scout1069

Thanks, Berta. So I have a good chance at P&T? I will appeal that then. Not that I thought I was out of the weeds yet or anything. I've been trying to relay this new decision to SSDI. So far, nothing on that. My letter says next C&P is in 5 yrs. How reliable is that?

Wow! I received a letter from my National VSO stating I have been approved for TDIU. I want to thank everyone who responded to my questions for helping me through this. It sounds like good news and yes I know there is still some waiting left to do, but it seems like the hard part is over. I just hope it doesn't get kicked back for something. Thank you again hadit.com! <br /><br /><br />

Okay here's an update, but not sure what it means yet. I called the 1-800 # and the guy on the other end told me they sent out a Statement of the Case letter yesterday. Can someone shed some light on that one for me?

Oh by the way, my claim is at the St. Pete VARO. So there is no way to get inside with anything, say a Congressman's help, to get these people who work there to get on their jobs. I mean how many people live in Florida? And out of those, how many have disability claims on appeals? Why does it take so long? Man! Okay is there anyplace to vent frustrations to that won't slow the claim down?

Just wondering if anyone could tell me if anything can be done if I go to the VARO personally to inquire about my claim. Is that a good idea or not?

Hello all. I have an Independent Living Services contractor coming out to my house to do an assessment this Friday. I am currently 70% PTSD, 20% on a lower back injury, and 20% on a neck injury. So 80% combined. My main issues come from the PTSD, but I can move around the house good enough to get done what I have to. 1. What should I expect from this contractor? 2. Are there any things that I should be asking for that I am entitled to? 3. Can anyone offer up some advice that has had ILS work out for PTSD issues. I have a TDIU claim pending right now and I'm hoping this will move my claim along. Are the two related in any way? Thanks, Scout

I received another letter from my Voc Rehab counselor saying: As your vocational rehabilitation counselor, I have made a determination that it is not feasible for you to benefit from a program designed to return you to gainful employment due to your service connected disabilities. However we will be providing you an evaluation for Individualized Independent Living Services. Is this in addition to TDIU or am I now waiting for them to do this evaluation before they move forward with my claim for TDIU benefits? My counselor has advised me over the phone that my case is not closed and they are waiting for funding to do the ILS eval.

Okay, so I e-mailed my Voc Rehab counselor yesterday with my request and then again this morning better outlining what I was looking for. To my surprise, he e-mailed back this morning and said he could help with the letter,but that my case wasn't closed and he is waiting for some funding to free up so that they can schedule an in-house assessment for ILS. Then he called a couple of hours later and after talking things over, he said he would call VARO and speak with whomever is looking at my claim. Does this sound positive to anyone?

Ahh yes. That makes total sense to me. I just don't know how to play this game yet, so thanks for your help. I take Seroquel, Bupropion, Citalapram for my PTSD conditions. All of these meds have an impact on my daily living. And they are all prescribed to me from the VA. When I submitted the current Voc Rehab letters as evidence, I also submitted some of my VA med records where I had talked about employability with a psychiatrist back in Mar. 2009 who stated he did not see me being employable at that time as well as current ones from 2010 after talking with my LCSW about it. He wrote something similar to 1st doc's notes. Currently I see a LCSW and a ARNP-BC for my meds.

Thank you very much for the help. I've been waiting and calling the 1-800 # for a few months now and it's getting very frustrating at this point. So how do I present this to the voc rehab? Just ask him to write the letter like you said or am I going to need something from my LCSW first. He was pretty reluctant to do anything like that for me when I talked to him last. He stated that he couldn't fight the VA for this since he works for the VA. Are they supposed to be cooperative with you on this?

Okay, so I'm probably looking at another denial then. Should I get a letter from them now and submit as new evidence now or wait until I have been denied again if that happens? Also, how good of evidence from a licensed clinical social worker be stating the same thing. What do people have the best success with as far as letters. I'll just ask for the people that oversee my care to write letters as well. Is that a good idea or not? I guess I have beaten around the bush too much with some of these people. Is it okay to just come out and ask the medical professionals to write a letter stating just what you said?

