ptsd Question Concerning 100% P&t

[jtl111]

Currently I am rated 50% PTSD, 30% ankle, 30% foot, 20% left thumb 10% right knee 10% tinnitus and 10% bilateral.

Can I apply for 100% unemployable and if so what would be my chances of getting it permanent.

Do I even qualify and what do u have to do to get insurance for your wife. Thank you for any assistance.

[john999]

Does your job have a disability retirement option?

[FormerMember]

Interesting. The old Knick knack, paddy whack give the Vet a bone approach. Up the ankle to 30% and the thumb to 20% but ignore the IU and pray he's never heard of it. Working is his obvious IU barrier but 100% for any one of those other conditions is never going to come to pass. Attaining it on PTSD is becoming increasingly more difficult now that VA controls the vertical and horizontal on bent brain C&Ps. Gone are the days of your treating psycologist/psychiatrist inveighing on your behalf and prevailing. JTL111 is going to have to revamp his GAF score dramatically (no small feat) downward legitimately VA will pore over his records and conclusively "prove" that he can still engage in sedentary work that doesn't entail ankle/thumb/knee manipulations. Lord help him if he has anything higher than a high school diploma. That will doom any IU. similarly they will "prove his PTSD does not warrant a higher rating by virtue of a stable GAF and the virtual absence of a handful of other indicators like suicidal ideations, etc.

In sum, he has a lot of small potatoes that add up to a large but non-threatening work impairment. Were he to have a 50% for pretzel brain and 60% for lumbar/cervical, this might fly. Tinnitus and toejamb football do not an IU make nor will you ever see 100% schedular for an ankle-let alone a knee or a thumb. I do not subscribe to the Safeway Slip of the Month Club path to financial security so I don't see his suddenly winning the 100% lottery on the brain. VA is not the brightest light on the Christmas tree but they'll see through this in a heartbeat. Besides, it would be dishonest and I abhor that. A Vet is free to apply for whatever he feels is SC and pursue it right or wrong. If he does it purposefully to attain an undeserved rating, that is a Bozo No-No. Suddenly quitting your job or contriving a "showdown" that results in unemployment during this increase filing will be viewed by VA as orchestrated for a higher brain %. That can backfire horribly. I do not imply this gentleman might indulge in this scenario. I simply point out the pitfalls.

I often counsel Vets to concentrate on the Big 100% Prize from the outset. I have seen too many string together pearl necklaces of 10 and 20% ratings only to hit the magic 60% wall. Here, it's 90%. Each new 10% adds about 1% in the 38 CFR 4.25 world. They never get there but they are nevertheless saddled with what they have wrought. VA sees this and will point out that no single, individual disability, by itself, is debilitating enough to render them unable to pursue (and attain) meaningful employment. Forewarned is forearmed. If the bent brain box is a severe handicap, so be it. Focus on it to the exclusion of all else. Build your case slowly and carefully with many doctor visits and a lot of documented evidence. This one isn't going to be resolved in two or three years. If the PTSD matures like most do, the rating may float upward as the disease progresses but not before a decade or more passes. There are exceptions to any rule, but the die is cast on this one now. It might be time to fold and wait a while for new cards and a better diagnosis. Rx? Don't quit your day job yet. One last point. If you didn't appeal the 50% for the PTSD initially, you agreed with them that it was the proper rating. It's somewhat difficult to return later and explain your GAF is sinking like the Titanic and you were mistaken.

With that said, I wish you the best of luck and appreciate your feeling it necessary to serve your country. I see you were also smart enough to do it in the Air Force. As I pointed out to all my Army and Marine friends after Vietnam-why did you walk when you could fly? How do you guys think you got flat feet? Was it that really neat blue color on the CIB that made you go for 11Bravo MOS?

[Teac]

I was never considered for 100% TDIU

How do you know you were never considered of TDIU. It is not normally mentioned in the narrative of a rating unless it is granted, The VA has a habit of saying in all ratings that the benefit of doubt was considered, as a blanket statement, but that doesn't mean that you were or were not considered for TDIU. We all know that the VA is compelled by law to consider TDIU, but if a disability doesn't appear to present an employment problem they aren't likely to consider TDIU. Keep in mind the VA doesn't always follow the rules.

[FormerMember]

Shocked. I am shocked. The VA doesn't always follow the rules? Round up the usual suspects. Assemble a posse. Someone fetch the hounds from the kennels.

[71M10]

Since he indicated he is working and they would have asked for that data point on his C&P exam and I would be suprised if it wasn't mentioned in his PTSD exam the IU issue doesn't have wings.

[Legate]

Asknod, I worry about people becoming discouraged in the middle of a stressful process when they read your post. I understand that may have been your experience but people should realize that's not necessarily how it will be for them. I only comment on this becasue my very recent experience was so different. Maybe I was lucky but I was really surprised by the helpfulness and professionalism of the medical and mental health professionals I encountered, including my C&P Psychologist. A number of them did in fact inveigh on my behalf, so much so that I don't think I would have prevailed without them. And the days of getting 100% for PTSD are certainly not over since that's what they just rated me at and added P&T on top of that, and took only twelve months to do it. Regarding education and TDIU, I can't believe having an associate or bachelor's degree makes any difference. I managed (although it was tough sometimes) to get my degree AFTER my service-connected stressors took place and it never surfaced as an issue with the VA.

Reading about peoples successes really helped me stick with it when I was deep in the claim cycle so just wanted to share mine.