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Dustoff1970

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Dustoff1970 last won the day on January 22

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About Dustoff1970

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  • Military Rank
    Army Aviation Warrant Officer CWO
  • Location
    High Sierras

Previous Fields

  • Service Connected Disability
    100%
  • Branch of Service
    Army

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  1. Thanks Broconvet. By my mentioning 4.16 that also includes subsection (B) I assumed the vet would read the CFR regulation that includes both (A) and (B). I think vets like I did should do some of the research for themselves and not rely totally on others for everything. Anyhow I am out of here and gone fishing. Please remove my account from Hadit. Goodby T-Bird you should have made me
  2. No again you know I was not misleading or off. You are arguing for the sake of arguing and maybe bored. I rely on not only my real live experience of over 40 years filing my own claims and appeals but also the expert authority sources I mentioned above plus CAVC precedent court cases, BVA decisions, veterans attorneys websites such as CCK and several others and much more. After repeating yourself I am now sure the OP is well aware of 4.16 (B) by now and as I usually say in most of my comments I advise him or her to contact an accredited VSO for assistance and advice in filing claims and appeals and I do so here. Most posters never respond to the advice any of us give anyway so best to go fishing. See you at the rodeo. You are now on my block list.
  3. Dr. David Anaise of Tucson is a 30 year heart surgeon and wrote two successful medical nexus opinions for me that won BVA appeals for Sleep Apnea due to PTSD at 50% with CPAP and also increase to 60% for my AO Heart disease appeal. He charged me for two separate back to back nexus opinions a total of $1500.00 in 2019. He has a website and does everything by phone, mail, email and fax. He is also a veterans attorney accredited by both the CAVC court and BVA and won many claims and appeals for vets like us. You may have to file a new reopened claim using his nexus opinion letter as new medical evidence for the VA raters and if they deny then appeal with an excellent chance of winning the BVA appeal.
  4. You need to chill out. Many years ago when I researched my possibility of applying for TDIU I read in many veterans resources such as the Veterans Advocate, Nexis Lexis VA disability Claims Reference books, Paralyzed Veterans SOAR newsletters for their attorneys and VSOs plus many other expert sources that said extra scheduler ratings were in fact rarely awarded by the Director of Compensation for VBA. This was the case even when VA adjudicators themselves submitted a request to the Director for awarding extra scheduler to a vet claimant. This was why I did not mention subsection (B) in my first comment. So like you I do not rely only on the word of a single VA rater based upon my many years filing claims and appeals with the VA and all were eventually successful. Take a chill pill and call me in the morning. The following ratings I handled myself pro se due to poor representation from DAV VSO. So I do my homework starting in 85 to present. Sorry you were so easily offended. I did offer you my sincere congratulations but you were eager to jump on me. My comment was in no way misleading and you know it. In some of my other posts I have given you great credit for your accurate advice you have give to others but no more. Too hot tempered. Like others on the forum I now list my disabilities for the record. 1998 70% PTSD and TDIU, 2000 P&T TDIU, 2017 AO Heart Disease 30%, 2019 OSA Sleep Apnea 50%, 2019 BVA Appeal and 60% Heart Disease, 2022 GERD 60%, Tinnitus 10% and Hypertension at 0%. 2022 Awarded 100% P&T plus SMC-S backdated to 2017. 1985 PTSD at 50%
  5. In 2017 I filed a claim for OSA Sleep Apnea due to/secondary to long term Nam PTSD and use of strong PTSD medications long term. Both the chicken chit VA C&P examiner and the VARO raters said no and denied my claim saying I was overweight and this caused my OSA. I was not obese but overweight about 25 lbs. This is the standard BS reason they use for denying OSA due to PTSD or MH issues. However, like many overweight vets I won my appeal at the BVA due to honest board Judges and their attorneys by submitting a private heart doctor's medical opinion or nexus letter in great detail explaining how and why PTSD causes and aggravates Sleep Apnea. Thanks to him and the BVA I was awarded 50% with CPAP and also this automatically entitled me to extra SMC-S award. You will probably need such a nexus opinion from a doctor or qualified specialist and appeal the claim to the BVA. I believe Hypothyroidism is now a presumptive service connected condition under the recent PACT ACT and if your service records show you were exposed to Agent Orange at the time and place that is recognized by VA. You should consult an experienced VSO found at VA regional offices for assist on your claims. Under the PACT ACT and Agent Orange ACT you need only a diagnosis and proof of in service exposure. It worked for me on a heart disease claim and also Hypertension, etc. My comment is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer, paralegal or VSO.
