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dav_marine72
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Posts posted by dav_marine72
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I just want to make sure everyone understands my RO used to be in a federal building. They moved the entire RO office into a couple of floors in the hospital. So I was at the full RO office when this took place.
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Some questions:
"V.A. adjudication division" you are talking about the regional office correct?
"The most recent rating examination will have a box on it for the date of future exams. Whether you have a future exam scheduled is what determines if your dependents have entitlement to DEA (Dependents Educational Assistance) and CHAMPVA."
I definitely have DEA and CHAMPVA benefits. The exam she was talking about is for the 40% they gave my back rating which actually is heading back to the BVA from the U.S. court for an intial higher rating than 20% ortho and 10% neuro from 2000 and 2002 respectively. Granted my TDIU is based on back 50%, mental 50%, asthma 30% and seven other 10s and or 0s. It did not say under my TDIU rating that I would have a future exam. Under my temp 100% for convalescence it said after that my back was bumped from 20 to 40%. Then it said however since there is likelihood of improvement this rating is not permanent. Funny thing is once it gets back to the BVA my lawyer believes I will get at least 40% ortho, 40% right lower extermity and 40% left lower extremity. That would put my back at a combined rating of 80%.
Maybe I should just post my decision on here with private info blocked out for people to look at?
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Hey Delta,
Thanks for the advice. One thing though I was at the regional office. It's in the same building as the health center. I do have a copy of my C file already. I just need to refresh it from this summer when my RO made it for my U.S. court attorney. Thank you for your time.
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So I need to go to the health center for an appointment and to try and get some nexus letters. If anyone remembers I received a TDIU letter without any reference to DEA or P&T yet my SO says he has one. I called the 800 number and they tell me I am 100% P&T. So I show up at the RO and state I need a copy of my latest rating decision because mine does not say P&T. They say we may not have your file here because of your appeals. I'm like you made the decision it should be here. The receptionist gets an RO helper person and I explain I need a copy of the rating for my SS case that says P&T. He brings out a decision letter with a different date that although it looks close to the one I recieved it states I was awarded DEA. It's like I'm in the twilght zone. A different decision copy for them and me. Almost like they didn't want me to know I was P&T. Then I read why they gave me DEA. It states when a Veteran has a disability that permanent and total he or she is entitled to DEA. So I say okay but why doesn't it say I am P&T. Then the receptionist says you aren't P&T you have an exam in 2011. So I say but you can't get DEA unless you are P&T. I said you can be P&T but still have a future exam. She says no you can't. I'm thinking this lady works at the front desk why the hell is she telling me crap that isn't even true. So I ask the rep again why can't they just put P&T in the letter because there is no way I am not. He says I'm not saying anything. I didn't have anything to do with this decision so I'm not saying a word. He then says I don't want to say anything that might not be true because then you will be mad at me. I can sort of understand that logic. However, then in front of everyone in the room (about 5 vets and 3 VA employees) he says I also don't want you coming back and beating me with your cane hahahaha. Then a woman from the VA says oh I want to see that one. I am so pissed by now I tell him (he is a large African American by the way) I'll drop the cane and go outside right now. The woman VA employee then says you must be on too many drugs and laughs. Finally the rep says why don't you go see your SO. I said okay.
I go down and verify yes I am P&T and sure enough in the letter I didn't get it says my back (which is chronic in nature, 13 years in the making, 2 failed surgery including L3-S1 fusion, I am scheduled for a spinal stimulator because I am in 5 times the pain after this last surgery) has a good probably of getting better down the road. My SO does verify I am P&T. I also have 10 service connections together with many on appeal and have a good chance of getting 100% on the schedule because I was 80% prior to TDIU.
I really don't care about the future exam. I am used to fighting these clowns and will win again. It's BS yes but what are you going to do. What troubles me is if I never inquired I would not have known I had DEA and CHAMPVA benefits. Why did I get a different letter than the RO and SO had on file. Then on top of all my troubles here I just go to the RO to get a copy of the decision letter they didn't send me and I have to have a receptionist tell me I'm not P&T when 1 thats not her job and 2 she doesn't have the knowledge to talk to me about my case. I have a VA rep come out and basically say I know nothing and won't say anything. Then he embarrasses me by saying he doesn't want me to come back and beat him with my cane. I thought for once the VA had some integrity by giving me TDIU and P&T which I rate and then I have to find out they hid a letter from me and the VA workers think it's funny I need to use a cane. These people disgust me.
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Hey Gousta,
What DC did they rate you under?
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I'm rated 0% for the chronic right testicle pain and have been appealing since 2001. U.S. court finally tossed the decision. It came about in 1995 while still in the Marines. It seems it was diagnosed wrong as a prostate infection. I applied for sc in 1995 and they denied me. Since I was still normal then I dropped it. Applied again in 2000 got sc and rated 0% based on voiding function or something. Everyone at this point believes it's tied to the back. Bash wrote he thought it was more closely related to a nerve in that area and gave them a dc they could have given me 10% with. Ro flat out disagreed and BVA never mentioned Bash's name. Prior to me getting TDIU in May this year I was 80%. If I can turn all these 0s into 10s along with my back which they only rated 40% after latest 3/12/09 fusion it all goes back to 2000 or 2002. That's 7-9 years of either 90 or 100%.
