Buck Since you try some simple breathing exercises, the VA has a free "Mindfulness" app you can use that might be a useful tool. I use it almost every day. Less than 10 minutes and it might help calm you down. I guarantee it won't hurt. Check it out. You have too much to be thinking SI brother.

Aggravating My guess is not too good. You said you were recently awarded 70%. Unless you have a lot of medical reports in your file covering a significant number of years, the VA is likely to put it on the back burner IMHO. You have mild neurocognitive disorder. not even moderate. When is your next schedued C&P exam?

Hamslice I think you're fairly close. What you state makes a lot of sense. I do think that for the most part the VSO's are: 1) not trained adequately,, mostly just the basics: 2) handle way too many claims so they don't spend enough time to develop, 3)are either not paid, or underpaid ( The old saying you get what you pay for, and 4) are encouraged to go for quantity instead of quality. Broad brush, I know. But there are some really super VSO's that work their butts off,and then, some not so much. If you are inclined to do your own claims, there still is the current ability of VSO's that have access with VBMS to obtain records and other info in your file. and that is really helpful. If that is what you chose to do to manage your claim, just be sure that the VSO knows who is calling the shots, that is you, not him/her. If they don't want to play along, get another one who does. They get tracked on how many veterans they represent.

I don't know anything about that process, but I would expect it is part of your str's and if you later apply for any disabilities, it would be available to them. The thing you have to keep in mind is if you state you don't have any problems, you are building a wall around your evidence for those future claims. The VA will say the veteran is malingering, that is he is lying because he said previously he didn't have any medical problems.

Agree; the higher you go, the harder it gets. I think that one benefit that veterans sometimes miss on is the bilateral factor. A few extra points but the points are, like I said, hard to come by. They should be considered by veterans whenever possible.

I agree with John999, That IMO is terrible. Give your doc a draft that you do as a guide. It has to be definite, not a wishy-washy "could." "It is my opinion based on "x" years of practice that ... IS the cause of his cancer. (or is at least as likely as not the cause of his cancer) It is also born out by studies and clinical trials.... . He lists and provides links to those technical journals or studies.

Hi Jocelyn Welcome to Hadit. It is going to be difficult to get a law firm that has 1) experience with VA BVA claim process and 2) experience in successfully winning PFAS claims. Many law firms concentrate on just some areas of VA law, not everything, and as you are well aware PFAS is a relatively new health problem. My suggestion is to call some of the big law groups and find out if they either have experience in that area or could recommend someone. Try CC&K, Woods and Woods, Hill and Ponton to name a few. You may also want to ask if they happen to know a specialist that they would recommend in treating the symptoms. Maybe Dr. Ellis or Dr. Bash could recommend a specialist. If you got s-c disability for htn based on PFAS connection, that is going to help. Consider MH issues if the applicable. Good luck to you.

Usually, the lower rates call out a requirement for meds, like a 10%. You don't have to take them, but you may be prescribed meds for your condition. I believe it may be called out for MH at a 10% rate, which would cove depression. But as you get higher ratings, it may bot be a criteria for your particular rating.

Buck You know, your mother never told you life was fair. And it aint. It might be time to leave it behind, rather than get frustrated over it. If there really isn't anything for you to be gained by revisiting it again, my advice would be just to forget about it. With all that is going on in your life right now, do you really need more aggravation? Life's too short IMHO.

Buck Best of luck for both of you; her for now and then you. Stop down to the Thrift Sore and see if you can find some roller skates! Might come in handy while she recovers. Lot of prayers for you brother.

The VA claims process is ever changing and it is safe to say that that will continue. As Brokensoldier 244th says, it is more cost effective to farm it out than to keep it in house. The VA may, and probably will tweak it so maybe a few more disabilities are done at VA facilities, but I can't see them going back to the volume they were doing before. Once the government finds a more cost efficient way of doing something, they don't go backwards. That said, hopefully they try to make process improvement with the new procedures.

Vet4422 Welcome to Hadit. I would give it a few days. Go to va.gov and look up "payments" and see if there is an entry yet. You can call Peggy and see if they can tell you anything but I doubt it yet. Also check your bank account to see if there has been a deposit. Assume your info is correct at the VA.

Hucast21 Congrats! Great news! Don't forget to update your Hadit profile to your new rating. Continue to continue to help others. And, if you can afford it, maybe when you get your back pay payment you could donate a little something to help Hadit keep on helping other veterans.

Confusedvet1 It is what the VA does. You have to wait to receive the decision letter. You can check VA.gov for recent payments and see if you got back pay. You can also check the "Letters" section and see if you are now rated 10%. But basically, we have to get the letter.

Really Angry This is none of my business but do have a diagnosis for a MH condition? The reason I ask is that in just a few posts you have revealed that you may have some serious issues going on. Depression/anxiety, etc. If you don't have any MH disability, I would suggest that you seek out some assistance. You have a lot more time on this earth and it is too hard to do it without some help. I don't mean to offend, but consider it brother.

I agree with your VSO; getting an increase by way of TDIU may be your best bet. You may be awarded P&T with the re-eval. So, quickest way is to request a HLR. That assumes you have the evidence in your record that your condition will not be getting better.