broncovet

Vets lady: There are quite a few benefits to you/your husband. They should have classes in college on Vetrans benefits. States often have benefits for Veterans, also, to ge more on your state, go to: http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showforum=64 Some examples of state benefits for disabled Vets are property tax exemptions for at least two states, Ohio and Texas, free license plates in some states, free camping and/ or fishing licenses in some states for disabled Vetrans. Some Vets get free or reduced tuition at state colleges. Especially after you get your hubbies 100%, then you can get a military Id card for use at a commisary/Post Exchange in your area. The one in our area has stuff and does not charge any sales tax. This id will also get you discounts (often 10%) at many places. I can think of several. Verizon cell phones, Lowes, Home Depot, and at least one Waffle HOuse all offer about a 10% discount with military or disabled military ID. Also after hubbie is 100%, you become eligible for health insurance through Champva at no cost. (If either you or him was a government employee, then it might be tricare instead). You can get aid and attendance benefits for you if you need special care and your hubbie is 100%.

Carlie, Larry is planning on resolving the backlog scientifically, in the same way the VA does. He is going to reduce the backlog one claim each year, for the next million years. Then in year 1,002,010 the claims backlog will be resolved as long as no more Veterans ever file for benefits. In geologic (scientific) time reference that wont be much of a wait at all.

Sandy The VA is good at making huge mistakes that hurt Vetrans, then repeating them on a national scale. Yours is a good example why we dont need rating specialists. The doctor can just simply input your disability rating that he determines on a computer, and you get a check. There is no need for a rating specialist to go over what the doc thinks then screw it up with his lack of knowledge.

Judy There are some very specific rules the VA is required to follow when they reduce a Veterans disability rating. The courts have ruled when they dont follow those rules precisely, the Vets rating is restored as if it was never reduced in the first place. For example, the VA must give the Veteran 60 days notice that they are reducing his rating. If they dont send the required notice, the court will give the Vetran his rating back. If you did not get the notice, and the VA cant come up with evidence they sent the 60 day notice, that is CUE and you should get hubbies rating back.

Does anyone know about "lost" travel pay? The VA pays Vets, 41 cents a mile now, I think, to and fro the hospital, under certain conditions. I wonder if you can get "back" travel pay after you get awarded your benefits. Also, I agree with Quint..that a Vet SHOULD get his funding fee back. In other words a Vet has applied for benefits, and the Va has the usual several year delay. So the Vet buys a home, and pays a funding fee. Later he gets his benefits. Since the Va waives the funding fee for 10% and above Vets, the Vet should get his funding fee back. That is usually 1% of the loan, on a $100,000 home that amounts to $1000 back to the Veteran. The more I think about this, the more I realize that the Va screws over Vets when he makes em wait for years for their benefits, since many of these benefits can never be recovered. A few examples of "Lost benefits" that Veterans wont ever recover are: 1. Commissary benefits. This stuff is cheaper, in my town, and I did not get the id card until May, 09 even tho my effective date was 2007. So Vets waiting on benefits will get screwed out of commissary benefits and I doubt they can ever be recovered. 2. National Parks fees. Each national Park with a fee is supposed to be free for 100% P and T Vets. Of course, the government gets and keeps the money while the Va is processing his claim, and I have no idea how to get that money back.

Hmmmm..well it would be worth quite a bit for you to loose the hat..say, $10,, but I just dont know about the poppy. Isnt a poppy where heroin grows? I am thinking that If I want drugs, I should get them in the proper method, that is, go to the VA hospital and tell the doc that if he doesnt give me drugs, I will apply for VA benefits and ask all my friends to do the same. Of course, the doc has heard that one before and told me that if I didnt sign this "constent to withdraw VA claim" he would not give me any more drugs. So I signed the form but when the doc left the room to take his cell phone call, I opened his desk and switched my drugs for the bottle he was taking. So, the next time I went back to the VA, I asked the doc if he still wanted to apply for his benefits. The doc said no, and left. So I settled down into the VA docs chair, and pretty soon a Veteran came in and asked me how I got to be a doctor. I told him I didnt remember, but if he would not tell anyone about it, I would give him some drugs.

