I'm Confused About This

[iceturkee]

in late december, i applied for smc aid and attendence because i received it with my pension. its been fairly well documented that both my servie connected back condition and my inflammatory arthritis contribute to several factors including the need for another person to take care of me, the inability for me to work and my status as wheelchair bound.

today (saturday) i received my packet of info from regional requesting any addition info plus my statement. it mentioned my request for smc plus loss of use for bilateral upper extremities. the latter is what's confusing as they want documention it is something that i have had since i was in the military.

it is well documented in my medical record that inflammatory arthritis has rendered my fingers and hands to be almost useless. however, i don't believe i can document back this to my active duty although i can document my back injuries to be related because i fell down two flights of stairs while in the army.

i'm confused because is regional asking for two different things? a few pages later in the packet they ask for documention for the smc 9which i have laready submitted) and documentation for the upper extremities. perhaps they are confused from the statement intially submitted by my county veterans service officer?

can someone help un confuse me please? thank you.

[jvretiredvet]

The easy answer is that the VARO is doing its duty to assist by asking you to provide or identify the evidence needed to support your claim.

If you have already provided all that you have, there is nothing more for you to do but wait (note: tell the VARO that you have no additional evidence and to proceed with your claim). However, if there is additional evidence that you either have not provided or identified, tell them what and where it is, and either get it yourself or ask them to get it.

For the more difficult answer, it appears to me that your claim was interpreted as a request for service connection for loss of use of both upper extremities. So, the VARO is doing its duty to assist by asking you to provide evidence that your LOU of Bil UE is directly due to your military service, or perhaps as secondary to your (apparently) service connected back condition.

Based on what you wrote below, it's likely that not much in the Service Medical Records would support this, so you will need an independent medical opinion to provide a nexus or connection between your current back condition (lower?) and your LOU Bil UE (cervical back).

That's what they're asking for.

in late december, i applied for smc aid and attendence because i received it with my pension. its been fairly well documented that both my servie connected back condition and my inflammatory arthritis contribute to several factors including the need for another person to take care of me, the inability for me to work and my status as wheelchair bound.

today (saturday) i received my packet of info from regional requesting any addition info plus my statement. it mentioned my request for smc plus loss of use for bilateral upper extremities. the latter is what's confusing as they want documention it is something that i have had since i was in the military.

it is well documented in my medical record that inflammatory arthritis has rendered my fingers and hands to be almost useless. however, i don't believe i can document back this to my active duty although i can document my back injuries to be related because i fell down two flights of stairs while in the army.

i'm confused because is regional asking for two different things? a few pages later in the packet they ask for documention for the smc 9which i have laready submitted) and documentation for the upper extremities. perhaps they are confused from the statement intially submitted by my county veterans service officer?

can someone help un confuse me please? thank you.

[iceturkee]

The easy answer is that the VARO is doing its duty to assist by asking you to provide or identify the evidence needed to support your claim.

If you have already provided all that you have, there is nothing more for you to do but wait (note: tell the VARO that you have no additional evidence and to proceed with your claim). However, if there is additional evidence that you either have not provided or identified, tell them what and where it is, and either get it yourself or ask them to get it.

For the more difficult answer, it appears to me that your claim was interpreted as a request for service connection for loss of use of both upper extremities. So, the VARO is doing its duty to assist by asking you to provide evidence that your LOU of Bil UE is directly due to your military service, or perhaps as secondary to your (apparently) service connected back condition.

Based on what you wrote below, it's likely that not much in the Service Medical Records would support this, so you will need an independent medical opinion to provide a nexus or connection between your current back condition (lower?) and your LOU Bil UE (cervical back).

That's what they're asking for.

thanks, that is what i thought. i'm only applying for special monthly compensation and nothing else.

[jvretiredvet]

We may have a terminology misunderstanding here ...

I take it that you are receiving aid and attendence ... with my pension, correct? In that case, you are receiving Special Monthly Pension and not Special Monthly Compensation.

Unless you can get the Bil UE conditions service connected, you are not going to be able to get Special Monthly Compensation. If you are already receiving non-service connected VA pension with A&A, you are at the highest non-service connected rate.

In your latest claim, if you applied for special monthly compensation and nothing else , your claim would be interpreted as a new claim for service connection, perhaps for LOU of Bil UE (or perhaps, two separate claims for right arm condition and left arm condition). To receive SMC for anything, there has to be a root service connnected condition first.

thanks, that is what i thought. i'm only applying for special monthly compensation and nothing else.

[iceturkee]

We may have a terminology misunderstanding here ...

I take it that you are receiving aid and attendence ... with my pension, correct? In that case, you are receiving Special Monthly Pension and not Special Monthly Compensation.

Unless you can get the Bil UE conditions service connected, you are not going to be able to get Special Monthly Compensation. If you are already receiving non-service connected VA pension with A&A, you are at the highest non-service connected rate.

In your latest claim, if you applied for special monthly compensation and nothing else , your claim would be interpreted as a new claim for service connection, perhaps for LOU of Bil UE (or perhaps, two separate claims for right arm condition and left arm condition). To receive SMC for anything, there has to be a root service connnected condition first.

i am not receiving pension anymore. i am receiving disability compensation since the va declared me unemployable due to my service connected back issues. because it is well documented that my service connected back issues contribute to the need of a nurses aide (at va expense), i was encouraged to apply for aid and attendence. i also have well documented that i have severe hand issues because of my inflammatory arthritis.

as i stated before a combination of my back problems and inflammatory arthritis have left me wheelchair bound (docunmented), unable to work (documented) and in need for the assistance of another person. i still don't get the upper extremity.

Edited February 25, 2012 by iceturkee

[jvretiredvet]

Thank you for the clarification. It wasn't totally clear to me what your status was, and I wanted to make sure we were speaking the same language, so to speak. I didn't want to guess (too much) at what your status was.

WRT the upper extremity issue ... I suspect that somewhere in one of your earlier letters to the VA, you mentioned that inflammatory arthritis has rendered my (your) fingers and hands to be almost useless , which was interpreted as a claim for service connection for loss of use of the upper extremities. Again, this is what I am guessing. There I go again, guessing.

FWIW, service connected LOU of both hands warrants a higher level of SMC than aid and attendance.

So, as far at the letter you recently received ... if you have already sent in or identified to your VARO all the the evidence you have, you don't need to do anything. However, you may want to contact them and tell them you have submitted all the evidence and to proceed with the rating process.

Then, get in a comfortable chair and wait.

i am not receiving pension anymore. i am receiving disability compensation since the va declared me unemployable due to my service connected back issues. because it is well documented that my service connected back issues contribute to the need of a nurses aide (at va expense), i was encouraged to apply for aid and attendence. i also have well documented that i have severe hand issues because of my inflammatory arthritis.

as i stated before a combination of my back problems and inflammatory arthritis have left me wheelchair bound (docunmented), unable to work (documented) and in need for the assistance of another person. i still don't get the upper extremity.