broncovet

Use the correct form, 21-526 and send it to Janesville. Good luck

YOUR words dont matter that much. Did/does your doctor state your OSA is at least as likely as not due to PTSD? If so, your wording wont matter, just apply. Its all about evidence, and statements from the Veteran are lay evidence only. You need medical evidence.

The obvious answer is to get your medical records, and compare your symptoms to the criteria, to find out if your symptoms warranted 70 percent, or higher way back when. If you do this, you can get an idea of what will happen, that is, if you wind up with a Fenderson staged rating.

Alex recently discussed denials of SMC's. SMC is inferred, whenever you meet the critieria. So, for effective date purposes, you dont have a "date of claim", your effective date is the date you first met the criteria. This changes things. He suggests you simply re apply. I tried to find his post on this, can not locate it right now.

If hubby cant manage his finances, you do it for him and dont mention it to VA. If you think the VA benefits hamster wheel is bad, wait till you get to the corrupt VA fiduciary hamster wheel. Your rating is "protected" after its been in force 5 years or more. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.344 READ the last paragraph: 38 CFR 3.344 C. You will get more protections at 10 years, still more at 20 years.

Here is the REAL reason for the denial: There is no such thing as accountablity in the VA for making gross errors. Now, you need to either appeal it, or try a cue as Berta may suggest. It does take a high level of knowledge and skill to write a winning CUE. Remember, there is significant financial incentive for VA to deny. Why? Well, there is a chance you wont appeal, and, even if you do appeal, there is still a good chance you will die before the appeal is finalized, get too sick to continue, or so tired you give up. Even if you cross every T and dot every i and succeed in winning your claim, the VA still gets an interest free loan from you for at least 5 years or so.

Fight for your effective date! Do not listen to your VSO. You will eventually need to hire a lawyer to win this, IMHO. Virtually "all" large retro's (except maybe Berta's) are won with an attorney. Here is why: Your retro, back to 1970 is surely in the six figure range. VARO employees, GS5-GS11, dont have the authority to sign a document which results on giving you a half million in retro. So, they just deny it. To get your effective date, you are "almost certainly" going to have to go to the CAVC. Even a BVA judge probably does not want to sign on a half million in retro. This is the typical rhetoric that VSO's spout..most likely its to save themselves work. Of course, I have not looked at your file, but, based on what you posted, you should get an earlier date, but it may be a Fenderson (staged) rating.

In another post, Berta gave some great advice. Im going to quote it here, as it echoes nearly every Vets advocate position: The problem is, of course, we never know when the "mystery force" that deletes our most probative evidence" will strike. So, unfortunately, by the time we get a copy of our medical records from VA, they are already out of date. This is a huge advantage a Veteran with access to VBMS has. How do you get access to VBMS? 1. Your attorney. 2. Your VSO. 3. YOU are an accreditied representative who has jumped through all the hoops to get access to VBMS. Yes, I know Vets should get "instant access" to their file. The VA doesnt want this, as that would nullify the mystery force. You could simply resend any evidence that disappeared. Now, we usually dont know which documents mysterously disappeared until AFTER a BVA denial when our attorney sends us a copy of the RBA. This is what causes us significant delays in processing our claim. It often takes many appeals for a Veteran to figure out that VA deleted their most probative evidence via the mystery force. Sometimes Vets never figure it out and give up. Dont do that. VA wins, then. Persist until you figure out which of your documents which disapperared, mysterously, with the documents in VA custody.

Lack of a c and p exam is NOT sufficient, in its self, to show that VA failed to DTA. A C and P exam is "discretionary" for VA. There are some instances where VA would not order an exam. Example: You have no in service event that you had a sleep disorder in service. A c and P exam wont fix this. Your doctor can not opine that an event in service caused your OSA if you had no event in service. In this example, the Va would have 2 choices: 1. Ask you to document an event in service (more information). 2. Deny it.

A deferral is often done because: The VA has completed the development and can decide issue one BUT issue 2 is missing something significant. (That is, maybe missing a Caluza element). Its a favor to you..take it that way. Here is why. You get some income with the decision. And, someone in the Va recognizes claim number 2 is good, but not quite good enough. There is something missing. The nexus statment may not be up to VA standards. It needs to state the examiner read your records. Further, the examiner must opine that your cpap is "medically necessary". The examiner needs to demonstrate he is an expert witness..that is, he has significant training and/or experience in sleep medicine. A phd in sociology will hardly be sufficent to establish one is an expert in sleep medicine. You may need a CV for the doc. Lastly, the examiner needs to give a medical rational as to "why" he said your sleep apnea was "at least as likely as not" related to your PTSD. The examiner could, for example, cite studies that have linked PTSD and OSA in his exam report.