Here is one example of "lost benefits" that a Veteran can recover: Veteran files for disability benefits in 2002. VA does their usual delay/deny methods but the Veteran persisits and wins his benefits effective in 2007. In order to recover his benefits, the Veteran will need to go back to the VA hospital and file for recovery of his copayments on prescription drugs, usually at the "means test" department of the hospital. When a Veteran becomes 100% his co pay is zero, but while he is waiting for his benefits, he has to pay about $8.00 per month in many cases for each prescription. The Va is ruthless about collecting their money, and will deduct it from your tax refund check, and even charge you interest. (The VA has a policy of charging Veterans interest on monies the Veteran owes, but, when the VA owes the Veteran money, the Vet gets no interest) The VA wont automatically send the Veteran a refund of the copays..the Veteran has to apply for it. Please post your ideas on other "lost benefits" that a Veteran can get.

Thank you Berta and Judy. The "theory" is this: Once you have passed the one year mark on a decision, you can NEVER go back. However, if I timely filed a NOD, there is nothing wrong with me withdrawing that NOD at a later date because it no longer applies. I once knew a International Chess Master, who tutored me in the game. He told me to "make the move that leaves you the most options AND leaves your opponnet the most ways of going wrong" . That is, dont burn down any bridges before you cross them. Bottom Line: If in doubt get the NOD out. Dont make the mistake of waiting too long to file a NOD. Late filing of a NOD past the one year period gives the VA just one more excuse to deny. If we want to win our claim we want to remove as many excuses to deny as we can. I think this should be posted on the front page of hadit. Many, many Veterans regret not filing a NOD within a year, but I have never ever heard of one who said, "Gee I wish I would have never filed that NOD on time."

Congratulations Larry Now I need to know where to send donations so you can buy a decent hat.

What Dunne meant is that another research study costing the VA $40 million should be done because his brother is a research study contractor, and wants more money from the VA because he already used up all the IT jobs money. The VA does not need any "more research" on giving Veterans pay raises. Why wasnt research done to determine if VA executives should get their bonuses? Because we already know the answer. VA executives dont deserve bonuses and Veterans do deserve a raise. The VA has gotten HUGE increases in funding from congress. And the VA is doing their best to make sure as little as possible of that extra money will find its way to Veterans, and as much as possible of that money will find its way to crooked contractors who pay off VA executives, and to Veterans Employee executive bonuses.

Pete I think the VA has very good reasons to be afraid of Veterans that they have made homeless, delayed or denied their claim for years etc! I keep thinking some Vet that the VA "put it to" (there are millions) is going to go off the deep end and take some weapons and hold VA employees hostage while he demands they work his claim. I just hope the hostage situation would make the 6:00 news, I am actually surprised that it hasnt already happened. (Maybe it did happen and the VA just kept it quiet because they did not want to answer why it would take 10 years or more to "process" a Vets claim). Maybe that is why VA hospitals are so liberal at giving out PTSD Vets drugs. Its like the VA is saying..."well, no we wont give you any money for your PTSD, but here are some drugs instead. Wouldnt you rather we give you drugs, than to give you money, because the drugs YOU would buy are not as good as these. These are prescription quality drugs, and you just never know what you would be getting on the street."

Judy If your most recent claim is withing the year, like you said, I would file a Notice of Disagreement where you are disputing the effective date. I am doing the same thing myself, and, tho I do not know the result yet, I am going on the assumption that, since I filed the NOD within the 12 month period, I do not need to meet the strict CUE standard. The good part is that I can always file a CUE later, for example, if I am unsuccessful at my appeal, as there is no time limit on CUE. So could you. I am just trying to help here. Berta is very competent and experienced..much more so than I am, so I would take her advice over mine any day. I really dont know what would happen if you went "the other way", that is you filed a CUE for an eed, and the BVA determined that a CUE was not necessary because you were within the one year period. I just dont know if the BVA would be nice and tell you that, or if they would just deny the CUE on the basis that your claim did not meet the strict CUE requirements. You see, by then, it could be too late (after a year) for you to file a regular appeal, because most appeals take a couple years, and by the time you got an answer from the BVA it would be way past the one year appeal period. I still think the best way for you to MAXIMIZE your chances at winning your claim is to file a Notice of Disagreement for an EED to your most recent claim. If your appeal is denied, you can still CUE an earlier decision. It gives you two chances to win, not just one. Its kind of like carrying a spare tire. You never know when there will be a nail in the road. PS..I just dont think the BVA will bring up any issues that you do not. That is, if you file a CUE, and they dont think you met the cue standard they would just deny you, and I dont think they would "assume" you meant to also file a NOD, which has a lower standard than CUE.

