Rivet62

Yes and yes. Because of inability to maintain a job I think. I had worked part-time in food service at the VAMC, then briefly full time but ended up in emergency room for back strain, then HR gave me a medical transfer into an office job after about 3 or months. I was in that office job for about 6 months and had work disruptions all along due to SC conditions. Then I submitted a medical resignation. My primary care doctor and my psychiatrist are both at the same VAMC that I worked at. Is it possible for an earlier effective date? I didn't go into full detail with Broncovet.

This was in response to Broncovet, when he said that the earliest effective date should be when I first told my doctor I was unable to work (provided I had a vets claim in progress (I think). My doctor became aware when she had to approve my medical transfer to a sedentary position, and she later had to approve unpaid leave due to medical, and also FMLA.

Yes. I can do that momentarily. I already have it scanned...I need to remove ID info... hold on...

You have helped me with sorting my records. Much thanks.

I could cry, you've helped so much. God bless you as I go forward.

God bless you. I definitely feel that VA dropped the ball on the "duty to assist part." So, then the TDIU matter should be in our NOD, as Broncovet said, "court ruled that TDIU is an increase" and not some separate claim on its own.

I am still in the Legacy system. Everything is legacy, including our appeal before the board. I had a hearing at the board, but then I was informed my hearing was improperly docketed as AMA. So, the hearing is meaningless. I'm back to responding to the SOC, that follows our NOD. Yes, I was granted SSDI solely for the SC conditions that has me rated 80% combined. I received the 80% vets decision I believe in April of 2018. Was granted my SSDI, effective date December 2018. We filed the vets NOD April 2019. This part doesn't apply to me. Following my SS attorney's advice, of establishing documentation showing inability to work, I used my state's Voc Rehab to gain a Schedule A letter to increase my employment prospects at the VAMC, since I didn't have any veteran's preference points. It may sound odd, but I had very few medical records when I first approached Voc Rehab and very few when I applied for SSDI. It took years after patient enrollment for healthcare was approved at the VAMC (category 7, income based, documented homelessness, social workers involved, etc) to have enough records for my attorney. So for SSDI purposes... I had to try to work again to build up work and medical documentation showing I couldn't work, so that my SS attorney had documents for my SS hearing. Long journey. I did approach VA Voc Rehab early on, but the intake worker looked at my file and shook her head and cautioned me that if I had a claim in for SSDI (which I had told her I did) that my SSDI claim might be complicated by vocational retraining, but that also she thought I might not be approved for VA's Voc Rehab anyway given my conditions. I don't think I have any record of my attempt at VA Voc Rehab, other than a follow up letter saying it was denied for failure to make an appointment.

I am in the legacy system. Ok I believe this part applies to me. I had a claim in while I was trying to work part-time in food service (at the VAMC actually, under Schedule A hiring authority), then tried to do full-time in food service because my car engine went down (that lasted about 1.5 months then to emergency room at the VAMC), then medical transfer to a VAMC sedentary position, then lots of Dr appoints, then exhausted my sick leave, exhausted my PTO, exhausted unpaid leave limits, exhausted FMLA, and then finally submitted a medical resignation and long story short built up a lot of documentation that my own primary care doctor at the same VAMC had to sign off for. In other words, my primary care doctor was involved all along. But... I encountered problems in the form of 'information silos'. What occurred in employee records is not necessarily included in my patient records, so I'll have to check and see what extent information spilled over into my VA patient record. Yes, I think I am realizing the caveats. And yes, "reasonably raised" would have my effective date much earlier than the last day I worked at the VAMC because all along it was proof of inability to maintain employment (maybe), with my doctor involved all along signing off.

Thank you so much!

First let me say I am in the Legacy system and now dealing with the SOC in response to my NOD. On the decision letter of my initial claim, granted 80% combined, it stated that my SC conditions "...interferes with work." It's acknowledged in the decision letter that granted me 80% combined. Today I get an SOC (from the NOD we filed for increases and TDIU consideration) denying all issues, simply because the evidence and records they have stop at 2018, and simply no mention at all of TDIU. So I call 1-800-Peggy and ask her what about the TDIU? The SOC shows all issues denied (for increases and additional service connects) but no mention of TDIU whatsoever. Peggy told me that raising the issue of TDIU should not have occurred on an NOD, that it should have been submitted as a new claim, and therefore I would want to file an Intent to File Claim for TDIU, meaning that my effective date would be the date of Intent to File (January 8, 2022) and not the last day of employment as the judge had noted in my BVA hearing. Well I received a letter from the Board saying my hearing was improperly docketed as AMA, so the hearing I had in August 2021 is meaningless. I'm back to whether the issue of TDIU was reasonably raised on the NOD. I searched the Hadit forum and I happened upon a post by Berta, dated March 5, 2021. that she had titled Identifying Reasonably Raised Claims of IU. This causes me to wonder if my IU is a reasonably raised claim, when firstly the VARO had already recognized my SC conditions (at 80% combined) as "interferes with work" on my decision letter and secondly we state on my NOD that the VARO "...didn't consider TDIU" when it should have. Is Peggy right that I should have filed a separate claim for TDIU, or is my attorney right in following rules of Reasonably Raised Claims of IU when he used the NOD to do so? Thanks in advance for all responses on whether or not I have a reasonably raised claim of IU as it stands now.

This is brilliantly broken down to guide me going forward. Thank you! Yeah I kind of felt it's not my place to play doctor or attorney, but your explanations of usable lay evidence vs unusable lay opinions really clears up the differences. BTW I just got my 'big white envelope,' and it's either the long awaited SOC or long awaited BVA hearing decision. Almost too afraid to open it.

