GBArmy

Alex Just keep doing this and letting us hear about the good news. Makes everyone's day!

That's got to give you some degree of confidence. You spoke to 2 firms that liked your chances enough that they were willing to take your case. It means that they also believe you have a better than average chance to win out. Best of luck to you.

NancyGail Don't discount the work issue; He is TDIU; about $3100 a month BECAUSE he is being paid for not being able to work. If he earns over the max, they will find out and reduce his ratings. They are tied into SS and IRS so understand what the risks are. Maybe he could do some "volunteer" gigs that don't pay but would be important to him?

TominTucson Getting service connected for individual disabilities is of course important. The rating you receive for each individual disability is based on the symptoms that they find, and as we get older, sometimes the symptoms can get worse. If we put in for an increase, hopefully the VA finds in our favor and increase that disability's rating. We all pretty much know that. Monthly disability compensation, however, is based on your combined disability rating, not the individual ratings for a disability. It is called VA Math; just another way the VA winds by their own rules. No, unfortunately, if your combined rating doesn't bump up after a favorable evaluation, your monthly disability check will not be any bigger. But even if your combined rating doesn't move, getting approved for a new s-c disability can be important for you if they get worse. Even a 0% is therefore better than a denial. It could change in the future.

nancygail His disability income is not taxable income. Whether it is counted as "income" for SSI purposes, I do not know but you should check with SS and confirm. You make the choice on insurance, but most people would choose CHAMPVA. Don't take opinions for fact; you should verify any info to see it it should apply to you. And, as already suggested, you should check on state and local benefits, especially taxes. All states have a State sponsored VSO organization to ask about benefits. Often they are state employees, like state of "x" dept. of veteran affairs.Their job is to know and advise about veteran benefits for state residents. Be sure to find out from your town or county about property tax exemptions as well. Congrats on a well deserved win!

Just to add to what Pete said, we should also be aware that not only we are answering a particular veteran's question, but many, many others search here to see if there has been comments posted on their own similar situation. So we really are trying to help answer the current question, but it can be of benefit to many others at the same time, or, even in the future. You don't have to be an expert; no one here is a "professional." But we all have the same motivation, just to help others. It is based on our experiences and what we have learned. The beauty of it is that there is an awful lot of experiences that vary some what and that can offer a different way to attack an individual's problem. And, if someone happens to make a post that isn't accurate or things have changes, someone else jumps on to politely correct the record. I learn from others every day; if you don't learn here, man, you just ain't trying.

edwards7986 Bronc offers the same advise that is routinely offered on here. It is very common for ebenefits to be inaccurate, incomplete or not up to date. Just isn't reliable. The only thing that counts is your decision letter, the BBE, which should show up in a week or so. You just have to wait to see your decision in writing on VA letterhead. Nothing else counts. Be patient.

I agree with Buck; it is a very informative (and entertaining) program. I listen to it on podcast myself; more convenient for me. Another great source of benefit info for veterans. As Mikey would say," try it, you'll like it."

The fax number for Janesville, Wi. is 8445317818. You might send them a one page fax asking what the physical address is. Or, you could try phone # for foreign claimants 2485244260.

The fax number for Janesville, Wi. is 8445317818. You might send them a one page fax asking what the physical address is.

Same for me, but I do believe it can take much longer if it is a sizeable piece of change. (more signatures in Finance).

SPO The problem for a lot of people is not that they don't have a hearing problem, but that it isn't bad enough to meet the VA scale for a disability. In other words, you have to have severe hearing loss to get a disability. It's amazing. I have a terrible time and only got 10%. Two things, however. If you get s-c for hearing, even if it is rated at 0%, you can always ask for a re-eval; those that do most often do get a 10% rating the next time. The other thing is to be sure to put in for tinnitus if it applies to you. They don't give it if you don't put in for it. Again, if you receive any rating for hearing, they almost always give you the tinnitus also. That is 10% if you are granted.IMO.

Hi Daroosta, welcome back. I am curious if you have been granted MH service-connected disability by the VA, or been diagnosed for some disability but it was determined not to be s-c. It seems to me that either you have been extremely unlucky with the people that you have been involved with for your care, or, possibly some of your concerns dealing with people in these situations are due, at least in part, to your symptoms of your disabilities. Others can comment here with a great deal more of personal experiences similar to what you are experiencing, but I would suggest that group therophy isn't the correct approach for you right now. You should continue to search and get a professional who you can relate to and who you can trust. And build on that trust slowly. I wish you good luck.

I ran the numbers on an on-line calculator and got 94.07 for the combined rating. That doesn't round up to 95 or 100%, it rounds down to 90%. Good comments from everyone, however.