Your VSO says that you not recieiving a SOC is "unusual". It is not unusual, its a violation of your appellate rights! Further, they did the same thing to me, I have never gotten a SOC on a NOD I filed in 2004, 5 years later! You could be still another victim of shredding. I would file a "Special Handling Request" due to shredded evidence, and explain that since you have not received a SOC in more than a year, your NOD must have been shredded! Send it Certified mail return receipt requested. If no response from the VA within 3-6 months, complain to the VAOIG AND file a Writ of Mandamus.

VETS Lady You said, "We did file for TDIU as he is eligible. Or so we thought. He filed his original VA claim in 2/03." I recommend you put in an IRIS email, inquiring as to the status of the TDIU claim you filed in 2/03. Save a copy of their response. Reason: The VA loves to hornswaggle Vets on their effective dates. So, if you do get awarded TDIU and they make it another date, then you can point out that in an IRIS email back in 2009, you asked for a status on your 2/03 TDIU claim, and they said it was such and such. That is, they confirmed you filed in 2/03 and NOT at another date. You got to nail em, or they will nail you.

IMHO the VA "cops out" on this one. I agree with you. With hearing loss, for example, the Audiologist writes down the numbers, and then you can look them up in the chart and arrive at a rating disability percentage. However, the VA does not have a chart where a GAF of ____ is worth _____ percentage. It would seem fairer if they did do that, since the way it is done now, is pretty much "shoot from the hip". I dont think the VA will change that, they will argue that will hurt the Veteran, but I doubt that having a fair set of rules to apply system wide, in all regional offices would somehow hurt the Veteran, unless those numbers are unreasonable. The hearing loss numbers are unreasonable, as you not only have to be deaf to get hearing loss compensation, but they would prefer you also be blind and missing limbs as well.

Judy Maybe I am missing something, but It would appear to me that it is unnecessary for you to meet the "CUE" standard, that a regular appeal for an EED should suffice. The reason is that the "CUE" standard is much tougher than regular appeal..to be awarded a CUE claim it has to be "undebatable" error, while with a regular appeal both the doctrine of equipose and the "favor the Veteran" apply. If your most recent decision awarding DIC was within 12 months, then I would appeal it for an EED. However, if your most recent decision awarding DIC was more than 12 months ago, then you would need to meet the stricter "CUE" standard criteria. JMHO. In some cases, this could be the difference between winning or loosing for you. In other words, maybe your case is not "undebatable", but, applying the doctrine of equipose which states, to the effect, that if there is evidence which supports the Veteran, and evidence which does not support the Veterans position, then the court would rule in favor of the Veteran. That is, you dont need to prove "without doubt" that you are entitled to an EED, you need only show that you have a 50/50 chance of being right in order to win.

According to wikipedia, there are 251,000 Vetrans rated at 100%. If you deserve it, and I beleive you when you say you do, then go for it. As far as I am concerned a Veteran who has served his country and risked his life for 4 years or more, and then got injured, he deserves at least as much credibility than a government paper pusher employee who is paid to "rate" him. Unfortunately the VA ALways Always Always takes the government employee's opinion over the Veteran, even if the Veteran has a doctors opinion to back him up. Part of the problem is the VA's fuzzy math. For example if you are at 90% now, and get another 40% rating (or less) , you STILL will be 90%. (40% of 10% is 4%. 90% plus 4% equals 94% which rounds down to 90%) Try it in the rating calculator if you dont think so. Yes, that is right. In the VA fuzzy math, 90% plus 40% = 90%.

Still here: Yes, this letter clearly gives you the nexus. The VA will probably deny it anyway..since they regurarly deny valid claims because they know that, at a minimum, they will get an interest free loan from the Veteran for several years while your claim is in appeals. They also know that many Veterans will never appeal. Its a win/win situation for the VA, a lose/lose situation for the Veteran. Welcome to the Department of Veterans Affairs where their purpose is to serve the Veteran and his widow. President Lincoln would turn over in his grave. They did the same thing to me, that is they denied my hearing loss even tho the audiologist said it was most likely related to military service, then it took me 7 years to appeal. Its the VA way.

