GBArmy

Buck I tried maybe 10 years ago, but didn't know it could have positive affects on MH issues. Since, I've recently picked up "minor" anxiety as a disability, whatever that is (haven't got it in writing yet.) But I have tried Mindfulness; the VA has an app for it. I like the Awareness of Breath; it's a work in progress but does seem to calm you down a little.

Joey The regulation says that the effective date of any eval and the award will be determined in accordance with date of receipt of the initial claim. But what the remand is and what has to be done drive the process. In otherwords, it's up to the VA. 3.2502 Return by higher-level adjudicator or remand by the Board of Veterans' Appeals. Upon receipt of a returned claim from a higher-level adjudicator or remand by the Board of Veterans' Appeals, the agency of original jurisdiction will expeditiously readjudicate the claim in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 5109B. The agency of original jurisdiction retains jurisdiction of the claim. In readjudicating the claim, the agency of original jurisidction will correct all identified duty to assist errors, complete a new decision and issue notice to the claimant and or his or her legal representative in accordance with 3.103(f). The effective date of any evaluation and award of pension, compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation will be determined in accordance with the date of receipt of the initial claim as prescribed under § 3.2500(g).

I've got one since early April. Peggy said est. time would be Aug.30, which runs about 140 days. Certainly every one is different, but their target was 125 and that is what they had advertise on va.gov for at least a month before they took the standard target down.

deedub75 wow! Sounds like "winner, winner, chicken dinner." Of course, depending on how much the back pay is is going to impact the signature process. Follow up with an IRIS request after your letter to get an estimated timeline for you. Don't know how that will be for you, but the IRIS procedure seems to be working again.

Buck Just spitballing; you could call your state "Banking" Commissioner's Office and ask them what options you have to get the bank to provide your baking records. You could also check the same with the IRS. Problem is that computer records in the 1980's sometimes were "filed' and they destroyed them later. Laws on that changed and they probably have to keep those now forever, but back then, maybe not.

Miken2c74 Just keep pounding away. Just as your continued pursuit of your claim finally won out has shown, don't give in. Just keep at it. I would show each and every date of submittal, and decision receive to document that it has been continuous. It is just easier after a long appeal over years for the VA just to grant and throw a bone on an effective date. Many veterans will be so happy they finally won that they won't appeal. It isn't going to do any harm to appeal; they aren't going to take your new decision away. If you feel you were short changed, go after it Mike.

Only a few year; that's not bad. Do a little research and see if you can get the proper format/words for an IMO. Again, mention he has reviewed your service records, based on an extensive eval over a period of years treating you, he is confident that it is as likely as not that your service injury is the direct cause of your current diagnosis. Tell him that without specific wording, it is quite possible a VA examiner can over rull, but with it it could result is a comp that financially is important.

Adams You have some evidence. Did you see a VA or other doc for your knee problems, soreness, etc. that you haven't mentioned? On a disability like yours, the VA wants to see a continuity of treatment from your in-service event to surgery and then current. Do you have your str's, medical records? I think it would help a lot if you had a IMO from your surgeon and he stated that he evaluated you, read your medical file, your injury that resulted in surgery was based on an injury that probably occurred x years prior and therefore, "more likely than not" is a result of a s-c injury. Your disability would be based on the symptoms you have now, so you need to understand how they result in specific ratings. But it is important to get a rating, even if it is 0 or 10% because a knee replacement can lead to several potential secondary disabilities, like back problems, ankle or hip issues, etc. IMHO get approved at some rating first before going after any secondaries if they apply to you.

Miken2c74 Here's something to consider and I'm not sure what the VA's position is. Maybe someone else can clime in. If you do a HLR and you are not satisfied, do you have to go BVA on appeal, or can you have "additional evidence". The concern might be that the VA won't accept your supplemental as being adequate new and material evidence. So you have to appeal to BVA. EED's are not always as cut and dry as one might think; that is why many veterans opt for a lawyer to go after the correct amount. I just don't know what the VA considers new evidence. Maybe Bronco vet has more experience down this path.

Congrats on your win; just saw your post! (We lost power for almost a week.)

Jamezam You subtract your old rate from your new rate times the number of months per year. You have to look up each year's new rates of course. For example say you went from 30% to 50%,so lets say in 2014 30% was $300 a month but 50% was $600. So the difference is $300 x 9 months for that year. Lets say in 2015 30% increases to $310 and 50% increases to $531. Now the differences is $221 x 12 months, etc. As for how, many veterans will submit a HLR for EED and for incorrect back pay. You could also submit an IRIS request

USMC_VET I can understand you being upset; anyone would be. But this is the VA. You can expect some activities going on in your disability claim. You caught them with their hand in the cookie jar. By contacting the RO Director, you backed them in a corner; either the examiner lied to you about your evidence, or, the director lied by saying she was given all the records. So, you got approved for the disability. Otherwise, the Director was afraid of a CUE or other political issues that wouldn't go down well on his record. It's a rare situation that a director gets to that position and is a totally straight shooter. It's too political a position.Good job by you for calling it out on IRIS.

Hi Bridgetteg2006 A good reference is https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/publications/gulf-war/gulf-war-winter-2016/gulf-war-presumptives.asp I believe the time period is covered, but couldn't find anything except it goes thru 2021 and likely to be extended. Keep in mind, 4 of 5 disability claims for it are disapproved, so get some professional advise on it.

doc25 I am not a CUE expert by any means, but I think the CC&K submittal is very strong. Good luck.

