GBArmy

Grear advise from LightOfSolitude Fair chance of winning at BVA; not so sure about HLR though. IMHO, the VRO isn't going to agree because he has enough "gray" areas to justify confirming the denial. I hope I'm wrong, however.

Good advise from Pacmanx1. Interurpretation of medical records/documents are not something a veteran is qualified to do in the eyes of the VA. So, you get another medical expert review and submit their opinion of that data. It's like an IMO of someone else's IMO if you want to think that way. I don't know if you have to notarize it, but it is cheap enough or free from a lot of sources. Then you submit as additional evidence. It is an extra step, but if your in service records are critical to proving s-c, do it.

SPO If you go to military misability mad easy it indicates it depends upon how many fingurs are affected on the same hand. http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/thehand.html#onef

SameOldSong I'm not sure what your question is, but I believe you should start it again under a new question. It is going to get lost on this thread. And again, I'm not sure if you are asking for advise or just making a statement.

Mark The VA misses evidence in your records all the time, whether it's on purpose or not. It is just what they do. We just have to overcome what they screw up. The VA takes 3 readings over several days and uses that data from your records or from specific readings they ask you to get at the VA. You can find what they have in your data under "vital readings". See what is there for you. If you have 3 or more findings listed that are high and establishes your new criteria, make a copy as evidence. That's pretty much the routine to establish whether or not you have current symptom for htn. Since you are already s-c for it, it should be somewhat similar to show your worse conditions. What you might want to do is send a request to your doc thru Blue Button (establishes a medical record) and say your b/p seems to be getting worse. He should say go to the VAMC or clinic and get it checked. It will be put in your file (new medical evidence). Assuming it is over 100, you reference your new increased recording in your Supplemental claim. You might want to have a cup of coffee before you take your readings; that's up to you. Point is you have to show recordings in your records somehow. If they aren't in there, you will have to get them put in.

OK Mark, so what is the evidence for increase on headaches or migraines from 0%. Headache log? Do you want to run it by us?

We do have some "old timers" and some go away and come back for many reasons. And the fact of the matter is that usually a veteran or an advocate wouldn't get to the site to begin with if they didn't have some issues to resolve. Once they do, one way or another, some just don't have the interest any longer. I can understand that, but not sticking with it can result in short changing benefits they could be entitled to. Like not realizing a disability they have could actually be a secondary to one that is already rated. You learn that stuff by staying connected and reading other postings. Again, I was just trying to remind veterans to share a little of their good fortune. If you get back pay of a couple of grand, give back a little so this forum can continue on and help others. It sure is a lot cheaper than just going to a lawyer right off the top.

I think the readers of Hadit fall into 2 basic groups: those that are looking for info to help them on a personal level and, those who feel that they can give back to their bother and sister veterans by helping them slay the VA Giant. Those are the two main categories. Now people in the second group realize that in order to be able to help other veterans you have to have a venue to do that. Hadit is that place. If there wasn't a great informative site like here, we would have to find another way of doing it, and because of Hadit's membership, it would be a whole lot less efficient. So, most of the veterans in the second category have made and do make contributions to help keep it up and running. Now the people in the first category are different. They scout around and somehow find Hadit, and they see that they can get really good practical and detailed advise from people that have been there, done that. This message is really to those veterans. If you get and use advise from here, won't you please remember to help others that follow that are in the same boat you were in. When you get your award, make a check or money order out and mail it in. Play it forward so Ms Tbird and keep this going for another 20 years.

Logarius EED can be a complex beast with a lot of twists and turns, but it sure looks like you had a break in the continuous string to keep it going. "Missing JUST a single year" is, well, STILL breaking the continuous timeline. If you want to confirm the directive, look it up in the VA manual M21-1. IMHO your EED is 7/14/17.

Kanewnut My hat's off to you for trying to help another veteran. Again. We can't lose sight of two separate things going on. Yes, it does sound like he has a case for a disability and compensation. But equally important he needs medical help and he needs to start it right now. He should call the VA crisis line and start talking to someone immediately. If he can start getting psychological help then he can start on the disability path. He may need a lot of help getting started but it has to be done. He has to understand he has a problem and he has to take the difficult commitments to help himself. After a few sessions he can ask if it hasn't already been diagnosed if he has a MH condition. If yes, then I would have him submit an intent to file. He can do that just by cally Peggy 1-800-827-1000, or if you want a paper trail, VA Form 21-0966. Either way is fine, and both work ok. That gives him 365 days to submit a formal claim. In the mean time, he is going to MH sessions and building medical health records. One of the big hurdles may be proving he was in a combat zone (DMZ). You said some of it was classified. It makes it so much easier to prove his stressors are s-c. If he has records great. Pay receipts showing combat zone is good; notation on DD214 of foreign service and any Korean service medals is also good. Commendation letters also may be helpful. Personally, at the start of this process, I would also send off to get his C-file. Read up on how to do that here on Hadit or elsewhere. Hopefully, there may also be evidence showing where he was in there. He will need to wright a buddy letter, Statement in support of a claim, and you and others can also. You could talk of witnessing/participating in a conversation with him and his wife being choked. He has to talk to how his MH conditions has adversely affected his life both socially and work situations/employment. If things go well with his psych treatment sessions, he can use the evidence to submit a claim. You, or someone else, possibly with the help of a GOOD VSO will need to assist. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here that can help with specifics on MH issues and I hope they chime in as needed. Help him in this process; it is the right thing for a friend to do.

