Jim MAC

I called the day after this post showed up. Program is closed per Peggy

Unfortunately is it is VERY common to lose at the CAVC.

Their web site shows what I mean.

http://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/

A remand from the CAVC is far better than a denial but that does not mean the remand will change the outcome of the claim and it will add much more time to another denied decision.

The CAVC looks for legal errors in BVA decisions that are detrimental to the claimant.

BVA doesn't make that many errors , in my opinion, but maybe they make more than we think and if the claimant does not file with the CAVC , we dont really know how many BVA denials ccould have been overturned.

The problem with CAVC opinions is that the evidence must be established with the VA first.They dont accept new evidence.

A CAVC remand can often open a door for more evidence, but lets face it, by time of a CAVC case being heard, the claimant has had plenty of time to offer more evidence either to the VARO or to the BVA.

No miracles happen at the CAVC.

A claimant can go ahead and file with a Federal Circuit Court for Appeals if the CAVC denies their claim.

Some have succeeded that way but that too is difficult to do, costly, and time consuming.

http://injurylawopinions.justia.com/category/u-s-federal-circuit-court-of-appeals/

"I was just wondering how many of you have ever had an appeal denied by the Court"

My former vet rep ( a real dope) asked me to help a vet who he didnt think would succeed but (I realised after I said yes) he wanted to get rid of the vet, who was very demanding.

The vet had been to the CAVC twice and denied.

I read his initial BVA decision, It contained one word which I felt was a clue....an odd medical term

Long story....none of his CAVC lawyers had ever even looked up that critical medical term.

I did, and then with his SMRs,(which I dont think the CAVC lawyers ever read at all) I helped him get an IMO from his private doctor (that was free) and he won a lot of retro.

I helped a lawyer who joined here many years ago as well to get a CAVC remand for his client.

But in that case ( we both found 2 legal errors BVA made and got the remand ) I was highly doubtful of any success at all for that claim. I didnt hear back from the lawyer so I guess the veteran lost the case again.

I also have a theory about the CAVC.

If a claimant does not want to get a lawyer for their case, they are going into battle with their ---- in their hand instead of a weapon.

I forget what the lawyers can charge, but whatever it is is better than getting 100% of nothing.

After I left service I was granted ssi due to not having enough work credits I didn't know I was able to file for va until about 10 months of out of service i was awarded ssi in 4 months va took about 2 years I left service December 2011 granted va Nov 2013.



I would recommend ssi or and ssdi due to Medicaid and Medicare they give a bit of money also to help between time of service leaving and va granting. Also helps with creating paper trail due to the insurance helping pay for medical expenses.

Sorry long post hope it is readable.

The envelope please, finally, 23 yrs of fighting and its over for now!!
100% Perm. and Total, NO further exams , and all the benefits

I wish to thank everyone over the years for the advise and help, the total value of knowledge here should make the VA shake.

I regularly tell Vets about Hadit.com, knowledge is power!!! and there is power in this site.

Once again thanks to all.

Wade

I retired from the AF in 2003. I have not used space A since I retired. I do not see a reason not to give it to 100 percent SC Veterans. As a Cat 7 they would be behind retires. It hurts no one, I was a flying Crew Chief on C141. Most pilots I flew with would go out of there way to take space A passengers, We would drop seats and try to take as many as we could. Questions for people out there smarter then me could they write the regs saying no wheel chairs?

I retired from the AF in 2003. I have not used space A since I retired. I do not see a reason not to give it to 100 percent SC Veterans. As a Cat 7 they would be behind retires. It hurts no one, I was a flying Crew Chief on C141. Most pilots I flew with would go out of there way to take space A passengers, We would drop seats and try to take as many as we could. Questions for people out there smarter then me could they write the regs saying no wheel chairs?

you can use PDF creator here:
http://www.pdfforge.org/

All you have to do is print what ever document to the PDFCreator print function and save the PDF to you Desktop and then you can move it where ever you want.

I have been using it for 3 years and it is great.

"Currently it is under review with results due to SecDef in August for his consideration."
In other words, slowball until we can figure a way out of this one!
I'd mention some of the ways, but someone might take them and run with it. Cost saving suggestions, don't you know!

