Living The Claim

[spike]

Listen,

I am giving a piece of advice here. I understand many veterans find something that is 'wrong' with them, but if you are 100% P&T I would advise against living the claim. Let it be. Let yourself work on your health. One of my friends have said a good metaphor about this....."It's like poking a bear with a stick"-Hadit member (formerly) Jay Johnson. Your asking for the VA to re-investigate your claims. If you are 100 % PT, don't start making all kinds of different claims right away. Think about it this way and I hate to say it this way. What if the person at the VA Claims office, just got in a fight with his wife, slept in the car, back is hurting, and your the first claim he or she gets. Think that they might not 'dig' into your C-file to see if every I is dotted and T is crossed?. I have heard of some vets, losing their ratings because they started a new claim and something in the time that they had the new C&P exam (something they said or did) in the exam triggered the Rating Officer to change their rating for one of their previous ratings. Maybe because the new doctors opinion was different. Take this with a grain of salt. If you don't believe it happens, I am sorry but it does.

[cowgirl]

'If I raise my flag I hope someone sees it and if I don't, surely no one will.' anonymous

Edited December 20, 2007 by cowgirl

[john999]

What you don't claim you don't get! The VA never heard of an inferred claim.

[Speaking Out]

But what about Veterans out there who are afraid of retaliation from the VA? I have ratings that should be higher and the VA even told me so in their decision letter by telling me that after these certain tests are completed to prove my problems are not from something not SC'd that I could re-open my claim. The tests were a waste of time and money and my doctors at the VA said so, but had to do them and of course, everything came back ruling out anything, but SC'd disability as the cause. The problem is that I am afraid to re-open my claim in the fear that the VA will mess with what I already have. I don't want to have to go back and re-prove it again or be made to jump through hoops for the VA. I have settled a Federal Tort Claim with the VA and the hospital computers at the VA nationwide are being changed due to my proposal being accepted. I have been a pain to my RO, not because it has been fun, but because it had to be done. They couldn't fix what happened with me, but I would never keep quiet and let another Veteran be harmed if there was something I could do to stop it. Living the claim? That is what I don't want to do, but if I don't file for it, I won't get it, if I do file for it, I am back in it again...If I am back in it again, PTSD makes me live it, if I don't file, PTSD makes me live it anyway because I am letting the difficult VA system get the better of me. It is a vicious circle and I am tired. Any advice?

[Berta]

I think any vet with 100% should definitely get any other potential SC disability rated-

if the separate disability is independent of the initial 100% one and increases in severity to 60 or more the vet is eligible for SMC- and as many said here- it could be a 20 % SC disability that somehow causes the veteran's death- and the 100% P & T one might not cause or contribute to their death at all.

Spouses do not always get good vet rep help- reps dont see many DIC climas and many of them dont have a clue-

they are the same as a regular vets claim but I think some Reps have a bias towards widows and widowers.

So- since the spouse has to start from day one on any claim in process when the veteran dies as well as fight for DIC- it is best to get all SC disablties rated on paper even if they do not affect your comp amount.

[john999]

You have to judge for yourself if it is worth the effort to get something out of the VA via the claims process. If it is going to keep you awake at night it probably is not worth it. What Berta says about DIC and survivors is right on the mark. Imagine your spouse trying to win a DIC claim for a SC condition you potentially had that killed you. I mean if you have unclaimed DMII and it kills you then your spouse is left to deal with the VA and try and get DIC. Who does she go to for help....the VFW? They would probably tell her she has no claim and that all claims died with the vet. That is why I think you should try and get SC for any condition that might cause your death. The other small stuff you can let slide. I could probably claim slight hearing loss, gerd, and more for PN but it won't mean more money.

[Christopher]

Seems to me that if you don't claim what you believe is rightfully yours you have let the VA and SO Fear tactics prevail!