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I have been researching this for a while and I keep ending up here at HadIt reading old threads. So, now that I am ready to ask questions I have com to you. I appreciate the knowledge I have acquired here already. Thank you all. My situation is that I was service connected rated 20% for Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD L2-3 and L5-S1) limited mobility as well as 10% each for a shoulder, both knees and PTSD back in 2011. 50% total rating. This was done through the Army/VA program when they told me I couldn't play with them anymore. Fast forward to last year and I began to have numbness and tingling in my legs from standing for more that 20 minutes at a time. Over the course of the year it shortened to 10 minutes and I was experiencing warm and cold flush sensations in my thighs. In November I had bad sciatic pain and a steroid pack resolved it. Then in January this year it went precipitously downhill. I started having numbness start from my groin to just below my knees after 5 or so minutes. I was down to 5 - 10 minutes of stand or walk time and I started getting wobbly and falling down if I pushed it. I had to stop working in April because I was stumbling and scared that I was going to fall off the ladder I climbed repeatedly throughout the day. So I have had MRIs and an EMG and fought with doctors and it appears that all the VA is willing to do is give me a shot in the back and leave me crippled. The diagnosis is lumbar radiculopathy. The MRIs show two herniated discs (L4-5 and L5-S1 and a bulging disc above at L3-4) as well as stenosis and multiple moderate and severe nerve impingements at these levels. The EMG shows "electro-diagnostic evidence of L5-S1 radiculopathy. Given that I apparently need to grab a Snickers while the VA medical side struggles to do medicine, I figure I need to file a claim on the worsening back and the neurological deficits that it is creating. My problem is this: I'm not sure how I should make the new claim and what it should be for, exactly. I contacted the American Legion rep for my county and he basically said he just files paperwork. I have looked at 4.71a and I get the rating for the spine itself. I'll need to get them to do a measurement for flexion to see if I meet the criteria for that to change. When I go looking for the neurological stuff I get lost. Same goes for the stenosis and arthritis. I can't seem to figure out how they get rated and what I would present from my file to establish the criteria. I have to think the numbness and loss of strength from standing / walking leading to falls have some place in this. If someone can give me some help and guidance I would be eternally grateful. Then there is the whole how do you write it up so that the paper shuffler who has a couple minutes to go-nogo the packet sees what they need to see. But that is a separate matter for when I have the what figured out, I suppose. Thank you all again for any help you can provide.

Alex Graham Aka Asknod will be our guest speaker. His with and humor along with his vast knowledge of the VA is amazing. Join us for this show. You will learn something. Give us a call and join the conversation. To call in dial 347 237 4819 option 1. To listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/haditcom/2018/01/19/hadit-podcast-with-special-guest-alex-graham-aka-asknod

What the heck just as I thought I was getting somewhere on Thursday it said prep for notice and that it would be completed 9/25. I just checked to see if maybe they happen to updat my rating or my letter and saw that it now went back to prep for descion!!! Ugh what the heck is going on does this happen all the time??

In 2010 while I was on active duty training I was hospitalized for a month. For walking-pneumonia, pneumothorax, hemothorax ,decortication and thoracotomy. I had 3 major surgeries in 48 hours, 2 blood transfusion, placed in a chemically induced coma and placed on a ventilator and life support. I spent two weeks in ICU. While recovering I had to re-learn how to eat, talk and walk. I some how turned into a vegetable. With this being the first time I've every had to go to the hospital I was traumatized by the visit. At the time I was 19. Since this was ADT, and not AD a LOD was done and found "NOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY." "NOT DUE TO OWN MISCONDUCT." Because I was receiving treatment before going on active duty. I was doing Honor Guard for deceased veterans. When the funding became available I was placed on an ADT status. 6 months after this incident I was deployed to Afghanistan. While there I was always short of breath. I continually coughed of blood and phlegm. I was medevac to a larger base that had better medical equipment to find what was wrong with me. I was diagnosed with bronchitis and given an antibiotic. It felt like I could never breath in enough oxygen. I stayed at a FOB that was in the middle of a village. Every couple of days the would dump human waste in the holes the locals dug and burn it along with other chemicals and material. I have been filling for asthma since I returned home from Afghanistan. At the C&P exam I did when I first filled back in 2011, the decision letter stated "The provider referred to a period of inactive duty." Service connect was denied. Which was a true state, but the provider never mention any of the incidents I had while on active duty in Afghanistan. With that a CUE claim has been filed and I now had another C&P exam coming up. I had PFT test done then and I had one done today. My question is which one will they use, and what if i run in to the same situation at the C&P exam. I have been on an albuterol inhaler since Ive been back I still continue to cough up phlegm and i constantly get respiratory infections. Im still always short of breath to where it affects my daily activates. It has gotten to the point where I become depressed because I'm not able to have fun with my two boys, as any father would and having to explain to them why I can't run or why I can't wrestle with them is heartbreaking. Any advice would be helpful! Respectfully, Army Veteran 2008

Good day all, quick question. May be a little confusing but I will do my best. My comp is currently under review for NOD. However, I recently admitted myself to a walk in VA clinic for MH. It is not one of the issues contested in my NOD. Do I have to file a new claim, or do I assume that all of this will work itself out. I'm not proud of the reason I went to the walk in, and I don't want to ask the question as if I'm trying to pull a bigger percentage, but after reading threads, I feel safer asking here than there. Thanks all.

