Disability Claim, Oif 08-09, Multiple Issues, Fasttracked

[bluelotus]

EDITED

Edited July 4, 2015 by bluelotus

[bluelotus]

Anyone?

[USMC_HVEQ]

hey welcome and thanks for taking the time to share your claim in such detail. I can tell at least from the comments on your PTSD exam, the rater checked occupational and social with occasional decease is more than likely going to meet the 30% ballpark. I can't speak for the other claims, just trying to help in anyway and there shall be plenty of others, hopefully to chime in.

[bluelotus]

Thank you very much, HVEQ! I appreciate you taking the time to give me your opinion. I was of the same mind on the c&p but wanted to put it out there. How do I go about getting c&p results from a civilian?

[Andyman73]

Welcome, bluelotus, to this motley crew of Veterans. We all are in the same boat, which is to say, served our country and then not gotten the respect we earned and deserve. Especially from the VA. I am glad you are seeking treatment. I only just started that for myself, my initial MH evil will be on June 25th. For too many years I didn't know there was anything I could do. I didn't serve during active war time nor suffer any traumatic event. It was only just in the past few months that I learned that my excessive drinking and suicidal thoughts during my AD years were symptoms of anything.

You have joined the best online group for Veterans. No matter what we are here for each other. Some of us here are bottomless pits of knowledge and will help guide you along this journey.

Semper Fi.

Andy

[bluelotus]

I appreciate the warm welcome, Andy, I was on another forum and I got about 5 responses from this same post, all with snide remarks and nothing of value, just trolling. Anyways, I am eager to hear back from the VA. Always disappointed when there's nothing in the mail from them, lol.

According to the VA rep at the hospital, he believes I have about another month to go before a decision is made. But, Ebenefits still says "Gathering Evidence"...This whole process, does it just happen that fast within the last month? My projected completion date is: 5/7 to 7/7, so I'm just wondering how exactly that works.

[ArNG11]

Heh welcome to Hadit. You have come to the right place to seek help and guidance. I kind of fit you're issues as I was in Bucca Iraq the year before you were in the sands. My educated guess just by looking at your PTSD exams is you might come back with a 50%, 30% more likely, granted this is not a guarantee it will vary greatly on the rater and on the regional office. The biggest thing is service connection on your issues. I state this because your experiences are similar to mine. You will only rated for one mental health condition and the VA loves to knock the PTSD right out the bat. They have a nice maze of rules and criteria. Depression and Hypervigilance, Anxiety, and all that jazz go hand in hand. Either way though you will only get rated for one mental condition and by regs they are supposed to rate to the condition that bests matches your symptoms. Treatment and verified records during service and shortly after are going to be required.

My biggest suggestions is to get a hold of your C-file. Get that as soon as possible. They are supposed to send it out to you legally within 20 business days, once requested, however, it is a hit an miss depending on the regional office. Mine took 7 days which is not the norm I can assure you. Some people have waited months to years. Some haven't even received theirs and are up there in their appeals. Get a hold of your National Guard records, your old unit usually keeps a ghost file on folks for a few years, at times they'll have extra records you don't get in your FOIA request. There is the address for NPRC (national personnel records center.)which is the sort of a data base for military members. Get an Ebennefits account. There are some features there that will help you get started and you can request records as well from that site. That site specifically does have a fee but the benefit is worth the investment. I think I toped out at 75$ as a fee but I don't recall.

If you haven't already done so, get registered for the Gulf Registry Exam and the Airborne Hazard Exam. Get a hold of all treatment records since you been back you'll need that for continuity and verifiable symptoms.

I think I probably overloaded you but that will get you started. Read and aquatint yourself with the regulations and laws that apply to your claims. Remember evidence is crucial. There are organizations out there that can help. Veterans Service Organizations and so forth. I don't personally recommend them but they can be of some help. Anyways Welcome aboard and good fighting. JMO and I'll be quiet now. Good luck.