Okay, here are both letters in entirety. Letter # 1: I stopped action on your claim because it appears employment is not feasible and you do not need independent living services. We met on 10/06/2010 for orientation and found you to have an employment handicap and entitled to Chapter 31. We reviewed your record and determined that your employment abilities along with intensive medical treatment do not make it practical for employment. We completed a Preliminary Independent Living Evaluation. You reported that you are having difficulty functioning because of your emotional instability and medical regimen, including medication. Further exploration did not support a need for independent living services. You are actively receiving medical services from your medical professionals at the VAMC. They are addressing many of your concerns and working with you to overcome your mental and physical disabilities. You report to have family support in the area. You met with the Wounded Warrior Project Representative and you declined the TRACK program because it would interfere with your medical treatment. A referral was sent to your VAMC provider for consideration to the Compensated Work Therapy Program (CWT) and feasibility for inpatient treatment. A review of your medical notes shows that you have discussed these options with your provider and are reluctant to pursue inpatient services because of personal obligations. You were instructed to contact me regarding a review of your Chapter 31 Rehabilitation Options. I left a message on 10/22/2010 and have not heard from you regarding your intent on using your benefits. (Since then, I have spoken to my counselor and was supposed to have had an ILS contractor come to my house for an eval. Waited about 3 weeks and called counselor back and was told there was no funding available for ILS.) Letter #2: As your vocational rehabilitation counselor, I have made a determination that it is not feasible for you to benefit from a program designed to return you to gainful employment or receipt of independent living services. We completed a Preliminary Independent Living Evaluation. You reported that you are having difficulty functioning because of your emotional instability and medical regimen, including medication. Further exploration did not support a need for independent living services. You are actively receiving medical services from your medical professionals at the VAMC. They are addressing many of your concerns and working with you to overcome your mental and physical disabilities. You report to have family support in the area. You met with the Wounded Warrior Project Representative and you declined the TRACK program because it would interfere with your medical treatment. A referral was sent to your VAMC provider for consideration to the Compensated Work Therapy Program (CWT) and feasibility for inpatient treatment. A review of your medical notes shows that you have discussed these options with your provider and are reluctant to pursue inpatient services because of personal obligations. Because I am denying you participation in a return-to-work program, I am required by VA regulations to provide you with your appellate rights. This way, if you disagree with our decision to deny you this benefit, you or your accredited representative may request an administrative review by righting a letter to this office stating the reasons for your disagreement. You or your representative may also formally appeal this decision by following the procedures outlined on the attached VA Form 4107, Notice of Procedural and Appellate Rights. You should note, however, that you cannot request an administrative review after you have submitted an appeal. If you disagree with this decision you will need to contact me within 30 days from the date of this letter with support showing you could benefit or have a need for Independent Living or return-to-work services. I can be reached by calling XXX-XXX-XXXX or e-mail @va.gov. quote name='Berta' timestamp='1291300280' post='227198'] "Voc-Rehab letter #1: As your vocational rehabilitation counselor, I have made a determination that it is not feasible for you to benefit from a program designed to return you to gainful employment or receipt of independent living services. There's more but I think what you need to see is right there in that 1st sentence. Voc-Rehab letter #2: I stopped action on your claim because it appears employment is not feasible and you do not need independent living services. There's more to that one as well, but again, that 1st sentence says enough." In my opinion it does not say enough at all. A determination by Voc Rehab that states the veteran's Service Connected disabilities render the Voc Rehab program as unfeasible for the veteran-is proof of unemployability due to service. "There's more to that" We need to see the "more to that" part.

Today I got a letter requesting that I send in any SS med recs, but I don't have any because I'm not receiving anything from SSDI yet. Do I need to answer this letter now? And what, if any, forms should I be using? If I don't send a response, will it hold up my claim? There was no timeline to do anything written on the letter.

Soooo........any takers on this one here? I need reassurance. All my confidence with anything got flushed along with my Army career. Thanks for any replies.

Yeah I applied for SSDI and got denied, so I am reapplying using the Voc Rehab denial letters and some other evidence in my VA records. I was also medically retired from the Army for combat related PTSD at 50%, currently 80% combined with VA- 70% PTSD, 20% cervical spine, 20% lumbar fracture. So does being medically retired from the Army give me a better shot? Can I submit that to SSDI?

So do you think this will confuse them and hold it up at all?

I currently have 2 appeals going on. 1st appeal Dec 2009- Initial rating was for 70% PTSD, 20% cervical spine, 20% lumbar fracture L1 L2. So 80% combined on that one. VSO requested De Novo review. 2nd appeal was for TDIU which was filed Dec 2009 and was denied Aug 2010, appealed that one Nov 2010. VSO requested De Novo review. My question is, will having 2 appeals in for De Novo review take longer since they are basically both for an increase in rating, but 1 is TDIU and the other was just appealing their original decision?