Dear Veterans, I just received another denial letter from the VA for my Left Knee and Sleep Apnea service connection. I'm currently working with a VA Claims Specialist in Long Island, New York to help me with the claims process. He has told me we will have to file a Notice of Disagreement / De Novo Review for the Left Knee and Sleep Apnea. He also advised me this process could take up to 1-2 years. This is unfortunate and I want to make sure the VA has everything they need to give me the proper decision. I've attached pictures of my original claims from July 2013, and the decisions I've received for Sleep Apnea and my Left Knee condition in May 2016. I originally submitted my Left Knee claim right before I got out in July 2013 and I was denied. I dislocated my Left Knee cap in 2012 while in service. Since 2013 my knee has gotten worse, I've attended many months of physical therapy and I recently had surgery in March 2016. My knee is now worse after the surgery, I'm unable to run and I'm still in physical therapy. All of this is coming out of pocket because the wait times were too long for physical therapy at the VA Hospital, and I didn't trust the VA with surgery. I was unable to submit the surgery to the VA because I received surgery after I submitted. I've submitted two (2) lay statements, a physical therapy report, and VA examination which was requested by the VA. The VA examination explained that I couldn't stand up for more then 15 mins without pain and that my knee would lock up making it difficult to walk. I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea in October 2013, just 3 months after I got out in July 2013. I submitted the claim a few months after because I wasn't sure about the claims process. I've submitted two (2) lay statements from Marines I deployed, lived and served with. I also have the doctors report from the VA hospital sleep study. With all this evidence I was still denied the claim. When I spoke to the VA rep on the phone they told me they didn't have my lay statements, however, the VA Claims Specialist I'm working with said this wouldn't matter because I was diagnosed within a year of discharge. I'm currently 50% with Anxiety and Depression and I have a special purpose claim for Erectile Dysfunction. Furthermore, the Left Knee claim is coming up as (New) on eBenefits even though I originally submitted in July 2013. Once I receive a decision will they back date the claim to July 2013 or from when the new claim was submitted? I appreciate all the help and suggestions you can offer. Semper Fi

It is a new year so Jerrel and I have decided to go back to the basics of Va claims. This is a multi part series starting on Tuesday Jan at 2:00pm eastern. We will begin with Disability and gathering evidence and filing the claim, what forms to use, selecting a representative to assist you and how to navigate the process. No one should have to go this one alone. Join us for this show. John AKA JBasser

Ok so I have several issues but I will start with one that just came up this last month. First here is my rating that came from my 2010 claim; 40% SC Residuals of Foot Injury 10% Residuals of Foot Injury 10% Lumbosacral or cervical Strain 10% Tinnitus 10% Bulbar Palsy 10% Impaired Hearing 0% So as this story goes I was injured in Iraq in 2010 and was diagnosed by the VA with degenerative arthritis in the back, because we all know degenerative means it happened overnight haha. 2 years later they get me to see a specialist and she states that I broke my back in the last year or so and wanted me to stop all I was doing so she could figure out what was going on, my Doc reviewed the most recent X-rays and discussed possible treatment options and what I needed to do for the next month just in case I did damage my back in the near past. Prior to leaving her office I asked her to show my X-rays from 2 years ago to compare to this years X-rays and what to my surprise they both have the same fracture and there is no change. Number 1 I think I was able to read an X-ray that was missed by a DOC that the VA pays much more $$ than I make. Second, Sure is fishy that this injury shows up two years later and is now an issue and was caught by both a radiologist and doctor but yet 2 years ago it was noted that there was nothing abnormal about this same view. This brings up my issue I have an appeal for both a TBI Injury and Back Injury which I filed last March, I called the VA this week and asked about my appeal and was informed that it could take 432 days from the date that my Form 9 was filed. I gave the VA all the information that was needed in my NOD and there was no need to fill out a Form 9, yet in June I got a request to fill out this form. I called the regional office and was told that it was necessary as did my VSO, so I filled out the Form 9 (Stating that all the information needed was included on my NOD). Well the joke was on me Filling out Form 9 let the VA reset the calendar on my file and when I asked about this issue I was told that the Form 9 is required. I guess they get you coming and going. I think at this point my best bet is to let it ride and wait out the VA as they have to address this claim someday. I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea this past month, although I have claimed it in the past, my claim was denied and expired while I was deployed in 2010. I am not sure if I should claim this now or wait for my appeal to get settled prior to claiming. I think that if I open a claim I might screw up my pending appeal, when is the best time to open this claim and/or is it best to sit on it a while? Should I start an electronic claim but not complete it to hold the date or will this also flag my appeal. Sorry for the long windedness but sometimes venting helps. Thanks

Berta I would like to ask you if Causation is the same in a FTCA as it is in a 1151 claim. Can you be denied from surgical Malpractice because of Progression of disease, how can they keep coming up with surgeries I've never had then say they have to deny my claim because there is nothing in my records that support the surgeries listed that I never had. I won a tort claim for medical malpractice in 2008 at time R/C said I'd be made like 100% service connectyed and paid at that rate five years latrer it's never happened. I am currently at the BVA with the Law Judge can she remand a case more than once

I can't understand when my claim comes up for review it is turned down because of some incorrect descriptions that have nothing to do with my claim. I have been turned down for Progression of my disease, for Hip Surgery I never had, And for a sponge being left inside of me after colon surgery. I won a FTCA claim in 2008 the "acts or omissions stated they did Improrper Arteriotomy on me as well as Improper Wound Care can Medical Malpractice change from a FTCA to an 1151 claim. I just got rejected again on Remand from someone who obviously can't follow what the judge said she wanted them to do. I have no representation at all I didn't have one to win my FTCA either and I won. I must be stupid because I thought what is right is right right. Can anyone tell me if an 1151 claim causation is different from a FTCA