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Penelope

Second Class Petty Officers
  • Posts

    68
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About Penelope

Previous Fields

  • Service Connected Disability
    60%
  • Branch of Service
    Army

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Penelope's Achievements

  1. I had to delete the award letter. I was told that in spite of trying to redact private info, it could still be seen. Thanks for looking at it. I filed a separate notice of intent Feb 2017, or should say the VSO did because he thought I would have better success filing for secondary conditions. I have yet to file that claim. I do have about 6 dbq's ready to send in. My service connection was very difficult to prove. I had a diagnosis in the military and it continued. When I got out everyone told me they never heard of such a thing. I ultimately, 11 years after I got out had to prove the diagnosis was related to the newly titled Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I think it probably took about 10 years to get through BVA. Believe me, after that I never through anything out. I faxed the reconsideration in on June 8th 2017. Perhaps the June 12th date is when they got to it. I will be filing the secondary conditions, but wanted to wait until the TDIU claim was done. I think that it might take a trip to BVA to get those approved. Thanks again for your help.
  2. Berta, Thank you for getting back to me. Attached is the decision. Thanks again to all for your help. Hope the files came through ok.
  3. Thank you all for your advice. In February 2016, I filed an intention to file TDIU. I filed it in August 2016. In Sept 2016 they gave me a c & P by a nurse practioner and based that a decision on that in January 2017, I think. When I got the decision, I answered their questions, complete with sources and provided a new DBQ and an updated nexus letter from my dr. This was filed on June 8. They had failed to consider any of my doctor's letters in the first decision, even though they had them. Since their C& P was so ridiculous I had my doctor do a dbq and submit that. This is all part of the original claim that I filed in August 2016. They are calculating the back pay to August 2016 and not to February 2016. A total of about 6 months. This is my only claim for tdiu. My service connection was granted 23 years ago. My doctor took me out of work in 2012, but I wanted to file for Social Security before I filed this claim. I filed this all on my own. The last VSO I went to wanted me to let this claim go and file for secondary conditions and then go for permanent and total. That made sense, but I decided that I didn't want to let this first claim end the way it was and submitted the answers to their questions and more evidence to support what they didn't consider. I thought this was a reconsideration. I was very surprised and pleased when they granted it so quickly. It was kind of a shocker. Last time, I filed a major claim with VA, it took about 7 or eight years. I would be surprised if a lawyer would take the case on back pay. I think the total shortage is $12,000. That being said, I think it may be more complicated to get the secondary conditions granted. Thank you, again, for taking the time to answer my questions.
  4. Berta - It doesn't make sense to me either. I will attach snippets of the decision. Hope these come out ok. Not very good at this.
  5. I recently received my award letter for TDIU and it was made Permanent and Total. I want to thank all of you for your kind advice over the years and teaching me about how I should approach my claim. It has helped in many ways, especially letting me know what to expect. I filed a notice of Intent to file in February 2016 and submitted my claim in August of 2016. In calculating the back pay, they went back only to August 2016 and not February 2016. They said in the letter that since I left work in February 2012, they would only pay me from the date that I filed the claim, August 2016, since I did not file within a year of leaving work. I don't think that is correct and think they should go back to February 2016 when I filed the Intent to file. I just want to make sure I am right or they are right before I formally question that date. My next question is: Since I am rated TDIU and Permanent and Total, should I file Secondary Conditions. I am rated at 60% and have had that since 1994. My concern is that if something happens to me that my husband will be able to have some money coming. Again, thank you for helping me over the years. I certainly appreciate it. Penelope
  6. Thank you for responding, Buck52. I am considering hiring an attorney. Does anyone have any recommendations in the Pinellas / Hillsborough / Pasco County areas of Florida. I will be requesting the Independent Living Eval. I will provide clarification for the work form. They ignored my doctor taking me out of work, and a few other things. I just am not sure of anything at the moment other than I am back on the merry-go-round. I will start working on this for my NOD. Thanks again.
