177 Days And Counting!

[88 mike]

First of all I would like to say thank you to hadit.com and all my fellow Vets for your dedication and service. This website has really been a major help for me with my claims process. I was medically discharged from the Army in 1999 for back injuries. I was discharged with a 10% service rating (which I was unhappy with). I was given a little over $5,000 in seperation pay which had to be paid back with my $93 monthly compensation check. It took forever to pay that money back. Now i'm at 50% 40% for my back an20% for radiculopathy in my right leg which has caused me to have a form of drop foot. I am currently fighting for 100%, due to the fact that I have not worked in seven months and also I had back surgery on my L4 and L5 in September. The surgery was not successful and I am actually worse. I was referred to a rehab specialist yesterday to determine what kind of work that I can perform or if I can work at all. I filed for an increase 177 days ago I called the infamous 1 800 # and I was told two days ago that a decison was made ten days ago and it is wating authorization and it is going to take 10-40 days. The gentlemen whom I talked to also stated that they are currently crunching some numbers for a retro check. Does this mean I got a increase? Also do you guys think I have a chance of getting 100% IU? If so, can you guys give me some advice? It will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks 88 Mike

[brokensoldier244th]

If its a retro check I would speculate that you got something, anyway. Good luck and Merry Christmas!

[combatcamera]

Well I think you'll get an increase but as far as 100% well I can only hope that you do get that. I have no idea though.

[88 mike]

Thanks for the replies!! I was telling my wife the other day about how fast it was for me to enlist (two days max) and how slow it is for my claims to get processed. You guys don't have any pointers for me for my future dealing with? Besides the help from this website, I have pretty much done all my paper work by myself. I am a member of the DAV and my rep. had me fill out the wrong paper work. I can't depend on what he tells me.

[Notorious Kelly]

Mike,

You absolutely have a good chance of getting IU.

Submit for TDIU and Social Security.

There is a lot of good information on this forum for preparing that case.

All the best!

[broncovet]

Mike..

A word of caution. I have never had someone at the VA tell me on the phone they are "crunching numbers for your retro check". It could happen, but they would never tell me on the phone what a decision was. NEVER. They want you to READ it. One of the reasons is that big shots can change their mind anytime before the decision is sent out, and deny the whole thing.

I have heard of some Vets kinda talking the person on the phone into telling them things like..."Gee..the computer shows you are rated at 60%..when I thought you told me you were only 30%...oh...yea...you must not have gotten that decision yet, now have you?"

Pretty much, they rarely give those details on the phone and for good reason.

Hypothetical example: Lets say you are ordering windows. You have 8 windows, and call the window company with the measurements and they build them right? No. They will almost always want something in writing as to the measurements, not a phone call. Because if they dont fit, then you have to know who made the mistake. If I have a work order that says these windows should be 38 by 47 inches, and they are 37 by 48 inches, then you will be able to figure out who made the error..the homeowner or the window company. But if its a phone call, then you wont really know. VA benefits is no different. The VA doesnt want you to write down the percentages wrong..they want you to read the decision, and I agree with that philosophy.