GBArmy

Congrats! Try VA.gov & Ebenefits for "letters" and "payments". You may see a little more info before your 7-10 wait for the letter. Try calling "Peggy", play dumb, and ask leading questions. Like I have been awarded SMC "o" or what ever. Can you look at my rating sheet and tell me if it rated as "static". She may say no, there is notation for it, or, something. If you're pplite, sometimes you can get info by asking leading questions.

Sorry, the correct link is here https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5764

The VA is looking for comments on changes to the disability criteria for sleep apnea (OSA), tinnus and for MH. On mental health, there could be some positive movement on symptoms criteria for the min and max ratings. Min could move up to 10% instead of 0%. Kinda hard for my brain to wrap around someone having a MH disability and it is rated as 0%. Max could be reached without having to meet all the criteria for 100%. https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/suite

Can't comment directly about your ankles; you need a specialist to provide an nexus/IMO to get all the potential secondaries. But that said, don't forget that you may also be able to claim Scars as well.

Dustoff 11 Congrats to you; sometimes the good guy wins! Nice to hear. You may want to consider making a donation from your back pay to Hadit so we can continue to advise and hear great news like yours; That is, if you haven't already done so. In any case, congrats!

Hi Bennyb444 Welcome to Hadit. Yes, veterans can be compensated for barbae, possibly with diagnostic code 7800. Search BVA decisions to see if you have similar symptoms as described in the cases. Certainly, you must have str/service medical records of the event. see this article https://cck-law.com/video/disability-ratings-for-skin-conditions/

Not all VA raters are negative; many actually do a good job. We just kinda focus on the negatives because that happens a lot and we want veterans to try to prepare for those. It really isn't unusual for the VA to add additional disabilities if the evidence is there to be able to do it. Good for you.

I had a BVA direct lane 6 months ago. Also, because of age, I automatically received an advance on the docket. Took me only 2 months. But if no hardship exists on your criteria (age, terminal illness, financial difficulty like homelessness, etc.) they are about 15 months now. Yes, it is getting worse, but if you file with New evidence, its going to be a couple years now at least. That's why you should present all your evidence to the RO first, then you don't have to go to the new evidence lane at the BVA.

This would be a great example why a veteran should NOT use the HLR appeal process. Go to BVA no new evidence lane if you are confident that the VA didn't eval all your evidence. Check the decisions on their BVA site and see if favorable results were given with evidence such as you have. Then submit direct to BVA. If, by chance you need to get additional evidence, such as an IMO from a doctor, I would submit an supplemental claim first. Let them deny if they will, but now you have that new evidence in your file. Then, you file direct after the denial from the VA. Otherwise if you go to the BVA with new evidence, the evidence lane will take years longer to get a decision.

Welcome to Hadit Gulfwarvet1990 The covid pandemic has messed up a lot of processes and it may be the case for you. A HLR for you that is 2+ months old isn't terrible. Did you request a conference; if so, that is even longer. I would suggest calling the VA info line for claims, 800-827-1000 and see if the rep can shed any light. Ask if it is in queue and is it assigned yet, when you might get a schedule for a call etc. The rep may not be much help but it is shaking the tree a little and you may get them to move on it. You also could talk to a VSO that has VBMS, which allows them to see certain things on your claims file. Most county VSO's have VBMS. More importantly, if by chance you get denied, I wouldn't give up. I would get a good lawyer to appeal for you as the EED process can sometimes a some issues that they are more accustomed to handling. 80% of back pay would be a lot more than 100% of nothing if you were to be denied. Just be sure to be timely if you have to appeal. Keep the appeal string going by submitting within 365 days of the denial of your appeal.

Agree with Berta and Mr. B. You should talk to your M.H. advisor/doc and get them involved in your situation. Getting a volunteer job at the VA where you are in a better environment with others that may better understand your disabilities is a great place to start. Start slow. maybe greeting people or pushing a wheelchair patient to their location, working in the cafeteria cleaning tables. Something . An hour a day , or whatever. I'm sure you can find something and your doc can help facilitate. Don't quit; give it a good try. You may surprise yourself how good you feel afterwards. Remember this, "you don't lose until you quit trying."

Unfortunately, Broncovet is right. But no matter what, if you want to win your claim. you have to have evidence from a medical professional that a causes b. It's the law. Maybe, as Broncovet said, just maybe the C&P examiner will provide that finding. I've had it happen, but it truly doesn't happen nearly as much as it should. The med examiner sees what your evidences is and can quite often just provide it in their opinion, but usually doesn't happen. So, I tell veterans know what the diagnostic code says for the criteria of symptoms for rating your disability. Be realistic and determine that you SHOULD be rated at say 10% or 30% (not the pie in the sky 50% or 70%, etc.). If you get it by paying an outside doc for their opinion or IMO, how long will it take to get the money paid back? Think of it as an investment. You will NOT win your disability claim without a medical opinion. Often, the only way to get the evidence is to make that investment.

