Testvet

one was a VA Cardiologist that was treating me another was from a cardiologist in Denver and the other was a local cardiologist the explanation about the army colonel shrink is to convuluted to explain but he helped to verify Dr Boscarino's study linking PTSD to cardiac issues this is my BVA appeal http://www.va.gov/vetapp09/files2/0912815.txt

if you want YOUR claim approved this is where paying for an IMO or an IME would come in handy you need a specialist to explain the why and how your medical issue was caused or aggravated by your military service and not by any other cause, if they keep sending you back to the same NP and getting the same opinion you will lose I ended up with 3 IMOs and 1 IME and by the time my cardiac claim got to BVA I had showed where their NP and general medical docs denying my cardiac problems were NOT caused by me service and my IMOs and IME showed that it was and mine were all from Board Certified Cardiac docs and one retired Army Colonel psychiatrist the BVA said it put the claim into relative equipose and thus due to the benefit of the doubt rule they granted my claim do you want to win your claim? Get a real doctor to write the advisory and give them a copy of it my claim took from Dec 2002 until June 2009 just keep your appeals alive and don't miss any of the dates at least contact them annually to inquire as to the status of your appeals if you don't they will let a year go by and then close the claim and then state you "abandoned it" do you have a VSO? If the issue is a lot of money you may want to consider getting a lawyer that handles VA case law from NOVA http://www.vetadvocates.org/ I had great results from them

Aces the biggest difference I found between VSOs and my Lawyer is that when I had a question I could e mail the lawyer and they would reply to me, I have never had a VSO return a call let alone give me a e mail address, the NOVA lawyers have a great organization and cooperate with each other and have quarterly continuing ed sessions at one point in the BVA appeal process she wanted a new IME from a local cardiac doc she set up the appt, told him what she needed and she paid the bill told me to repay her when the backpay came in obviously all lawyers are not like her but she is one special lady

if Voc Rehab determines that you are NOT trainable into any career field due to your medical conditions that will do two things it will support your claim for IU and it opens the door to the ILP so they can help your quality of life better in dealing with daily life there are many things the ILP program can do to aid you and anyone that wants into ILP has to go thru Voc Rehab to get there

the father may very well be a WW1 veteran my own father completed his Army service before WW1 even started he went into Mexico with Gen Pershing after Pancho Villa I have a younger brother also who was born in 1958 my oldest half brother was born in 1922 and is deceased my dad died in 1972 my grand father was in the Calif 4th Volunteers during the Civil War he did not get married until 1890 and then had 6 kids by 1900

in May 2007 my DAV rep left and my case was given to the office manager he had worked at the BVA so he was supposed to be one of the "best" I had a active claim for CAD and hypertension on appeal since Dec 2002, his advice to me was to drop the current claim and start over by first filing for a hypertension claim alone that would have been a 10% award and then file a new claim for the CAD, needless to say I revoked his POA and kept my claim on appeal I got lucky and met a NOVA lawyer thru Larry Scott who used to write the VA Watchdog site she took my case pro bono since my denials were prior to the June 2007 date that allowed us to "hire" lawyers she dealt with the DRO and filed the Form 9 to get the case to the BVA and out of the RO, in Feb 2009 we had the BVA hearing in April I got the letter from BVA granting the CAD and hypertension in Jun 2009 I finally got the award letter 60% CAD and 10% hypertension which gave me SMC S as I am also rated at 100% PTSD I just had a biventricular pace maker put in which should now take me to 100% for the CAD regardless it's your claim and do not put your entire trust in someone else to find documents, research information etc, if you do it you know it's done many veterans here do not even use VSOs and others just use them as points of contacts to submit paperwork thru most VSOs will not return calls, I have never even had one give me an e mail address to contact them they have hundreds of open cases all the time and we are just not that important to them just my 2 cents

mine was decided on April 7 2009 and was not available under the search decisions until June 15 2009 it takes awhile before they get the decisions posted

