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Success Nod Letter For Iraq Veteran

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Troy Spurlock

By Troy Spurlock
in Success Stories

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Troy Spurlock Collaborator

Troy Spurlock

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My wife's friend at work is an OIF veteran who felt he was underrated for his PTSD and back condition (which was rated without including an MRI done affirming the severity of that condition).

After a careful review of his in service medical records, it became clear he fell with a higher rating for his PTSD. So i prepared an NOD for him that resulted in an immediate C&P, then in a short two months his rating was increased from 30% to 70%, which gave him an overall rating of 90%, up fifty percent from his initial overall rating of 40%!!!!

Now he will be hounding the VA on his back consiton, among others, and with luck he'll get the 100% he deserves along with the proper health care for his SC PTSD, TBI, back, and sleep disorder.

It certainly feels good to successfully help a fellow veteran, and he has referred me tona friend of his getting out soon.

Although his friend may have to wait a couple weeks, as I write this from my VA hospital bed back from surgery on my lower back; they fused L3 to L4, L4 to L5, and L5 to S1. It took me nearly three years to get the VA tonacknowledge the severity of my lunar problem, so I guess this counts as a success story tioo.

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Troy Spurlock Collaborator

Troy Spurlock

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Lumbar not lunar...hard to type on an iPhone in the dark. ;-)

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Berta

Berta

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It sure IS GREAT!

I hope you have a fast recovery Troy!

Did he apply as well for TDIU if he isnt working?

I firmly believe but others here will disagree (and vet reps sure will) that the NOD is the first Avenue of ATTACK.

I had the VA turn on NODs for my husband, my daughter, and in one or two cases for me.and award.

In other cases however it became a long ordeal.

Although I feel an NOD should be brief it should not be a generic rendition just stating I disagree etc etc.

I feel it should state exactly why the decision is wrong and then reference specific evidence and enclose copies of that evidence.This can usually be done in only one or 2 pages that are carefully thought out in a word or Office Org program,edited for anything extemporaneous.The NOD should immediatley gain their attention to why they are wrong.

The VA has to read the NOD to prepare the SOC.

If you are lucky enough to get someone to read the NOD and realise their decision might definitely have been wrong, the VA can act on the NOD without sending a SOC.

It doesnt happen often these days and a NOD can sit at a VARO for many months before they read it but if it triggers them to re evaluate the claim, they can do that and award.

This is GREAT NEWS Troy!

GRADUATE ! Nov 2nd 2007 American Military University !

When thousands of Americans faced annihilation in the 1800s Chief

Osceola's response to his people, the Seminoles, was

simply "They(the US Army)have guns, but so do we."

Sameo to us -They (VA) have 38 CFR ,38 USC, and M21-1- but so do we.

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