lumbosacral SMC S, schedular 100, tdiu, P&T and working

[zat954]

Hello All,

 

I apologize anything redundant, i see this  topic is overrun with similar cases but none ive found like mine exactly and Im hoping someone can help or provide some direction.  Ive researched endlessly for an answer to my question. Im a medically retired fmf corpsman. Upon retirement in 2010 i was initially rated 80% (84) and ha a claim for tdiu as well as other increases. In 2013 after a c&p for psych and back injuries, I was upped to the following:

70% mood disorder (up from 30)

50% sleep apnea     (up from 30)

40% lumbar              (up from 20)

20% sternal injury

20% pectoral shoulder tear

10% cervical strain

total 100% (95) P&T

 

Interestingly my ebenefits lists these all accurately but still shows the previous rating for mood disorder (then diagnosed as MDD for 30%. I dont know why it still shows. the back increase was alone as was the sleep apnea (previously 20% and 30% respectively). So why MDD is still showing leads me to believe its probably a typo. 

 

Moving on. I am schedular 100% p&t. but i believe, because of the following explanation under my additional benefits section I am a Bradley vs Peake candidate: 

                  "Entitled to special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1114, subsection (s) and 38 CFR 3.350(i) on account of mood disorder (previously rated as major depressive disorder with anxiety disorder and body dysmorphic disorder (also claimed as involutional melancholia, severe insomnia due to pain, and adjustment disorder with anxious mood)) a single disability upon which a total individual unemployability rating is based and additional service-connected disabilities of lumbosacral strain claimed as lumbago pain and spasm , independently ratable at 60 percent or more from 09/09/2011.

Rating Date : 11/20/2013"

 

Now i dont understand bc my back injury is rated at 40% NOT 60% But im not complaining. My concern and desires are this; Im in Voc rehab now, and when i graduate will use my remaining 8 months of GI bill to pursue veterinary or physicians assistant school. So, Can I work freely due to being 100% schedular and P&T? In other words does that trump or in any way effect my SMC for TDIU B vs P? I do not fill out the 21-4140. The only feedback ive gotten anywhere is a moderator on YUKU who seems as educated in this as you are. His response was this:

 

                         "your disabilities combine to 95%.  So, in the eyes of the VA, you are schedular 100%.  That's why you don't get the annual employment verification form.  However, because you were (or could have been) IU based upon a single disability,you are eligible for SMC S (see “Bradley vs Peak” for reference. I know it's confusing.)  I think of it as a loop hole that allows for an additional benefit that you would not qualify for otherwise. Maybe that will help.In any event, you are not IU.  As long as your current ratings remain in force, you can work all you want without affecting your benefits for dependents - ChampVA and Chap 35."

 

So needless to say im confused. The overall goal is to get back into a career and maintain my 100% Schedular P&T, as ive earned it. Now i know there is no crystal ball that can see if ill be called for a C&P in the future, but would going back to work prompt this? Should i request the smc removed as well as tdiu or ask for forgiveness in the future not permission? If this moderator, who is extremely resourceful from what ive seen, is correct the tdiu is secondary and ive earned the smc s according to guidelines, regardless of actual employment ability and my employment should not prompt an evaluation, particularly because I dont fill out a 21-4140.

 

So if and when anyone has time id love your opinion on this, as I do WANT to work, but i want to play this game of chess with the VA very carefully. Im happy to give up smc, and tdiu, but not 100% schedular PT or the benefits educationally my wife gets. Please let me know your thoughts. Work is still a minimum of 14 months away. Thank you.

 

V/R

 

Zat954 HM3 retired

 

[zat954]

2 minutes ago, Buck52 said:

I understand  zat954, I would feel the same way if I were younger too, its hard to accept being unemployable at your age.

if you ever do get better or to where you can go back to work  you may want to contact the VA and let them know. that will help you if you ever need VA Compensation in the future for your SC Disability's 

it shows your integrity and good character.

