ptsd Getting The Shaft On C&p

[souldeliverer]

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

I am an Iraq veteran rated 100% PTSD, 30% migraines, 10% low back, 10% shoulder, 10% tinnitus, 10% L leg, 10% R leg. I recieved a call today from the regional office that they have reviewed my claim and decided I must be better, and are reducing me to a grand total of 90%!!!

First of all, I am not better. Secondly, they have me on hydrocodone, xanax, risperdone, lamictal, celexa, ambien, amitriptaline, motrin, and had me on morphine, but I stopped taking it due to side effects. I STILL have PTSD, and am ready to go ballistic on these people at the regional office.

Question: What chance do I have of winning my appeal/board meeting? I have not been an inpatient for like a year because I get worse when I go to the hospital and get locked up.

Please help. I just had a baby girl, and cannot live without my full benefits. I tried going back to work a couple years ago and failed miserably.

[souldeliverer]

if you have a 100% rating they can't and won't award TDIU as it is redundant but it is actually harder to reduce a TDIU award than it is 100% schedular award about the only way to reduce TDIU is if they can prove you have been working W2s etc as long as you are unemployable they have a hard time taking away the TDIU

yes some will claim you can make up to poverty levels without breaking the laws is it worth it? Considering how hard it is to get the award in the first place

They are proposing to reduce me to 90%. Are you saying they will not give me 90% TDIU?

[Testvet]

yes IF they reduce I doubt they reduce you you need to file an immediate appeal if they do send you written notice to reduce and demand a hearing I doubt if it goes that far.... but if it does and they reduce file an immediate claim for TDIU

[souldeliverer]

yes IF they reduce I doubt they reduce you you need to file an immediate appeal if they do send you written notice to reduce and demand a hearing I doubt if it goes that far.... but if it does and they reduce file an immediate claim for TDIU

Thank you.

[sixthscents]

Umm.. as a claim progresses it is not abnormal for a veteran to be 100% TDIU, before becomeing 100% scedular.

In fact I was tdiu for about 6 months before becoming 100% schedular (actually more than that, something like 170%.. now heck I dont even know, but anyway)

It does seem (based upon my own experience)that the VA has to really worj harder to take away TDIU, as opposed to reducing a rating, but when I had to decide to keep filing or stop - I kept filing. There are benefits ABOVE 100%. Referece 3.350

Additional 50 or 100% exaluations...

They are HARD to get, but if you get them they are worth the trouble.

And yes just to reiterate - you can be TDIU and be P&T, or not. If you are not P%T you may not be entitled to the other benefits enjoyed by P&T veterans - like ChampVa, or Chap 35 etc.

Personally I would file an appeal asap if they do reduce your claim, and I would also immediatly file for TDIU. Yes I have seen 90% vets DENIED TDIU... personally I think their claims for it were mishandled by the veterans advocate in most cases and NOT by the VA. CFR 38, 4.19 outlines the different TDIU requirements, and most veterans who are rated 70% and better will fit one of them, but a lot of reps only look at the 40%/70% total qualifier and never read on to discover that injuries sustained in combat - add together, injuries dealing with the same system - add together, same etiology add together etc.

So for exaple you had a foot injury which over time caused a knee and back injury - these all add TOGETHER into one rating. Not a bunch of seperate ones, and their adding together would often make the vet meet the criteria for 40/70... ok?

A lot of vets have 30% rastings and a 70% total, but think they are not eligable for TDIU when thats just not the case. Even if it isnt, you can appeal for an "extra-schedular" rating which if you properly document you can win.

[souldeliverer]

Umm.. as a claim progresses it is not abnormal for a veteran to be 100% TDIU, before becomeing 100% scedular.

In fact I was tdiu for about 6 months before becoming 100% schedular (actually more than that, something like 170%.. now heck I dont even know, but anyway)

It does seem (based upon my own experience)that the VA has to really worj harder to take away TDIU, as opposed to reducing a rating, but when I had to decide to keep filing or stop - I kept filing. There are benefits ABOVE 100%. Referece 3.350

Additional 50 or 100% exaluations...

They are HARD to get, but if you get them they are worth the trouble.

And yes just to reiterate - you can be TDIU and be P&T, or not. If you are not P%T you may not be entitled to the other benefits enjoyed by P&T veterans - like ChampVa, or Chap 35 etc.

Personally I would file an appeal asap if they do reduce your claim, and I would also immediatly file for TDIU. Yes I have seen 90% vets DENIED TDIU... personally I think their claims for it were mishandled by the veterans advocate in most cases and NOT by the VA. CFR 38, 4.19 outlines the different TDIU requirements, and most veterans who are rated 70% and better will fit one of them, but a lot of reps only look at the 40%/70% total qualifier and never read on to discover that injuries sustained in combat - add together, injuries dealing with the same system - add together, same etiology add together etc.

So for exaple you had a foot injury which over time caused a knee and back injury - these all add TOGETHER into one rating. Not a bunch of seperate ones, and their adding together would often make the vet meet the criteria for 40/70... ok?

A lot of vets have 30% rastings and a 70% total, but think they are not eligable for TDIU when thats just not the case. Even if it isnt, you can appeal for an "extra-schedular" rating which if you properly document you can win.

Thank you. So if combat injuries add up together... They are proposing to reduce my PTSD from 100% to 70%. But I also have 30% for migraines (just diagnosed TBI), 10% shoulder (combat), 10% tinnitus (combat), 10% L leg (combat), 10% R leg (combat), 10% lower back (combat). Can I add this up as 70+30+10+10+10+10+10? Or do I add 70, 30 and 50 into the crazy algorythm? I know they told me they are trying to bring me down to 90%, so I think they added them all up seperately.

[Ryan H.]

Ok man this is how it works..... your highes rating is 70% that leaves you 30% non disabled. So your next highest rating is 30%. They take the 30% that is not disabled and take 30% from that. which is 9%. Then they add that to the 70% and that comes out to 79%. That means you are now only 21% nondisabled. so now you take your next highest rating of 10% from the 21% and get 2.1%. add the 2.1 % to the 79% to get 81.1%. that leaves 18.9% nondisabled. Now take your 2nd 10% from the 18.9% and you get 1.89%. Add that to the 81.1% and you get 82.99%. which leaves you 17.01% non disabled. Take your 3rd 10% from the 17.01% and you get 1.701%. Add the 1.701 to the 82.99% and you get 84.691%. That leaves you 15.309 non disabled. now take your 4th 10% from 15.309% and you get 1.5309% or 1.531% rounded up. add the 1.531% to the 84.691% and you get 86.222% which leaves you 13.778% non disabled. Take your 5th and final 10% from the 13.778% and you get 1.3778% or 1.378%. Add that 1.378% to your 86.222 and you get 87.6% disabled. This is your total rating. But the VA will round up to the nearest whole number which brings you to 90% total. I know its confusing but thats how they do it and they have never altered that i know of. Search for VA math and you will find a calculator that is an exel document. You can check my math that way if you like.