Testvet

I don't think it works overseas I think you have to be in US or territories

just because you ask for a video hearing you don't always get a video hearing sometimes the Judge is there in person my lawyer asked for the video hearing in August 2008 the hearing was set for Feb 2009 we thought it was going to be a video hearing naw the Judge was there and it was a well spent 45 minutes his biggest concern was did I cover everything I wanted to and did I feel that I had "my day in court" he kept asking was there anything else I wanted to bring up 3 months later I got the award letter then my lawyer said it would be 6-12 months before they sent my file back to the RO and actually rated the claim it only took them 3 months by June 2009 it was over

it doesn't matter how many different mental health diagnosis they give you they then sort out which one is the most severe and the SC percentage is based on that issue myself I was diagnosed with PTSD and OCD I was rated at 100% for the PTSD and they treat me for the OCD but there is no compensation for it they call it pyramiding and they don't allow it if you have it in your records that you were treated for depression while you were in service then file for depression if you weren't and you have a good stressor and can verify your PTSD stressor easily then file for PTSD but I would not file for both of them why complicate the claim harder than it has to be

yea there were some changes to triple dipping back in the 80s President Reagan didn't think it was right I don't know what all the rules are now but there are offsets at most you might be able to keep your health benefits from the Post Office but not much else I think John 999 understands this better than I do I walked away from the PO and got my FERS lump sum and became disabled a couple of years later so I get VA and SSD the only thing I seem to have lost was my BCBS big deal

John I am with you if we abused our VA drugs they would want to throw us under the jail take out checks away and ban us from the VAMCs let alone have the prosecutors "arguing for probation" he took meds for a "dead man" he denied pain ridden vets from getting all of the pain meds they needed for his own personal use and he is the "victim" and is remorseful? How about the veterans he kept in pain to fulfill his own addiction? Where is their justice? it is punishments like this that makes many vets question who the good and bad guys are......

westcoast each C&P exam is different for many of us it may depend on where your Regional Office is some are more anal than others it depends if a VA employee is doing the exam or is a QTC doc doing the exam in some cases it depends on how many months or years of mental health records are available in other cases how was the PTSD diagnosed by one doctor or by a evaluation team that does nothing but PTSD diagnosis some VAMCs have teams set up that is all they do at the VAMC I go to they require all PTSD vets to go to the team it has a shrink a PHD and a resident to administer all of the computer tests I took three sets of them and I can't tell you what they were called one had like 573 questions and took a few hours the other 2 were less than 300 and took about 30 minutes each my 2 C&P exams were about a year apart the first time they awarded me 50% the C&P took about 15 minutes I filed the NOD the very next day as I felt it was a low ball award based om my treatment records statements and the symptoms I exhibit and have for years after my DRO hearing was cancelled and made a informal meeting they gave me another C&P exam and then awarded me 100% P&T for PTSD and they again denied my "heart problems" where I again filed a NOD on the heart problems the next day despite them giving me the 100% P&T the reason is I have extensive "heart problems" which I felt should be SC either on a direct basis or as a secondary condition and I had medical opinions to justify either issue and since I have had a stroke 7 heart attacks a failed triple bypass and high blood pressure and 2 failed stents and was told that there is no more heart surgery to repair any of the damage and I will not be considered for a heart transplant and I am a medicate only patient that it was important to my wife and kids to have my cardiac problems SC to ensure they keep their CHAMPVA benefits and stay eligible for DIC benefits if I died before I met the 10 year limit for being SC for PTSD alone so no matter what I die from they would keep their benefits which means they would loose our home car etc due to the major loss of financial benefits It is more likely that I will die from cardiac problems than I would from problems caused by PTSD so I kept appealing the cardiac issues I was lucky in that a lawyer who does nothing but VA cases took my claim pro bono as I was not eligible to hire a lawyer due to the fact that my claim was denied before July 2007 when the law changed and allowed us to pay lawyers to fight the VA and also allowed them to get in the claims process after the initial denial instead of waiting until it got to COVA or CAVC whichever term is used my lawyer wrote some letters tried to get the RO to settle the claim they denied in August 2008 and in Feb 2009 we had the BVA hearing on April 7 I got the award letter from BVA granting CAD and hypertension secondary to PTSD they then sent my C File back to the RO for the award to be granted and rated they screwed me again and rated me at 60% CAD and 10% hypertension which is correct but 60% for CAD when my SSD was granted just on my VA records alone and solely for cardiac issues my ejection fraction is less than 30% and 2 bypasses have closed off and can't be repaired by SSA rules either is automatic for SSD award but since in my case all I wanted was the SC for CAD and it won't change my rate of pay you can only get one SMC S award and that they gave me I dropped arguing with them why waste their time or mine since it won't change anything and I got what I was fighting for security for my wife and now I am almost to the 10 year mark anyway so no matter what she will get DIC and 75% of the SSD check so she will be good financially when I pass now my goal is to keep breathing and cashing their checks just as long as I can each month is a new victory I was told the average life expectancy for congestive heart failure is 10 years I am past that my wife only lets me carry in bread when we got to the grocery stores and we hire the yard work done and always have since I became disabled she says my job is breathing and I do my best the rest of the time I watch golf, TV and post on vet boards some vets appreciate my words and others seem to get pizzed off so I must be doing something right my advice to all vets is to keep appealing and filing NODs etc to keep your claims alive until you get the award you want or use up all of your appeal routes just do NOT quit on the claim because when you do that that is when they win if they can frustrate you enough to quit then they win and you and your family lose and to many vets do just that Berta has a saying that if you didn't have PTSD before you filed a VA claim you are more than likely going to have it before your claim is done the VA gives it to you and in many cases they give it to our spouses as well as many of them are as involved if not more involved than the veteran is in chasing down the documents we need to prove the claims VA claims are a family affair they affect the entire family and from what I have seen most wives are as involved if not more involved than the veteran many vets would just give up and quit if their wives would let them just don't quit and keep the appeals current full speed ahead