AS bad and crazy the VA can be at times  they still like to be told the truth  so being honest helps with the VA.

jno

................................Buck

Thank you Buck that means a lot. The way I see it were all still part of the military family. We need to help each other Bc the va certainly won't. I'm new to this and I'm trying to do the smartest but safest thing possible so I realize my questions may be the norm here but I'm trying to wrap my head around a complex subject. So thanks to everyone for your help and patience 

[john999]

Zat

 

           I think you are going to push it until you lose what you have.   You keep trying to find a way to keep your 100% compensation rate and work and keep all P&T benefits.  Have you read what it actually takes to get 100% scheduler for a mental health psychotic disorder?  I have know many people with severe depression who have gotten better and then have relapse and lost their jobs etc.   You are out of your wits to keep pursuing this unless you can get 100% scheduler by some other way than a depression case.  There is something called wanting to have your cake and eating it as well.   Just please don't start talking about work at the VA.  You can be as boneheaded as you want, but try and keep your mouth shut at the VA.

 

                        John

[zat954]

5 minutes ago, john999 said:

Zat

 

           I think you are going to push it until you lose what you have.   You keep trying to find a way to keep your 100% compensation rate and work and keep all P&T benefits.  Have you read what it actually takes to get 100% scheduler for a mental health psychotic disorder?  I have know many people with severe depression who have gotten better and then have relapse and lost their jobs etc.   You are out of your wits to keep pursuing this unless you can get 100% scheduler by some other way than a depression case.  There is something called wanting to have your cake and eating it as well.   Just please don't start talking about work at the VA.  You can be as boneheaded as you want, but try and keep your mouth shut at the VA.

 

                        John

Hey john. No I hear you and I understand. I'm thinking out loud so to speak. I don't think that the 70 would stay permanent if I went to work full time much less the hundred. I was pretty sure it would at the very least prompt a P&t.  I really need to claim my cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia which I have the most documetation on. Plus just for my health it needs to be added. Bc if and when the health improves I really do want to go back. And I'm ok with being downgraded if that happens. I'll always have Tricare and at least an 80 or above percentage which is a blessing if I'm working again. But if I get the cardio worked up I probably would be still up at 100 even if I get reduced on MDD. 

Again. All hypothetical situations that may never happen. I'm blessed to be in the position I'm in. Like I said I not only want to get better and work for my own well being and sanity but I don't trust the government to say one day "sorry vets. We're broke. No more pensions." So that paranoia is a driver as well and why I'm trying to look at all aspect and angles. I hope I'm making sense. 

 

Zat

[FormerMember]

Here are the requirements for 100% MDD. Keep in mind the Court(s) have held that you need not have each and every impediment but most of them. All MDD disabilities use the same set of metrics. Here is 38 CFR 4.130. It's a good place for some of you to begin your journey to attain the knowledge you need to win. Never think VA is going to "come after you" for filing too many claims. If they were, I'd be at 0% across the board. 

 

Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucination;  grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name---100%

With that said, you can apply for Voc Rehab but there is a high probability that your VRC will declare you ineligible simply because of your subset of disabilities. In that case, you can pursue the Independent Living Program path in 38 USC 3120. I have received a computer to write my blog and recently was granted a sizable greenhouse to keep me out of the whiskey bars and whorehouses. 

As a rule, I do not help individuals with their claims for several reasons. One, quite obviously, it's illegal and I risk my own compensation check for doing so. Secondly, it would take all my time away from helping my personal family of Veterans with Hepatitis C and AO diseases. Lastly, I enjoy gardening and devote endless hours to that and my horses. I offer advice. I counsel occasionally. I always help widows. I give back to my community. But I arrived here by reading the statutes and regulations for eight years. As long as any of you have the ability of sight, you, too, can attain this exact same knowledge with a little perseverance. Or maybe a lot of perseverance. 