Who wants to sit around some airport waiting for space available for hours if you are 100% disabled vet with mobility problems? If I were 25 years old and not traveling with a wife maybe it would not be so bad.

I have watched for years now our 100% PT Service Connected Disabled Veterans, who served our Country, served her proudly and through no fault of their own, were injured, honorably discharged and unfortunately unable to have the opportunity to committ to a 20 year career and now being passed over and denied again and again, the benefit to be eligible for the DoD's Space A Travel Program while other non uniformed service personnel whom never served, get added into the Eligibility Categories as if they were the cat's meow!

It's time to RIGHT THIS WRONG! It's time to stand up and be heard, listened too and taken seriously!

Let's get the word out there! Let's get it out there Loud & Proud and hopefully see a change this time! :)

I have started a Petition to send to President Obama and to Congress about finally following through and amending the DoD 4515.13-R Regulation to include a "Category 7 entitling 100% PT SC Diabled Veterans" for the Space A Travel Program.

I am hoping the way I have written the petition and the way I wish for them to amend the eligibility categories that it will pass without concerns and/or complaints from the nay sayers, the Joint Chiefs, DoD, The Secretary of Defense, the military uniform service members, DoD employees, 20 year retirees and/or any other eligible personnel.

The Petition is asking to add an additional Priority Category 7, which will be the Category that includes our 100% PT SC DAV, hence placing them at the bottom of the Priority list for any available passenger seating that may be open.

I am hoping this will make everyone happy. The DAV will finally be eligible and have the opportunity to benefit from the Space A Travel Program without any other eligible uniform category member to give up their priority listing.

If you wish to help our DAV receive this benefit, please click on the link below and sign the Petition.

Thanks. :)

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/space-a-travel-eligibility

What is wrong with that picture?


EVERYTHING

and worse yet, it is SOP for too many vets!

Finally after 8 years I woke up this morning to 6 figures appearing in my bank account. I went from a M1/2 to R1. The PVA will be filing for R2 in a few months. I couldn't be happier that it is almost over after all these years. Now for our Alaska cruise!
Rich

Glad to hear the comments both good and otherwise.

When shopping somewhere that doesn't offer vets a discount, mention that their competitor DOES and that's where you're heading next.

They may match it and change their policy.

When a grocery chain offered vets a 10% discount one day, I emailed our thanks and hopes that they'd repeat the offer.

I don't feel entitled to discounts but have repeatedly praised businesses who offer them and flagged competitors' discounts to businesses who didn't.

Let's get folks used to honoring veterans with more than a bumper sticker!

I've biought a couple Fords under the X program in the one in 2010, one in 2011.... was also given the Ford disability grand due to wheel chair Lift. Ford also applied my VA adaptive equipment grant to the down payment...

I bought a Kia in 2011.. didn't get any discounts as a Army Retiree or as a veteran, or as a disabled veteran and the van is crap!

Saints,

This is a legal case that will affect your quality of life forever so it's good to expend as much energy as you can preparing it.

I talked with attorneys Before filing for SSDI and they both said, "After you're denied twice-contact me".

So, like Dick said, it's SOP unless you meet one of the listed ailments in the Blue Book http://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/AdultListings.htm you are denied; the fortunate thing is your first denial was quick so now you can get to work on winning.

Hadit member fanaticbooks has wonderful site http://www.howtoassemblevaclaims.com/ssd.html which I used to be successful.

You'll want RFCs Residual Functional Capacityy forms and that self report Navy04 mentioned http://vets.yuku.com/topic/2822/SSDI-Self-report#.UwtfjIXPvNo

Get to work!

DONT TAKE THE DENIAL AS YOU ARENT DISABLED. They deny and hope you give up. KEEP fighting, a lawyer is a must. the doc who saw me told me they are denying just to deny nowadays, so dont get discouraged.She told me that it didnt matter what she said, the call is made by people who arent doctors. its beurocracy. get a good lawyer.

WOOHOO got my back pay and my first check last Wednesday.

