Va And Med Retirement.

[TheHud]

Hello. I was discharged from the Army in 2005. VA origionally had me at combined 20% disability, but after first visit/evaluation at the VA, that was bumped to 50% combined (spine, knees, ankles and lungs). I have been getting VA benifits since date of discharge. I did get severence pay, but that was docked out of my VA bens untill it was payed back.

My wife found information regarding the Physical Disability Board of Review, or PDBR. Apparantly members medically discharged between 2001 and 2009 with 20% or lower are encouraged to get a review to see if it should have been higher, thus earning a medical retirement, instead of just discharge.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I had a couple of questions.

First, is the 20% the VA originally granted the 20% the PDBR refers to, or is there a another rating the Army gave me that I am not aware of?

Second, if I do this and am granted a medical retirement, am I still eligable for VA benifits?

[john999]

Yes, you will still be eligible for VA benefit. I would do it if I were you because one of our posters here did it and got Tricare and some other benefits. Keep posting because there are some here who have done just what you are trying to do. This will be your best shot at it because the longer it goes after discharge the harder it is to get them to change their minds. Are you able to work now?

[TheHud]

Before the military, I worked for U.P.S. I can still work but due to the spinal problems I could not go back to that kind of physically intensive work. My problem with jobs that I have had since then is that I can't stay seated too long before my back starts getting more and more painful, but I can't stand for too long without my knees and ankles starting to hurt more and more.

[justrluk]

I've been through the process and am now medically retired (I won). Here is the URL to the board where I and several others have discussed:

http://www.pebforum.com/site/threads/after-the-pdbr.10947/

IM me if you want to chat about it. It took about a year to complete the process and the longer you wait, the longer the process will take as others apply.