GBArmy

rey007 No worries. If your combined disability rating is 10% or higher, you can get a VA Health ID card. Take a copy of your decision letter to the VA facility and they can set you up. You will take a picture and they probably will mail it out in a week or two. Shouldn't be a problem. If you were just reviewed as a 5 year, that's good also. Kinda fixes your status. What makes you think your status will change?

And it continues.. The VA issued a statement that they won't issue a position on the 4 new presumptive diseases connected to Agent Orange until the end of 2020 at the earliest. They have to wait for more study results. I'm not lying, MORE STUDY. Seems like 50 years of evidence isn't enough. https://connectingvets.radio.com/articles/va-delays-decision-to-expand-agent-orange-benefits

Agree with broncovet and vetquest. The only thing I would add is if all your evidence is in order as brocovet said, if your evidence on your symptoms is somewhat dated the VA might verywell schedule the C&P anyway so be sure your symptoms haven't changed. (They might overlook it if it is likely your symptoms have gotten WORSE, as that might provide your disability claim to be rated higher. They might not want to jeopardize the chance to low-ball you!) But when you combine or add a claim to an existing claim, it just adds another layer of confusion and delay to the process.

jet187 Good advise given by all. Don't let your filing date expire; appeal. At least go for the HLR with what you have; it will keep the clock going and may get you approval for the ED and scars. At 80% it is hard to get to the 90% combined level, so you want to preserve your chances of moving up if things develop in the future. You may need a few 10's to combine with a new disability to move up. Go for whatever you have coming and don't leave anything on the table.

Yharris. Yes indeed, welcome. Good advise of course from Buck52. Hadit won't relieve your stress, but I think if you ask the right questions, provide the info necessary, and try following our advise, it certainly will make things easier for you. No promises about winning, but we are here to provide helpful info based on a lot of experience from a bunch of veterans that truely want to help our brothers and sisters. So read, ask questions, then repeat. Remember, you don't lose until you quit trying. Welcome.

We aren't doctors, and the VA will not take our opinion on medical matters. If you need to pay for a nexus from a doc to prove your disability, it can make sense to do it. It costs $ because the doc writing a good IMO has a lot of experience and knows what the VA terminology is and what is needed to prove the connection. But you don't just throw $ at it; you have to do your research and get doc that knows what they are doing. If you are very, very lucky, you might have your own doc write it up with help from your outline as to what you need. But most of the time you need to go to someone who has the experience and expertise to get it approved. IMO

ArmChairRanger Sorry to hear you're getting the run around. I suggest two things. If you can and are willing to go to the RO, i'd go there and ask to speak with the RO. Seeing you in person, and, no offense, the shape you are in may emphasize the importance for them to correct it pronto. If that doesn't sound like a plan, I would call the white house number and tell them how well you have been treated. Have all the details in front of you so you can give the dates, etc. You also could put in for a HLR, but that will take a lot longer probably. You might have to do that anyway later, because they will probably short change you on the effectve date.

Ron You have reason to worry; be sure you keep on it and get it straightened out. It may be a simple fix on their end but it can be a nagging problem that will prevent you from accessing info you want.

Vetgirl, Welcome to Hadit. From your very first posting, I can see you can be a valuable contributor here. Come back often.

Waccamawwild, I wouldn't be too concerned. I looked up diagnostic code 5055. The minimum rating for replacement is 30%, so if it is s-c, then you would get 100% while recooperating, then another C&P to see where your symptoms lead you. Like I said, if you need surgery to improve quality of life, don't worry about how it effects your disability rating. Do what you have to do; life 's too short. Good luck.

Best of luck, Shrek. Be patient and be optimistic! 2020 is going to be a good year for you, right?

Hi Ruby brokensoldier244t is correct; nothing to do with age. Actually, no disabilities can be denied because of age by the VA. Meds are probably the right course of action, but I would just generalize it and let the VA do the work. Claim SMC (k) Loss of Use of Creative Organ due to meds taken for s s-c disability. Let the VA sort out whether it's meds from PTSD, diabetes, etc. Pays out $110.31 in 2020 on top of your regular disability grant.

Vync we must have ate the same oatmeal this morning; again I couldn't agree more. One thing still gets me though. The VSO's still say "don't rock the boat." 9 times out of 10 (probably more) that is just flat out wrong. To me, when they say that it either means one of two things: they are lazy and don't want the extra work. Or two, lack of understanding or training. They just don't know about SMC's, etc. I tell everyone that if you want to use VSO, and they are useful, make sure you really check them out before selecting one.

