ptsd Uh Oh! Va Asking For C&p In A Nehmer Claim

[hawkfire27]

Hi everyone,

A couple of years ago my husband applied for AO presumptive IHD and was awarded 60 from 2001, and 30% from 19988 to 2001. In 1988 Social Security found him unable to work because of IHD and Anxiety. He is VA 100% for PTSD since 1988.

So when he received the Nehmer IHD rating letter, he realized that they had used more recent and less favorable regulations in deciding his rating. So he appealed via DRO review. Approximately two years later, we were still waiting for a hearing date to be scheduled, and instead withdrew the appeal, and filed a new and material evidence claim requesting an increase to 100% from 1988.

He requested this because prior VA regulation gives a 100% rating when you are unable to maintain gainful employment, which the social security records (new evidence) provided proof of.

Fast forward to today, and my husbands nehmer claim for increase has been moved from "pending decision approval" back to development and he received a phone call advising him he has a C&P scheduled for Dec 16th.

I don't understand why they are requesting a c&p because of a regulation issue. He has had 2 bypass surgeries etc. They never asked for a c&p in the initial nehmer claim for IHD in 2011/12, so why would they be randomly doing one now???

My husband is 100% + 6-% for statutory housebound. His is convinced that they are trying to take away his housebound rating.

Any thoughts???

The last time he had a c&p done at the VA in El Paso, we had to have a congressional inquiry because it stated he didn't suffer from IHD. (Unrelated A&A claim) along with many other incorrect pieces of information. Soooooooooo I guess I am a little worried. It has been in pending decision approval for a long time, and now to be shoved back to the development phase.

Any ideas??

[jbasser]

Hawkfire, Here is what you need to show the VA. Show them the Ejection Fraction Readings from each Cath or Echo. If his EF is 29 or less than it is a 100 % stand alone rating. If it is 30 to 50 then it is a 60 percent rating.

Now the tricky part in this claim is the EF. The Veteran can have have 20 heart attacks and the RO doesn't care. They only look at numbers. That number in your husbands case id the Ejection fraction. Dont let the RO run a lot of MET bull by you. That is just to confuse you.

If he has Hypertension, It is to be rated secondary to IHD and separately from the Heart ratings.

If you can post the EF numbers, we can advise you better.

John AKA Basser

[Berta]

John is right.

I hope you can also post their last decision.

"problem with rating of 30% until 2001, as he was determined unable to work in 1988 " was the SSDI award solely for the heart condition?

"and failed voc rehab."

Failing Voc Rehab isnt the key here...did Voc Rehab state in writing that his continued Voc Rehab was not feasible solely due to his heart disease or any other SC condition?

*"Problem with the fact they state they did not have social security records just the earlier effective date is the date awarded social security, so they MUST have had the record to come up with the date. (no other mention of SS records in SOC)"

We had a lot of problems with VA on this issue. My husband sent them his SSA award letter and signed an authorization form for VA to get the SSA records. The authorization form he signed was in his C file. They didnt get the records and denied him for higher rating on his PTSD.

We wrote to 2 Senators ans to my Congressman and VA told them ,in writing that SSA had refused to send them his SSA records.It was a bold faced lie.

I called the Main SSA in Baltimore and said I would hang on until I got someone to help me.

A man took quite some time and got back on the phone and told me they had absolutely no authorization or request from the VA to have those records.

The records got in the mail from SSA right away , but by time VA considered them, my husband had died. They award posthumously 100% P & T for SC PTSD about 3 years after he died using the same EED as SSA did and using his SSA records.

It is odd that the VA used this EED in your case but they say they have never received the SSA records?

As long as they were aware of them via anything your husband stated and sent to them regarding his claim, VA should have obtained them.

It is question # 18 on every TDIU form.

"We attempted an appeal via DRO review but while waiting 3 years just for a hearing were informed that they would not review the claim with additional evidence (SS Records). So we dropped the ......"

Who informed you of that? That definitely does not make sense to me. Have you submitted those SSA records since then?

Cripes it sounds like you had the same DAV idiot who repped my husband and said his SSA award really would not help his claim.The award was solely for PTSd and his rating then was 30% PTSD.

I asked the DAV rep if he ever heard of Washington V Derwinski....very well established case law prior to Mursinczak on the importance of SSA records, and he said Huh???????? Who is that...

Something is really wrong here.

Murincsak V Derwinski 2 Vet App 363 (1992)

Holding that VA has a
duty to obtain SSA records when it has actual notice that the
veteran was receiving SSA benefits.

Both Washington V Derwinski and Murincsak V Derwinski are basic well established VA case law regarding SSA records.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Berta