I am the caregiver for my wife as such I am posting on her behalf.
In 2008 my wife was awarded 80% disability rating from the VA. The largest portion of her rating comes from Dysthymia disorder at 50%, the remaining being from physical alements.
In April of 2013 my wife became unemployed and as such had a mental breakdown.
She began to recieve additional treatment and was advised by a VA social worker to apply for unemployability, and we did that in July.
In November both her VA psychologist and psychiatrist signed off diagnosing her with Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dysthymia & Personality Disorder,(that is much more then her initial VA disability claim but I assume it is all inter related)
The letter continues to state that it is of their opinion that due ther her anxiety, depression, and pain are of such severity that she cannot establish or maintain substantial gainful employment at the present time and the foreseeable future.
I scanned in and attached this letter into her claim as evidence.
The claim although still under processing now states that she is slated to have a answer in April of 2014. I guess I am just curious as to what to expect next and the chances of her recieving approval in April?
I have read that although it isn't suposed to age will often be a factor in approval or denial. My wife is 36 going on 37 this year.
Caluza Triangle – Caluza vs Brown defined what is necessary for service connection. See COVA– CALUZA V. BROWN–TOTAL RECALL
This has to be MEDICALLY Documented in your records:
Current Diagnosis. (No diagnosis, no Service Connection.)
In-Service Event or Aggravation.
Nexus (link- cause and effect- connection) or Doctor’s Statement close to: “The Veteran’s (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service”
VA has gotten away with (mis) interpreting their ambigious, , vague regulations, then enforcing them willy nilly never in Veterans favor.
They justify all this to congress by calling themselves a "pro claimant Veteran friendly organization" who grants the benefit of the doubt to Veterans.
This is not true,
Proof:
About 80-90 percent of Veterans are initially denied by VA, pushing us into a massive backlog of appeals, or worse, sending impoverished Veterans "to the homeless streets" because when they cant work, they can not keep their home. I was one of those Veterans who they denied for a bogus reason: "Its been too long since military service". This is bogus because its not one of the criteria for service connection, but simply made up by VA. And, I was a homeless Vet, albeit a short time, mostly due to the kindness of strangers and friends.
Hadit would not be necessary if, indeed, VA gave Veterans the benefit of the doubt, and processed our claims efficiently and paid us promptly. The VA is broken.
A huge percentage (nearly 100 percent) of Veterans who do get 100 percent, do so only after lengthy appeals. I have answered questions for thousands of Veterans, and can only name ONE person who got their benefits correct on the first Regional Office decision. All of the rest of us pretty much had lengthy frustrating appeals, mostly having to appeal multiple multiple times like I did.
I wish I know how VA gets away with lying to congress about how "VA is a claimant friendly system, where the Veteran is given the benefit of the doubt". Then how come so many Veterans are homeless, and how come 22 Veterans take their life each day? Va likes to blame the Veterans, not their system.
However, (and I have no idea of knowing whether or not you would likely succeed) Im unsure of why you seem to be so adamant against getting an increase in disability compensation.
When I buy stuff, say at Kroger, or pay bills, I have never had anyone say, "Wait! Is this money from disability compensation, or did you earn it working at a regular job?" Not once. Thus, if you did get an increase, likely you would have no trouble paying this with the increase compensation.
However, there are many false rumors out there that suggest if you apply for an increase, the VA will reduce your benefits instead.
That rumor is false but I do hear people tell Veterans that a lot. There are strict rules VA has to reduce you and, NOT ONE of those rules have anything to do with applying for an increase.
Yes, the VA can reduce your benefits, but generally only when your condition has "actually improved" under ordinary conditions of life.
Unless you contacted the VA within 72 hours of your medical treatment, you may not be eligible for reimbursement, or at least that is how I read the link, I posted above. Here are SOME of the rules the VA must comply with in order to reduce your compensation benefits:
NOTE: TO PROVE CAUSE OF DEATH WILL LIKELY REQUIRE AN AUTOPSY. This means if you die of a SC condtion, your spouse would need to do an autopsy to prove cause of death to be from a SC condtiond. If you were P and T for 10 full years, then the cause of death may not matter so much.
Question
Valenti
I am the caregiver for my wife as such I am posting on her behalf.
In 2008 my wife was awarded 80% disability rating from the VA. The largest portion of her rating comes from Dysthymia disorder at 50%, the remaining being from physical alements.
In April of 2013 my wife became unemployed and as such had a mental breakdown.
She began to recieve additional treatment and was advised by a VA social worker to apply for unemployability, and we did that in July.
In November both her VA psychologist and psychiatrist signed off diagnosing her with Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dysthymia & Personality Disorder,(that is much more then her initial VA disability claim but I assume it is all inter related)
The letter continues to state that it is of their opinion that due ther her anxiety, depression, and pain are of such severity that she cannot establish or maintain substantial gainful employment at the present time and the foreseeable future.
I scanned in and attached this letter into her claim as evidence.
The claim although still under processing now states that she is slated to have a answer in April of 2014. I guess I am just curious as to what to expect next and the chances of her recieving approval in April?
I have read that although it isn't suposed to age will often be a factor in approval or denial. My wife is 36 going on 37 this year.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Top Posters For This Question
8
2
2
1
Popular Days
Dec 30
8
Dec 31
6
Jan 3
2
Jan 1
1
Top Posters For This Question
Valenti 8 posts
john999 2 posts
meghp0405 2 posts
jbasser 1 post
Popular Days
Dec 30 2013
8 posts
Dec 31 2013
6 posts
Jan 3 2014
2 posts
Jan 1 2014
1 post
16 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now