Shrek I'd go along with Bronc; get the written opinion and go from there. But, LHI is a VA contractor. I would be really surprised if you did get a favorable opinion. So,you need to get an IMO from a doc and I don't remember if you had the sleep study done yet. If you get approval, it is a50% rating which will help you either scheduler or maybe later for SMC's if you ever were to need it. Defenately something to go after.You are also going to get the run around on getting a copy before 30 days. I'd do some quoting on getting both, if you need both, so you can pull the trigger if you need to get your own IMO in before your claim is denied.

Yes Mike, but you weren't being a bad dude; you were explaining your emotions and how you get to where you feel. I think you did exactly what you have to do. You exposed your real feelings. You did good as Yoda would say.

Mike, we hear you. It can be really hard to control you emotions during a C&P eval. But I think that for non-mental health disabilities, it usually is a better result if you don't become confrontational. Depending on the individual circumstances, losing it may be a favorable result for some MH evals. But, for the majority of the time for other disabilities, from my experience, you are better off not being combative, even if the examiner is a AH. What they write up is pretty important in determining your eval and rating. Believe me, it isn't easy. If you have enough C&P's, you're sure to get some real jerks. You lose it and they take it personal, and bingo, there goes your eval. IMO

Respond179 You want to stay on the same posting thread so we can follow the comments. So, I believe you said that Janesville is sending you a letter. Did you talk to someone and they told you that, or what? No use to speculate; we don't have any facts about what you are trying to accomplish. Wait until you receive it in hand and then, if you have questions, come back here and post it to this tread and we will try to help.

SPO, what I would try is go to the RO and ask them what they can tell you about disclosing what the "new" evidence is. The VA does have a duty to assist, but I assume your next move will be supplement claim. You will need new evidence; if they told you what it was you could figure out whether it is enough or you will need more. Research M21-1 VA manual. Maybe I.1.A.1.c. Amendment to 38 U.S.C. 5103 PL 106-475 amended 38 U.S.C. 5103 to require VA to notify the claimant of any information not previously provided that is necessary to substantiate the claim. The PL provided that such information shall be received by VA within one year from the date of the notification.

I agree with Shrek and Mike; follow their advise. I would sit down and write down what happened. You already said a lot already. See if you can think of anything else, more details, especially how she lead you to answer the questions. Then, I would call the VAMC and ask to have a new C&P due to what just happened . Tell them what you documented. You have the right to answer the questions during the exam the way YOU feel you should. Don't settle for anything less than a new exam and examiner. IMO

Pete, best of luck to you. Leave early for the exam; you don't need Murphy's law showing up in traffic or car trouble for this one. Do you have someone that can go with you; might be a good idea. They are supposed to read same day, so you should get the results soon. Again, good luck brother.

Hi BabyShark Welcome officially to Hadit. This is my opinion and I know others may disagree, but here it is. EED's can be tricky, especially as you are a witness to the slight of hand the VA can do. IMO, again, in my opinion, your effective date is 12/24/19. Today is 2/21/20. You are not going to win much if you should win your appeal. If you go for HLR, you are going to lose because the D;O has enough conflicting info to do so, even if it is wrong. They have done you wrong; sometimes the bad guy wins. Is winning, basically on principal, really worth the aggravation and heart burn for one month's back pay? You're going to have to appeal at least to BVA which will be months away after the HLR if you go, IMO. Would you not be better off punting on this rather than letting it eat away on you for maybe another year? Normally, I would recommend the veteran to go after anything they have coming to them, but for one month back pay I would think for your well being,considering your disability, let it go. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you well.

awgv001 I smell a rat! Of course you can see your own records; duh! Their YOUR records. Check the examiner's record and see his/her experience, degree(education), specialty, how long they have been practicing etc. My money is on 1) a very inexperience examiner; or 2) someone who just started working for the VA and doesn't want to rock the boat. I agree with vetquest. Go to the RO and get your own personnel medical record. I also would document and upload what the examiner said to you today!

Hollie I think you pretty much answered your own question. Like anything else, there are very knowledgeable reps at Peggy, but, as you know, SMC's are fairly complicated. I think the first thing to do is to go to the VA site and try to get the research you think you need. Then, give a try with Peggy. Or, you can post the question here, and one of the elders might know it. For certain, if you message Alex Grahm he would probably have a good answer for you. He's a pretty busy guy, but he's very up on that part of benefits.

Dino Good advise offered here. I would agree this is serious stuff as Buck said; do some background checks on the VA surgeon that you consult with. Find out how long he has been doing surgery, if he has an outside business and history you can look up. You don't have to use that particular surgeon if you have a problem with his past performance. And, it may be possible to get some temp extra comp by way of SMC while you recover; good advise from Buck on that, as well (as usual!)