Shrek, of course, is right on point. Every case is different.Some lanes are quicker, sometimes you feel that you need to explain in more detail to the Judge. Sometimes, the veteran wants no part of talking and freezing up on trying to remember what to say. Go with what fits best. Different strokes for different folks.

Buck I think you might be referring to sleep apnea. The VA denies a lot on the claim because SA is often caused by overweight or obesity, and they connect that with normal aging. I believe binge eating is a MH symptom but the condition results in drastic weight loss. The person overeats but then vomits it all out resulting in weight loss.

Displaced You can't receive a new disability if you are receiving benefits for conditions that are already compensated for; it is called pyramiding. I would expect your eating disorder is rated as a mental health condition. Here is a place to start http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/search.php?zoom_sort=0&zoom_query=eating+disorder&zoom_per_page=10&zoom_and=0 So you need to know what your 0% rating diagnostic code is. If you aren't sure you need to see your c-file and if you don't have it, you should send away for it. You possibly will find some notations in it that will help when they rated your condition. Understand that you have to have current symptoms diagnosed by a med pro/doctor to receive any comp. That more than likely is a psch doc.If your conditions aren't ratable, no disability. If your eating disorder should be rated under a different diagnostic code you could receive a new rating in place of your 0% . Otherwise, you have to show that your current symptoms indicate an increase in your current rating. As for GERD, to connect it directly to your service, you need evidence in your medical and str records. Again, should be in your c-file. If you don't have have evidence in your records, there may be another secondary way thru prescribed meds taken for your MDA rating. Look up the side effects of all the meds that you take. You also may find success there as well. Lastly, once you know what diagnostic code you likely will fall under if successful, you should be able to match up your symptoms with the different levels of compensation. If, for example, you likely will get a 10% for GERD, what would that do for your total overall comp rating with VA Math. There is info on that here on Hadit as well. It is possible that after all the work and expense of a doc IMO and diagnosis, travel, etc. you find that your rating won't improve.Since you are concerned about the cost of this process, you should start by getting you c-file.

SPO This exam was March of last year and you are now going for a supplemental claim I guess for an increase from what the examiner did correct? Buck's advise is good if you just came out of the C&P and knew it was inadequate, but I'm not sure what you would accomplish by calling now. I'm thinking the C&P director is going to say "too late." And to some extent you got to admit he can't just re-do exams over a year back. If word got out that they did that, they would be burried with request from veterans. If you do a supplement claim, they are going to have to give you a new C&P anyway. If you can provide some new and relevant evidence that is. Get something to justify the new supplemental claim. You could submit a IRIS request and explain all the facts and ask how you can resolve the issue. I have no idea what kind of answer you may get so it may be worth the try. Ask for an email response. But whatever happens, you have lost your EED. Keep us informed; your experience can help others with a similar problem.

Gajen Great news! Congrats on the win. 100% club is not easy; lotta work. If you can, when you get your retro, maybe consider making a contribution to Hadit. Ms Tbird does a great job keeping this forum open and it can't be done without contributions from winners like yourself.Nice job.

osidevet You have asked questions regarding the HLR appeal and we have answered. But to be honest, I agree with bronc 1000%. It is just my opinion but the only time I would recommend using HLR is if there was an obvious goof up by the VA, like reading a number wrong or reason for the findings wasn't even in your claim as if they confused your claim facts with someone else. It has to be a slam dunk that your appeal should be granted. If it is a gray area, don't bother. Either go with BVA as Bronc suggests or get more evidence, strengthen your claim and go again. You already had two shots at this. If you have the facts, go BVA IMHO.

