ptsd Claims Submitted, C&p Exams Completed

[pigdriver]

Hi Fellow veterans,

I have a question. I filed claim for Tinnitus and hearing loss in 12/08 and PTSD in 02/09, I am currently being medicated for the PTSD, attending therapy and have had the Tinnitus and hearing C&P exam on 06/01/09 and the PTSD C&P on 06/17/09. I have an 86 year old Aunt that lives in Greensboro, NC who is the last surviving member of my mother's family, she is not well and is requesting that my wife and I move to Greensboro and live with her to care for her until she passes. My question is if I agree and move to Greensboro will that have any effect on my compensation claims, the timeline etc. and if so how so. Plus I am scheduled to begin outpatient CPT therapy this month on the 14th which lasts 6 weeks. Should I attend this CPT 6 week session here in Michigan where I live or postpone it until I move to Greensboro should I decide to do so. Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions and opinions.

[pigdriver]

I would stay put until I got all my decisions. Once you get the ratings and start to get the money then you can move. Your money will follow you, but just make sure you establish your direct deposit at the new address. You will probably find all VARO's suck. I would never move in the middle of a claim if I wanted to win it.

My VRO and Shrink tell me it's about a 14 month process from filie date to rating which means I should get rated in February or March of 2010, just 43 years after leaving that hellhole called Vietnam. Knowing the VA it is probably the "game plan" to let all of us "old timers' die off before they have to pay a claim!! Maybe I will sit tight until then since my Aunt is not really infirmed or anything, just getting old and wants companionship. Thanks for the advise all!!

[magician2000]

My VRO and Shrink tell me it's about a 14 month process from filie date to rating which means I should get rated in February or March of 2010, just 43 years after leaving that hellhole called Vietnam. Knowing the VA it is probably the "game plan" to let all of us "old timers' die off before they have to pay a claim!! Maybe I will sit tight until then since my Aunt is not really infirmed or anything, just getting old and wants companionship. Thanks for the advise all!!

Just my 2 cents...

I only moved 10 miles away, and kept the same RO. I changed my address with both RO and VAMC. VAMC had no problems with mailing my meds to my new address. I didn't have a change of address, I would have missed about five letters from RO, all mailed after I called and sent a letter advising of my change of address. After every letter I received, I would call the 800# again, and ask what address they had on file for me. And is was always my previous address. But this is just my experience... And I just moved 10 miles...

[john999]

Pigdriver

Your VARO is telling you 14 months to get the initial rating. That may be so, but you will probably be appealing. Usually, you don't get the rating you want the first time. After I got serious with my claim in 2002 it took about two years to get IU with P&T. I was already service connected at 30% so it took almost two years to go from 30% to 70% IU and P&T. If you have really good evidence both medical and all stressors verified you might get IU in 14 months if you are not working. Are you getting SSD now? You need to look at this as a long haul project. The money you get from VA is going to be your retirement money for the rest of your life, so it is worth it to invest yourself in getting the proper rating. You cannot imagine how incompetent the VA can be, so you need to stay in contact with them about your claim. You may need to hand carry documents to them. Keep checking with them to see if they are lacking anything they need to make a decision properly. They won't call you and tell you. They will just make a bad decision and let you appeal. You can sometimes head them off if you know what they lack. For instance, the VA would not go forward with my agent orange claim because they did said they did not have a copy of my DD214. It was right in my C-File but they were too lazy to look. I had to get a copy and give it to them. Then I had to prove to them that I was a Vietnam vet which they were denying to my congressman. You just have to keep up with them. If you have private medical records make sure the VA gets them.

[Philip Rogers]

If I were him I'd either use a temporary forwarding address or an address forwarding service, like mailboxes etc or whatever. Changing RO's will just delay the decision. I sent them an address change and the transferred my file. I sent them a certified letter stating I was not changing RO's and they eventually corrected it. jmo

pr

Sir pr,

If he should make the move how should he handle the address issue

to be sure he gets a copy of anything VA might send him ?

carlie

[broncovet]

Pigdriver

14 months is mostly a "pipe dream" only a little bit better than what the VA claims processing time is..they say 6 months. Most of the Veterans on this board who received benefits have taken an average of about a minimum of 5 years. Thats about 2 years to apply and another 2 years for appeal, and a year for the VARO to implement the appeal. Mine took seven years, and now I am appealing the effective date. Its back on the hampster wheel again. I have a friend who applied in 1973 and he still has not gotten his benefits..36 years. According to hadit members there are claims in the VA system that have exceeded 36 years.

The people who told you 14 months are being a little more honest than the VA, but not much. Far less than 50% of the claims are approved "full pop" on first try and require appeals. And the BVA takes about 2 years, so your chances of being awarded benefits in 14 months are LESS than 50%..I would guess you only have about a one chance in 10 (10%) chance of actually being awarded your full benefits in 14 months. Here is my "odds chart" that I have gleaned from hadit memebers. Its a guess, but more accurate than the VA.

Odds of being awarded benefits (including appeal time, if applicable) in

6 months or less...5% or less

1 year 10%

2 years 20%

3 years 40%

5 years 50%

6-10 years 60%

10-30 years + 70%

Remember, many Veterans die or give up first. These numbers only apply to Veterans who 1) apply for benefits 2) do not give up and 3) do not die waiting for benefits. Many in the last two categories have to appeal multiple times.

Edited September 6, 2009 by broncovet