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Oops I meant interpret MRIs
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I used Dr. Bash for 2 letters (IMOs). My lawyer was able to have decisions made at the RO and BVA thrown out based on his opinions. I paid $3000 for the 2 letters. He will probably help me get $30-50K in back pay. You do the math!
Seriously it depends on your issue. I was able to get TDIU without him but my back was always 20% because I never got full exams and or no VA doctor knows how to interrupt MRIs. In my case he has helped. WIll he help others? Depends...........
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No problem! I'm going to get all my 0s into at least 10s anyway. It's all good.
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SC at 0%. I have like 5 of those.
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Thanks J. yes I have spelled it out black and white for them. Maybe they thought because they gave me TDIU P&T they didn't need to rate anything else correct. This is retro to 2002. I have about 7 sc that are retro to 2002 right now so every 10% counts. I will definitely appeal again. They also denied me 10% for high blood pressure. I have 10 readings on 10 different days where I was either 160 or above or 100 and above. I have been on continuous high blood pressure meds since 1997. It's sc 2nd to my back. Over the years adding mental meds it slowly came down and then when the opiates were added it went to normal 120/80 and sometimes lower. It's proven in the medical field that opiates cause low blood pressure. However, the VA just keeps saying no impairment so you rate 0%. Well the reg says for 10% continuous meds with a history of either 160 or 100 or more. Then it says the readings must be at least 3 on 3 different days. So how does me being on meds for 12 years with 10 readings on 10 different days not rate 10%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I know for me being DDD post fusion at L3-S1 the nerves correspond right down to where all my pain and weakness in my feet are. I know the tarsal falls within L3-S1 just don't have one of those charts in front of me LOL.
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LOL did I say wife or life? Same thing right LOL.
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Well here is the thing. They said it was just for the temp 100%. Then they put a statement in my TDIU reasons as my wife can't work and needs to stay home to take care of me...............So we are filing for A&A....................................
They also denied erectile dysfunction from my back and Zoloft. I let my guard down and didn't get a nexus for that. So off to get a nexus letter. Even the examiner put in her exam that I haven't been able to have sex since late 2006............."is this retrograde?".........................
Then of course they said it was subjective and no doctors had given me a nexus. Of course they know that it's quite typical from a severe back issue with neurological damage (not to mention I am 0% for right testicle pain with torsion) that sex just doesn't happen anymore. Then you have Zoloft which I take the max daily is known to cause ED and or erections without climax. Either one takes my sex wife away. I'll keep playing though because it's $89 a month!
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Update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry I kept this thread going.
I was temp from March to July with SMC based on a sc at 100% and another at 50% and another at 30%.
I got TDIU from May 2009 - on
I was missing a page from my award letter. They did gibve me P&T with chapt 35 and ChampVA. The SO had it on his. I called the 800 number and they said yes you are 100% P&T.
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Yes that's what my denials keep saying Carlie. I'll keep appealing. Anything I get from 2000 - TDIU is gravy.
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Actually I was opposite. Broke both feet than got diagnosed with Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome, then got my back service connected. FYI, my podiatrist sent me for nerve conduction studies which came back negative and he said it does not matter to me you still have TTS. I didn't have the surgery though.
I would file 2nd to back if feet aren't connected. My lawyer just used a similar line to get both my feet remanded at the U.S. court. She stated the RO or BVA never considered that the disabilities in my feet have increased based on my DDD and back. She stated that based on the fact I have sciatica, shooting pains down my legs to feet, and intermittent numbness of the feet they should consider a neurological rating rather than just a muskoskeletal. I don't know if this helps but the feet and back are definitely intertwined. Even the VA examiners said this when I tried straight and 2nd connection for my back to my feet.
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I agree I just got a TDIU P&T win on a Saturday. I believe almost all my decisions have come on Saturdays too. The exception was the BVA.
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Hi David,
You have gotten some good advice here. I spent years trying to pump up my 7 MRIs. The VA doesn't really care nor would you ever see an examiner that probably even knows how to read one. As said earlier it's all about the symptoms and what rating criteria they use. The 0% for your neurological issues is BS. Even I got 10% at the BVA although the U.S. court just threw that out because they should have rated both my lower extremities. The moral of the story is.................don't focus on MRI results even though VA law says they are supposed to look at the full disability picture.................focus on the symptoms for your highest rating.