The short answer is "I dont know". Here is a guess. Lets say he owes 6000 in back child support, and makes 3000 VA compensation. Ok, so he would have zero income for 2 months. This could cause him to be homeless. Maybe if you tried again, NOT trying to collect child support in arrears, it may fly. Or, negotiate a "payment plan" with you considering his needs also. You get more flies with honey than with vinegar. Example: In the example above, lets say your child support is 300 per month. And, he agrees he can contribut 500 per month..the new child support plus 200 toward the back child support. If ex agrees to this, that would seem the best and fairest way to make this fly. And..you can try for a "grand slam". A grand slam would be if you speak to him, AND OFFER a sincere apology for times you hurt him. Now, maybe he does NOT deserve your apology. But YOU do. So, you reconcile for your benefit not his. Its highly likely you had "at least SOME part in the split." Acknowledge your portion with an apology..you dont have to rehash all HE did wrong... Often times you need to "rise above" being RIGHT, and what one person said, "Be wrong so that others can be right". If you "give up" your "right to be right", then you could easily get your child support and a reconciliation..now there is your grand slam. No, you dont have to necessarily move back in with him. But you can repair a relationship with a sincere apology. Now, never make an apology that goes, "Im sorry BUT". That is worse than no apology at all. Dont ask, or expect, him to apologize. It may take him more time to realize his mistakes, or he may never realize them. If you get to forgiveness for YOU, then you will be blessed no matter what. One person called it "toxic unforgiveness". Many people will be glad to help if you ask them, but resist with all their might when you try to force them. He may be that way. If you expect "the courts" or the VA to resolve you/your ex's issues, they may do so, but it will often be in a manner that pleases neither party. Did you submit the divorce decree ordering child support? The Va wont likely do it unless their is a court document.

Go ahead and file. You dont have anything to lose, if you were hospitalized for SC conditions, even tho, mostly its about recovery from surgery. If you get denied you can hire a lawyer and, you could wind up with 80 percent of something as opposed to 100 percent of nothing. Maybe your lawyer can establish a precedent ..that mental health issues are just as important as physical health. The VA wants Vets to "get help", and then they want to suggest you "dont deserve" convalescent 100 percent because it was a "mental issue" and filed too late. I suggest you try.

The "protections" for tdiu are no different than the "protections" for schedular. They are here: (notice there is not a different set of protections for tdiu and schedular): If you dont obtain "security" over this, you are unlikely to get that elusive "security" from a schedular evaluation. As far as dating goes, women love disabled Vets...for multiple reasons..security is one. They can help you spend your income and ask you to do things around the house. There are poeple who "insist" on worrying. If they are not "worried" they think there is something wrong. You choose whether or not you want to waste most of your life worrying. I choose not to do that. The reason I dont worry? Its a song, that explains it well. "Im no longer a slave to fear" "For I am a child of God."

You should have tried to fix your exit physical problem earlier..like within a month or at least a year of exit from service. When you file for benefits within a year of exit from service, its presumed to be caused by, or aggravated by service. Ok, now that I have said this, you are in the right place to know better next time. So, remember to ask hadit for questions about future benefits, especially stuff that does not sound right. I dont think you will now be able to "undo" a non exit physical, coupled with not apply for benefits or at least seeking treatment within a year of exit from service. You are not alone..many of us have made similar mistakes. In the future take control of your own health and benefits, and dont listen to VA employees or VSO's who tell you stuff like, "Naw, dont apply for that. If you do, the VA will reduce your benefits instead". If you look carefully at your medical records, especially those within a year of exit from service and those while in service, you should be able to document an in service event. That is the most important thing you need. A diagnosis and nexus you can get later, but you need that all critial "in service event or aggravation" documented or your claim isnt going anywhere.

You have 2 issues: 1. Your health 2. Your benefits as well as those that may ultimately go to your family (especially your spouse). "Getting even" with VA should be no higher than your third priorities, after numbers 1 and 2, above. The VA has made their intentions clear: They dont give a rip about you and your health. Now that you know that, you move on. Many of us already knew that. I agree with Berta in that your top priority is finding a real doctor. Consider the Cleveland clinic, or Mayo clinic. Ask for a referrel, but if the VA wont give you one, go anyway. Spend the money to travel to one of these clinics. You cant take it with you when you go. I like your idea of "all of the above". Basically you need an audience that can/will make a difference. And, no one really knows which of these may work. You really neeed to find a Veteran friendly sympathetic person in VA. Try the white house hotline in addition to those you mentioned.