Wings

I'm glad you're feeling a little better. Adjust your meds til you get just right. One day at a time. You did your time, you're a free man now. You can get some help, and start having a little fun once in awhile ;-) Get a cat, or a service-dog ;-) Apply for the VA's ILS (independant living skills) program, and get the VA to buy you a camera or wood-working tools, or law books? Think possible. ~Wings

Dear Veteran, But you are service-connected for depression. Depressed mood is depression. Keep up your med refills for your depression and depressed mood. Time to take care of you, and not to worry about the complexities of the DSM ... The VA is paying you 100%. They are only going to propose a reduction if you become gainfully employed, and sustain that employment. What are you going to do with your spare time? You can help other vets ;-) ~Wings

You can also use a licensed social worker! Just need someone who has a heart and a brain (must review medical evidence). Unless the claim is very complex, use whatever good, affordable resources are available. The VA seldom aks for an "expert" medical opinion on claims for mental disorders; the veteran is typically seen by many types of providers over the course of their illness. Look for a veteran-friendly provider! ~Wings

Buck, If the Vets Center is close by, go in and look around, see wat kind of resources they have for veterans; maybe a public library, computers, literature and whatnot. Maybe there's friendly, knowledgable people working there? Even iif they don't have what you need, it might be a good fit for another vet. I live pretty far from most resources that, like you, most of my help is on-line from Hadit. Write your own unoffical nexus statement and share it with your MH provider. Help her connect the dots, if she doesn't agree, she doesn't have to make a statement ... Hope you have a good day ;-) Wings

If the VA can deny and delay claims by a certain number of years vets will die, loose motivation, move geographically, and get lost. This is the goal IMO. When you really start to get a much higher rating as in 70%-100% you find that you have a major burden of time and effort. It took me about three years to go from 30% to TDIU P&T. That is including three IME's. Three DRO appeals and two C&P exams. I had been SC since 1971 but I had never really gotten serious because I could still work and had a decent job. The VARO was adversarial all the way. They went over my IME's with a microscope to find anything they could use to deny my claims for TDIU. I was already on SSDI and OPM disability for the SC condition.
When I see vets putting their whole faith in the hands of some VA C&P exam doctor I shudder. If not for IME exams I would still be at 30%. I used the IME's to dispute all the assumptions the VA made that my TDIU was due to non-sc conditions.
I got a lot of help here at Hadit. To show continuity of symptoms you either need to really understand the system, or be so ill or injured to be in constant treatment. I just talked to a vet at the VA who hurt his back in a crash in the service. He was treated for it in the service, but it did not start to bother him again seriously for a number of years. Therefore he did not have continuity of symptoms or treatment that he could point at to show the VA that his original disability/injury was continually affecting him. You hurt your back when you are young and it usually comes back to haunt you when you are older due to arthritis and degeneration around the original injury. However, the VA makes you prove the connection between original injury and current injury/illness. I have at least 80% rating just due to presumptives due to AO. If not for presumptive rule I would still be P&T, but would not have HB.

How many 22 year olds are thinking about how they will be doing 30 years later, and planning their VA strategy to get correct compensation? You need to plan your illnesses and injuries to fit into the VA framework. Nobody really does that except in the minds of VARO's. Half of my SMR's are missing and I never even got a copy or an exit exam back in the day. At least younger vets today usually get a copy of their SMR's and get an exit exam which givers them a chance to document their illnesses and injuries one last time.

John

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode10/usc_sup_01_10_10_A_20_II_30_61.html United States Code TITLE 10 > Subtitle A > PART II > CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 61—RETIREMENT OR SEPARATION FOR PHYSICAL DISABILITY

