JamesBreckenridge

I'm in Florida, but I can represent Veterans anywhere. :) I would recommend a good VSO or Veterans Attorney close to wherever you ware, however, to try and keep costs down; it's one thing for me to drive to St. Pete and crash on my sister's couch when I have a DRO or BVA hearing.... but it's quite another if I have to fly to California and stay in a hotel and rent a car or taxi to get around. Since I bill my clients if we win, I try to keep costs down. I know I'm good at what I do, but I have a hard time believing I'm the absolute best or the only game in town. :) The National Association of Veterans Advocates can probably hook you up with a more conveniently located attorney to you. :)

Long time no see, y'all. First the important bit: http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/includes/viewPDF.cfm?id=2743 If it works like ALS did, then effective dates will be from the date the regulation goes into effect. Meaning, if you've been fighting an appeal for years, they may grant on a presumptive basis effective the date of the new regulation,. Hopefully, however, you can get the right evidence and medical opinion so that you can win on DIRECT though. Now, the other thing. I used to be a VA adjudicator, and from time to time I would poke my nose in here, trying to help where I could. I got super busy with work as I tried like hell to help as many Veterans as possible, as well as trying to carve out a career path from RVSR to DRO to BVA judge. VA "declined" to help me with my law school student loans ($130k worth!) even though they have a program just for that, and the certs kept busting on USAJOBS, and I had lay people telling me, a licensed attorney, that I was wrong because their policy newsletter somehow outweighs a judge and the US Code. So I split after five and a half years. A very large plaintiff's law firm (mostly personal injury, workers comp, med malpractice) has decided to get involved in a ton of practice areas, and they expanded the Social Security section to include VA benefits. So, I get to be on the ground floor of a new practice area at a major law firm (un-named for now because I don't' want to look like I'm trolling for clients). Also, this isn't my real name, because I didn't want the VA coming after me when I worked there. I'm still super busy as I try to handle an enormous caseload, and help design our workflow so that we don't wind up in the same boat the VA is in. I won't have time to spend all day on Hadit. I wish I could though. I eat sleep and breathe this stuff, and I'm really passionate about it. I will try to become more active and help out where I can with some advice. (edit: spelling)

Long time no see. Been too busy working the Nehmer project on the three new Agent Orange presumptives. Supposedly, the VA has a few hundred million dollars that they haven't spent yet that was previously authorized, so there is, theoretically, some money to pay us. Whether that money is able to get from whatever pot it is in and into the payroll system though is anybody's guess. Our bosses are telling us that they're going to try to get us to work through any shutdown, and that anyone who "processes claims" is an "excepted" worker, meaning we work and will EVENTUALLY be paid, unlike regular furloughed workers that may or may not be paid. But nothing is a done deal, nothing is official until we get one of the letters in our hands. They've printed multiple versions of letters to hand to us, depending on how this shakes out. I would rather work and not be paid on time than not work and not be paid. I've got claims on my desk that I could be granting, I don't need to be locked out of my own building!

Neuropathy is rated on mild-moderate-severe. Lumbar radiculopathy affects your lower extremeties. It's only bilateral if it effects both legs or both arms.

The POA gets a copy of the rating including the code sheet. If he goes to the RO, somebody there should be able to tell him what he was zc for and NSC for and at what percentages. The poa likely still has a file on him that includes his past ratings. But I really do think that what happened is that he got sc for the previously NSC condition and didn't meet the criteria for whatever evaluation we had on him just to het him up to 100 percent for pension purposes. (the svc ctr mgr can also grant extrasched NSC pension)

Alan is correct. Turn in a letter from your doctors telling us that your psych meds are causing your ED. Claim ED as secondary to medications for service connected PTSD. Ask for SMC-K for loss of use of a creative organ. If granted, the ED itself will likely be noncompensable, but the SMC-K will add 80 or so dollars to your benefits. Are other drugs not an option?

We are pretty liberal about granting NSC pension for wartime vets with 90+ days. It's not a lot of money. But it requires 100 percent. For purposes of NSC pension, they were probably over evaluated. When a condition is SC though, it has to be more properly evaluated. His POA should have the "code sheet" which is the last part of the rating that shoes what's in the computer regarding his disabilities.

