georgiapapa

Congratulations and good luck to you.

RSG, The VA should be required to pay you interest on the retro. I had to pay in four years of retirement contributions plus interest in order to receive retirement credit for my time in military service when I went to work in a civilian job for the federal government in 1978. When you owe the government money, you may have to pay interest. If the government owes you, you do not receive interest and they often take their time paying you. Is this fair? GP

oldnavypa, Amazing outcome. Filed for service connection for 31 conditions. Service connection granted for 29 conditions. Using regular math, not VA math, combined ratings of 540%. Using VA math = 100% P & T. Congratulations on a job well done. Good luck and take care of yourself. GP

Paul, I think continuity of symptomology and continuity of treatment go hand in hand for a successful claim. Even if a claimant legally did not have to show treatment, medical records showing regular treatment of the symptoms would make the claim more credible. Many medical conditions have some of the same symptoms. However, if a claimant has medical records showing the claimant has regularly been taking a prescribed medication or receiving a specific medical procedure, both of which are designed to treat the claimed medical condition, the VA would have a more difficult time trying to attribute the symptoms to a medical condition other than the one claimed. This is even more important when a claimant has been out of service for several years and their medical records shows symptoms but no treatment. Records of treatment also helps the VA address the question of severity of the condition and level of disability. JMO GP

mos1833, I agree that "Continuity of Symptomology" doesn't apply to readily identifiable chronic conditions (multiple schlerosis, Cancer, etc.). However, I disagree with you if you are saying "there is no need for a paper trail of treatment" for non-chronic conditions. Refer to 38 CFR part 3.303 - Principles Related to Service Connection: "Continuity of Symptomology is required only where the condition noted during service (or in the presumptive period) is not, in fact, shown to be chronic or where the diagnosis of chronicity may be legitimately questioned." "When the fact of chronicity in service is not adequately supported, then a showing of continuity after discharge is required to support the claim." If the condition being claimed is not chronic, a claimant would need evidence/paper trail (medical records) after discharge to show a continuity of symptoms and treatment for said symptoms of the condition claimed. Otherwise, the claim would fail. JMO GP

coastie, If you have a mental health counselor, you need to discuss your wife's concerns with him or her ASAP. If your wife is willing and the mental health counselor is agreeable, I would ask your wife to attend the session with you. This will let your wife know you are taking her concerns seriously. It will probably help both of you have a better understanding of each other's concerns by attending the session together. If you do not have a mental health counselor, I would get one immediately. JMO Good luck to you and your wife. GP

Berta, You are correct, the responses to questions #7 and #8 do conflict with each other. Like you, I assume the correct response to #7 should have been yes. GP

AFEngineer, Glad everything worked out for you. Good luck and take care if yourself. GP

Dustin, Great advice given to you by Philip Rogers. You have a good chance of receiving 100% TDIU which, along with your SSDI, will give you an excellent income for you and your family. As Philip stated, you will probably eventually get P & T (permanent and total) status which will provide your spouse and children with Champva health insurance and Chapter 35 DEA educational benefits for your spouse and children. Champva insurance is free (no premiums) and has a low $100.00 family annual deductible. My wife and mother both have Champva and it is, in my opinion, the best health insurance available. With Chapter 35 educational benefits, you would not have to worry about paying for your children's college education. In addition, your wife could receive up to 4 years of college or other education. My wife and I were in our sixties when I received my 100% P & T award. I wish we would have had Chapter 35 educational benefits available for our kids when I was in my forties. It would have saved me a ton of money paying for our children's college education. Once you reach 100%, you will also have base exchange and commissary privileges available to you and your family. Every state has certain benefits available for 100% veterans. Some states require P & T status to receive the benefits and some do not. The benefits vary by state but often include substantial property tax breaks, auto tag tax breaks, disabled veterans tag (s), income tax breaks, etc. Since you are already over 50% at the VA, you can receive all of your medical care free of charge at the VA (no copays or deductibles). Once you reach 100%, you can get all of your dental work free at the VA dental clinic. Since you are already receiving SSDI, I assume you are also covered by medicare and can use medicare to receive medical care from private healthcare providers if you desire. Dustin, not having health insurance for your family will create a hardship for awhile. However, if you take care of yourself and plan right, you are actually in a situation where you will be able to provide a decent standard of living for your family and would be assured they would eventually have excellent healthcare coverage and excellent educational opportunities. I wish you and your family well. GP

See 38 CFR part 4.97 - Schedule of Ratings (Respiratory System) Refer to Diagnostic Code 6847: Sleep Apnea Syndromes (Obstructive, Central, Mixed): "Requires use of breathing assistance device such as continuous airway pressure (CPAP) machine" - 50% rating Ratings for sleep apnea are 0%, 30%, 50% or 100%.