  7. I just received my notice from VA. They denied my claim for TDIU. First, they say I meet the schedular qualifications and then they say that I have not been found unable secure or follow substantial gainful employment. They acknowledge that I was accommodated to a reduced work schedule and receive SSDI, but there is no mention of my disability as to my retirement. I was eligible for retirement and took it. No need to mention disability since it is not disability retirement. Further, I declined Independent Living Services. I declined it because I live with my husband and son. If I need help they help me. What does that have to do with unemployability. On the 21-4192 My work record shows that I worked 40 hours a week. It was a bid position of 40 hours and I was allowed to work less. I sent them the pay stubs to show that I never worked 40 hours and sometimes a lot less. They completely ignored a letter from my doctor stating that it was his recommendation that I retire due to my service connected medical condition. Of course there is the C& P exam done by a nurse practioner, licensed for 8 months who stated that I didn't have debilitating fatigue or cognitive impairment during my 10 minute visit with her. I would appreciate your thoughts on the best way to fight this. I can deal with the obvious, but I haven't been successful getting a copy of the c&p because it was done by a private practice. My request for a copy has been in for 4 months now and I am still waiting. Athough this was expected, it is exasperating. I am in it for the long haul and realized most of what I was in for from the beginning. Your thoughts and advice is appreciated. Thank you for your time.
  8. I went to the RO this morning and talked to ROI. They can't do anything other than fill out a form to request the papers and suggested I go to my VSO. I went down there and she was able to read it to me. I am very disappointed in the waste of time doing the exam and not being able to obtain copies so that I can understand what is going on. Very frustrating, but as my husband reminded me, "The system hasn't gotten any better in the last 20 years." Gastone, thanks for your reply.
  9. I had a C & P done recently., which was outsourced and not done at a VA facility. When I called the toll free number, they told me that I need to make a written FOIA request. They also said that the results of the exam have already been uploaded. I would like to get my copy of the results as soon as possible and would drive down to the St. Petersburg Office to get them, but I am not getting any results trying to find out where the Release of Information Office is in St. Petersburg. Your thoughts are appreciated. Thank you.
  10. Broncovet -- That was a previous post from a conversation in June. This is one that I posted earlier today. Buck 52 responded about 7 p.m. and I was notified in my email of the response. I then went over to the site and couldn't find it. Should I post it again? It pertained to the results of my voc rehab assessment and I am not sure what it means. Thanks.
  11. I posted a message a few hours ago about a letter I received from Voc REhab. I received an answer from Buck52 and when I go back to the site, the message is gone. I am not sure if it was moved or deleted, or if it was allowed or not. Not sure whether to repost or what to do. Thanks.
  12. Gastone and others -- Thank you so much for your comments and help. I have learned a lot and appreciate your comments and advice. Thanks, again.
  13. Gastone - Thank you for your reply. I will contact Voc Rehab this morning and set up an appointment. I requested one a few months back, but missed it. They said I had a year to request another appointment. I have started the claim on ebenefits and have been trying to get all the evidence together. I am just having trouble putting it all together and want to do it right. I have a lot of docs, my VA doctor said the condition was permanent with no improvement expected, as well as the reduced work schedule at work. My family doctor, who helped me get the original service connection and was mentioned in the BVA claim, wrote a current letter. I think I am well on my way, I am just a bit slow putting it together. Thank you for your comments.
  14. Gastone -- I was able to work the entire time, but was accommodated because of medical restrictions at my job. The letters were written by my VA doctor and solely due to my Service Connected condition. In 2012, my condition became a lot worse and work was not anxious to continue to accommodate me, although they did. As my condition worsened, my family doctor took me out of work and has written a letter saying that I can no longer secure and maintain gainful employment, including sedentary work, solely due to my SC disability. I think the correct term is a nexus letter because it relates all my medical conditions back to the SC disability. I filed for Social Security Disability and it was approved. Since 2012, when I left work, I have been trying to concentrate on getting my medical self under control. I have wondered whether I should go to VA Voc Rehab or not, since my SSDI file, contains testimony stating and the judge found that there are no relevant jobs that I can do. It took 8 years to get my SC approved and I hope to submit a better claim from the start this time even though I know the wait for approval will be a long one. Do you think I should go to VA Voc rehab in spite of Social Security and the letter from the Dr.? If so, I am more than willing to make an appointment to see what they say. Thanks for your comments and time. I appreciate it.
  15. Thanks for replying, Navy04. I never thought about having my VA doctor fill out the DBQ. My VA Doctor that I had since 1989 retired in 2014. You gave me a good idea. I will have to ask my new va doctor about him filling out the DBQ when I go see him next week and see what he says. Thanks.
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