[Denied - Starting Appeals Process]

Good advice given above. I would not hire an attorney who dabbles in everything. Find an attorney that specializes in VA disability claims.

[Ebenefit Claim Status]

You will probably hear something soon. Watch your direct deposit account. I received my retro pay before I received my official notification. Good luck to you.

[Hello]

Welcome and good luck to you.

[Vso Or Not]

Sorry, my last post should have been directed to Notorious Kelly, not Vync.

[Vso Or Not]

Vync,

Although I never requested a VSO, the American Legion was designated by the VA as my VSO in 1970. Even today, they are still shown in my claims records as my VSO. I filed claims in 1970, 2010 and 2011 all without assistance from the AL or any other VSO. I have never talked with anyone at the AL but they have been copied on all of my claims decisions. I am not really concerned as long as they don't take any action on my behalf.

I believe someone years ago told me the VA required veterans to have a VSO designated whether they use them or don't use them. I don't know if this is true or not true.

[Vso Or Not]

My preference is handling the claims myself without a VSO. However, before you file a claim you need to gather as much information as you can about how the VA disability claims system works. Everything you need to know about how to file a VA disability claim can be found on the hadit website. My successful claims have been the result of assistance provided by information on this website, other hadit members and doing a lot of reading and research on my own. Gather your own medical records, don't depend on the VA. You are your own best advocate. Don't depend on a VSO or the VA doing the work for you. The only time I would recommend using a VSO is if you just don't feel confident and/or capable of filing the claim yourself.

Good luck to you.

[Follow Up C & P]

Congratulations on your increase.

[Am I Elegible?]

I know 100% P & T vets can work but I believe I saw something somewhere that stated veterans with 100% P & T ratings for PTSD who work do so at the risk of having their rating reduced if the VA finds out about it. I may be wrong but I am sure others on this site will correct me if I am. Good luck to you and your family.

[The Roids]

I agree with JR. Why risk a possible reduction if they decide to reevaluate your other SC conditions during another C & P exam.

[Need To Know Already 100 Pt]

I live in Georgia and after providing the DMV with a copy of my DD214, which indicated I had an "honorable discharge," the DMV provided me with a driver's license free of charge and the license indicates I am a military veteran. I am not aware of any other type of veteran's drivers license in Georgia.

I also provided my county tag office with a copy of the VA award letter certifying I had a 100% permanent and total disability rating. The county tag office provided me with one set of "Disabled Veteran" vehicle tags free of charge (no tag fee or ad valorem taxes) for one vehicle only. You can purchase additional DV tags for any additional vehicles you own.

[Social Security To Expedite Veteran Disability Claims]

And at the SSA you can actually walk in and talk to a live person, who can pull up your file on their computer, answer your questions all while displaying a helpful positive attitude. They will even give you their name and telephone extension number so you can call them back if you have questions later. The SSA handles more claims than the VA and I would bet their accuracy rate is much higher than the VA. Congress should either turn VA claims processing over to SSA or send SSA supervisors over to the VA to retrain, fire, replace or do whatever is necessary to make VA claims employees function like SSA claims employees.

[Question.]

Sleep apnea with CPAP is 50%.

[R1 From M1/2]

Congratulations. Enjoy your well deserved cruise.

[Need Some Help Please]

At 30% you are entitled to additional compensation for dependents and you are also entitled to travel pay for travel to VA medical appointments as of the effective date of your claim.

[The Beginning]

Yes, for any travel to a VA medical facility. At my VAMC, I just stop at the travel office and fill out a form, which takes about 5 minutes, and they mail a check to me.

Travel pay is also paid to any veteran, regardless of rating, when traveling to a C & P exam.

[My Letter]

Congratulations. Your hearing loss definitely deserves a high rating. I wish you well.

[Sc Awarded, No Brown Envelope]

Did you claim any dependents? If so, when you call the 800 number also ask if the award included your dependents. This may account for some of the shortage.

Good luck to you.

[Hearing Loss C & P]

Good luck boomer2 and bhoward422.

bhoward422, if your C&P exam for hearing is like the one I had, the exam will be conducted where you are in a sound proof booth wearing a headset on your ears and the examiner will be outside of the booth pressing a button which sends tone sounds of different frequencies to your headset. You will press a button whenever you hear a tone. The examiner will test one ear at a time. While in the soundproof booth, the examiner will also administer a speech discrimination test where the examiner will say different words and you repeat the words back to the examiner.

Prior to my exam, the examiner conducted an interview with me and asked about my noise exposure in the military and after the military. She asked about civilian recreational (hunting, music concerts, etc.) or occupational (civilian work) noise exposure. She also asked if I had any ringing in my ears. I responded "yes" and she asked if the ringing noise was constant and I responded "yes." She also asked how long I had the ringing in my ears and I responded "since I was in the military." The examiner also asked what my military occupational specialty (MOS) was in the military and I responded "field artillery." Your responses are important.

I was awarded 10% for hearing loss and 10% for tinnitus.

[The Beginning]

Forgot to mention, your reimbursement for travel to medical appointments goes back to the effective date of your award. You can contact travel office at your VAMC and request the reimbursement.

[The Beginning]

Congratulations. With a 30% rating you are entitled to reimbursement for travel to VA appointments.

[Subway And Wendy's In Bedford, Pa]

I use the discount at Lowes and Home Depot. Never had a problem except one Home Depot employee told me I could not use the discount on sale items. I went to another register and the employee applied the discount to all of my items including the sale items.

[Great Widow's 38 Usc 1318 Cue]

Berta,

Happy to see DIC was granted in this case. Just curious, would there have been any additional compensation for the widow if service connection had been granted?

[Back Pay]

My retro was also direct deposited in my account before I received my official notification.

[Incompetence?]

Disgusting. Veterans and/or their families should be able to file civil lawsuits against the VA when incidents like this happen. The VA should also have to pay interest when there are unjustified delays.

[Win For Hears Loss]

Congratulations on your win. When My disability rating reached the 50% level, I contacted the pharmacy at my local VAMC to request a refund. They advised me they would conduct an audit and send me a check. I received my pharmacy reimbursement check about a month later.