Papa Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Congrats. I honestly believe that the VA low balls most of us regarding PTSD. They do this to see who will fight and those who do not. I was first rated at 30%, but the QTC Doctor only spent 10 minutes with me. When, I put in a re-evaluation, and the second QTC Doctor examined me, it was for about an hour with a GAF of 51. But, like Carlie said, the GAF score is only a small part of it. This Doctor really wrote up an excellent report for me. I finally ended up with 100% + SMC S. So, fight. Papa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meghp0405 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 just a note, when the VA sends out a rating decision, they no longer go into detail and explain what is needed for the next higher evaluation like they used to do. If there is a denial, there will be an annotation, "Medical records were absent for this disability" It's insane, If they would follow their own laws, they should continue with the procedure they had in place before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadIt.com Elder MikeR Posted January 23, 2013 HadIt.com Elder Share Posted January 23, 2013 Peace, Good job. Keep us posted on what course of action your attorney takes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cham1968 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 peacecindia Congratulations that is a wonderful beginning! And if your VA Dr did that for you then you better hold on to that one. I couldn't get mine down here in the ATL to do anything had to depend on the VETCENTER which was great but the Dr so hold on to that one God Bless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halos2 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Glad you are finally getting a decent award, however remember you can appeal within one year of the date of your decision, not the date mailed, and not the date you received it! Continue to appeal and get what your disability truly establishes regarding your condition and the contributing factors.Good luck with your future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacecindia Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) Pete: 50% is a good start and like you say, 'my foot is in the door' and I'm thankful for that. I requested that my lawyer add COPD as secondary to PTSD and VA sent a letter to me recently saying I have a new claim, so I'm assuming the lawyer started a new claim on my behalf.71m10: The C&P examiner said she had to follow a form on her computer. Was it a DBQ? It possibly was. If I didn't have a contract with a lawyer agreeing not to contact VA directly myself, I'd request a new C&P exam and ask if my SSDI is being taken into consideration. I have to have faith that the lawyer knows more about VA regulations than I do and will do what he has to do. He said he'd have to get back to me after I sent him 3 emails as I reacted to my service connection letter and my VA therapist telling me the c&p examiner checked the wrong box. The lawyer responded by asking me what the VA therapist said. Medical copays have been a bane for me and I truly resented VA garnishing my SSDI check for $50.00 each month. It was pretty cool to get $40.00 in travel reimbursement from VA when I had to go to the C&P exam. My daughter was a dependent while she was in school in 2006-2008 and could have qualified for educational benefits then and hopefully will get some benefits if I can get 100% service connection.Berta & John: I will get an IMO (independent medical opinion) if it's necessary. Spending the money for an IMO would be an investment I agree. My Timeline Filed for VA compensation March 7, 2006 Awarded SSDI for PTSD May 30, 2008 (connected back to 2005) I had the c&p exam on Dec 26, 2012 My SSDI check stopped being garnished on Jan. 3, 2013 I got the service connection letter on Jan 17, 2013 Edited January 29, 2013 by peacecindia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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