Hello. I've posted here before and followed the advice I've received. Now some things are coming together and I need to know how to take the next step.
GOAL: TDIU
PLAN: Apply for increased disability (20%) for the nerve damage to my leg while keeping the 40% for my back giving me 60% disability from one injury. And apply for disability due to depression. From the charts I've seen on here I seem to fit the 50% rating easily.
REALITY: An Army jump accident 20 years ago screwed up my back and has left me with 20 years of worsening chronic pain and nerve damage as well as made my depression worse. Today I'm restricted to a recliner for about 16 to 20 hours a day. I lost my last job over 2 years ago and my inability to move about, sit up, and focus keeps me from earning a living or having much of a life at all. I'm currently living off the small amount of disability I get from the VA and bumming money from my girl friend and family. I've filed a claim for SSD but will have to wait until next April or so for the hearing.
CURRENT VA DISABILITY: 40% for my back injury alone.
VA DISABILITY CHANGES: At one point I had 20% for my back and 20% for the nerve damage to my right leg which has numbness, doesn't always do what I tell it to, and occasionally collapses a bit on me. After one attempt to increase my disability level the VA declared my leg "cured" and my back worsened to keep my disability the same. I had further tests done through the VA and the nerve damage was still there. Duh.
REPRESENTATION: I'm doing this myself. My last two VFW representatives told me to pull absurd stunts, told me to file fraudulent claims, don't appear to understand the legal requirements for TDIU, and missed a deadline for filing a notice of disagreement. I can screw this up by myself and making office visits hurts so I'm dumping them.
CURRENT EVENTS: I applied for a copy of my C-file about 7 months ago. There is a 9 month back log for copies of the file from the Seattle office so the wait should be about over if the back log hasn't gotten worse. I've FINALLY found a doctor who will prescribe bed rest for back pain (last three doctors refused to do so under any circumstances saying bed rest is not warranted for someone who's bed ridden with pain!) and if my new insurance will cover her clinic I'll be going back to her. Also my VA psychiatrist entered a case note saying that my back condition was making my depression worse.
QUESTIONS:
A) Should I wait for the copy of my C file to arrive before I do anything? This makes good sense to me but I hate waiting if I don't have to.
B) Can I apply JUST for the additional disability for my leg and depression without throwing the back into it? I don't want to let them shuffle the percentages around again.
C) Should I apply for TDIU at the same time I apply for the additional disability for my leg and depression or make that a separate claim after I get the results of the other claims? Right now I don't meet the legal requirements for TDIU (just the reality ones).
D) What am I missing? Seriously, I think I've got a goal and a plan but if I've dropped the ball somewhere let me know.
Question
John Purser
Hello. I've posted here before and followed the advice I've received. Now some things are coming together and I need to know how to take the next step.
GOAL: TDIU
PLAN: Apply for increased disability (20%) for the nerve damage to my leg while keeping the 40% for my back giving me 60% disability from one injury. And apply for disability due to depression. From the charts I've seen on here I seem to fit the 50% rating easily.
REALITY: An Army jump accident 20 years ago screwed up my back and has left me with 20 years of worsening chronic pain and nerve damage as well as made my depression worse. Today I'm restricted to a recliner for about 16 to 20 hours a day. I lost my last job over 2 years ago and my inability to move about, sit up, and focus keeps me from earning a living or having much of a life at all. I'm currently living off the small amount of disability I get from the VA and bumming money from my girl friend and family. I've filed a claim for SSD but will have to wait until next April or so for the hearing.
CURRENT VA DISABILITY: 40% for my back injury alone.
VA DISABILITY CHANGES: At one point I had 20% for my back and 20% for the nerve damage to my right leg which has numbness, doesn't always do what I tell it to, and occasionally collapses a bit on me. After one attempt to increase my disability level the VA declared my leg "cured" and my back worsened to keep my disability the same. I had further tests done through the VA and the nerve damage was still there. Duh.
REPRESENTATION: I'm doing this myself. My last two VFW representatives told me to pull absurd stunts, told me to file fraudulent claims, don't appear to understand the legal requirements for TDIU, and missed a deadline for filing a notice of disagreement. I can screw this up by myself and making office visits hurts so I'm dumping them.
CURRENT EVENTS: I applied for a copy of my C-file about 7 months ago. There is a 9 month back log for copies of the file from the Seattle office so the wait should be about over if the back log hasn't gotten worse. I've FINALLY found a doctor who will prescribe bed rest for back pain (last three doctors refused to do so under any circumstances saying bed rest is not warranted for someone who's bed ridden with pain!) and if my new insurance will cover her clinic I'll be going back to her. Also my VA psychiatrist entered a case note saying that my back condition was making my depression worse.
QUESTIONS:
A) Should I wait for the copy of my C file to arrive before I do anything? This makes good sense to me but I hate waiting if I don't have to.
B) Can I apply JUST for the additional disability for my leg and depression without throwing the back into it? I don't want to let them shuffle the percentages around again.
C) Should I apply for TDIU at the same time I apply for the additional disability for my leg and depression or make that a separate claim after I get the results of the other claims? Right now I don't meet the legal requirements for TDIU (just the reality ones).
D) What am I missing? Seriously, I think I've got a goal and a plan but if I've dropped the ball somewhere let me know.
Thanks for the help.
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