Fat, It is my understanding that "Continuity of Symptomology" is when a claimant had a medical condition (disease or injury) in service and the medical condition required regular treatment after the claimant was discharged and the regular treatment for the medical condition continued up until the present date. As long as the claimant has evidence (medical records) of all of the above, the medical condition should be service connected. JMO GP

jefmil50, If you don't receive a call back from your RO in a few days, I would email Undersecretary Hickey and get it straightened out so you do not have to file a NOD. JMO www.allison.hickey@va.gov Good luck to you. GP

Dustin and Vahalla, An IMO is an Independent Medical Opinion. You can find info and a sample of an IMO on this website. GP

Dustin, If you do go back to work, you will more than likely lose your SSDI and jeopardize any VA ratings for PTSD. Just a thought to keep in mind if you are thinking of going back to work. If you are unable to return to work, you should definitely file a claim for TDIU as I suggested in my previous post. JMO GP

Buck, You may be right. However, in Dustin's post he stated he put in a claim to increase his 70% PTSD rating. If his claim succeeds, he will have a 100% PTSD rating and he will not be able to work so he might as well file the IU claim. Perhaps Dustin is not aware that he can not work with a 100% mental disorder rating. GP

Hopefully, this lawsuit will be followed by lawsuits filed by the families of the six veterans who died and the 21 other veterans who developed Legionnaires disease. I am surprised that some of the employees at the VA facility did not contract Legionnaires disease. GP

Dustin2100, You should file a claim for IU ASAP. You are receiving SSDI and have been told by Voc-Rehab that you are unemployable. If you don't already have it, get a letter from Voc-Rehab stating you are unemployable. Send the Voc-Rehab letter and the SSDI award letter in as your evidence to support your IU claim. Good luck. GP

Vync, This is SOP for the military. Look at how many years (decades) went by before they finally decided to do something about Agent Orange exposure by Vietnam veterans. Another example is the exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune by Marines and their families from the 1950s to the 1980s. The longer they wait to acknowledge the exposure and disabilities caused by the exposure, the fewer the claims because a large portion of those exposed will be dead and not able to file claims. Disgraceful conduct by our government over and over. JMO GP

The only real "Veteran's Choice" program would be a program that actually allowed veterans the choice of using the VAMC facilities or using private healthcare providers of the veterans choice. This will never happen because the VA and the politicians know that veterans would overwhelmingly choose private healthcare providers over the VAMC facilities because private healthcare providers would give veterans more choices, timely appointments and better overall healthcare. JMO GP

me.plum, Congratulations on your long overdue and well deserved award. Sorry it took so long for the VA to finally do the right thing. Since your combined rating is now over 50%, you are considered to be in priority group one (1) in the VA healthcare system. As a result, you can use the VA healthcare system for any medical condition (service connected or non-service connected) with no copays for VA medical care or VA prescriptions. Your health care at the VA is totally free. You can also go to the business office at your VAMC and request reimbursement of any copays you paid for VA medical appointments or VA prescriptions retroactive back to the effective date of your recent award that put you over 50%. Good luck and Semper Fi. GP

Kevin, Excellent post. Hopefully, more vets who were exposed to chemical agents will receive the benefits they deserve. GP

Oiler1995, Are you currently receiving SSDI? If you are, submit your SSDI award info when you file for IU. It will help you get IU and your effective date of your IU could be backdated to the effective date of your SSDI award. Good luck to you. GP

retiredat44, Another thought. Copies of IMOs or other documentation used by other veterans who had exposure to any of the chemicals named in your posts and succeeded with their claims. Hopefully, the IMOs or other documentation would contain reasonable medical rationale you could possibly use and the IMOs would also provide you with the names and contact info on specialists who might provide assistance with your claims. The veterans could black out their personal info or communicate with you via PM. Good luck to you. GP

cdbean04, If you have received your retro, you should be receiving the BBE soon and your questions will be answered. Based on the comments in your post, an IU award is the only reason I can see for a 100% retro award. Good luck and let us know what you find out when you receive the BBE. GP

AFEngineer, Congratulations on your successful award. Enjoy all the benefits that come with a 100% P & T award. Champva health insurance for your eligible family members, Chapter 35 DEA educational benefits for spouse and eligible children, state benefits vary by state (property tax breaks, vehicle tax breaks, state income tax breaks, etc.) Good luck to you and your family and thank you for your many years of dedicated service to our country. GP