Vync I agree with you 100%. I believe many here agree and have experienced the same. The VA denies or at the very least low balls us and just ignores the evidence. It makes you do two things; either roll over, or, get you so mad you try even harder to right the wrong by go after everything you have coming to you. And we educate ourselves and just go out and try again. And again if need be.

Ronc531 This is a good example of the inaccuracies and inconsistencies of ebenefits. Call Peggy again and ask for it to be corrected. You can also go to VA.gov and under "contact us" try there. Also scout around in ebenefits and see if your profile/personal info has been compromised somehow and try to correct.

You said you have PTSD and suffer from panic attacks, etc. I noticed from your profile that you don't have any s-c disabilities. Are you working on them or have you been denied? Are you receiving medical/professional help? I hope so; if not, ask for help and there are plenty of veterans on this blog that can help you thru the process. Now, as for your flight insurance policy, like everything we buy it is always "Buyer beware." Did you read the fine print on the contract. It doesn't count what a sales clerk told you verbally; it's about what is in the policy. It more than likely won't cover that type of claim. It may list types that they will expressly cover, like illness, but if you consider that the high anxiety that comes to many people when it comes to flying, if they covered everyone who said that they decided it was too stressful, they would go broke. The only advise I can offer is to read it thoroughly and, if you think it is worth the effort, take them to (small claims) court and/or seek legal advise. But get some help with your MH situation air1.

Unconstitutional. End of story.

MKAH Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. If your decision letter says that your COMBINED rating is 60%, you should be making $1131.68 if single, or $1234.68 if married with no kids. For TDIU you must have one disability rated at least 60% or 2 or more to reach 70 combined, with at least one of those being rated at 40% or higher. You make one of the conditions with your hearing at 50%. But if you are total combined only 60%, your short right now. There are other requirements, including unable to maintain gainful employment, but in my opinion, you should be able to get a doctor's IMO that says that if your hearing prevents you from working. You need to come up with another s-c condition which can get you to 70%..Using a VA calculator, I believe it would have to be a 30% additional. If you have included everything on the DBQ, it seems they are recommending disability for depression, anxiety panic attacks and sleep disorder. Go to http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/vadisabilityrating.html and look up mental health disabilities. Also, look up those three they listed. Anxiety, for example, might be able to be rated separately, or, it may be one of the symptoms of one of the mental health catagories you are trying to get rated for. You can't have the pyramid effect; can't be rated twice for the same condition, so you can't get anxiety as part of two different disabilities. I'm thinking you have a shot at getting at least another 30%, which should qualify you for TDIU consideration. You need to wait to get your decision letter, but if I were you, i'd be optimistic. Best of luck.

Berta, like you said, it's a small start. But, thankfully, it is a start. Not only is the VA responsible, but any VA employee should be held accountable for malpractice. Identifying those bad apples is a positive step. If you can get a national VSO like the VFW to co-sponsor, it would be a big push. Thank you for all your hard work.

I am glad that you are still well enough to drive. Lack of transportation for disabled and elderly is really a very difficult situation to overcome. If you don't have someone to help you get to where you need to go, especially medical appointments, it can and does have a significant impact on maintaining health. And if you have physical/mobility limitations, even if public transportation is available ,it doesn't work sometimes. Just by asking a neighbor or friend if they could use a ride can really be of great help. I wish everyone would do that. I'm not saying you have to be a dedicated taxi, but reaching out once in a wile won't hurt.

vetquest sorry to hear about that. Does that blindness come on suddenly, or can you tell it's going to wack you in a while? I assume you can't drive or you are homebound, so SMC's could apply to your situation?

Shrek So how did you do yours? I think there are a lot of veterans who are in the same boat and it would be good to share as much as we are comfortable with in order to help them. I noticed that they are very careful like Alan mentioned to ask your pain level and enter it into the computer. I also noticed that they usually don't ask me where or why; I tell them anyway but don't know if they add that to the file. I'm also thinking like Buck, that they "add" an additional 10%??? or so to cover someone who is in a lot of pain. Maybe they really don't do that.

Vync Submit appeal to BVA and get a hobby.

Listen to vetquest; good advise. Work on it and come back and ask questions.

Morning Readmefilesmail What it is saying is because of your combined rating, you are a candidate for TDIU if you can't work or can't hold a meaningful job in terms of income received. By law, the VA is supposed to inform you of the possibility of the benefit.You have to fill out the form and it goes back on all your employment history for the last several years (5???). They will contact your former employers and ask about your work history, how long you worked there, reason for leaving, interaction with co-workers, etc. So if you were fired for arguing with the boss, that is what they are looking for to confirm you can't work well in a normal work situation. My understanding is it is difficult to do and you may need help with completing it; others can jump in on this. If you can't hold a job, you need to do this; don't put it off.