With SSDI, age is a big deal also. I don't know how old you are, but

"For Social Security disability benefits claimants under age fifty, age is generally not considered to present an obstacle to adjusting to new employment contexts. However, for claimants over age fifty, age is acknowledged as a factor that may significantly impact their ability to adjust to new work. For workers over age sixty, age has been deemed by the Social Security Administration ("SSA") to be a barrier not only to their ability to do work, but also to their ability to get work". Missouri Law Review.
My wife got SSDI at age 49 after being denied twice. I think they judge felt she was close enough would be unable to be trained for a new (different skill) job. Good luck, Hamslice

SSI is related to income:"Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a United States government program that provides stipends to low-income people who are either aged (65 or older), blind, or disabled"

SSDI is for disabled workers and VA benefits are not considered except to bolster your case for disability.

Absolutely file for SSDI.

One thing to remember - friends, family and neighbors don't like that you're being compensated, for not working, and will turn you in, in a New York minute. Just sayin . . .

pr

Outrageous behavior and callous treatment of veterans are things that the VA has been known for - for decades, not months or years.
In the 1960's while I was still in school, Korean War veterans were having the same kinds of problems that current era veterans have with the VA.
For one, the VA frequently totally ignores the clauses in law that are intended to "make up" for the lack of evidence and records for "combat veterans".

I had some problems that relate to this. Seems that - -
A ship I served on was later mined, with significant losses of paper records, including a backup file containing
shipboard medical treatment records.
An in Vietnam USAF hospital managed to "misplace/loose" my medical records. Decades later, those records more or less turned up
at the St Louis Repository.
The VA, seems to have lost records around 2008, significantly some that were "inconvenient",
in that they showed the VA's gross ineptness and intent to deny rather than fairly evaluate.

Prior Navy myself, and I admit my story pretty much reflects yours in regards to why should I when so many other warriors deserve it much more than me. But, when I basically came to a wall and not able to actually work at all I did the only thing I could do.
I filed for SC and SSDI at the same time.

While I waited and my finances fell thru the floor I never felt more guilty and useless to the point of that it started coming out wrong in so many ways.

I did win SC, but it should be higher than 60% and I believe I will get it too where it should be and that's at 80%.

Now that the VA is taking care of me (which I actually didn't even know was available to me), including to major depression and anxiety issues I have come to realize that I did my part and now its time for me to take it easy a little. I still have issues from time to time, but I work thru it. I recently even got my own emotional support dog, not a trained one.. just a pet.. but he does bring my spirits up allot. He is my little boy, not that he is little.. at 11 months he weights in at close to 120 pds. Yes I am Navy, but his name is Sarge... and I don't know what I do with out him.

I hope some how this helps you in some way in knowing your not alone in how you feel.
Good luck and congratz!

Hello Hadit Vets,

I ran across your website by accident some months back, and have been reading these forums with interest. I think it has actually been therapeutic for me to read stories from my fellow warriors.

I have always thought that even though I have "things that I deal with" on a daily basis, whether they be physical or mental, it's nothing compared to the sacrifices others have given to this great country, so who am I to complain? That thought process all changed in an instant this morning when my VA rep called an informed me that the VA was awarding me 80% disability. If I wasn't at work, I probably would have lost it emotionally. For my country to basically say "We appreciate what you have done, we know it took a toll on you, and we want to help you" is the most humbling thing that has ever happened to me.

With that said, in my readings on this website, not only has it helped me in so many ways, but I have also noticed so many questions from people about the great unknown that is the VA Claim Process. So, I decided that whenever my claim was completed, I was going to make a post on here with as much info about my own personal odyssey, in the hopes that it make help someone as well, or at least make for some good reading while you’re waiting on your own claim.

I retired honorably after almost 22 yrs of service as a comms guy in Navy. I've deployed on a ship to the Gulf, been stationed all around our country and the world. I've also made multiple deployments to Iraq, AFG, and many other places doing spec ops comms support for men who made me proud to be an American every day I was with them. Humbling doesn't even begin to describe how I felt watching these brave warriors take the fight to our enemies day and night throughout the many years I worked with them.