You have to prove by medical evidence that the secondary disability, headaches or migraines,are caused or a direct result of your already s-c disability. Which ones did you try to connect? You are not the doctor, so your opinion isn't going to fly; you need a doctor/medical person to opine that a causes b. Did you have a diagnosis and an opinion that one or more of these s-c disabilities causes your migraines? Did they provide medical studies/published evidence of the connection? No? Did you provide personal statements (Statement in support of the claim, or Buddy Letters) to support? Then get the evidence and re-submit a supplemental claim. The VA doesn't deal in common sense. Just because it is common knowledge that a causes b, you need to have the evidence. Get it; you can win this.

mwillis71 That's the spirit. You don't lose until you quit trying! You can submit an appeal, supplemental, HLR etc. the next day but I would suggest that you should have 1) your decision letter in hand (sounds like you have it.) And 2) a copy of the C&P exam. You may be able to get it from your RO at the Release of Info office. You also could request thru a FOIA request as well.You want to keep the time-line going certainly so back-pay is still in play. Lookup the requirements for migraines, diagnostic code 8100 to understand what you need for the higher rating. If for example, you do have to shut everything down and lay in a dark room until the headaches go away, then get that info in a letter from your doc and submit. Include a log of your headaches duration date time etc. for a month or 2. Some use Migrain Buddy, but it isn't necessary. Do you take meds for it, including aspirin etc.; if so, include that in your doctor's notes. Have a Statement in support of the claim and include how the headaches effects your work, or social life, interactions with others, etc. If they are rating your headaches at 0%, then it is a separate disability and it should be rated higher. Lastly, use the disability rating calculator and figure out if an increase from 0% to 10 or 30% will move your overall combined rating. If it doesn't, you may not want to appeal as you are already rated, I believe, at 0%. That is a consideration the veteran has tor consider as well.

Broncovet Good to hear you are doing better now. I agree with your comments regarding VA Heath Care. Pretty much the same experiences; mostly younger medical staff with a lot of ojt, mostly nice careing professionals. Once in a while a bad apple, but nothing like it was 10-15 years ago. Wish you speedy recover brother.

I agree with Vync. How things are done may vary thru out the country depending on a lot of factors such a training, equipment availability etc. But the VA bends over backwards in making sure you get notification for the connect. It is more cost effective and process improvement once everyone is on board with it.

Dave You need your C-File. Get a VSO that has access to VBMS and they can look (and provide) a copy of all your records. This is a great example of what I tell veterans all the time. Always, always make a copy of what you send and what you receive from the VA. Sure, now that everything is digital, it SHOULD be right there in plain sight. But, somehow, it gets "lost" anyway. With old guys like us with only paper files, it is even worse.And, of course, never send the original copy you have: make a cpoy to send in. I'm betting there is evidence in you C-file that will show what happened and that is where you have to start.

Corwin No,no experience. You will need a strong IMO from a medical person. I am curious though. Why don't you pursue a MH claim. You may get a 30% or higher and that would set the stage for TDIU and 100%. If you have med records of counceling/treatment, why wouldn't you? Certainly with a heart condition, depression and/or anxiety come into play even if PTSD doesn't. Pick the low hanging fruit IMHO.

12thcavmedic Welcome to Hadit You could do a couple of things, but this Covid thing really has slowed down the claim process with the VA. Call 800-827-1000 which is general info desk. They have very limited visibility on what they can see, but they may be able to shed some light as to where it is and what may be holding it up. Since it is cancer, I would ask the rep also if they can put a hardship notation on your file due to the cancer. Secondly, if you did the claim yourself, you can go thru a VSO that has the ability to actually see more info as to what your claim is doing thru VBMS. Not all VSO's have this authorization. If you are close to a county VSO, they would be able to do this for you. Overall, it is not a process that is quick these days, so don't read anything into the delay. Good luck to you brother.

Good advise by all but I must emphasise that it is a secondary claim. You must have a doctor's opinion that a preexisting service-connected condition is the direct cause of new condition. A causes B; no matter how much common sense it is, if you don't have the doc's statement, no tickie no laundry LMHO.

Hi mwillis71 Welcome to hadit. If you feel that there is more than one you can make it secondary to, pick the strongest one. Since it is secondary, you need a doctor's opinion of the cause and relationship. I'd go to a specialist and and get a diagnosis that links them. Must have medical evidence for secondary; get an IMO if you can. Hint: look up any meds you take that cause stomach issues ex. aspirin. Studies how it can cause GERD. Maybe meds for MH you take?

Jos, Grent has tagged onto your posting so it is going to get confusing. I would suggest that you re-do on a brand new posting. Short answer is the veteran has the disability, not the spouse, so no you won't get any disability benefits. But there are some things possible to obtain, like DIC or survivor's pension. As for assist equipment, not likely available to you from the VA, but local veteran service organizations, like VFW or DAV may be able to help

Rivet62 Call 800-669-8477 See https://benefits.va.gov/INSURANCE/forms/29-4364.pdf

msh2930 The easiest way to get it is call 800-827-1000 and tell the rep you need a letter from the VA on their letter head that says he is rated 100% and is service-connected. Shouldn't be a problem. If you want to do it yourself, go to va.gov and sign up to be in the system. Fairly straight forward. Once approved, you can print out several types of letters from the VA depending on what info you select. But easiest way, just call the number, or have a VSO do it for you.

It's been a looong time since I was discharged and we didn't have the process like now. Check out Benefits Delivery Discharge (BDD) here: https://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/general/BDDFactSheet.pdf Understand the process, and be sure you keep a copy or original of EVERYTHING you submit to the VA. Believe me, they can "misplace" anything and if you don't have a copy you're up the creek without the paddle. If you can't figure it out, see a GOOD VSO (maybe county?) that understands the paperwork process needed. But keep in mind the time table and be sure you submit before discharge.