ptsd Severing My Husband Compensation.

[Cynthia80]

Im trying to get some insight on my husband Service Connection Compensation...In 2001 my husband tried to commit suicide after his mother died in May of that year he saw a mental health doctor on post in August and shot himself in the head in Sept he got of the army in 2005 after serving 6 years in there in 2007 he was awarded 80% from the VA in 2010 he was awarded 100% Unemployment in 2012 he put in a claim for TP well in August of 2012 he was awarded 100% TP the same year in Oct 2012 we recieved a letter saying that they are gonna severe his Compensation due to the fact they found that he was Sane at the time he shot himself...we have a hearing in Jan 2013 to plead his case the rep at the VA told us to get letters from his mental health doctor that he has been seeing since 2007 and his TBI doctor,i didnt know that they could take something back from a seriously disable person? we have been getting the run around with his Mental health records from the army i dont even know where to look...my Husband has a depression disorder,TBI,PTSD and has use of one eye! any help on this matter will help thanks

[carlie]

Welcome,

I am moving your topic to the Claims Benefits forum where more eyes will see it and

perhaps chime in.

[Cynthia80]

Welcome,

I am moving your topic to the Claims Benefits forum where more eyes will see it and

perhaps chime in.

This was my orignal post C& UE was in the letter also they state that it was a C&UE ill post it when i get to my laptop tomorrow thanks for the reply

[Philip Rogers]

Cynthia80 - When did you receive the letter that they plan to cut his disability benefit??? I'm confused by your posts. Are you saying that they said "it was a CUE that they are taking his disability comp away???"

pr

[relpats]

Welcome,

I am moving your topic to the Claims Benefits forum where more eyes will see it and

perhaps chime in.

I went to Forums and there is no "Claims Benefits Forum"??? Where did you move this to?

[broncovet]

Cynthia

Since your hubby was P and T, your hubby's disability was "stable". In any case the VA can not reduce or severe your hubby without following procedures.

First, if they have made proposal to sever , they have to give you 60 days notice AND you have a right to a hearing. They can not severe or reduce him until AFTER the hearing. You need to request the hearing if you have not done so already.

At your hearing, you need to be prepared to present your side, as to why his Service connection should not be severed.

You should be familiar with the following regulations:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title38-vol1/xml/CFR-2012-title38-vol1-sec3-105.xm

l

[broncovet]

Also, Cynthia, you need to be aware of certain "protections" such as:

http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/3-343-continuance-total-disability-ratings-19775472

Its tough for the VA to make these severences "stick".

[jbasser]

Broncovet, the VA is claiming cue. There are no protections in a CUE.

[broncovet]

The regulations for severing service connection due to CUE are as follows (the burden of proving CUE is on the government) :

http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/3-105-revision-decisions-19776138

[JT24usn]

http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part3/subptiv/ch08/ch08_sece.doc

[jbasser]

That is true.

But, we both know the VA has its own set of rules besides the published ones.

The can be found in the DWTFTWTD section.

Anyone is fair game.

J

[JT24usn]

Or read up on what I posted and know thy " enemy"

http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part3/subptiv/ch08/ch08_sece.doc

http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part3/subptv/ch01/ch01_sece.doc

Edited November 25, 2012 by T8r (see edit history)

[john999]

I see where the VA is coming from on this CUE, but if the vet has any medical records showing he was mentally troubled before he shot himself I think the VA is on thin ice. If he was suffering from depression and their is documentation I don't see how they can win this on appeal. I would go through the motions and get a lawyer.

[JT24usn]

http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part3/subptv/ch01/ch01_sece.doc

http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part3/subptiv/ch08/ch08_sece.doc

Edited November 26, 2012 by T8r (see edit history)

[deanbrt]

"due to the fact they found that he was Sane at the time he shot himself..

I do not know what to say. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. (WTF)

Just reading the sentence saddens me....

[john999]

I think the VA is feeling the heat about vet suicides. Is the VA saying the vet's suicide was misconduct? What sane reason does a young man who is not suffering from some fatal illness have for attempting suicide? The VA is saying he had a "rational" reason for killing himself. When I was in Vietnam at least three guys in my unit attempted suicide, very serious attempts. I don't know what happened to them. One guy attempted homicide against a First SGT. He was out of his mind when he did it.

The VA has reached a new low.

[Philip Rogers]

FYI - The act of suicide in of itself is not done by a sane person and therefore he would not have been sane, in his attempt, and the VA would have a hard time proving he was sane. The law makes the assumption that we (humans) want to live and will do all we can to suceed in doing that, which is why hospitals go to extraordinary measures to save our lives, when we are unconscious and can't speak for ourselves.

pr

[Berta]

I caught this post this AM and was very concerned for your husband

but there is much more to this then we know here and if you can scan and post the Reasons and Bases it would help more.(Cover the personal stuff)

You stated:

“In 2001 my husband tried to commit suicide after his mother died in May of that year he saw a mental health doctor on post in August and shot himself in the head in Sept he got of the army in 2005 after serving 6 years in there in 2007 he was awarded 80% from the VA in 2 etc”

Does this mean he got out of the Army in 2005 but had enlisted in 1999? ( the 6 years?)

Do I understand he shot himself in the head in 2001?

Yet he continued to serve in the Army for 4 more years?

VA could have called a CUE on their 100% P & T decision because, it seems you meant that he served 4 more years in the Army after this suicide attempt occurred, which could indicate to VA he was sane at the time of the shooting.

T8r gave you the exact links to M21 1MR that you need to read carefully.

I have a neighbor who gets DIC because her husband killed himself in service and it was not an accident, nor willful misconduct , because he had been found to be insane at the time of the suicide.

The Board of Veterans Appeals ( BTW all, the BVA has a new online search format, notr much different then the old one)

can be searched for self inflicted gun shot wound and these decisions show how VA uses M21-1MR to decide these appeals.

There is a lot of info missing from your posts........

Did the VA propose to reduce ALL of his SC disabilities?

Was the PTSD and the TBI contingent on or claimed as due to the self inflicted gunshot wound or were these ratings separate?

What was his actual VA rating for the GSW? As well as for the PTSD and TBI?

Any lawyers you contact will need to see the entire reduction decision.

It would help us here too.

4 years ago a Vietnam Combat Vet friend of mine killed himself. His death could not fit into the concept of “insanity' for VA purposes at all ,to make his wife eligible for DIC.

The BVA still adheres to the General Counsel's Precedent Opinion on “insanity” as found here:

http://www.va.gov/ogc/opinions/1997precedentopinions.asp under # 20-97.

I hope your husband has a copy of his military medical and personnel records.

Great link T8r! I have been studying the entire M21 manual this past month as VA does not always adhere to it at all and this can contribute to bad decisions and then to the backlog.

I have used copys of some M21 1MR guidelines to succeed in some of my claims and sent a copy of one part of M21-1MR with my recent 1151 issue.

[john999]

That's a good response, Berta. There is much that is unclear in this case. I don't see how a vet could shoot himself in the head and keep serving.