You have a mental condition 2nd to your neck right? If not file and start seeing a therapist or shrink at the VA. I don't know your whole story but if things get really bad you'll need your ratings bumped up to get TDIU if you need it. I finally just got it after working for nine years in severe pain. I had a surgery in March of this year which was destined to fail. It was an L3-S1 fusion. We all know the more levels the lower the chance of the surgery working. Anyway after the surgery I have gotten worse and became totally unable to work. This is what it had to come to for me to get TDIU. Let me know if you have any questions. I have a ton of time on my hands now and want to give back to Vets. Not to mention over the last ten years I have gotten up to speed on VA law like it's not funny
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They are actually getting data quicker to the 800 # staff. I got ym award letter Saturday and yesterday they verified I was P&T. Isn't getting a military ID card part of 100% and not P&T? I thought P&T only gives you the additional entitlement of CHAMPVA and DEA
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More BVA Cases:
Citation Nr: 0829857
Decision Date: 09/03/08 Archive Date: 09/10/08
DOCKET NO. 01-08 086 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Montgomery,
Alabama
This case also comes to the Board on appeal from an April
2001 rating decision which granted a TDIU rating, effective
June 20, 1997, and established basic eligibility for DEA
benefits. The veteran also appealed for earlier effective
dates. A personal hearing was held before the undersigned
Veterans Law Judge at the RO (i.e., a Travel Board hearing)
in December 2002. A copy of the hearing transcript is of
record and has been reviewed.
Citation Nr: 0604961
Decision Date: 02/22/06 Archive Date: 03/01/06
DOCKET NO. 02-05 066A ) DATE
)
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in No. Little
Rock, Arkansas
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals
(Board) on appeal of a September 2001 rating decision issued
in October 2001 by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Regional Office (RO) in Little Rock, Arkansas. This
decision, implementing a June 2001 Board decision, granted a
50 percent rating for migraine headaches, a TDIU, and basic
eligibility to DEA benefits effective from July 11, 1989, the
date of receipt of a claim for an increased evaluation. In a
February 2002 rating decision, the RO confirmed all of the
effective dates as July 11, 1989.
Citation Nr: 0701476
Decision Date: 01/18/07 Archive Date: 01/25/07
DOCKET NO. 04-09 252 ) DATE
)
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in
San Juan, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
II. Analysis
Basic eligibility for Chapter 35 Dependents' Educational
Assistance (DEA) benefits is established for a claimant in
one of several ways, including status as the child of a
veteran who has a total and permanent disability rating from
service-connected disability (TDIU). See 38 U.S.C.A. §
3501(a)(1)(A) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. §§ 21.3020, 21.3021
(2006).
In May 1998, the RO granted a TDIU, effective October 1997.
DEA was not established at the time because permanency of the
veteran's service-connected disabilities had not been
demonstrated. The veteran filed a notice of disagreement in
June 1998, contending that an earlier effective date for the
grant of TDIU benefits was warranted, and that permanency
should be established for DEA benefits.
School approval forms (VA Forms 21-674) for each of the
veteran's dependents were filed in September 1996, July 1997,
August 1999, and in May 2001.
In October 2002, the Board granted an earlier effective date
for TDIU benefits, effective June 1986.
In November 2002, the RO determined that the veteran's total
disabilities were permanent in nature and established DEA
benefits, effective October 2002 (date of Board decision).
Citation Nr: 0809977
Decision Date: 03/26/08 Archive Date: 04/09/08
DOCKET NO. 06-09 205 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Phoenix,
Arizona
In its January 2005 decision, the RO amended the effective
dates of the veteran's TDIU to April 17, 2001, because the
disabilities that rendered him unemployable had been granted
effective on that date, the veteran had filed his claim
within one year thereafter, and he was shown to be
unemployable as of that date. The effective date of DEA was
changed to April 17, 2001, because that was the date of TDIU
eligibility.
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LOL looks like everyone worked hard today
I think the bottom line is that if your TDIU letter doesn't say P&T you either need to have it clarified in writing by the RO or appeal for the benefits. I am interested since I am have only received a TDIU decision that said P&T, what did others decisions say that didn't have the language? My explanation didn't say anything about no further exams or being temp in nature. I mean I have 11 service connections and my back which is the worst has been progressively going down hill for 13 years. I just think anyone who can't work because of service connections rates DEA and CHAMPVA. If the Veteran could work chances are great they would be carrying insurance and putting money away for their kids college. Anyway the queries don't lie. There have been many decisions over the last few years where the BVA equated TDIU and P&T. Hell this is the same court that didn't want to give me more than 20% for my back. I'd apply if I wasn't P&T. You can't end up any worse off than you are today. -
Oh yes the letters. It seems where my letter stopped at you and your dependents may be entitled to get a military ID for commisary and exchange privileges, the SOs letter continued you on to say based on your TDIU rating of May 2009 we find you P&T and are entitled to chpater 35 DEA benefits for your dependents.
I Visit The Ro And The Plot Thickens
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
Yes that's a good pint. Hence why I am hoping for 100% schedule and SS. Based on that with the spinal stimulator, monthly pain clinic for opiates, monthly shrink visits, etc. I hope I will be able to shoot anything down they try. Can I actually ask for no more exams or is that not an option for appeal? LOL. Wishful thinking right?