ptsd Cue Help Needed Please

[Cavman]

I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH WHAT THE V.A. CALLED SC CHRONIC COMBAT STRESS DISORDER IN 1980 JUST BEFORE THE PTSD LABEL CAME ABOUT. I WAS AWARDED 0%. I SAW APPROXIMATELY 150 DAYS OF COMBAT IN VIETNAM/CAMBODIA AND AWARDED 2 PURPLE HEARTS.COMBAT INFANTRY ETC ETC. I WAS NEVER TOLD OF AN APPEAL OPTION AND ALMOST POSITIVE I NEVER RECEIVED THE ANSWER FROM THE V.A. AT THAT TIME. I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT ME DOING THIS WHEN I WENT FOR A C&P EXAM IN JUNE FOR A PTSD CLAIM I FILED IN NOVEMBER OF 05 AND JUST GOT AWARDED 50%.

I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT CUE CLAIMS, BUT WANT TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS A GUESS, IS THIS A REASON TO FILE ONE? GOD ONLY KNOWS IF I`M DIAGNOSED WITH WHAT WAS TO BE CALLED PTSD A FEW WEEKS LATER IN 1980 I SURELY WAS AS MENTALLY BAD OFF THEN AS I AM TODAY.

CAVMAN

[Angela]

Cavman,

Sounds like you are saying that you should have been rated 50 % from the date of your original claim, right? If that's the case, you just need to request an earlier effective date if your condition was documented as being as serious then as it is now. Requesting an earlier effective date is also an easier win than a CUE claim. CUE's are very difficult.

[Cavman]

THANKS EVER SO MUCH FOR COMMENTING ANGELA. I AM APPEALING THE 50% ASAP. I`LL TAKE YOUR ADVICE AND FILE RIGHT AWAY. I DO FEEL I WAS 100% THEN AS I FEEL NOW.

CAVMAN

[Cavman]

IS THERE A FORM FOR FILING FOR AN EARLIER EFFECTIVE DATE?

CAVMAN

[Cavman]

WILL FILING FOR AN EARLIER EFFECTIVE DATE INTERFERE OR HURT MY NOD CLAIM BEING WORKED ON NOW OR SHOULD I GO AHEAD AND FILE IT?

CAVMAN

[john999]

Angela

In fact, the only way Cavman is going to get retro to 1980 would be to show via CUE that some glaring error was made at during his rating decision. You can't get retro on a fairly recent claim all the way back to 1980. You can get retro back one year from the date you file for an increase and that's about it. That is the power of a CUE. The CUE if successful awards SC or a higher rating based on the decision in question. If you are awarded 50% instead of the 0% you were awarded in 1980 then you get all the benefits a 50% vet would have gotten if he had been awarded 50% in 1980 including compensation. It is as if the vet has been 50% since 1980. I think that is another reason why getting CUE successfully awarded in your favor is so hard. It means a lot of money in a lot of ways.

Cavman

How in the world did the VA stick you with a 0% rating for a disability that is considered PTSD in this day and age? That does seem very low. What evidence did you have for a higher rating? Were you working? Were you having symptoms like PTSD symptoms? I think you did get screwed just on the basis of a 0% rating but did you have a IMO or private doctor's notes showing symptoms. This almost sounds like a VA decison based on what some junior VA shrink may have written up in his dorm room.

[Cavman]

SO ANGELA, DOES THAT MEAN IT ISN`T WORTH FIGHTING FOR IN A CLAIM. I`M STRESSED AS HECK WITH THE APPEAL OF THE 50% PTSD, SEEING A SHRINK WEEKLY, TAKING MEDS, MARRIAGE PROBLEMS, GERD/BARRETTS ESOPHAGUS...... NO TASTE, SALIVA, ENERGY, ETC. FROM 29 MINUTES A DAY OF RADIATION FOR CANCER AND IN THE HOUSE ALL DAY NOT BEING ABLE TO WORK. IN OTHER WORDS IF IT`S A LONG SHOT AT BEST THE HELL WITH IT. I DON`T HAVE THE TIME TO WASTE IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. BEING CUTE THERE.............

CAVMAN