GBArmy

MarineLCpl The reason they put in your case review " since there is likelihood of improvement, subject to further exams are warranted" is usually a cop out. It is easier to take the rubber stamp approach than cut a new trail, so it is a lazy approach. With MH disabilities, they just find it easier to kick the can down the road. Depending how old you are (not supposed to be a factor), how long you have been diagnosed, among other evidence of "no significant improvement," the VA will possibly consider P&T. Once you are in your late 50's, it should be appropriate to ask them to consider change in status. Of course, every case is different, but the "Rubber stamp" approach is hard to overcome.

I know; first time I saw that on mine I had to laugh too. Ebennies isn't going to tell you anything else on your status until the very end. Call peggy every few weeks and see if they can tell you anything.

Terrible...

Karl If you were wounded but the award wasn't submitted by your CO, this is what I found for procedure: on https://www.hrc.army.mil/TAGD/Purple Heart 2. Any member of the U.S. Army who believes that he or she is eligible for the PH, but through unusual circumstances no award was made, may submit an application through the member’s chain of command to the Commander, USAHRC, ATTN: Awards and Decorations Branch (AHRC-PDP-A), 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40122-5408. The application will include the following documents: DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) (Only required for Active Component, Army Reserve, and National Guard); Chain of command endorsement (through the first general officer in the Servicemember’s current chain of command for Servicemembers currently serving); Deployment orders or Mobilization Roster; Officer Record Brief/Enlisted Record Brief/DA Form 2-1, 2A, 2B, or 2C; One-page narrative describing the qualifying incident and the conditions under which the Servicemember was injured or wounded; Statements from at least two individuals other than the proposed recipient who were personally present, observed the incident, and have direct knowledge of the event. Alternatively, other official documentation may be used to corroborate the narrative; Casualty report (if applicable); SF 600 (Chronological Record of Medical Care); and, DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) (if applicable) My question is if you received a Bronze Star for that same action, wouldn't that citation also include the fact that you were wounded in that action. You may have an easier time on getting this corrected if you can get statements from your CO.

Good advise by all. Just the notes from the PT is enough to request an increase. Go for it.

Buck, probably Bronc's advise is correct. It won't mean anything. We now have an option to use ebenefits to make, cancel, and reschedule in some VAMC. I always want to talk to a real person myself but I imagine you can post a reschedule there for a new request date (and show a comment.) But one thing I know you can do to cover yourself: use ebenefits to send a secure message to your doc. Something like " doc, just confirming our discussion on xxx, we agreed to reschedule our video conference scheduled for xxx at xxx. Just a reminder you were going to make a comment that it was agreed to before hand, and it wouldn't show as my missing a appointment." Make a hard copy. They are supposed to respond in max of 3 days. Make a copy of that too. No worries; it's probably an oversite on her part.

Peaches1962 Congrats! It's been a difficult process for you but at least now you will now receive the compensation that you should be receiving, and that is worth a lot more than just the bucks. We hope you can hang in here and help others with what you have learned; help your brothers and sisters thru the process too. When you get your back pay, we hope Peaches that you consider donating a little also so we can continue. Best of luck!

Nice summary of available benefits by Ddsr. Pay attention to the VA benefits matrix at the end, which lists by disability ratings from 0-100%.

Congrats! Hopefully, what you were told shows up in your decision letter. I come from the school that seeing it in writing rather than verbal. Just got to get that letter.

Novass You don't necessarily get another, but they have to be sure that they can eval all of your symptoms, so more than likely you will , IMHO. You might have other MH disabilities that might be uncovered. But be sure you go into this with the clear objectives. One, is you should be going after proper compensation for your s-c disabilities. But also, you want to get better,or in some MH disabilities, be able to learn to minimize your symptoms, as they quite possibly get worse, not better, as you get older. If you ask veterans with serious, debilitating disabilities, the vast majority would trade that monthly disability check just to be normal again. I truly hope that is your mindset also, and try to get all the help you can. And by the way, if you get a rating which is not P&T, the more you show willingness and effort for regular counseling and treatment, the more your records will build to get and keep a P&T rating in the future.