congrats Carlie it's about time for them to do the right thing

Eric, I contacted a NOVA attorney and will meet with her soon. I find it interesting that a) their services are FREE and b) they deal with a DRO. They do not handle appeals at the BVA. Thanks for the info. NOVA lawyers handle claims from the first denial and the initial NOD all the way thru to the CAVC if necessary and they are allowed to get 20% of the backpay unless they tell you upfront that they are taking your case "pro bono" I like NOVA lawyers for the fact is they specialize in VA law, they have a bunch of conferences thru out the year to learn from each other and to stay current on the CFR changes and when they find thenselves stumped they call on each other for help to figure out how best to handle the problem their only goal is to get the veterans the benefits they deserve I don't know where the idea came from that they are free and do not handle BVA appeals but my NOVA lawyer dealt with the DRO and the BVA hearing and in April when it looked like I was not going to leave the hospital alive she came to the ICU and did a will for me free of charge that lady has ethics they earn every penny of the 20%

94 and 10 does not equal 104 in VA math getting from 90% to the 100% schedular is the hardest problem most vets that get to 90% end up getting TDIU after they get to the point they are no longer unemployable but you do need your doctors to verify that you are physically or mentally unable to continue working don't count your chickens before they get hatched

you can still file the release of info form at your VAMC asking for a copy of the QTC exam results, in about 2 weeks you should get it in the mail from the VARO then it would not make you have to drive 3 hours to try and get it

John my favorite VA lawyer came to the ICU to write my will and a legal paper for my wife to be able to tell the docs what to do for me if I wasn't able, when her firm sent me a bill for it she got pizzed and told them it was pro bono and zero out the bill, she has moved back to Miss I am going to miss her I hope the vets in Mississipi realize what an asset they are getting for legal help if they decide to retain her. She is the best I have ever seen. my pool liner is leaking maybe I can get them to replace it rofl I am sure the renovations to the bathroom and the doors will be a lot higher than 4,000 so I will need one of the larger grants. Berta I am also under the impression that if I can get one of the higher housing grants then we will be eligible to get mortgage insurance from the VA to pay off the house when I pass, we still owe 163,000 it would be nice if she didn't have to pay the home loan every month I probably should have filed claims for some of this stuff earlier but I wasn't up for it mentally or physically now I am.....

To Whom It May Concern, 21 October 2011 I am currently rated at 100% for PTSD and 60% for CAD and 10% for hypertension, and this year has been a very active one medically. On April 8, I was admitted to Lexington Medical Center after suffering a heart attack while still in ICU I sufferred an more severe heart attack which the doctors felt a medically induced coma was a necessity, when I was brought out of it, they had gathered my family from across the nation as they did not expect me to live, I was also in severe CHF. They transferred me from ICU, one ICU unit to another ICU at MUSC in Charleston for an evaluation for a VLAD device or recommendations for a new CABG, a heart transplant or a heart and lung transplant, by April 28th they told me none of these options were viable for me and sent me home on a medicate only treatment schedule. In June I was having trouble breathing, I went to my Primary Care doctor at Augusta VA where they put me on 2 liters of oxygen due to the low 02 levels I was having 84 and 86, my heart was not pumping enough blood thru the lungs and getting enough air into them. A week later I again went into CHF failure and spent from 8 June thru 28 June in intensive care, where it was recommended I have a biventricular pacemaker.defibrillator installed to see if it would raise my 10% ejection fraction and give me a better quality of life. This surgery was done on 14 September authorized by the VA at Providence Hospital in Columbia, I was just released back to my cardiologist at Dorn a Dr Chiu. It is my understanding that with the AICD device my cardiac issues should now be rated at the 100% level. Since I have further been weakened by the heart attacks and CHF, I am in my power chair or a regular wheel chair most of the time now due to a lack of breath and strength. This is causing problems in my home as the wheel chairs are to wide for the bathrooms in our home. Is there a program available to us to enlarge the bathroom to make it more handicap accessible? My psychiatrist and primary care doctor also believe that I am eleigble for the Aid and attendance program as I depend on my spouse to care for me, bath me, prepare all my meds, I have always had to hire my yardwork done as I have never been healthy enough to do it since we purchased the home in 2006. I haven't driven due to my SC issues since May 2000 and my wife has to drive me everywhere, she is more my care taker than anything else these days. Also since I have been treated for PTSD and cardiac conditions my sex drive is gone and has been since 2002 or 2003 and I would think I qualify for the K award for ED. I am asking you to please update my current disability status to reflect these new issues and for you to authorize any and all benefits that I am entitled to from the Veterans Administration, since I can no longer walk and spend my time in one wheel chair or another, is help in obtaining a vehicle to get a lift for my power chair possible? What grants are available for adapting my home to make it more wheelchair friendly? I currently have the 10,000 free life insurance and the 20,000 optional life insurance that I pay for, has Congress authorized higher amounts of life insurance for totally disabled veterans? I want nothing that I am not entitled to, but I would like all the benefits available to my wife and I. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Michael G Bailey I know the K award is like 96 a month but how much is aid and attendance and if I have 2 100 rated issues does that change my SMC S to a higher rate? If I don't know and don't ask I won't ever learn will I? thanks to all who read this and more thanks to any and all that can answer these questions I want to get this in before the end of the month off topic the VA has paid all of the ER and ICU stays at Lexington Medical for the CHF in April and June 23 days each time and they paid for the Biventrcular device and surgery at Providence Heart Hospital and a month of medical follow up I have now been released back to the CHF clinic at the VA no arguing about the bills or anything it was so smooth I was shocked