Timetowinarace: You need to update your list of how the VA handles files to include: "20. misplace file into 3 seperate files......" 21. Locate 1 of the misplaced files. 22. Shred file. 23. Deny that anything was ever mishandled or shredded. 24. Fire Employee that Shredded evidence. 25. Reinstate employee that shredded evidence, with back pay and benefits, so that other employees do not fear gettting caught shredding. 26. Promote Employee for all he went through. 27. Give employee generous bonus for his assistance to Veterans. 28. Have Employee teach others to do steps 1-28.

IMHO I do not recommend using BVA decisions UNLESS you have thoroughly researched, in this order, SUPREME COURT DECISIONS, Federal Court Decisions, and CAVC decisions, especially "precidential" decisions. If none of these cases addresses the issue, then you can look at the BVA decisions. The courts have a definite hierarchy just like the military, and whenever you can "get it from the top", you are better off. In other words, you are going to have a stronger arguement citing what a federal court judge says, than you are at citing what your uncle Charlie thinks. A BVA decision is only a little bit better than what your Uncle Charlie thinks, but a federal court case, that has not been overturned by the Supreme court, is pretty much law. To answer the question, CAVC stands for "Court of Veterans Claims", which is a court to decide Veterans benefit claims set up by congress. The "pecking order" goes like this, starting at the bottom: 0. The Veteran 1. dirt 2. citizens who are not Veterans 3. Regional Office decisions 4. DRO (Decision Review Officer decision, which is optional) 5. Board of Veterans Appeals, 6 CAVC 7. Federal Court 8. Supreme Court 9. VA Employee Executives who interpret, that is, manipulate, the above.

Allan is right. Veteran executives get 27 million in bonuses (taxpayer money), Wall Street exectutives likewise get millions of taxpayer bailout monies. The VA has enough to squander $342 million on failed IT projects, but There just isnt any money left for disabled Veterans or social security recipients to get a dime. None of the politicians are looking out for the "little guy". I will remember this come election day, and will be reminded of it again each and every payday until then. I hope others remember it also. According to Wikipedia, there are 257,000 Veterans who are 100% SC. The VA could have given each of them about $1330 per year (more than $110 per month raise each) but instead they chose to squander that $342 million on failed IT projects instead. My math shows that would be about a 4.1% raise. Maybe the $27 million for VA executive bonuses would be better spent giving a raise to the Veterans getting compensation that is NOT 100%. Who do we have to thank for the raise we arent getting?

James... No offense, but I dont think you really have any idea of what its like to live with hearing loss. And I dont think most (other) rating specialists do either. Just a few examples: 1. Do you know what it is like to have all your friends talk about a movie, while you know that you cant go to the movie theatre to watch it, you have to wait until it comes out on DVD so you can turn on the close captioning to watch it? 2. Do you understand what an insult it is to tell a HOH person "I wasnt talking to you" or "Nevermind" when he asks you to repeat? 3. Do you understand that public speaking is the biggest fear among hearing people, but HOH often have a worse fear? Do you know what that is? 4. Do you understand that hearing aids are like wheel chairs, they are not the same as real legs or real hearing? 5. Do you understand that hearing aids dont work in all conditions and sometimes even make it more difficult to hear than without hearing aids? 6. Do you understand that many of us do not want to be thought of as "deaf and dumb" and that we are worth the extra time it sometimes takes to explain to us and rephrase what you are saying? 7. Do you understand most people relate "Huh" or "Duh" with being stupid and not getting it? 8. Do you have any idea of the pressure on a HOH person, say at a job interview, or a date? 9. Have you weighed the plusses and minuses of "disclosing" your hearing loss at a potential job interview? 10. Do you know what the unemployment rate for people with disabilities such as moderate to severe hearing loss ? (It varies, but can exceed 50%) 11. Do you have any idea what would happen to our country if our enemployment rate was in line with the HOH, that is, sometimes above 50%?

Congrats. I agree with Larry..the same thing happened to me after about a week of the "high". Now, I have put in for an EED and am starting the process all over again.

Larry... No offense, but what you stated is not always true. EXample. Veteran gets 100% effective 2 years prior, making spouse eligible for ChampVA. Wife gets champva, effective 2 years prior. Wife submits prescription records and proof of copay supplied by PRIVATE pharmacy and gets retro co payment check for $500 for 2 years prior. You see, wife is not eligible for VA medical care, as she is not a Veteran. So she gets champva effective on the Veterans effective date, and gets all the copays back.

I agree with Cowgirl: Wings for President!!