<LI class=tocitem> § 1201. Regulars and members on active duty for more than 30 days: retirement <LI class=tocitem>§ 1202. Regulars and members on active duty for more than 30 days: temporary disability retired list <LI class=tocitem>§ 1203. Regulars and members on active duty for more than 30 days: separation <LI class=tocitem>§ 1204. Members on active duty for 30 days or less or on inactive-duty training: retirement <LI class=tocitem>§ 1205. Members on active duty for 30 days or less: temporary disability retired list <LI class=tocitem>§ 1206. Members on active duty for 30 days or less or on inactive-duty training: separation <LI class=tocitem>§ 1206a. Reserve component members unable to perform duties when ordered to active duty: disability system processing <LI class=tocitem>§ 1207. Disability from intentional misconduct or willful neglect: separation <LI class=tocitem>§ 1207a. Members with over eight years of active service: eligibility for disability retirement for pre-existing conditions <LI class=tocitem>§ 1208. Computation of service <LI class=tocitem>§ 1209. Transfer to inactive status list instead of separation <LI class=tocitem>§ 1210. Members on temporary disability retired list: periodic physical examination; final determination of status <LI class=tocitem>§ 1211. Members on temporary disability retired list: return to active duty; promotion <LI class=tocitem>§ 1212. Disability severance pay <LI class=tocitem>§ 1213. Effect of separation on benefits and claims <LI class=tocitem>§ 1214. Right to full and fair hearing <LI class=tocitem>§ 1215. Members other than Regulars: applicability of laws <LI class=tocitem>§ 1216. Secretaries: powers, functions, and duties <LI class=tocitem>§ 1216a. Determinations of disability: requirements and limitations on determinations <LI class=tocitem>§ 1217. Academy cadets and midshipmen: applicability of chapter <LI class=tocitem>§ 1218. Discharge or release from active duty: claims for compensation, pension, or hospitalization <LI class=tocitem>§ 1218a. Discharge or release from active duty: transition assistance for reserve component members injured while on active duty <LI class=tocitem>§ 1219. Statement of origin of disease or injury: limitations <LI class=tocitem>[§ 1220. Repealed.] <LI class=tocitem>§ 1221. Effective date of retirement or placement of name on temporary disability retired list § 1222. Physical evaluation boards


IN BRIEF: Disability retirement

Permanent disability. This is one of two types of disability retirement available through the Defense Department. Service members officially rated at least 30 percent permanently disabled, according to guidelines, are entitled to disability retirement pay from the Defense Department. To qualify, they must have spent at least eight years in the military or the disability must have been incurred in the line of duty. If one of the requirements is met, retirees can receive retired pay based on the larger of two formulas: multiplying the retired pay base either by the percentage of the disability rating or by 2.5 percent of the number of years of service, up to a 75 percent ceiling. The retired pay base is final basic pay for those who entered service before Sept. 8, 1980, and average basic pay over the three highest-earning years for those who entered service on or after that date.
The Defense Department and VA disability retirement systems have had important differences, chief among them the fact that the services assign ratings only to medical conditions deemed “physically unfitting,” with the intent of compensating for the loss of a military career. VA may rate any service-connected condition to compensate for the loss of civilian employability. Also, military disability retirement ratings are final upon disposition, and VA ratings can vary over time, depending on how the condition progresses.Finally, military disability compensation varies not only by the percentage disability rating, but also by a member’s years of service and basic pay; VA payments are based on the percentage rating of the disability and the veteran’s family status.
Temporary disability. This is a second form of disability retirement available through the Defense Department. Some service members have medical problems that prevent them from carrying out their military duties but may not be permanent. They are placed on the temporary disability retirement list [TDRL] maintained by each service and Defense Department paymasters. The amount of monthly pay for those on the temporary retired list is determined by different rules from those that govern permanent disability. The minimum payment is 50 percent of the last amount of basic pay before the member was taken off duty; the maximum is 75 percent. Those who receive temporary disability retirement pay must undergo medical exams every 18 months to determine the status of their disability. Within five years, doctors must determine whether the disability is permanent. At that point, they can be returned to duty, given a disability rating that qualifies them for either permanent disability retirement pay or disability severance pay, or separated with no benefits. Military disability retirement pay is usually taxable; however, military disability retirement pay that is based on a combat-related disability is tax-free.
Disability severance. This is paid to members with less than 20 years of service and disabilities rated less than 30 percent. The 2008 Defense Authorization Act changed the minimum and maximum levels of disability severance pay. Previously, the payment was equal to two months of basic pay for each year of service, up to 12 years (a maximum of 24 months of basic pay). The minimum severance pay is now 12 months of basic pay for troops separated for a disability incurred in a combat zone and six months of basic pay for all other members. In addition, the maximum severance pay has been increased from 24 months of basic pay to 38 months. This fully compensates members with as much as 19 years of service whose payments would have been capped at 12 years of service under the old formula. Service members who receive severance pay also may be eligible for monthly VA disability compensation if their disabilities are deemed service-connected. Generally, severance pay must be repaid before members can begin receiving VA disability compensation. However, the 2008 Defense Authorization Act has carved out an exception to that offset for members who receive severance pay for a disability incurred while serving in a combat zone. Severance pay for disabilities incurred outside a combat zone will remain subject to the VA disability compensation offset.

Service members with limited disabilities may be retained by their service, depending on individual circumstances.