there is nothing that makes it all "better" the days go by and the months pass as do the years the only satisfaction is out living the doctors "guesstemates" they told me my bypass would be good for 15 years they lied 3 months later I had my next heart attack that was in 97 by June 2002 I was totally disabled they then told me the average life expectancy for congestive heart failure was 10 years I have also surpassed that so my goal now is to cash as many of the SSD and VA checks as I possibly can for years to come and every month is a new victory I didn't ask for this to happen it is what it is none of us can change our disabilities many people "friends" and even family sometimes seem to get their noses out of joints that they see many of us getting too much money and they get jealous and it seems to cause problems the less said to anyone tends to be the best route

there are a lot of factors that go into a rating having them concede your PTSD stressor is a big one already many vets are denied this point and spend the next 5 years proving that they witnessed a specific stressor in Nam finding after action reports tracking down unit buddies etc you have busted that bubble already so you have a solid "base" now to get into the other aspects of PTSD that they look at how many jobs have you had since Nam? Did you have a long career with one or 2 companies or 70 jobs since Nam? How many marriages or divorces do you have? Any DUIs or other legal problems drinking problems, drug problems etc the more sane life you led the lower the percentage seems to be the more severe lifestyle hence the higher percentages the most scared day I can remember was back in 1999 4 of my ex wives were in the credit union when I went in to cash my paycheck after work, I backed out of that door before they saw me and ran like hell they were standing having a conversation and nothing good could possibly have come out of that for me

you will probably need the daily unit reports or any after action reports from that day to substantiate your claim there are a lot of people that have SC PTSD that are not 11B they even grant it to veterans that were involved in non combat stressor incidents hard to believe but they do it all the time you just need evidence that it happened

pension amount ensures that the veteran would meet the guidelines for being low income and thus being eligible under the means tests for medical care

a vet would have to be crazy to sign this deal as we all know most medical issues get worse over time and to get 30% now at maybe age 25 might sound good but when that issue becomes totally disabling 20-30 years down the road and you can't work anymore they will cram that signed contract down that veterans throat so fast they would be harming themselves and their families to sign off on that type of deal the sad part is there are many veterans who would do it just to get this claims process over with Filner should be ashamed of himself

if it is that bad go check yourself into the mental health ward if you are feeling suicidal then they should have a bed available suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem luckily I even screwed that up 3 times over the years 1-800-273-8255 the VA help line for troubled veterans

in order to legally get a lawyer involved in a VA claim you have to have a written denial of a claimed benefit, I don't see that noted in this discussion, the VA is not like Social Security where you can hire a lawyer at any point in the claims process you want to even for the initial claim the VA doesn't allow that they require a denial of a claim at the Regional office level now this law was changed in June 2007 before this veterans were not allowed to have lawyers involved until the claims were denied by the BVA and were then being appealed to the Court of Veteran Appeals you don't have to like the VA rules but you do have to play by them