Okay this is going to be long, but bear with me and I'll break it up for everyone here. Decision letter dated 23 Aug. 2010, Rating decision is dated 12 Aug. 2010. Decision: Entitlement to IU is denied. Evidence: VA 21-8940 received Dec 11, 2009 and Feb 18, 2010. VA 21-4192 x2 received Apr. 5, 2010 and Apr. 9, 2010. Review exam for PTSD conducted on Aug 3, 2010. Skin diseases other than scars exam conducted Aug. 3, 2010. Letter sent to Vet on Mar. 10, 2010. Reason for decision: Entitlement to IU is denied because you have not been found unable to secure or follow substantially gainful occupation as a result of service connected disabilities. For entitlement to IU benefits, it must be shown that there are exceptional circumstances documented which place a veteran in a different position from other veterans with similar disabilities. VA will grant a total rating for compensation purposes based on unemployability when the evidence shows that the veteran is precluded from obtaining or maintaining any gainful employment consistent with his educational and occupational experience, by reason of his service connected disabilities. The sole factor that a claimant is unemployed or has difficulty obtaining employment is not enough. A higher rating in itself is a recognition that the impairment makes it difficult to obtain and keep employment. The question is whether the veteran is capable of performing the physical and mental acts required by employment, not whether the veteran can find employment. Then it quotes 38 CFR 4.16 We reviewed VA form 21-8940 received Dec 11, 2009 and Feb 18, 2010. You reported an education level of 4 yrs. high school. You have not tried to obtain employment since you became too disabled to work and you have not undergone any training since you became too disabled to work. We sent a VA form 21-4192 to each of your former employers. (1st employer indicated no lost days due to disability and reason for term. was due to lack of work.)( 2nd employer indicated no loss of days due to disability and reason for term. not stated, but lack of work as well.) A review exam for PTSD and a skin disease (other than scar) exams were conducted at Gainesville VAMC on Aug. 3, 2010 in order to determine any functional impairment that is attributable to your service connected disabilities. Upon physical and mental status evaluation, the examiner rendered a medical opinion that your service connected disabilities should not preclude you from physical or sedentary employment. The evidence fails to establish that your case presents such an exceptional or unusual disability picture, with related factors as marked interference with employment or frequent periods of hospitalization, to render the schedular standards for unemployability impractical; nor did the evidence show you have peculiar circumstances which place you in a different position from other veterans with a like level of disability. Based on the evidence now of record, it is not shown that you are precluded from all forms of substantially gainful employment due solely to the nature and severity of your service connected disabilities, absent other considerations, including your age, education and medical conditions of non-service origin. Entitlement to IU is denied as the evidence of record shows that you are considered capable of gainful employment. I have been denied SSDI, but I am going to reapply next month. I heard it would be faster to wait the 60 day appeal time out and reapply using the same evidence. I was medically retired from the Army for PTSD, so does that matter regarding the new regs? I got a copy of the Aug. 2010 C&P through release of records. Voc-Rehab letter #1: As your vocational rehabilitation counselor, I have made a determination that it is not feasible for you to benefit from a program designed to return you to gainful employment or receipt of independent living services. There's more but I think what you need to see is right there in that 1st sentence. Voc-Rehab letter #2: I stopped action on your claim because it appears employment is not feasible and you do not need independent living services. There's more to that one as well, but again, that 1st sentence says enough. Yeah C&P done on Aug. 3, 2010, rating decision done on Aug 12, 2010, denial letter stamped Aug 23, 2010 I'm sorry that was a long one and thank you again for the help.

Thank you for replying so quickly, Berta. Yes I was talking about the IU claim being stalled and that's what I figured as well as the statement about congress not awarding the claim. The VA did contact my former employers, but only got a reply from one. I had a C&P exam done 3 Aug. 2010 and got denial letter 2 weeks later, so it's being appealed and sent them in evidence that I picked out from my records along with Voc-Rehab denial letters. As far as the statements from others regarding violence, no I didn't think the VA would take anything like that into account. I did not put any remarks on the 21-8940, but all my meds say "may cause dizziness and drowsiness. use care when driving or operating machinery", on the bottles. I was told it is an 8 week inpatient treatment down at Bay Pines in St. Pete, FL. And yes I am working on the application for it. I am told the program is outstanding and will help me alot. I am currently rated 70% PTSD, 20% cervical spine spondylosis, 20% lumbar fracture L1 & L2. The TDIU was requested for all ratings due to the only things I am trained and could make money at are carpentry and security/police work. I was a scout in the Army for 8 yrs with 1 deployment to Kosovo and 3 deployments to Iraq. The PTSD is a no-brainer or should be to the VA. I am currently using the services or the DAV for help on my claim, but they never said anything about being able to remark on any forms about anything. Now I feel like the guy doesn't know what he's doing, but I'm getting educated for sure. Hopefully I'll be able to chime in on here and help someday. Thanks again.

Okay, so I just got a call from my Voc-Rehab counselor telling me that the reason I have not gotten a call was because they do not have the funding to do the assessment. And this will not hold up my IU claim. Is this correct and also, my wife wants to get a congressman involved and ask why my claim hasn't been approved and to complain about the lack of funding issue. Is this wise? Will that hold up the claim? Thanks in advance Scout

How long did it take for them to come in and do the assessment? It's been almost 3 weeks since I got a call from my Voc-Rehab counselor telling me they would contact me in the near future.

Okay it's been a couple of weeks now and I haven't heard anything from this "contractor" that is supposed to be doing my in home assessment for the ILS. I called my counselor and left a message and he hasn't called back. Does anyone know how long this should take?

I'm not insulted by that, but what kind of assistance do they try to offer someone with PTSD, a history of violence towards others, and is medicated to the point of confusion, sleepiness, etc.? My house isn't messy because it is taken care of by others that live here as well. I already have a 2 good dogs that help me with my emotional issues. I'm in an outpatient treatment at The JAX clinic and Gainesville VAMC. I'm also looking into an 8 week program for this stuff, but I have to apply for it. So what else can they do? Thanks for all replies, by the way. You guys are a big help.

Yes, I did that last week and yesterday I got a call from my Voc- Rehab counselor saying there will be someone coming by my home to further assess my situation. Does this mean I still have a chance at TDIU or no? I feel like the VA is messing with me on this now.

Okay now they want to bring someone in for a more in-depth look at independent living. Any advice? What exactly is this?