MarkP You have to be stubburn Do you really want the Machine to win? No you don't. If you still have time work it. OK, it's a little work up front. And maybe another C&P. Big deal. You can win this. Hope you continue brother.

osidevet Different DRO's will conduct them a little differently but just to give you a ballpark on your consers: It's a dialog; they are going to ask you why you are appealing. Could take 15-20 minutes. Depends on how you want to play it. You can be a little vague and try to convince them when you have your conference call. Again, the difference in the reading taken for your hearing is a factor, but not a major factor. Your HLR is for tinnitus, not hearing loss. So all you are doing is showing that you also had some hearing loss as well, but it isn't the main evidence. What was your experience in the service that exposed you to the loud noises or events that caused your tinnitus. What was your MOS??? Look it up to see if it is considered a likely candidate for hearing degradation. Again, it's for hearing but it is supporting evidence. Your MOS is already part of your service record so, not new evidence. Hopefully you had a statement in support of your claim that talked to why you suffered noise exposure

Hi SPO 5th line " I am able to participate..." Why are you saying this?Or is it a typo? Your whole statement is describing where the pain effects you, which apparently you have to do to show the overall impact, but it isn't very "personal. "Give explicit examples of how it affected YOU and/or YOUR family. For example, the pain in my hip has progressed so such a degree that I no longer can go on bike rides with my... . Or, I no longer can take my daughter for a run (or walk) together on weekends like we always did. A veteran told me once that on a statement "paint a Picture;" give it something that is visual that a rater can visualize and relate to. By the way, be sure to write it up on VA Form 4138 Statement in support of a claim." I would also strongly suggest that you have a family (adult) member or spouse also write one up and include one or two examples of how this disabilities impacts your family or social interaction. Have them talk about something a little different than yours to cover more symptoms. .

bellrungboxer Great job! That is super fast. Congrats. High rating so be sure you get the proper EED on backpay.

Wise Guy It usually is a safer route to get the first disability granted before trying to get another one as secondary. You could do both at the same time but it is riskier. Sleep apnea is not a slam dunk as you might think because of the high rating (0% or 50%.) I would suggest that you go and get an outside sleep study done by a specialist and be sure that if you are found to require a CPAP machine, your specialist says it is absolutely necessary for your health NOT just "recommended." Just because you are diagnosed with SA by the VA DOES NOT mean you absolutely need a CPAP machine, or that it is s-c.. Do research and find out if any of those prescribed meds by the VA can cause sleep issues. Look at the cautions on the prescriptions. If you find the link, you can provide that info to your sleep doc. He/she has to write an IMO that says the headaches are caused by the meds, provide back up medical justification from med articles, research, journals etc. and have a statement that in their opinion t is "ast least as likely as not" that the meds caused your SA. If all you do is say (in your opinion, this med does so and so, it doesn't count. You are not a medical professional.) Same routine for headaches. Research. Get a log and record time, duration, effects of your headaches ex. had to lay down for 2 hours in a dark place, frequency, what may have caused ex. had coffee, drove 50 miles for dr.'s appointment and traffic bad, etc. There are apps also available. Submit that as record on secure messaging to your doc so it is on record. If you can show your MH doc your research and he can put in his notes that X,Y, or Z for meds can cause migraines that wold be great, but don't count on him doing it.IMO I would go for the the PTSD first and get that approved. Then go for the migraines, then the SA. Remember that just because you have a VA diagnosis, it doesn't mean that it is recognized as a s-c condition. Get the PTSD first.

You can still have more than one claim going at one time. If they are the same type, they will combine them together, say 2 FDC issued separately. But you can have two or seperate types of claims open at the same time and they aren't combined. Like a FDC and a HLR claim. For instance, you submit a claim with two or more disabilities claimed, some new and some supplemental. They split them off, the two different types. On the supplemental group, you have a claim with an item denied; you submit a HLR against it. You still have two separate claims being worked on. You can also throw in an appeal to BVA; again, a separate type of claim. As for the letter you received with the dbq link, they just didn't update the template to remove that and they just used it WITHOUT THINKING. So, what else is new.

Dodger It sounds like you understand the deal. The VA will very often seem to ignore some of the facts and you end up getting lowballed. But knowing that, you don't settle, you appeal. As long as you stay within the time restrictions for appeal, when you win, you can get back pay all the way back. Unless they lowball that, then just repeat the drill. Good luck.

slangpdx I don't think you get what we are trying to tell you. We are not trying to justify it; we are just saying that if you want to use the VA tool, in this case secure messaging, you have to abide by the VA rules. That's it. You don't have to comply, and you don't have to use it either. All up to you. It is what it is.

USMCVMO Welcome to Hadit. It is possible to get a disability rating from scars. There are several factors: are they deep or superficial. Are they stable and/or painful. Where they are located also is a factor., if you have other service-connected scars also and quite importantly, how much surface area they cover. They would be assigned a diagnostic code based on those factors, such as 7801 for deep scars, or 7804 for unstable.Here ia a pretty informative site to learn from. http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/scars.html