Chuck yes he did but that didn't mean give away the candy store there still has to be something to hang the approval on some bit of evidence other than just the veterans say so it's easier for OIF and OEF vets to get their claims thru but Nam claims are still going to be harder to get approved if you don't have the right awards or Purple Heart etc just being in Nam is not going to get you PTSD for my 2 cents I actually think these new rules are actually going to make it harder to get claims approved now that you HAVE to have a VA shrink diagnose the PTSD and can;t use private docs to write IMOs for diagnosing new rules are not always better rules

the VARO did the same thing to me for the first 3 years they just kept saying I had no proof of stressor and even stated they had tried to locate the court martial records of the men whom I claimed attacked me in Jan 2005 I called the Clerk of Court DA JAG and a very nice lady asked me a few questions and within 5 minutes had found the 4 general court martials where I was a witness against the men, all 4 were convicted and sentenced to Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks for 15 years for attempted murder and robbery, she asked me if I needed the summaries or the complete printed transcripts, I told her I thought the summaries would be enough I asked her how much for the copies she said they would be free and within a week she mailed them to me. I had a DRO hearing about the denial of my PTSD and heart problems when I dropped the copies of the court martial on them I was led to believe my claims would be granted and they would stop the game playing oh hell no, when I got the award letter 3 months later they again denied the "heart problems" and my PTSD was granted at 50% I filed the NOD the very next day sorry SOBs a year later I was again sent for a C&P which lasted about 5 minutes and my PTSD was granted at 100% P&T they again denied the heart problems I filed the NOD the very next day (persistent bastard, ain't I?) I kept the claim alive though and at this point they allowed us to get lawyers for BVA appeals but since my claim was denied before June 2007 I was not allowed to "hire" a lawyer but there is nothing in the rules about a "pro bono" lawyer taking your case the lawyer that did my BVA appeal was very good she tried to settle it at the RO level the first time they said NO, she filed the Form 9 that was in August 2008 in Feb 2009 we had the BVA hearing on Apr 7 I got the letter from BVA granting the CAD and hypertension claims in June 2009 we got the award letter and the back pay to Dec 2003 for SMC S I am now in the process of trying to get the earlier effective date based on a letter I sent to then Sec Principi as a "informal claim" dated 21 Nov 2002 that the VARO never put into my file nor the reply from the Director of the Alabama VARO dated 6 Dec 2002 why they had the Alabama guy do it is strange in that at the time I lived in Augusta GA and was using my wife's mothers house in Hopkins SC as my home of record as we had just married and were moving from Augusta to SC and did not know what our address would be bottom line is you still have to show proof of stressors even with the diagnosis granted you have PTSDS now you have to PROVE that something happened while you were on active duty that caused it and you have to submit the proof, MP reports, police reports, hospital records, accident reports etc what ever the cause if you have to prove it did happen just having a doctor say it is service connected is not good enough by their rules the VA shrink was not there when the stressor occurred so the the VA it is just heresay regardless of how good or respected the doctor is, I had a retied Army Colonel MD write one of my IMOs and the VARO dismissed it as not being relevant the VARO will use a C&P exam done by a Nurse Practitioner to dismiss a medical opinion of a board certified doctor and if they could they would use a janitor to do the C&P exams and just have a MD sign off on them to do denials the VA usually does what it wants why because they can find the evidence you need proof always wins it mat take a decade or more to find the right judge just keep appealing and find the proof you need

how does it match up with your work history suspensions from work, missed days due to PTSD issues? How many different jobs have you had since Nam? Are you retired now? Is it documented in your work history where they sent you to counseling due to work related issues with other employees or customers like the Post Office does they refer employees to EAP one of their docs put me on zoloft back in the 90s and gave me 2 weeks off to get adjusted to the meds it was administrative leave because I refused to let them use my sick leave or my annual leave for it I didn't ask for the time off and they were making me take it why should I have to use my benefits for it they were forcing it in the end that was the last time they wasted their efforts of sending me to EAP I really pizzed the Post Master off on that one rofl your work history has to match the OC problems I have seen many people spend 30-40 years at the same compnay retire and then go to the VA and file for PTSD and claim it is stopping them from working when it never interfered in the past 40 years only now they see how it can add to the retirement checks so the VA is looking at all the factors and the history needs to match the storyline

I had a 5 minute C&P for PTSD and got a 100% P&T off of it time the exam took is not the problem it is what the doctor writes and how well your medical issue is documented in your treatment records wait until you get the copy of the C&P or the award letter if it is bad then you can complain about the incomplete exam

you just need evidence that it happened while you were on active duty doesn't matter if it was in San Diego or Fort Ord or anywhere else NY City anywhere you do need just more than your word though you need medical reports, police reports court records etc to verify it you are on duty 24/7 365 days a year while on active duty you are covered from the day you enlisted until the day you were discharged

John your hobbies are comorbid studying VA law and rules cause the blues and engaging the VA causes PTSD

