Back Log & Strange Poa Advice

[jecsb4]

Hi all,

Glad to see Hadit growing so much & l apologize for being such a dormit member, but it kinda matches what i am dealing with.

So filed a NOD just in the nick of time yet i was told to just accept the slight increase in 1 rating which was to low, didnt support the med evidence nor increase my comp.

Then was told appeals are 2 - 3 years behind!

I then informed him i was admitted to the va hosp recently for a SC condition which i NOD & asked if i was working.

I explained yes, but shared some serious work issues with him & was then informed i coul be IU in 6 - 8 months.

So is this good advice? I believe i will lose my job or get fired or laif off)

but why should i quit & lose possible unemployment?

Currently combined rating of 80.

Also read here that with the budget issues appeals are being denied. Maybe that is why he told me to let the claim run out & open a new one? Strange.

[71M10]

But i must currently be unemployed to file IU, correct?

Felt it was strange that my POA rep practically guaranteed me IU in 6 - 8 months if i quit my job due to my SC issues.

Is that the norm? Just dont see how he could say this with such certainty, espically with my experience with the varro denials, low ratings & the previous NOD's i have had to deal with since 04 to get my current SC rating.

I would be very careful about "quitting", If your doctor puts you out medically or they let you go are entirely different situations from quitting. If VA gets an Idea that you quit to be eligible for TDIU you have a very long process in front of you.

Best regards,

[carlie]

But i must currently be unemployed to file IU, correct?

Felt it was strange that my POA rep practically guaranteed me IU in 6 - 8 months if i quit my job due to my SC issues.

Is that the norm? Just dont see how he could say this with such certainty, espically with my experience with the varro denials, low ratings & the previous NOD's i have had to deal with since 04 to get my current SC rating.

Sure you can go ahead and file an informal claim for IU now and the VBA should send you

a 21-8940 to make it a formal claim. Many things could happen with your current employment during

that time frame. I do agree with not just quitting your job on your own and feel that employment is an issue

you should speak with your medical providers about, perhaps they will feel that employment is not

something for you at this time.

I would put absolutely NO FAITH in the statement above from your POA.

Until a decision letter is received and the cash is in the bank - NOTHING even resembles a guarantee !

JMHO

[john999]

Can you file for disability retirement from your job? I would not just quit my job based on what some VSO says. Being TDIU is not that wonderful if you are able to work. You have to get up every day and find something to do that you don't get paid to do. That can get to be a drag after 10 years if you are not already near normal retirement age. I would wait until I was fired or laid off before I filed for TDIU. If you can't work then by all means file for TDIU.

[jbasser]

This topic should add to another what not to do.

Having been there myself, I offer the following advice.

Do not under any circumstances quit your job.

A Job is your security net. Now if your Service connected disabilities get so severe that you cannot work, find a Doctor who can sit down with a Doctor and let them make that determination for you.

If you have Long Term or short term disability insurance the doc will have to fill out forms and he will have to do this periodically.

Most insurance companies will require you to file for S.S.D.I asap and try to recoup monies they paid you out of the back pay.

Most of these companies protect themselves and hide under E.r.i.s.a. Now if you pay the premuims for your LTD/STD then you are better off than if the employer paid them.

This is a factor on taxes.

In addition, if your employer paid there is a 2 year window to use this benefit and believe me they sill send you to a hired gun to get their opinion in t heir favor regardless of any info you have from other doctors. They cut you off and once again they hide behind E.r.i.s.a.

Now you are out off of work by a Doc drawing your LTD/STD and you file for IU. The good old VA just doesn't adjudicate claims for I.U. I.U is an ancillary benefit and they treat these as claims for increase so be prepared to ride shotgun for the adjudication period which can take as long as 2 years depending on the size and scope of the Regional Office you are dealing with.

Make sure you are covered before you leave work and have something to fall back on. I almost lost everything and I thought I was prepared until the Insurance company shakedown started. You think the VA is bad, They are pussycats compared to these crooks.

Anyway, hang in there and remember these are your options.

Basser

[broncovet]

Jec

You posted,

"Felt it was strange that my POA rep practically guaranteed me IU in 6 - 8 months if i quit my job due to my SC issues."

This is a big "red flag". Legit VSO's do not "guarantee" VA benefits. They help you "apply" for them. I question the motives of anyone guaranteeing VA benefits. Why are they doing this, when there are so many hoops and roadblocks the Veteran must jump through to get his benefits?

It reminds me of a "Quack" Dr. One of the red flags of a quack is that he guarantees you a quick cure. Real docs treat illnesses, give you treatments, then follow up to see if they worked or need tweaking. They never guarantee a cure. Watch out!!

[Hoppy]

The advice you have been getting here is in my opinion is the better advice. If you wait until you are fired or a doctor takes you off work this will be evidence in support of TDIU.

I can relate to some degree to what your SO is saying. However, I am suspicious of his time line. I assisted several veterans over the last fifteen years obtain 70% +TDIU, who were not fired from their job nor would their VA doctors say that they cannot work. These veterans had a long paper trail of psychiatric diagnoses. These veterans were DONE. They would not seek work. They had not worked in over a year. Otherwise I would not get involved in helping them get TDIU. I had them specifically state to their primary care doctor and psychologist that they did not work nor would they seek work due to the anxiety or depression that was aggravated by work environments. I had the veteran submit the same statement to the RO and told them to tell their primary care doctor they want the statement added to their treatment records. I told them to obtain the social security income report showing the last time they worked and take and show it the doctors. I also had them submit the SSA earnings statement to the RO.

The VA gave them C&P exams. The examiners developed evidence against the claim by saying the veterans condition would not be expected to develop into a state of unemployability and assigned non service connectable personality disorder diagnoses to explain the unemployability. These reports had to be rebutted. The rebuttal evidence had to specifically shoot holes in the C&P examiners reports. Additionally, we had to provide specific evidence that the veterans unemployability was at the core of the veterans service connected mental condition rather than what the C&P examiners came up with.

At the time I was doing this I had several psychologist’s who I collaborated with when writing the reports and the PHD’s signed them off. I no longer I have these connections. Several years ago I helped a veteran get through the bogus personality disorder diagnosis by obtaining a new VA contract treating clinician who knew how to rule out a personality disorder diagnosis. Currently I have been assisting a veteran who obtained a bogus C&P saying that he was disabled due to a non service connectable substance abuse disorder. The veteran had to get into treatment and rebut and replace the bogus diagnosis.

I do have some tips I can pass along on how to deal with higher ratings. However, it is a battle and can take years. I really hope this SO can refer you to doctor who he knows has experience at shooting down or ruling out a personality disorder diagnosis. Ever since I lost my contacts and now rely on VA contract doctors chosen at random the process has become a nightmare. The VA has built in traps that make it hard to change treating psychiatrists or psychologists. If you get one who is shooting from the hips it can really slow down the process of getting TDIU.