If he has a single 60 percent disability, he could qualify for Individual Unemployability and be getting paid at the 100 percent rate. A lot of veterans are confused about just what they're SC for and at what levels. We assign evals to NSC conditions when there is non SC pension involved. at some point in the process.

This is inaccurate. Use the electronic Code of Federal Regulations if you want to see the real rating schedule and diagnostic codes. It can be found in 38 CFR part 4.

If you add sleep apnea, it will be taken as a new claim if yo'uve never claimed sleep apnea before. It's not an appeals issue. It's likely to get bogged down until after the appeal is complete. I don't recommend doing it that way. See if you can get asbestosis first before you start chasing sleep apnea. Do you have some medical evidence that supports a nexus between asbestosis and sleep apnea? I've never heard of such.

Are you service connected for DM2? You need to file a claim for increase in DM2 and any complications of DM2, especially peripheral neuropathy, which is a common complication. Were you exposed to Agent Orange? Do you have coronary artery disease/ischemic heart disease? YOu may wish to file a claim for that as well; it was recently added to the list of Agent Orange conditions.

Hulamatt, why do you want an IMO? With regard to yous schizophrenia, you've got a very good argument for service connection. Don't wast your money.

Prior to May 1999, tinnitus was evaluated thusly... 6260 Tinnitus: Persistent as a symptom of head injury, concussion or acoustic trauma .................................... 10 So it had to be PERSISTENT tinnitus. After May 1999, it was changed to 6260 Tinnitus, recurrent ............................................ 10 NOTE: A separate evaluation for tinnitus may be combined with an evaluation under diagnostic codes 6100, 6200, 6204, or other diagnostic code, except when tinnitus supports an evaluation under one of those diagnostic codes. In May 2003, it was changed to the current version, which reads: 6260 Tinnitus, recurrent......................... 10 Note (1): A separate evaluation for tinnitus may be combined with an evaluation under diagnostic codes 6100, 6200, 6204, or other diagnostic code, except when tinnitus supports an evaluation under one of those diagnostic codes. Note (2): Assign only a single evaluation for recurrent tinnitus, whether the sound is perceived in one ear, both ears, or in the head. Note (3): Do not evaluate objective tinnitus (in which the sound is audible to other people and has a definable cause that may or may not be pathologic) under this diagnostic code, but evaluate it as part of any underlying condition causing it. At a guess, you didn't have PERSISTENT tinnitus, but when the regulations changed to allow merely RECURRENT tinnitus to be compensable, your diagnostic code was flagged in the computer for review and a compensable 10 percent was granted. I bet it was granted effective May 14, 2004, the date of the regulation change. EDIT: Since you were already service connected for it, you may want to consider filing for an earlier effective date than 2003. If you were evaluated for your hearing at the VA anytime after May 1999, and if you reported recurrent tinnitus, that's a federal record that lets us grant an increase effective that date. Take a look at the rating decision that made you compensable and see if you can determine why they chose the effective date they did.

Yes, you have hearing loss for VA purposes shown by that audiogram. Each ear has a 40db puretone hearing threshold at 4000hz. From the CFR... 3.385 Disability due to impaired hearing. For the purposes of applying the laws administered by VA, impaired hearing will be considered to be a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz are 26 decibels or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. The next question is, what did your intake audiogram look like, and what did your exit audiogram look like? If there is a shift in hearing thresholds during active duty, your claim will require an audio examination at the VA (to get a proper evaluation) and a medical opinion to determine if your current complaints of hearing loss are at least as likely as not due to noise exposure while in the military. Try the new Fully Developed Claim process. It'll fastrack you for an exam and opinion. Claim bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus (the ringing in the ears). If your hearing loss is determined to be due to the noise exposure in the military, it will likely be noncompensable, but the tinnitus (if linked to the service-connected hearing loss) would be worth a 10 percent eval.

Cruithne; Please. PLEASE. Seek medical help. I don't know you, and I"m just a cog in the VA machine. But I can assure you that there is no conspiracy, nobody is trying to set you up, and you are a danger to yourself and possibly others. If you keep this up you WILL be arrested, and if you wind up with a FELONY conviction you will LOSE ALMOST ALL YOUR BENEFITS. Please pick some challenge other than the SECOND LARGEST AGENCY IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT to hurl yourself against. You're tilting at windmills. You can probably do more vets more good by giving advice online, not spend your gas, and not risk getting yourself into trouble.

