Emergency C&p Advice Needed

[B 2/75]

HELP!!!

I've received a letter dated 12 SEP notifying me of a VARO C&P in Gainesville FL, to be conducted on 5 OCT.

The problem is that I'm on short final for a civilian deployment to Afganistan, departing on 29 SEP. I'll be in DC getting briefings from the 17th to the 25th, and won't be able to change my schedule at all.

What will the VA do if I don't make their appointment?

I'm sure I need to notify them, certified return receipt, that I'm not going to be in the country.

Are they going to cut me off? Reevaluate me in a negative fashion in absentia?

Do I need a lawyer?

I'm really worried about this. I feel like I'm about to get the cruddy end of the stick, because of their timing.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm flying out Monday morning, and I think I should have a letter going out to the St. Pete VARO pretty soon, right?

[Berta]

I would respond ASAP Certified or Priority mail and tell them what you told us and need a re-schedule (they could possibly handle it by phone if you call the C & P department at the VAMC where it is scheduled- but phone calls to VA dont provide hard copy proof.)

If I were you I would ask them to re-schedule and attach copy of your orders for the civilian deployment and tell them as estimated date on the DEROS when you are returning.

The VA does willingly change a C & P date with a valid reason-

but they have to know ASAP to re-schedule the exam.

Edited September 16, 2007 by Berta (see edit history)

[Pete53]

If it were me I would call and tell them tht you need to reschedule but I see no reason to tell them why. Its not a big deal to get another appointment and if you call the C&P at the VA Hospital the clerk will do it. It happens all the time. Just make sure that you reschedule and just don't go.

Good Luck

[B 2/75]

We're talking about putting them off for a year... I'm leaving on 29 Sep, and won't be returning until Sep 2008.

Are we all talking the same thing... that I should simply request a reschedule of the appointment for next year?

[B 2/75]

I'm mad as I can possibly be...

Sure enough, here I am, in fooking Afghanistan, and the VA decided that they had enough evidence to reevaluate me despite my multiple notifications that I'm out of the country. The result is that they've decided to change my rating from 80% to 30% overall, with the PTSD portion going from 70% to 10%, frostbite portion being unchanged.

I've never even heard of a chop that extreme.

Bottom line, I need a referral for a Veteran's rights lawyer in the St. Pete Florida area ASAP. Need to file for a personal hearing, with the attorney to be my proxy since I obviously can't attend. Any information will be appreciated, as so far I've been unable to find any representation from here.

[Ricky]

Seaman - looks like the rating for PTSD was reduced due to the fact that it was for a disability that occured during OIF and here you are on a voluntary deployment as a civilian (not my thoughts the rater's)back is support of OIF.

Now I do not know what type of civilian employment you have but once again the rater probably looked at your file and circumstances and the thought process was: for most PTSD'ers the cause of their disability is a very painful/scary/depressing memory of a paticular incident or incidents during wartime. These memories tend to make the individual shy away from things that remind them of the incident which causes them to not be employeed in jobs of stress etc.... so why in the world would you work for/raise your hand or allow your employer to send you back in to a situation that was the actucal cause of your disability.

Now I do not know the whole story here but on the face of it I can see where the rater was coming from. I too am a civil servant working for DoD and although I have been asked to deploy on several occassions I simply refused. I do not have PTSD but feel that being able to deploy to a combat zone would show that maybe my disabilities are not as I say. Now don't get me wrong here for as I stated I do not know the whole story or you situation and I am IN NO WAY TRYING TO ACCUSE ANY ONE OF ANYTHING. I am just simply providing my opinion of the thought process the rater probably went through in your claim. After all PTSD is a strange character and a 70 percent rating is dang good and only allows most who suffer from it at that level to only work at parttime jobs or full time jobs of no stress.

Forgot to add: If I were you I would not even attempt to hire an attorney at this point for I am afraid you would simply wasting your money on the reduction issue at this time. You are going to have to wait until you return and get a good IMO/doctor write up justfying why you still qualify for a 70 percent rating of PTSD eventhough you just returned from a one year trip back into the same war zone/similar one that caused your PTSD in the first place. Once again just my honest opinion. Also I forgot to ask what was the C&P for? New claim, increase or did they simply decide to do a re-eval of your claim? Thanks

Edited November 27, 2007 by Ricky (see edit history)

[B 2/75]

Ricky,

Thanks for the honest answer. Truthfully, I hadn't put myself into their seat much at all. Mine was a 3 year reeval, not for any particular cause. I was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group during OIF 1, and was out the gate on more than 250 missions. No particular stressor other than a full year of some big-time missions and getting shot at all the time. Now I'm an Operations Manager for a company that is supporting the military with a lot of computer geeks. I'm not one of them, I just keep track of what they're up to. I am never, ever out the gate. I have changed from a snake-eater to a full-time Fobbit, a dweller of the rear-echelon. We don't get mortared, or rocketed, or even have insults hurled at us. Nothing. Other than the dirt in the air and the fighters taking off on the airstrip at all hours, this could be, well, anyplace alot nicer. So, to compare my military experience in Iraq with this civilian trip to Afghanistan is apples and oranges.

So, how do I go about appealing the decision? Just fill out the form and send it in? Seems a bit underpowered to me. Feels like I need some 16" naval guns on this job.

[Pete53]

B 2/75:

A 70% rating for PTSD includes in its language that the claimant is unemployable. The fact that you are working would be the reason for the reduction.

You could wait for the deadline and file a NOD and probably keep the claim open till you got back but I doubt that you will win this one. You may be able to get them to go to 50%.

If you are not able to work that would be a different matter and you at least have a rating that can be boosted up to 100% fairly eaisly if you can't work for some reason.

How are we doing in Afghanistan?

Pete

[Berta]

Lawyers who can rep vets are popping up under Google-

http://www.vetclaims.com/Disabled_Veteran_Tampa.html

http://florida.lawinfo.com/attorney/veterans-law.html

An attorney can be retained for a VA claim as long as the NOD has been filed after June 21,2007.

[B 2/75]

You know, it is funny perhaps, but there is language in my VA shrink's clinical records which says that a return to active duty would be far better for me than any course of pharmacological treatment he could possibly prescribe. This whole thing has got me pretty irritated, to put it mildly.

I'm an Army LTC. Still in as a Reservist w/ 15 active and 15 reserve. I'll hit 30 years in a few weeks. Was on track for going all the way to full COL. Instead I got ate the F#$% up after OIF 1 and went to get help. Big mistake as far as the Army was concerned, but I digress. I'm still full of problems, and while I'm employed, fer God's sake, it isn't like I'm working at the senior field grade officer level anymore. I'm the damn ops officer of a unit that has 26 people in it. Not too far removed from asking "would you like fries with that?" You'd think that they'd take that into account, at least just a little bit.

So yeah, I've got a job.... about 4 rungs down from where I was. Do they want me on unemployment, or living under a damn bridge? WTF?

[B 2/75]

Sorry, Pete. I got myself all worked up and forgot your question.

We're kicking ass and taking names. No joke. This isn't Iraq. Nothing at all like it. It is VERY common to for our guys to take out 50 - 75 bad guys who ambush a convoy... our guys under fire say a few magic words into the radio, and a few moments later the hillside erupts as a B1-B roars by...

Makes my old wardog heart happy as hell. Just wish I could be out there with them again. Really it does.