hypertension Disability Digest

[billy2]

I have several items that I need help with.

Has anyone had any contact with a web site called the Disability Digest ? I was on the site and entered my cell number and I was contacted by a rep from this site. I told him that I was rated at 50% in Dec for Agent Orange/ diabetes this year and he said I should ask for an increase. I told him that I was not insulin dependant and I felt that 50 was good. Right after I received my first check I went into the hospital and had a stint put in because of a 90% blockage. I now have coronary artery disease and hypertension. I filed a claim in Jan 09 saying that coronary artery disease and hypertension were secondary to my diabetes II. This claim was denied in April--fast work did even read the file?

All medical information about dmII state that there is a link between this dmII and heart disease. My old bosses at the Post Office must have read my file.

Bill

[billy2]

I was diagnosed with DMII in the late 1980's. Had a heart attack in 1998. I filed with the VA in July 2008 with a decision in December. Got 20% for DMII and 60% for CAD with another 40 for PN.

My VSO didn't want me to file for CAD. She said I would have to prove a nexus directly between AO and CAD. She was wrong. I didn't have any problems mainly because I have pages of medical records showing treatment for DMII for 10yrs before my heart attack. Do you think these VSO's get bad marks in their file when they assist a vet with a claim that fails?

When were you diagnosed with DMI? I think you need more medical evidence linking the two. There is also evidence out there linking pre-diabetes to heart disease. Damage is done before the DMII diagnosis is made. If your DMII diagnosis and stent were in the same year you may have a fight on your hands. Good luck.

Dave,

I was told that I was borderline(whatever that means) diabetic in 1998 and never did anything about it. By todays standards I was probally diabetic then but they said borderline. I think that is like being a little pregnant. I stopped going to the doctor because I didn't like him,real smart on my part. Finally I had to go to the doctor because they refused to refill my synthroid unless I came in. I switched doctors in that practice and now I see a lady that is real cool.

That was about 3 years ago and I had all the blood work and the news came back that I had DM11.

I started on metformin and I now take Janument for the DM11.

About 7 years ago I signed up at the VA for backup only because I had a job with medical and just wanted to be in the system. I would go to the VA each year and see some doctor and ask some questions,you guys know how it works, and that would be it till the next year. I went to the VA twice after I found out that I was diabetic and nobody said anything about the Agent Orange and the DM11 to me. I never paid much attention to the issues and I was like a lot of Vietnam vets that once we got out of the service we never looked back and didn't want anything to do with the VA.

I worked in the Post Office and one of my fellow employees was a DAV and had used the VA since he got out of the military. He told me that they were going to send him for some comp hearing because of his DM11 and Agent Orange but he wasn't in Nam so he wasn't eligable. This fellow was the one that told me to contact the VA because I had DM11 and was in Nam

[jdawg]

Refile using the presumptive ISD

Has anyone had any contact with a web site called the Disability Digest ? I was on the site and entered my cell number and I was contacted by a rep from this site. I told him that I was rated at 50% in Dec for Agent Orange/ diabetes this year and he said I should ask for an increase. I told him that I was not insulin dependant and I felt that 50 was good. Right after I received my first check I went into the hospital and had a stint put in because of a 90% blockage. I now have coronary artery disease and hypertension. I filed a claim in Jan 09 saying that coronary artery disease and hypertension were secondary to my diabetes II. This claim was denied in April--fast work did even read the file?

All medical information about dmII state that there is a link between this dmII and heart disease. My old bosses at the Post Office must have read my file.

Bill

[TimMoore]

jdawg, Disability Digest is a referral site run by Brian Therrien.

mags1023 - There is no "they" in that sense. The site refers vets and Social Security Disability claimants to attorneys who handle those types of claims.

I honestly don't know anything about veterans disability. I'm a former disability examiner for the Social Security Administration's DDS, or disability determination service (www.ssdrc.com). However, I would be wary of anyone stating that they could increase a person's disability rating, just as I am wary of certain social security attorneys who advertise a 90% win rate. On that issue, do those attorneys actually get a 90 percent win rate? Yes, but that's only by being extremely selective about the cases they take, effectively cherry-picking only the winners. They achieve those high win ratios that way, then go out and advertise their win ratios to draw attention to their firm or practice so they can continue cherry-picking cases. The best disability attorneys, IMO, are those that get maligned as "the ambulance chasers" of the social security representation field. These are the guys who take every case that walks through the door. Others tend to speak negatively about this approach, but these reps tend to be the ones who work a little harder to win more difficult cases and aren't looking for every guaranteed slam-dunk win (and an easy paycheck). Don't get me wrong. They may be looking for those too, but they're also looking to provide assistance to people who need help. Two of the best ones I came across were former legal aid lawyers (obviously, you don't get rich working for legal aid).

Re: "I now have coronary artery disease and hypertension. I filed a claim in Jan 09 saying that coronary artery disease and hypertension were secondary to my diabetes II. This claim was denied in April--fast work did even read the file?"

I don't know what your other conditions might be but it's usually pretty difficult to get approved on ischemic (coronary artery) disease. Diabetes type II as well. In fact, in recent years, SSA has worked to minimize the ability to win cases based on diabetes. However, I will say this: most cases get denied by a disability examiner at the initial claim and reconsideration levels. And the majority of claims get approved at hearing level. You most likely have a good chance of being approved by an ALJ (administrative law judge). The most important things to keep in mind will be obtaining and sending to the ALJ updated medical records (because SSA stops all case development once the case moves beyond the reconsideration appeal level and into the domain of the hearing offices). Most important, however, will be obtaining a medical source statement from your treating physician(s). Unlike disability examiners, disability judges tend to give more consideration (and by comparison, substantial consideration) to the opinions of the doctors who actually provide treatment to claimants.