I would want to see a medical opinion with a supporting medical rationale that lays out a good case for it being at least as likely as not that it was a suicide attempt secondary to PTSD. That's a heck of a call for a doctor to make, this long after the events, but it depends on the evidence that's availale and the condlcusions of the examiner. I wouldn't call it a slam dunk, but it's at least plausible.

Are you S/C for PTSD? At what percentage, and from what date? I don't think it was a clear and unmistakeable error to not consider the possibility that your accident may have actually been a suicide attempt. That's a situation where the veteran bears some responsibility for coming to us with a theory of why their condition should be service connected. Was PTSD even claimable in 1973? If not, the failure to consider that possibility SURELY is not a CUE. Do you have PTSD now? How disabling is it? It sounds to me that that if you are service connected for anything, it's at a pretty low percentage, and that you've been granted NSC pension for forever due to your motorcycle crash. NSC pension isn't a lot of money, and it's even offset dollar for dollar by social security. S/C comp is almost always going to be the greater benefit, but youknow that. You mention the need for SMC. Were you aware that you can also get increased benefits for being housebound or in need of aid and attendance, as part of your NSC pension? We call it "Special Monthly Pension." If your non service connected conditions render you so disabled that you need the aid and attendance of another person, we award Special Monthly Pension to help pay for it. I'll look up the rates when I get to work today. If you ARE s/c for PTSD, especially at a high level, you can certainly try to get a forensic psychologist to study all the evidence surrounding your accident (police reports, witness statements, medical records) and if they're willing, in their professional capacity, to say that it's at least as likely as not that this was a suicide attempt that was part of your PTSD, then you might have a shot at getting your other injuries service connected, but it's going to be a stretch, and defenitiely won't have an effective date earlier than your date of claim even if it DOES get awarded.

I'm sure our psychologists know the difference between schizophrenia and panic disorder, dissociative disorder, depression, etc. That's why we rely on them to tell us what's what. Rating specialists cannot practice Medicine. Diagnoses and questions as to whether Condition A is secondary to Condition B are matters for the doctors to determine; we just apply the laws and regulations to the facts.

If you file a claim, you'll be given a formal PTSD evaluation by a psychologist with objective testing, etc. The examiner will be able to determine which symptoms are PTSD intrusive thoughts vs remembering your father, unless he can't seperate them, in which case I would hope the rater would resolve reasonable doubt in favor of a combat veteran. If the VA psychologist diagnoses PTSD due the the in-service stressors, that's all the rater needs for a grant.

Some folks have asked me about clothing allowance. It's not a rating issue, it's handled by the hospital side of things, so I don't know much about it. Here are the manual references for it, though. clothingallowance.pdf

This is the latest M21-1MR on Asbestos. asbestos.pdf

We're trying hard. If a claim is claimed properly (is an actual disability, the vet actually has the disability, and there is evidence of it in service or presumption is available), it doesn't take much time to work a claim. Get the claim, look over the included evidence, look over the SMRs, schedule the exam with any needed opinion, and write up the decision. Wham bam thank you ma'am. It's working 23 issue dog cases with seven volumes and ten private doctors with multiple ongoing claims and appeals that takes all the time.

If you get granted service connection for schizophrenia, theres'a very good chance it'll be at 100 percent, so the tinnitus and low back pain won't matter. Be prepared to be also declared incompetent, and have a fiduciary assigned for you. If you're as sick as you say, that's probably in your best interest.

From the electronic CFR... 6025 Disorders of the lacrimal apparatus (epiphora, dacryocystitis, etc.): Bilateral 20 Unilateral 10 So, no, it's not likely that he can get an increase. One tearduct is worth 10 percent. Does it cause him any visual impairment?

October 1 is the first of our new fiscal year. Stations and departments are trying to hit targets. Your claim ought to be either a quick grant or a quick denial. It's a single-issue claim, which makes it fast moving. I'm curious whether the rating specialist or decision review officer asked any questions or made any observations about your claim.