  6. According to former senior DRO achieving an extra-scheduler TDIU rating is extremely rare and in his 30 years with VA claims adjudication he recalls only a few times a vet received the extra-scheduler rating under 4.16B. Of course he could be lying. You are one of the rare ones evidently. Congratulations!!!!. By the way Title 38 4.16 includes both subsections (A) AND (B). Just saying. No off at all. One time overseas a fellow airman wanted to argue how many angels could dance on a pin head. I said don't waste my time.
  7. Here is a good explanation of VA math for rating disabilities. No one can explain it better. This information is from a veterans attorney website. How Does the VA Rate Disabilities? "When it comes to service connected compensation claims, the VA takes the view that it should not add whole numbers together to get your rating but, instead, the VA takes percentages of percentages. It is as if the VA says if you are 10% disabled then you are 90% healthy. Therefore, the next rating is not added but is used to take a percentage of the ‘healthy’ 90%. So for a veteran with two 10 ratings the first ten percent rating would be 10% of 100, which is 10%. The second ten percent rating would be 10% of the 90% (again the ‘healthy’ percent of the veteran), which is 9%. So the combined rating would be 19%. The percentages are all rounded up or down to the nearest ten percent. Here, the rating would be rounded to 20%. The combined rating system starts to work against a veteran when he gets closer to 100%. It gets harder and harder to get that higher rating, especially once a veteran is over 50%. For instance, if a veteran has a ratings of 50% for PTSD, 50% for Sleep Apnea, a rating of 20% for diabetes and 20% for a back problem the combined rating is 80%. So even though 50+50+20+20 equals 140 in real math; it is only 80 in VA math. The difference that it leads to in compensation is huge. According to the VA compensation rating table, a veteran, with no dependents, rated at 80% would receive $1,877.43 per month. A single veteran rated at 100%, on the other hand, would receive $3,456.30 per month. This veteran receiving a rating of 100%, which is only 20% greater than the 80% rating, gets almost 100% more money a month!" _________________________________________________________________________ The sometimes easier and faster to get a 100% rating and pay is to claim your 80% disability/s render you unemployable and unable to work due only to your VA service connected disability. You do this by filing a IU or TDIU claim on the proper form and submitting solid medical evidence to support your unemployability and TDIU claim. You must not be working at a gainful employment income level and should not be working at all and receiving earned income. Also at least one of your disabilities must be rated at 40% and the others combined to add up to 60% or more to receive the TDIU rating. Also a doctor's nexus opinion letter stating in great detail why your disabilities render you unemployable. Title 38 CFR 4.16 of the VA CFR regulation covers the minimum requirements you must meet for TDIU. As an example. In 1998 I was rated TDIU due to a single 70% PTSD rating and in 2000 this was made permanent. I met all of the above requirements and the VA C&P Psychologist examiner agreed my PTSD rendered me unemployable. I did not need a separate doctor's medical IMO opinion or nexus letter due to my long term PTSD ratings starting in 85 and combat awards to include the PH. Extensive long term VA medical treatment records for PTSD was a big plus for my TDIU claim. My comment is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer, paralegal or VSO.
  8. In 1985 and 1998 I was diagnosed with VA 50 and 70% ptsd and then tdiu p&t due to Nam combat that included a leg wound and head concussion.
  9. I made everything simple and easy for me and the VA raters by providing with my heart disease claim copies of all my extensive test performed at the hospital heart institute under supervision of my private heart doctor/surgeon. I simply returned to his office later and requested copies of those test that I then made copies of copies and sent in with the claim and in short order the VA gave me 30% for heart disease. Medical records were clear cut and straight forward!!!!! I have no idea if the private surgeon sent anything back to the VA after they mailed him my signed ROI and did not care as I already had it all. No need to make a simple procedure complicated and at age 75 I was not worried about anything including reduction of my other ratings and still no worries at age 77. etc.
