Help Me Please

[kryptos]

I just called the 1800 number and they told me they are working on my claim for increase and i also have a congressional claim what is a congressional claim????

[Berta]

I wrote to Nicholson when he first became Secretary on the Blue Water veterans issue.

I more or less asked him to exert his authority and include BWNVs into the AO regs -suggesting he could do it with a stroke of the pen.

He sent my letter (which had NOTHING to do with my claim) to my VARO and they told me their had been a Congressional Inquiry (I finally found out it was this letter to the Sec)

and it had held up my claim for months-so I withdrew it formally from the c file.

The VARO usually doesnt say "congressional claim" they say COngressional inquiry-

Maybe you should ask them via the IRIS system at the VA web site under "Contact US" just what the heck they mean.

Strange.

[Berta]

By the way- they are getting 60% from 40, 10 and 10 ?

Are you employed and if not have you applied for TDIU?

The scarring alone might be worth more and put you into a 70% criteria for VA to send you the TDIU form- but if you arent working-I would not hesitate to send it in myself-regardless of the % you now have.

If you use the form-under # 18 check yes and apply for SSA disability- Under # 25 refer them to a sepatrate page, tell them the side affects of your SC meds and how they and any other factor from you disabilities prevents you from working.

Make sure they are aware of and obtain (and do this yourself too) copies of all of your treatment records to include the depression.

I am assuming the scarring is not due to the other disabilities- is it from a GSW? or scrapnel?

VA rates scarring as to length, disfigurement, painfulness, and muscular involvement.

[Berta]

Here is the TDIU form

The BVA site is down temporaily- but I suggest you go there and click on the BVA link then on the Search and put scar into the browser-

the way they rate scars and the DCs will pop up in those decisions.

TDIU_form.pdf

[LarryJ]

The "IRIS" system is a means whereby you can contact the Veterans Administration (okay, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, for you "younger" folks). You can use your computer, go to the VA's "official" website http://www.va.gov , click on the "contact" thingey, then click on the "Ask a Question" heading. You can ask about almost anything. The message that you send will be automatically routed to YOUR Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO). You can ask specific questions about YOUR claim, because they have your claims file (C-File). I, and most of us on the hadit board, have found that by using the "IRIS" system, we get more complete, more understandable answers, and we get the answers in a form that we can keep, to refer to later. I believe most of us on hadit will agree with me. It sometimes takes them a couple of days to get back to you with an answer, but, like I said, the answer will be "more likely than not" correct, giving the VA the benefit of the doubt, of course (a little "VA Humor", that you will understand sooner or later, if you hang around, and we all hope that you do).

Have a good day.....I'm gonna make me some of that Kona Coffee that I buy at Sam's...then I may just do something exciting. Y'all do something similar and HAVE A REALLY GOOOOD DAY!

[kryptos]

thanks to everyone who has helped me i found out today that the congressional claim is because i have been underpaid for over 2 years so they have to back pay me was there fault. So now i just gotta wait to c if my claim is increased

[JENNABEAN]

Have a good day.....I'm gonna make me some of that Kona Coffee that I buy at Sam's...then I may just do something exciting. Y'all do something similar and HAVE A REALLY GOOOOD DAY!

Okay, this does not have much of anything to do with the topic but I was just watching the Disney Channel with my kids and Lilo and Stitch had Kona Coffee on it. I was about to look it up to see if it is real, then I read this post. Funny how things like that happen. Is Kona Coffee as strong as it gets or something? On Lilo and Stich, you had to be an adult to buy it. If its that strong, I think I need to get some lol.

Kryptos,

Good luck on getting your increase. I will be keeping you in my prayers