i am new here to the site and i'm in need of some help. any help would be greatly appreciated.
i have put in for TDIU. i didn't know that i could ask for a rate increase so one day while i was at the VA i stopped and asked a VA rep about it. He told me that i should have come in A LONG TIME AGO and that if he were the one to have done my initial claim when i retired in 08, that i would be 100% w/o a doubt. I am not working and haven't since retirement.
according to my rating decision sheet, i am sc'd at
50% for PSTD INCLUDE INSOMNIA AND COGNITIVE DISORDER
30% POSTCONCUSSIVE HEADACHE OF THE TENSION TYPE DUE TO MILD TBI (CLAIMED AS MIGRAINES)
20% RIGHT PECTORALIS TEAR WITH RIGHT SHOULDER TENDONITIS
20% LEFT PECTORALIS MAJOR TEAR WITH LEFT ROTATOR CUFF TENDONITIS
10% RIGHT FOOT DJD WITH HAMMER TOE/HALLUX VALGUS TO INCLUDE RIGHT FOOT BUNION
10% LEFT FOOT DJD W/HAMMER TOE/HALLUX VALGUS TO INCLUDE RIGHT FOOT BUNION
10% LEFT KNEE DJD TO INCLUDE PATELLOFEMORAL SYNDROME
10% RIGHT KNEE PATELLOFEMORAL SYNDROME
10% ANTEROLISTHESIS CERVICAL SPINE W/MYALGIA AND MYOSITIS
10%DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE THORACOLUMBAR SPINE, ALSO CLAIMED AS LUMBAGO
10% MELASMA
0% RIGHT FIFTH FINGER STATUS POST TENDON LACERATION
0% RIGHT GASTROCNEMIUS TEAR
now that sure was a mouthful of info to put out. i was advised to drop a packet for a temporary 100%TDIU status back in july on 2011 because i got micro fracture surgery done on my right knee. then i was told by the VA rep to change that and go straight for TDIU and look into getting soc sec. i was then called up and told to look into asking for 100% p&t so not knowing any better, i did that. i also figured that i should probably be represented by someone with A LOT MORE knowledge about these things than me so i went to the DAV. i made up a POA with them and i'm waiting to hear something but no one there has contacted me about anything so far.
i was directed to re-do all of my c&p exams and i finished those up in november. i went in tuesday of this week (01-07-12) to see where my claim was and a different VA rep told me that it was at the rating board for a decision but they kicked it back for some reason or the other but he didn't know. he tried to call the actual person that had my claim but was unable to reach him so i am in a holding pattern as of now. that is where i stand. i kind of feel like i went about filing my claim the wrong way so i may have hurt my own chances by doing so. hopefully not.
any input and/or guidance as to what i should do would be greatly appreciated. thank you all for your service too!
These decisions have made a big impact on how VA disability claims are handled, giving veterans more chances to get benefits and clearing up important issues.
Service Connection
Frost v. Shulkin (2017)
This case established that for secondary service connection claims, the primary service-connected disability does not need to be service-connected or diagnosed at the time the secondary condition is incurred 1. This allows veterans to potentially receive secondary service connection for conditions that developed before their primary condition was officially service-connected.
Saunders v. Wilkie (2018)
The Federal Circuit ruled that pain alone, without an accompanying diagnosed condition, can constitute a disability for VA compensation purposes if it results in functional impairment 1. This overturned previous precedent that required an underlying pathology for pain to be considered a disability.
Effective Dates
Martinez v. McDonough (2023)
This case dealt with the denial of an earlier effective date for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) 2. It addressed issues around the validity of appeal withdrawals and the consideration of cognitive impairment in such decisions.
I met with a VSO today at my VA Hospital who was very knowledgeable and very helpful. We decided I should submit a few new claims which we did. He told me that he didn't need copies of my military records that showed my sick call notations related to any of the claims. He said that the VA now has entire military medical record on file and would find the record(s) in their own file. It seemed odd to me as my service dates back to 1981 and spans 34 years through my retirement in 2015. It sure seemed to make more sense for me to give him copies of my military medical record pages that document the injuries as I'd already had them with me. He didn't want my copies. Anyone have any information on this. Much thanks in advance.
Caluza Triangle – Caluza vs Brown defined what is necessary for service connection. See COVA– CALUZA V. BROWN–TOTAL RECALL
This has to be MEDICALLY Documented in your records:
Current Diagnosis. (No diagnosis, no Service Connection.)
