tdiu Bent Over The Barrel......

[StreetWalker]

I had filed for a reopening of my denied TDIU claim. Along with that request to reopen I included what I and my VSO felt was "new and material" evidence. A denial of VRE benefits due to the severity of my service connected disabilities and a statement by my then VA PCP stating that I'm unemployable. The claim followed the standard path. It was over a month late getting out of the "Review of Evidence" phase and past the earliest date it was supposed to be complete. Again par for the course. The claim went to Prep for Decision and I had hope. A couple of days later it was back to Gathering of Evidence. The expected dates of completion had been moved to 7/2014 to 1/2015. Originally it was supposed to be finished no later than 4/2014. A development letter was sent. I received the letter and it stated that I needed to submit "new and material" evidence or the claim would be closed. There was NO mention of the evidence I had submitted. I headed down to my VSO's office the next day. She looked at her files and found where the request and the evidence had been submitted. I asked her if she felt that the evidence was sufficient (my old VSO had received a promotion and moved out of this office) she stated that it was more than sufficient. She prepared a letter and sent it on to the RO. So far nothing has changed in regards to my claim. I was going to hold off on filing any additional claims till my IU claim was settled. But I decided to go ahead and ask for a increase in my depression and radiculopathy. I also filed for my right shoulder which has been causing me a lot of problems due to use of a cane, constipation due to daily use of narcotics and sleep apnea due to weight gain from medication and from inability to exercise due to my lower back. I've gained 50 lbs the last four years. Most of it during the first two years while I was still working and walking 10 miles per day.

[Navy04]

Street,

What state did you file your SSDI in. You were approved really quick. I just submitted mine in Texas online a few weeks ago. I could only hope that approve me fast. Good luck and keep us updated.

[StreetWalker]

I filed in Oregon.

[Navy04]

Ate some good fish in Portland when I was active, you would be lucky enough to live in a state that doesn't have a bagillion Vets like Texas, Lol.

[john999]

My SSDI was approved in about 3 months in Florida. I got OPM in about 5 months. Before that I got workers compensation via OWCP. About 18 months later I got TDIU. This involved me having to let go of some things and hold onto others. When I got OWCP I had to put OPM and most of my SSDI on the shelf. When I got TDIU I had to make a choice between OWCP and TDIU. Since I wanted to sleep a little at night I chose TDIU and gave up on my OWCP but then I got OPM and SSDI reinstated. One smart thing I did when I was about 30 years old was to buy a private disability insurance policy. I have been collecting on that for 12 years and all I paid at the time was about $360 a year. Those policies are a thing of the past with lifetime benefits and no reductions for SSDI or WC. I was dumb but had smart friends who advised me. I know these disability systems except for military disability since I never got that.

John

[Navy04]

John,

You really know your stuff and had some good outcomes. I knew a lot about the MEB and PEB boards when I was active and the Navy retired me in February this year. All this civilian SSDI and post active VA stuff is new to me, and I have had some hard lessons in such a short period. I learn from you guys on here, cause you know more than my VSO who is a nice guy, but he was in the Air Force for 30 years and never left two states or go to war. A lot of VSOs don't know the struggles we go thru personally or financially. I gave up a 100K a year job, just to hope that the VA gives me what I deserve and barely support family, if and when I even get to 100%. Sorry I rambled just wondering when is the govt going to stop pay Congressman and Senators and take care of their wounded warriors.

[john999]

Losing a 100,000 dollar a year job to get 100% from the VA is a pay cut. The only good thing is you can keep the 100% until you die. Since most companies do not have pensions anymore that can be a good deal. Today, the employee is just about totally responsible for saving for retirement. Most Americans are going to fail at this from what I have read. If a guy making 100,000 a year at age 25 starts to put 15% into an IRA and/or 401-K and makes good decisions with his money then he "may" have a good sum to retire on when he hits 65. The only sure things so far is SSA and VA . Even civil service pensions are iffy for state and local employees. My brother's Florida Retirement System is cutting him every year and he is still working. His insurance is expensive and the amount he has to put into his retirement goes up and up. You get that VA money and SSDI.