Need Help Desperately

[krbkwb02]

I need help with this one all!

My old rating was 10% Bilateral Tinnutis and 10% PFPS of the right knee for an overall of 20%

My new rating 10% Bilateral Tinnutis, 20% PFPS (Increase), 10% Depressive Disorder and 20%Chronic Bursitis for a total of 60%, but they gave me 40%. Should i appeal this? If so will it effect my current award, and how do I file the appeal?

Thanks all for the help!

[Guest elizabeth]

I need help with this one all!

My old rating was 10% Bilateral Tinnutis and 10% PFPS of the right knee for an overall of 20%

My new rating 10% Bilateral Tinnutis, 20% PFPS (Increase), 10% Depressive Disorder and 20%Chronic Bursitis for a total of 60%, but they gave me 40%. Should i appeal this? If so will it effect my current award, and how do I file the appeal?

Thanks all for the help!

you HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO FILE A APPEAL TO UP GRADE YOUR CURRENT AWARD WOULD NOY BE EFFECTED ELIZABETH

[nlualum82]

Mine add up to 150%, but "VA math" makes it barely 90%!

Just off the top of my head yours looks like VA math would make it 50%, but the experts need to go over the whole deal with you, maybe refer you to one of the VA math calculators.

Good luck - looks like more than 40% anyway to me.

Gary

[Kirk]

OK VA math 101 (as I understand it). We start with your highest rating which is 20% That makes you 80% abiled. Now we take take your next highest award (also 20%) 20% of 80% is 16%, leaving you 64% abiled (36% disabled). Then we take your next award of 10%, 10% of 64 is 6.4 giving you a 42.4 disability or leaving a 57.6 ability your last award of ten percent is ten percent of 57.6 which is 51.84 which is rounded down to 50% Which is what your disability should be rated at (if I did that right) Looks to me like they didnt do the math right so file a NOD but also contact the VARO or your service officer and ask them to review just the math. You might get a genius who will figure it out or perhaps one of the smarter folks on here will have a different explanation showing how I'm wrong. Its possible I'm wrong as I read the link on the Hadit.com home page a long time ago and cant get it to open now. Look down in the list at "VA math" and check it out yourself.

Kirk

[Berta]

KRBKwbo

If I were you- I think you should carefully go over the ratings in the VA's Schedule of Ratings-

posted at hadit -

If your medical evidence shows you should be rated higher make sure they know this-

It often pays to not only file the Notice if Disagreement but tell them why you believe the ratings are wrong and then refer them directly to the actual part of their disability rating schedule-with a copy attached or an insert into the NOD- and then to the actual med recs that show it should be higher.

The Nod in my mind should be an avenue of attack- not just a ball park statement or something generic from a vet rep.And certainly end the NOD by telling them you fully intend to continue this appeal until the proper benefits are granted.

I suggest something else first- The DCs -diagnostic codes- I think bursitis is actually rated under an arthritis code-

Check those DC codes first-they should be attached to the decision- they could be wrong-and a wrong DC could give a vet possibly the wrong rating.

Another thing that bothers me- you file a claim- (if it is here at the Buffalo VARO it takes about a year to get a denial, then you file a NOD and that too takes at least a year to be considered)

in those years the disability you filed for has probably gotten worse- that is why it pays- whenever you have additional evidence to support your claim- during the claim process- to make sure they get it-

some vets still think that-if they file a claim the VA gets all the current evidence as it occurs, and has the whole picture in front of them when they finally work on it.

Often treatment records or medication changes -due to an increase in pain etc- never get to that c file-

even if they do- it is always best to send in anything at all that will help the claim.

And certainly any Vet Center records that would help-I dont think these are ever in the c file unless the vet requests them and sends them to VA themselves.

[Moe]

I need help with this one all!

My old rating was 10% Bilateral Tinnutis and 10% PFPS of the right knee for an overall of 20%

My new rating 10% Bilateral Tinnutis, 20% PFPS (Increase), 10% Depressive Disorder and 20%Chronic Bursitis for a total of 60%, but they gave me 40%. Should i appeal this? If so will it effect my current award, and how do I file the appeal?

Thanks all for the help!

I get 48.16 which should be rounded up to 50%. Do you have a good VSO? You could also go to the VA site and make an Email inquiry. They will usually answer within three business days.