In-Service Event or Aggravation.
Nexus (link- cause and effect- connection) or Doctor’s Statement close to: “The Veteran’s (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service”
VA has gotten away with (mis) interpreting their ambigious, , vague regulations, then enforcing them willy nilly never in Veterans favor.
They justify all this to congress by calling themselves a "pro claimant Veteran friendly organization" who grants the benefit of the doubt to Veterans.
This is not true,
Proof:
About 80-90 percent of Veterans are initially denied by VA, pushing us into a massive backlog of appeals, or worse, sending impoverished Veterans "to the homeless streets" because when they cant work, they can not keep their home. I was one of those Veterans who they denied for a bogus reason: "Its been too long since military service". This is bogus because its not one of the criteria for service connection, but simply made up by VA. And, I was a homeless Vet, albeit a short time, mostly due to the kindness of strangers and friends.
Hadit would not be necessary if, indeed, VA gave Veterans the benefit of the doubt, and processed our claims efficiently and paid us promptly. The VA is broken.
A huge percentage (nearly 100 percent) of Veterans who do get 100 percent, do so only after lengthy appeals. I have answered questions for thousands of Veterans, and can only name ONE person who got their benefits correct on the first Regional Office decision. All of the rest of us pretty much had lengthy frustrating appeals, mostly having to appeal multiple multiple times like I did.
I wish I know how VA gets away with lying to congress about how "VA is a claimant friendly system, where the Veteran is given the benefit of the doubt". Then how come so many Veterans are homeless, and how come 22 Veterans take their life each day? Va likes to blame the Veterans, not their system.
Question
gooz87
i am new here to the site and i'm in need of some help. any help would be greatly appreciated.
i have put in for TDIU. i didn't know that i could ask for a rate increase so one day while i was at the VA i stopped and asked a VA rep about it. He told me that i should have come in A LONG TIME AGO and that if he were the one to have done my initial claim when i retired in 08, that i would be 100% w/o a doubt. I am not working and haven't since retirement.
according to my rating decision sheet, i am sc'd at
50% for PSTD INCLUDE INSOMNIA AND COGNITIVE DISORDER
30% POSTCONCUSSIVE HEADACHE OF THE TENSION TYPE DUE TO MILD TBI (CLAIMED AS MIGRAINES)
20% RIGHT PECTORALIS TEAR WITH RIGHT SHOULDER TENDONITIS
20% LEFT PECTORALIS MAJOR TEAR WITH LEFT ROTATOR CUFF TENDONITIS
10% RIGHT FOOT DJD WITH HAMMER TOE/HALLUX VALGUS TO INCLUDE RIGHT FOOT BUNION
10% LEFT FOOT DJD W/HAMMER TOE/HALLUX VALGUS TO INCLUDE RIGHT FOOT BUNION
10% LEFT KNEE DJD TO INCLUDE PATELLOFEMORAL SYNDROME
10% RIGHT KNEE PATELLOFEMORAL SYNDROME
10% ANTEROLISTHESIS CERVICAL SPINE W/MYALGIA AND MYOSITIS
10%DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE THORACOLUMBAR SPINE, ALSO CLAIMED AS LUMBAGO
10% MELASMA
0% RIGHT FIFTH FINGER STATUS POST TENDON LACERATION
0% RIGHT GASTROCNEMIUS TEAR
now that sure was a mouthful of info to put out. i was advised to drop a packet for a temporary 100%TDIU status back in july on 2011 because i got micro fracture surgery done on my right knee. then i was told by the VA rep to change that and go straight for TDIU and look into getting soc sec. i was then called up and told to look into asking for 100% p&t so not knowing any better, i did that. i also figured that i should probably be represented by someone with A LOT MORE knowledge about these things than me so i went to the DAV. i made up a POA with them and i'm waiting to hear something but no one there has contacted me about anything so far.
i was directed to re-do all of my c&p exams and i finished those up in november. i went in tuesday of this week (01-07-12) to see where my claim was and a different VA rep told me that it was at the rating board for a decision but they kicked it back for some reason or the other but he didn't know. he tried to call the actual person that had my claim but was unable to reach him so i am in a holding pattern as of now. that is where i stand. i kind of feel like i went about filing my claim the wrong way so i may have hurt my own chances by doing so. hopefully not.
any input and/or guidance as to what i should do would be greatly appreciated. thank you all for your service too!
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