I did the math on mine and I will get 187.00 a month more that will pay half of my power bill lol

pete you should ask your docs for recommendations for A&A I have them from both my primary care and my shrink I am getting ready to file for it and ask for a house grant to expand my bathroom to make it accessible for my wheelchairs both push and power I think the room will have to be expanded honestly and I don't think the 4000 dollar grant will cover it, since I am going to go thru this with them I am also going to file for the K award for ED might as well do it all at once I also have to file for the AICD implant to take me from 60% for CAD to 100% let them do it all at once good luck on your A&A claim

I agree file for PTSD and leave the TBI out of it it would help if the shrinks would make notes saying that his PTSD is preventing him from working and any other limitations it is creating on his life, how it affects social life, work life and family life my shrink made it plain that he considered me totally and permanently disabled just by my PTSD symptoms and that I was not expected to ever to be able to return to work he put that statement in my records every Feb since 2003 it wasn't until May 2006 that they rated me at 100% P&T for PTSD but when they did they paid me back to when I filed the claim in Dec 2003 file the claim now so you lock in Oct 2011 for an effective date

I had a BVA hearing in Feb 2009 it was supposed to be a video hearing when we got to the VARO it turned out that the BVA Judge was there on April 7 2009 I received the letter from the BVA stating that they had granted SC for CAD and hypertension secondary to PTSD my lawyer then told me it would take anywhere from 6 months to a year before the file was sent back to the VARO and for them to actually write the award letter with the percentages in it and I would get the back pay it actually happened a lot quicker than that in June 2009 I got the award letter and the back pay 5 months from hearing date to cash in the bank I suggest for you to expect the worst then if it gets there early you can be happy

they "accidently" put a CH 35 booklet in a letter to me back in 2005, needless to say they had only awarded me 50% for PTSD at that point in time it would be another NOD and April 2006 before they granted me 100% P&T with an effective date of Dec 2003 for PTSD don't believe anything until you see it in writing better yet wait until you see the money in the bank then you can "trust" them

Congrats on "WINNING" now just don't pull a "Charlie Sheen" yes it is nice to get those back pay checks but how bad was the years you had to wait for them? They are NOT giving any of us anything we deserve those checks otherwise they wouldn't be sending them to us congrats on sticking with it long enough to "win"

yes you must have kept the issue in appeals during that time frame either with a NOD or a Form 9 Appeal to BVA if it has been more than one year since they awarded the SC claim, for example I kept filing NODs for my heart condition that was originally filed for in Dec 2002 and over the years it finally came to a nexus I could show related to my SC PTSD which was granted in May 2006 back to Dec 2003 when I fired my POA at the DVA and filed my own claims based on the help of people here, like Flip, Carlie, John 999 , Pete 53 and a lot of other people qhose names I can't recall any more they have passed away or stopped posting here for one reason or another but bottom line is that a secondary condition can NOT have an effective date prior to the original rated issue, in my case my heart problems were given an effective date of Dec 2003 and I lost the back pay to Dec 2002, but in the end I was happy to know that if I did have another heart attack and die my wife would be eligible for DIC benefits, which came close to being needed in April this year I was lucky I was already in the hospital from a minor heart attack when I had that famous "Here I come Louisie" the records show I flat lined on Sat morning April 9 put into a medical coma and they brought me out of it on 13 Apeil and sent to Charleston MUSC for a work up for either a VLAD device (the thing Dick Cheney has that keeps his heart working) or a heart or heart and lung transplant the docs said no surgery maintain me on medications other than having a Bi-Ventricular/pacemaker/defib installed I just had that done last Thursday I see the doc today for a follow up you need to keep claims alive in some type of appeal status to keep the earliest possible award dates open