Thanks Bernie doesn't like me rofl I have been dealing with him since about 2006 lol I was working with the SHAD/112 vets for a few years and a guy named Jack Alderson who was on the tugs I think they are trolling for some new guys for the San Francisco lawsuit since the Judge stopped the "fishing expedition" and they need names of the veterans who were there before they can make the CIA or DOD go looking for records instead of just asking for everything related to human experiments me I am just happy the DOJ lawyers keep having their dismissal due to "state secrets" rejected so this case will end up in court maybe as early as next year thanks Philip

they haven't cut mine back yet I get 140 every 28 days last refill was last week but it won't surprise me to see them cut back on them since they are getting hammered by the FDA due to the liver damage caused by the pills

yes we had that discussion with the IRS back in 2003 when I got my SSD since it is less than 32,000 and my spouse doesn't work there is no taxable amount and it is just a waste of their time for us to even fill out the forms so they can process them they said to not send anymore forms again unless my wife returned to work since I need a 24 hour care taker that isn't going to happen I think when I turn 67 then the SS becomes taxable again but the odds of me living to see that age I will worry about taxes if I am lucky to live that long until then I am going to enjoy my tax free status now if I could just find a way to get back my sales tax from the state

Oh I agree so many PTSD vets are their own worst enemies by not admitting they have a problem they lose them and their families years of benefits in my case my CAD and triple bypass go back decades 1st heart attack was in 94 and the stroke was in 92 but I never admitted I had stress related problems to the VA until I wrote Principi that letter dated 21 Nov 2002 and the VA didn't even diagnose my PTSD until nearly 5 months later after months of interviews and tests lots of them I was officially diagnosed with PTSD in May 2003 then the damn VSO made the comment he wasn't filing a non combat PTSD claim and he didn't he threw my entire file in his filing cabinet the CAD denial appeal and the PTSD claim we found it in Dec 2003 when we stopped by his office to check on the status of my claim and his secretary pulled it out and we found all the papers just sitting there he had not done anything since July 2003 thats when I revoked his POA and my wife and I took Alex's advice and filed the heart problem appeal and filed claims for PTSD and about 10 other issues it just seems that if the VA has agreed that my CAD is secondary to my CS PTSD then they should also be agreeing that my PTSD was present when my CAD was first diagnosed by the VA also which is why I quit working in June 2002 due to congestive heart failure diagnosed by my primary care doc then in Oct 2002 they did the heart cath showing the 25% ejection fraction tha is why I wrote Principi that letter in Nov because I knew my claim was going to be a mess with Edgewood, GW1 and everything else in between 1974-1991 the letter I wrote to him and the reply from the Director VARO Alabama are the two documents missing from my c file which should give me the earlier effective date at least that is what I am hoping for I still think the letter should have been an informal claim and not trashed.....

okay we all know that the VA granted my CAD and hypertension secondary to my SC PTSD the problem I have is that my diagnosed CAD condition were diagnosed and treated before the VAMV got around to treating letting alone diagnosing my PTSD I left my civilian jon in June 2002 due to cardiac issues and was approved for SSD before the VA diagnosed my PTSD in May 2003 but if my CAD and hypertension are secondary to my PTSD common reason would stand that my PTSD was present before they actually diagnosed it in the years 1994 and 1997 and when I finally quit working die to CAD problems in June 2002 I had a messed up VSO from the state of South Carolina that is a given my letter to Sec Primcipi on Nov 21 2002 describing all my medical issues should be the effective date as an informal claim instead of the Dec 2003 claim they used when I finally revoked the POA from the VSO from the state of SC and filed my own claims the VARO employee that called me Friday implied that if I can produce copies of the letters dated 21 Nov 2002 and the VA reply dated Dec 6 2002 they will grant the EED of Nov 2002 but if the CAD is secondary to PTSD then isn't that kind of an admission that the PTSD was present when my cardiac problems first started? Just because I never filed a claim for it doesn't mean it wasn't present it just means I was still in denial about it my brain has been all over the place I am hoping they will grant the EED of Nov 2002 my SSD was based on June 2002 when I had to quit working due to the CAD which was based on VA records I just never admitted and asked for PTSD help until Dec 2002 when I asked ,y primary care doc for a referral to mental health it's not my fault they took from Jan to May to make the diagnosis and my chitty VSO refused to file the claim when he was asked in July 2003 there is not manual for what to do and the correct process when a veterans becomes disabled and we depend on the VSOs to give us the best advice not just some half azz advice that ends up costing out families tens of thousands of dollars and to them it's no big deal and they never miss a paycheck while we sit on the hamster wheel ending n up homeless and lose our vehicles and in many cases out families then the VA claims well it;s not our fault the claim wasn't filed right maybe not but what about doing the right thing when the entire facts finally get known who is responsible the VSOs, the VA or the poor veteran who doesn't know anything about this process?