Oh. Sorry about that...I didn't realize I had strayed from the OP post.

And in other parts of the country that are attractive. I was in one of those. Housing costs went insane about 3 years before the rest of the nation felt it. Felt like quicksand and I was on my knees with it. As for erosion of spending power, I read a thread on the city data forum where a guy who worked fast food back in the 80s afforded mortgage payments and new car payments and insurance and had kids. Insane to think that's possible now. Even myself, back in the early 90s, I could afford a nice apartment and new car payments and nice clothes on $9 something an hour. The only thing I can do now is pay off my house as fast as I can and start growing vegetables maybe (SC conditions prevent a lot). I bought a house at a price exactly half what I qualified for, to try to beat the higher prices I knew were coming. People on fixed income don't have a lot of wiggle room.

SSA's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is supposed to give at least a minimum income when there are not enough earnings on the SS record, but it falls way way short. Look up what SSA pays for SSI. It's no fun. I could be mistaken, but even an 80% rate of monthly pay would disqualify someone for SSI (since SSI is needs based). I'm not a younger vet, but I had poor earnings for a long time due to SC conditions. Fortunately, my SS earnings record had me just over SSI's payment and so my monthly SSA payment is for SSDI and because of that I received my SS backpay when SSDI was granted. SSI recipients don't receive backpay. My SSDI payment is not much over the SSI maximum. Society's answer to income below the federal poverty line is public housing (with long wait lists--3 years in my former area -- not fun), and the answer to transportation is the public bus system. As it is now, and as it has been forever, SSA's SSI amount alone would lower food stamps to less than a hundred a month (different states do different things). I had to move to a more affordable area of the country to use my VA home loan on a home of my own, on just my SSDI and my 80% vets rate. I'm single so there is nothing else, and yet I feel very fortunate I made that move WHEN I did (right before prices shot up everywhere).

I was in a very heavy AFSC(MOS), 40 years ago, that had me in very awkward positions which caused back injury. The medical opinion I was able to get pointed to National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines for the weight I carried relative to my body weight and height. It showed that I was physically out of range for the AFSC (MOS). The opinion I got, from a medical doctor, simply said that "damage to the spine cannot be discounted." Perhaps you can draw from readily accepted standards somehow, like I had from the NIH?

My situation is similar to Broncovet's, somewhat, but my situation unfolded more slowly perhaps. Following my SSDI attorney's advice, she suggested trying to work again to establish the records she needed to prove unemployability. It was slow but sure fire. First, she suggested I seek the services of my state's Vocational Rehabilitation office (to show SSA I have tried. SSA wants to see that you've tried everything). So I asked my state's Vocational Rehabilitation office for a statement of Schedule A federal employment eligibility, and I used that to increase the likelihood of employment at my local VAMC, since I didn't have veterans preference points for employment. I got employed at the VAMC and simply let nature take its course. My employment ability at the VAMC unraveled quickly in real time, first with a medical transfer, then exhausting PTO, unpaid leave, and FMLA, in addition to frequent doctors appointments. I ended things by submitting a medical resignation, with the support of my VA primary care doctor and VA psychiatrist. Meanwhile VA granted me 80% combined service connect, then about 10 months later my SSDI was granted based on all conditions that were SC'd in my vets claim. My VA disability attorney filed an NOD (legacy system). I had the BVA hearing in August 2021 and the decision letter has been sent December 23rd. Still waiting to receive it. My attorney is 100% sure I'll get TDIU and 50% sure I'll get P&T. Last time I worked was July 2018, but my employment problems from all things SC'd has been ongoing for decades, literally, and my SS work record shows under-employment and gaps. The point that I'm making here is that the advice my SSA attorney gave me, to build irrefutable documentation of unemployability, seems to have served me well in my pursuit for TDIU. I won't know until I finally get the SOC and/or BVA decision letter. Prior to following my SSA attorney's advice I had very little documentation to show in the way of employment problems or SC conditions causing employment problems. As it turned out, my VA primary care doctor had to sign her opinion to the VA employment medical transfer, the unpaid leave, and finally the FMLA. In the end I don't think I needed her medical opinion supporting TDIU, because I had gotten her opinions all along in the problems of my employment at the VAMC. We'll see.

Has anyone seen this? It's for upgrading to P&T. How to Write a Powerful VA Permanent Disability Letter (4-Step Process), published January 4, 2022 https://vaclaimsinsider.com/va-permanent-disability-letter/ What are your thoughts on this? I'm working with an attorney for increases and/or TDIU P&T and so I would probably move letters like this through him in the form of a personal statement perhaps, but what are your thoughts on these sample letters?

MyHealth eVet messaging helps me stay in touch with providers for concerns I have in between visits. Not everything is an emergency but when I feel things have worsened I tell them and if they want appointments or tests then I go. My VA primary care doctor (VA outpatient clinic) has suggested I go to urgent care locally for increased difficulties or the emergency room of my local hospital if my pain is acute. I think it's important to do what they suggest. It's the medical protocol they're following and I'm assuming it's the continuity or disability progression that VA reviews on claims.

Am I mistaken or does this exist at VA.gov now? I happened upon a page of cases that is searchable by date or docket number. Rivet62 P.S Thanks for having me as a new member. There's this: https://search.usa.gov/search/docs?affiliate=bvadecisions&dc=9161&query= I'll try to find the Va.gov one because it seemed easier to use.