I am currently SC at 100% P&T for PTSD, 60% CAD and 10% for hypertension, in June my PCP put me on oxygen this was shortly after a massive heart attack in April, I then spent from 10 June - 28 June in ICU for Congestive Heart failure, my wife got my PCP to get us a light weight wheel chair that she could handle me easier than fighting with the huge power chair they issued me back in Sep 2003. Should I file for the Biventricular pacemaker/defib that was put in on Wed due to my ejection fraction of being 10%, they are hoping it will increase my ejection fraction over the next few months, since my wife basically does everything for me, meds, driving, showering should I file for A&A? The doors to the bathrooms need to be widened for the wheel chairs which program covers that? I can't walk more than 50 feet any longer the docs can't or won't give me a time frame just that I am "end stage congestive heart failure" any ideas will be appreciated, so I can point my wife in the right directions. The night they did it Wed I was in quite a bit of pain my wife told them the percocet wasn't touching this pain, the nurse came in with demorol it wasn't but a few seconds later I was totally loopy and talking all kinds of BS Dori, my brother and the nurse were all cracking up, I slept like a baby. The rep from Medtronic came by about 8 and waved a device over my chest and down loaded the data it has collected since the insertion just to see that it was firing on all cylinders, they told me that they did not do the big test where they stop your heart to see if the defib works right or not but that the pacemaker function was doing it right but stopping my heart and hoping it would restart just didn't make a lot of sense to anyone, works for me with my luck it wouldn't have restarted. My wife said the doctor told her I can't swim or take a bath to get the incision soaking wet and not to over use my left arm for the next few weeks 2-3 so the leads will have a chance to start having tissue grow around them to hold them in place. Now I can't even carry in the bread lol life is rough and I have a wife that I don't deserve she treats me so well and I know I am a pain in the azz Hopefully now with this new gizmo I will be able to offer my 2 cents here for years to come a few months ago I wouldn't have bet any amount of money I would live to Xmas, now I am wiling to make that bet

I normally get all of my medical care at the Augusta VA, but the new cardiologist they assigned to me last month made a statement that really pizzed off my wife "you want a good doctor you go find one and YOU pay him, otherwise you take whatever doctor the VA assigns to do your implant, it's free here" this is the same cardiac clinic that told me 3 years ago that my primary care doc would refill my heart meds but they saw no reason to keep following me very 6 months anymore. We found out that Dorn VA here in Columbia has a heart failure clinic, we have been impressed since our first appt at the beginning of August, they enrolled me in telemeda program where they call the house every day and get my weight, blood pressure ask me a few questions and if something is out of whack the nurse either calls me or they set up a doctors appt for me my wife asked about having the implant done here in Columbia, she has talked with the doctor a few tiles from Dorn Today we got the Fee basis approval letter to give to the civilian cardiologist that has been treating me since April telling them how to get paid for doing the implant at Providence Hospital here in Columbia, I am relieved and so is my wife, she never wants to see that cardiac doc in Augusta again

veterans do not get money for dependents when they are SC at 10% or 20% only 30% and higher from what you stated here you did not even apply for a higher rating and other conditions until 2009 so the effective date seems to be 2009 for your 30% award which would make you eligible for dependents allowances if you still have any at home under 18 or in college if they are grown and on their own then you have nothing coming for them sorry

http://www.vetadvocates.com/directory.html all of these lawyers KNOW VA law for most if not all of them it is what they specialize in I used one here in SC and I won a CAD claim everyone kept telling me I couldn't win they also are able to call the great VA lawyers to ask for help on what to do, like Ken Carpenter, Robert Walsh etc they all help each other and they have many meetings each year for continuing education seminars remember VA lawyers do not have to be in your state they can live anywhere and still be your lawyer good luck Mike

that must be one of the good looking ones rofl