  10. In 2019 I submitted a claim for Agent Orange Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD/CAD) with a (2014) diagnosis from my private Heart Surgeon and also copies of extensive heart testing procedures and medication prescriptions. The claim was quickly approved with initial 30% rating. The VA also sent me the same form for me to sign for release of medical records from the private surgeon and I of course signed it with no hesitation. As far as I know the surgeon sent VA raters same medical records as I earlier provided to the raters with my claim. Even if you do not return the signed form to the raters they will after a short time proceed with adjudicating your claim based upon all the medical evidence you have sent them (copies only). They are required by regulation to send you the ROI form. I was already rated with P&T TDIU due to 70% Nam combat PTSD for over 20 years so I did not need a doctor's nexus letter showing a connection between my IHD and Army Service as the AO act presumptive list included IHD/CAD for vets exposed to AO and boots on the ground in Nam. The medical evidence you listed sounds solid and especially the doctors nexus letter. However, I would suggest you sign the ROI form and send it to the raters as your doctor may add additional helpful details/info that will be beneficial to your claim. Later on appeal to the BVA board I received an increase to 60% for IHD/CAD and a nexus letter from another private heart surgeon was required to win this appeal. His medical opinion went into great detail and analysis why I should be increased above 30%. Also included other reputable medical references to support his opinion. My claim and appeal awards were backdated to 2017 when I filed my claim for IHD/CAD. My comment is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer, paralegal or VSO.
  11. Thanks for that info and congratulations. My ETs are minor for now so I will stay on Primidone until they get worse, then will consider your other treatment option.
  12. I have had excellent results twice from Dr. David Anaise in Tucson. He does everything by phone, fax, regular mail and email. You will have to send him any and all copies of your medical records to include SMRs(if any) treatment notes and diagnosis, etc. along with your personal statements as to your medical problems, etc. Also send copy of the examiner's dbq that you just posted. In separate medical nexus opinions for me he helped me get 50% for Sleep Apnea due to PTSD on a BVA appeal and also received increase to 60% for Agent Orange Heart disease also on a BVA appeal. If you receive a denial from the VARO before you receive his medical opinion then you can immediately file a Supplemental Claim including his nexus opinion as new evidence or you can make a straight appeal to the BVA using his opinion/s or another specialist nexus opinion. For both separate nexus letters he charged me a total of $1500.00 as both issues were back to back denials from the VARO raters requiring me to appeal successfully to the BVA. I did not have his medical nexus letters when I filed my claims for Apnea and Heart disease increase. He has a website in his name and is a long time heart specialist and surgeon and also a veterans attorney to practice before the BVA and CAVC court. My comment is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer, paralegal or VSO.
  13. Here is my real life recent example. Since 1998 I was rated P&T TDIU with a single 70% PTSD rating. Then in 2022 I received additional 50% for OSA Sleep Apnea from a BVA appeal and existing 30% for Agent Orange heart disease that combined totaled was 80% and more than the required extra 60% needed for the SMC-S award. The VARO raters then upgraded me to 100% P&T with SMC-S. Everything was back dated to date of my claim in 2017. The Sleep Apnea and Heart disease sc ratings were separate and distinct medical issues from my long term PTSD. Since then I have received 60% for AO heart disease from the BVA and 60% for GERD, 10% Tinnitus and 0% for Hypertension from the VARO raters. The rules and regulation regarding requirement for SMC-S awards have been in effect for a great many years. My comment is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer, paralegal or VSO.
  14. For over 20 years I have taken written copies of my medical records and arguments/statements contentions of my medical issues to the VA and contractor C&P exams for the examiners to read and keep for later review and in majority of cases they have done so. Sometimes they briefly read the material and other times they keep it. Their choice to do or not. I also sent the very same copies with my claim to the VARO raters and again majority of time i won my claims. The extra work on my part was well worth it. Examples given below. In recent years QTC exams for GERD, Tinnitus and Hypertension (HTN) were very successful and I was quickly awarded 60% for GERD, 10% Tinnitus and 0% for HTN. The Tinnitus and Hearing loss exams were conducted back to back within less than 2 hours. I never rely on the supposed fact that examiners and raters already have all this medical document evidence in my claim folders. It is possible that your medical treatment notes, diagnosis and other evidence will offset any negative opinion/s from the examiner and/or will be grounds for later appeal. You may also have to get another doctor's or specialist opinion in your favor. 1. In 1998 I submitted copies of my statements, unemployability due to PTSD and prior VA diagnosis treatment records regarding my serious PTSD symptoms to the VA examiner and quickly received a 70% PTSD rating with TDIU designation. He kept my copies after reading thru them. 2. In 2023 I did the very same thing for QTC exams for GERD, Tinnitus and HTN with quick positive results. They read thru my copies then entered info into their computers and returned to me in the office. My comment is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer, paralegal or VSO.
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