I just saw Berta's earlier post, and I'm sure she is her suggestion will work. If you have to submit a new form, it is anyone's guess as to how long it's going to take to get your records, but i'm pretty certain it is going to be quite a while. The RO's aren't even back to full steam yet and in the meantime, veterans have been sending in requests for files and records and just adding to the piles. If you use a VSO, or lawyer, they can do some searching for you using the VBMS. But if you really want the whole file, that isn't going to work for you.

I have difficulty in reading your attachment, but I would start with writing a letter to the Director?(manager) of the department you received the response from. (NPRC?) Anyway, say there was a clerical error; you want your OWN records, not some other veteran's. A the same time I would call the whitehouse hotline. Speak to a rep and explain. The problem is where we send a letter back to a dept. like that, the clerk who logs in and directs it forward sometimes doesn't understand what you are doing and thinks that the request has already been dispositioned. It just ends up in the shreader. See what the hotline will tell you; you may have to start all over again.

James, I like the way you think!

USMCNEVERFORGET OK, what you can do is write a secure message pretty much confirming what the VA said to you today and send to who ever you spoke to. Make a hard copy. If you get jobbed again, request another C&P exam with all this as evidence. If denied, Whitehouse call. That's what I would do.

Robert Others may disagree with this advise but I would be going after an IMO for one or more of these with a very good doc. Somebody like Dr Ellis, Carpenter or Bash. These are the better ones but they will cost you. That assumes you have the symptoms for these disabilities and can prove your exposure. The VA fights tooth and nail to avoid jet fuels and fluids for causing disabilities. It is going to be hard to get approval. I don't know much of your situation so you may be right about going after ptsd but I would suggest you use mental health issues rather than specifically ptsd. MH disabilities have to be diagnosed by the VA even if you have a diagnoses from your own specialist, so that may have to be from another specialist. Good luck.

By the way, it is in St. Louis, so how Missouri handles the Covid19 stuff will also come into play.

I believe it was reported here before that there were some depts. working all along. But, if you're looking for some records, you know this is going to be used for an excuse for years on the backlog.

Narose, that's terrific! We are happy for you.. Good job. Now, It's probably to late and your expectations are sky high now, but you really need to get that decision letter in hand. Read it carefully and let us know if you have any questions.Congrats!

I would agree with Shrek and deedub75. The way I would approach it would be to try and get an appointment with manager that schedules, like Shrek said. If you present your case and don't get too pushy, I would hope that he could see where you are coming from and grant you a different examiner. If the conversation doesn't swing your way just gently mention that after much consideration you think that if they can't get another, you have made up your mind to go to the whitehouse call line. Ask to confirm that you have the right "spelling of his or her name." Bet it works.

Berta I noticed on your bio that you are "SVR Radio Panelist." What is that?

Bronc I'm just wondering part of the "deny, delay, wait to die" theory. You know, confusing on purpose.

Max Just a caution. It should be rated at 100%, but that is not necessarily a permanent. If it is an active cancer it will remain at 100%. If you require surgery, then after a period of recovery, they will re-eval and if it is in remission, will rate you on your new symptoms. If you chose not to do surgery, called active watching, and you still have active cancer, then it will remain rated at 100% but you will have periodic exams to check on any change. We certainly hope you have a quick recovery.

Kelly and everyone else. I'd just like to tag onto Buck's great advise...SAVE all your letters from the VA regarding your claims. They don't take up a lot of room. And print out a copy of important info like status and "Blue Button" info that might have important info on them as well. Can come in handy when you need them down the road. The VA has IT and data problems like everyone else. If you have it in writing, it's a nice insurance just in case the data gets "lost."

Remisdad Congrats. That is a great win; not easy. I hope you might consider Ms. Tbird's post of yesterday. Hadit can use some financial help and it might be good timing for you. Without donations from our members, especially when they finally get their hard earned wins, are especially sweet. Sharing helps keep this great forum afloat for helping others, just like it did for you. But again, nice win!

Pacmanx1 That is pretty important to many veterans here, as many have taken or still take Metformin. Hopefully, nobody develops cancer from that med but that's what we are about: informing veterans of important news that affect them. Thanks for the heads up.