Brian_74 Sorry for you, but the time restraints still apply. For a Supplemental claim, in order to keep your original submittal date active, EED, you have to submit new/additional evidence prior to a year passing. But it isn't the end of the world. You just submit a new claim. It has to have new and relevant evidence. Remember the Caluza Triangle; a current diagnosis, an event or action in the service and, a nexus connecting the last two. If there is a diagnostic code for your condition, eval your symptoms to see where you may be rated. Then, my opinion, I would suggest you get a certified eye doc to give you a nexus opinion that the early event in your service medical records are the cause of your current worse condition. You are not a doc, nor I, so even if it is obvious to a 3 year old that the two are cause and effect, the VA won't go along. The fact that you already lost your original claim makes it worse for you. So get a IMO.

Ms Tbird, check mailed out this week. This is an invaluable source and resource for veterans to get help. It would be a damn shame if a veteran receive the help they need to win a disability claim but wasn't willing to help those brothers and sisters that follow. That's all I have to say.

Come on, Buck. You got to give the new doc a chance. He may not be new to the VA, but he is new to you, and, you are new to him. Not to be prejudiced, but some cultures just are all about being professional. Give it a chance. I had a Chinese heart doc one time; he wouldn't crack a smile if Jack Benny was the patient. I even explained the joke, and he still couldn't get it.Anyway, I have a suggestion. The fact that you didn't talk about renewing your meds can be a good thing. Send him message via Blue Button. Tell him about it and ask for the renewal AND tell him you were topping out on the anxiety meter because you're afraid of missing meds. Hey, he probably got several new patients that had your previous doc, and maybe everyone is telling him how great she is. That can wear you down a little too. He may be a d bag, but from what you have told us, doesn't sound like it, yet. Give it a little time; you'll feel better (I hope!)

Wise Guy This is my opinion, and I am not a doctor. I think that it is kinda weak. You never know if your evidence is good enough going into an exam, or how open minded your examiner will be. But you have been denied for the disability before, and that is a hard hill to climb because the will be looking at the previous decision. He said your foot condition "possibly" caused by your service. Didn't say to what degree of certainty, such as "more likely than not." He needed to be definite. Your idea to get a modified statement is better (it is more likely than not that his pronounced bilateral flat feet worsened following the injury to his right hip with compensating for the pain",) but it is changing your position I believe from direct to secondary. IMHO your doc has to now talk to the rationale that your now s-c hip condition causes your foot pain. Needs to refer to medical evidence, like journals or known published documents. Is your doc Board certified? If so, make sure you have his pedigree included. How long have you been out? If you change your direction to secondary to hip, then it isn't important. If not, showing continuous medical treatment would be a factor. If you are claiming direct service connection, showing med records, etc. in the service is critical. If you go with secondary, not a factor. Strengthen your nexus for secondary IMHO.

Vync I think your summary is pretty good. I believe they will continue to have in-person on MH claims as well. I haven't had any c&p's by Tel-health call, but I did have my annual "physical" last month. That was pretty much the same as a regular in-person exam, but I was impressed at how thorough it was. Of course, your mileage may vary. It really has a lot to do, as usual, with how professional the examiner is.

Buck I can see why they might. It's quicker and cheaper for the VA. No travel pay either. So the veteran should get a quicker turn a round, in theory.I think the jury is out on whether or not the exams are done better or worse than in person. I suppose if they publish the data on % of exams resulting in denial from video as compared to in person would indicate how thorough the exams are being done. But if the results are more denials, you can bet we'll never see that data released.

cecil Great story about sticking to it. If first denied (isn't just about everyone?), appeal again. Thank you for sharing. These stories encourage others to keep going!

MKAH This isn't going to get you a very prompt answer probably, but why not try to contact Paul R. Lawrence, PhD, Under Sec. for Benefits. Give him the details and I suspect that he will direct it to someone in benefits that can give you direction. You'll have to do some searching on getting Lawrence's mail address.

Miken2c74 You're basically correct. The VA doesn't want pyramiding so there is no double payments for the sme disability. So you need first to know what is the criteria for rating the condition you have. If there is no mention of arthritis, then you get the first condition, plantar fasciitis s-c first, then get an IMO from a specialist that says it caused the secondary condition, arthritis. You can get several ratings on arthritis, say for example, your toe and your ankle.

kent101 Way to go; 50% grant gets you up to 90%, that's terrific! Took a lot longer than you really wanted but all in all, you kept with it an finally won. Good example for folks to do the same. Nice. When you get your back pay consider a helping donation to Hadit if you can afford it, but in any case, congrats.

mb76 If you're rated at 50% and trying to get tdiu after an increase, sure, you can try and get a letter. You have to make your former boss understand that the letter has to be specific about your short comings on what your behavior was. The gov't (VA) will be asking them to be truthful. The problem is that in today's sue-me world, personnel will probably advise him to keep it plain vanilla because the company could be sued. It has evolved by trying to say you weren't such a bad employee, often the former employers end up minimizing your symptoms. If you could talk to the former boss and explain that even if he won't provide a letter directly, it could help your case.