Question About Pending Medical Discharge

[carolinarocks28]

Hello, new to the site, glad there are other out there that need help and give help when needed. I am an E-4 in the Navy, stationed at NAS Lemoore, California. I have been in the navy about 4 1/2 years, all of that time spent either in boot camp or here in Lemoore, Ca. My question is how much would I get from being medically discharged at this time. I know most of the info about medical discharge and medical retirement, I don't need to know the simple stuff, just a personal opinion on how much I would get from my conditions. My conditions are listed as below:

The main one that is most likely going to get me discharged is a disease I got in the Navy called Eosinoaphilic esophagitus. Which basically is a disease in the Esophagus that causes certain sectons close to my stomach to swell up to the diameter of an ink pen, causing pain and discomfort when eating. The problem with this disease, and why they will not keep me, is I cannot go onto a ship, because if I were to eat something and my esophagus rips/tears, Naval medical officers do not know how to perform the emergency surgery. Another reason this condition is so bad is because there is no known cure for it, and it is life long, and potentially deadly as i just explained about it tearing. I can go through treatments, once a month for the rest of my life, but these treatments are not available on the boat. I have talked to many sailors and ex-sailors here on base, they all say that alone can get me a high percentage, because it is closely related to cancer (because the way the disease works is the white blood cells form in my esophagus causing it to swell), and believe me when my doctor told me that I started to cry I was so scared.

Another thing I developed in the Navy is Asthma, probably from the air quality out here.

Also been hit in my nose by tools and aircraft stabs, causing a fracture that lead to my sinus cavaties being completly blocked, causeing very bad allergies, and most likely will lead to nose surgery in the future, before I get out of active duty status.

I twisted my knee really bad during command PT couple years ago, had surgery on it last year (they found that my knee cap completely tore through the muscle tissue covering it, they didn't catch it right away and had me doing physical therapy which lead to it healing 2 inches to the right, out aligned, causeing pain, which caused the surgery. It still hurts today and it pops and grinds all the time.

my other knee grinds too, but I don't think that would get any attention when it comes to med board.

My back is another big one, but everyone has back problems in the navy, I pulled mine a while ago, and after countless visits to physical therapy and chiropractor, there is still a knot in my lower left area of my back.

both o fmy shoulders have been injured during PT too, one just being sprained, but the other one had minor tears in my rotator's cuff.

Something else coming to light in my condition is that I might be diabetic, have to do more tests on that, I might have high blood pressure and cholesterol related to stress, and possibly sleep apnea...

And according to the VA office after reviewing my medical file I have bi-lateral hearing loss which I knew nothing of.

If anyone has had these same conditions, I would love to know how much the navy said you were medically rated, and how much the VA office rated you afterwards (because the way I understand it is the Navy looks at you first, rates you either 10, 20, or 30 %, and than from there you would go to the VA ofice and they are the ones to state whether you are anywhere from 30%-100%)

[jbasser]

You will be medical boarded out of the Navy. If I were you, I would get copies of your service medical record as soon as possible. Before your exit physical.

The Navy will assign percentages but once you are out, the VA will take over.

If the Navy offers you severance Pay then the VA will Recoup that from you.

As for percentages from the VA, it would be hard to decipher without the actual factors involved and how they stack up to the Regs. That Reg is the Title 38 CFR part 4 ( Schedule for rating disabilities).

You seem to have some serious disabilities. You may want to find a Good Veteran Service Officer when you get released. Are you going back to Tar Heel Country?

It does factor in where you file the claim. Just think, A UK Fan Helping A Tar Heel fan. Just be Glad you are not a Duke Fan. We really hate them also.

Welcome to Hadit and hang in there and Thank you for your service.

Basser

[brokensoldier244th]

+1 getting your service records! This cannot be underestimated in importance. Also get any civilian treatment records if they exist from your duty time. Were there injuries with witnesses? Sometimes their statements can be integral in establishing time, place, and duration.

As for the VA rating from 30% upwards, that depends on a lot of things. They could assign 0%, as VA looks at the functional deficiency of you vs. your disability and it's effect on you. If a disability renders you unfit for duty in the Navy, it may still not cause a function impairment from the POV of the VA.

For example, I was discharged from the Army with 0% for a low back trauma injury that resulted in having 2 discs ruptured at L5-S1 and L3-4 with fragmentation and some nerve damage. The VA looked at it and it's residual effects and I am rated 60% for those things combined. I'm currently appealing my discharge percentage of 0% to the Army. While any retirement that I would receive would be negligible to none (I was only in for a year and I was an E3) I still feel the 0% was something that should have been a little higher.

Good luck!

[carlie]

No way at all to even speculate on what a percentage would be.

As someone already posted - if you receive any severance pay - VA will

recoup that back from whatever service connected comp you get.

JMHO

Editing to add - you may get additional info at the link below.

http://www.pebforum.com/content/

[Chuck75]

I don't think that anyone here can truly answer your "how much will I get" question. (There is a plethora of reasons!)

To add to the problem, the system is changing, and it may be that a combined Navy/VA evaluation will be done.

History shows that both will try to minimize the conditions, in order to reduce the eventual compensation/disability.

You have also paid into SSA, and may have some SSDI benefits available if you are rated as totally disabled.

In this case, in general, VA compensation does not count against SSDI, but military payments can.

Military payments also effect VA payments.

Edited September 23, 2011 by Chuck75