As my time in the Navy came to an end, and my retirement date neared, a very good friend of mine told me to contact this officer he knew that would help me with a disability claim when I got out. I never really thought seriously about filing a claim until that talk with him. Like I said, I have had things that I have dealt with for many years, but I have never thought of myself as disabled. Disabled Vets are the true warriors who have been through a hell of a lot more than me, right? However, I have always respected my buddy's advice, and ended up filing a claim, knowing full well that it was most likely for not? Yes, I have a limp, my shoulders hurt, I have nightmares, etc., but I have all my limbs, my buddies were never killed in front of me, I was never blown up, so why would I get disability? But I filed anyway with the help of a great Navy Doc, and encouragement from friends, Shipmates, and family. So here it goes......

· I got hooked up with a great rep from AMVETS who filed a Fully Developed Claim (FDC) for me in Providence, RI, the day after my retirement, on 2 Oct 2013.
· Contentions: PTSD (New), Depression (New), sleep disturbance (New), bilateral Shoulder Pain (New), Bilateral Tinnitus (New), right heal (New), low back pain (New), bilateral knee (New), anxiety (New), Bilateral wrist (New), bilateral calf pain shin splints (New), bilateral hand / fingers (New), hearing loss (New), pre- cancerous skin lesions (New), rest leg syndrome (New)
· In late February I first found Hadit.com. I enrolled in eBenefits and MyHealtheVet soon after.
· Mar 3 - Got a letter in the mail from the VA stating that they couldn’t do an FDC and were switching my claim to “normal” or whatever. I didn’t understand that, but no biggie I guess ( I read on here that it’s bc of mental health claims).
· Mar 4 – Got a call from the VA that I had my C&P exams scheduled for 6 and 7 March. One with mental health, one for shoulders, feet, etc., and one for hearing. I went to all of them, and they were uneventful IMO, especially after reading so many horror stories on here about these exams. I was simply myself, and spoke honestly about things, and the docs seemed to be fair as far as I could tell. My mental health exam only lasted like 15 min, and the other about 40 min. Both docs mentioned "your record had more than enough info" or something to that effect. The results were available using the Blue Button in My HealtheVet very soon after my appointments. I skimmed through it but didn’t have a clue what it all meant in regards to a rating, except speculation.
· End of March - my claim moved from Gathering of Evidence to Review of Evidence
· April 19 – moved back to Gathering of Evidence. They said they needed stressor statement from me for PTSD. Like others having a tough time with events that have happened to them, I did not look forward to writing about stuff, but my VA rep said just send a quick summary, bc he didn’t understand why they were asking for it in the first place. He sent it in for me. My claim moved back to Review of Evidence the next week.
· May 30 – Moved to Preparation for Decision
· Jul 9 – VARO called and asked me to send them more evidence, which I had and emailed right to him. Noticed my claim moved back to Gathering of Evidence and thought “Sheesh….here we go again….hurry up and wait.”
· This morning, Jul 10 – My VA Rep called and told me I was rated at 80% total, to expect monthly checks to start Aug 1, and that a retro payment will be sent to me about 6 mo from now. My claim also skipped to Preparation for Notification this morning.

I want to add, that the most important thing that I have received is the help in dealing with these problems while on active duty and when I transitioned to the VA. There have been so many bad things said about the VA health care, and the claims process, etc., in recent years, that I find myself lucky to not have had any issues thus far. In fact, it’s been the exact opposite. It took a long long time for me to realize some things were not right within me, and that I needed to ask for help, which I’m sure many of you can relate to. It was one of the hardest things I have done, but also one of the best things I think.
I have been in therapy weekly, and taking many prescriptions for almost 4 years now and it has definitely helped me cope with things. All of the things I claimed were well documented in my medical record, and I was certain that there would be no question as to whether any of them were service connected; I just didn’t think they would rate anything. (Looking back, my depression probably has a little to do with my thinking).
Lastly, I want to thank everyone on Hadit for sharing your wisdom and personal insight on things. They have helped me a lot, which is why I told myself that I would share my story as well, in the hopes that I could help someone out there. If you’re still reading, sorry if I rambled a little too much.
Thank you all for your service to our country, and God Bless America!

My suggestion would be to speak with an Attorney who works with VA claims, If you look at some of the posts there name are in them.

Best of luck

Hugh

CONGRATS!!!

it is stories like yours and so many countless others that makes it all worth it!!!! Ole rule of thumb...if you are rated at 70% plus more likely you should be a 100%!!!! Keep fighting and whatsoever you do.....DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!