I spent two years in Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. I was in combat during some of that time. Real combat- as in killing and blowing up things. Not just close to the sound of bombs and artillery or sitting on an LZ waiting for the shit to hit.  I know full well what it feels like to be shot at and also to be physically shot. I also know the unseen scars it inflicts on the mind. I was booted out with less than six months to go on a stellar enlistment because of what I endured/encountered in Southeast Asia. They called it Antisocial personality with Passive Aggressive tendencies. That was nine years before they invented PTSD. I do not think it is permanent but I'm not a doctor. I don't socialize with a lot of folks and I live in a very remote rural area. I have no doubt that anyone- Zat954 included- can turn his life around (and his mind) if he so chooses. It takes time. Never become comfortable in your surroundings. Change will wreak havoc on you.

The highest calling any of you can do here is to learn and share claims knowledge with those who come after you. I hear far too many express that sentiment after I help them attain 100%. By rights, that should be the "breather" needed to learn this and teach others. Sadly, they all drift away and disremember their promise. There are far too few Theresas, Berthas and Carlies in this world. Think where you'd be without Hadit or asknod.org. Theresa built an inexorable snowball that began its descent in 1997 and has done nothing but gain momentum, followers and a stellar reputation for honest appraisals. I think any who come here can decypher the tenor of our commitment to Veterans. Rarely will you see snarky behaviour or someone purposefully inciting others to argue by 'flaming' them. That is for other sites where seniority, rather than knowledge, is perceived as being most important.  

What will happen when we're gone? I have more diseases than I can count on both hands and I'm 65 in a week. One day our voices will be silenced and the advice with it.  What I did in my war will stay on the other side of the globe.What I do here will hopefully help others now but a new phalanx of up and coming Veterans willing to help teach others is what is needed. Giving advice is easy. Giving good advice that is error-free can be the difference between a 70% rating and R2. That takes study. I do know all of you want to help in a meaningful way. Just remember that reciting your particular journey is just that. Each claim is horribly unique to that person. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' that is appropriate. This thread is a classic example of that. I spotted multiple errors and attempted to enlighten 954. Learning VA law is not complicated or difficult. It's akin to riding a bike. Pretty soon you know the regulations and can recite them without holding on to the handlebars. But you often have to know the why-not just the "because it says so'. We must follow the Hippocratic oath doing this--First, Do No Harm. If you are fuzzy or unsure, the absolute worst thing you could do is to start spouting half a regulation. Look it up. Teach others to do the same. 

Happy Easter to you all and thank you for wanting the best outcome for America and our Veterans. 

 

[zat954]

25 minutes ago, asknod said:

Here are the requirements for 100% MDD. Keep in mind the Court(s) have held that you need not have each and every impediment but most of them. All MDD disabilities use the same set of metrics. Here is 38 CFR 4.130. It's a good place for some of you to begin your journey to attain the knowledge you need to win. Never think VA is going to "come after you" for filing too many claims. If they were, I'd be at 0% across the board. 

 

Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucination;  grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name---100%

With that said, you can apply for Voc Rehab but there is a high probability that your VRC will declare you ineligible simply because of your subset of disabilities. In that case, you can pursue the Independent Living Program path in 38 USC 3120. I have received a computer to write my blog and recently was granted a sizable greenhouse to keep me out of the whiskey bars and whorehouses. 

As a rule, I do not help individuals with their claims for several reasons. One, quite obviously, it's illegal and I risk my own compensation check for doing so. Secondly, it would take all my time away from helping my personal family of Veterans with Hepatitis C and AO diseases. Lastly, I enjoy gardening and devote endless hours to that and my horses. I offer advice. I counsel occasionally. I always help widows. I give back to my community. But I arrived here by reading the statutes and regulations for eight years. As long as any of you have the ability of sight, you, too, can attain this exact same knowledge with a little perseverance. Or maybe a lot of perseverance. 

I spent two years in Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. I was in combat during some of that time. Real combat- as in killing and blowing up things. Not just close to the sound of bombs and artillery or sitting on an LZ waiting for the shit to hit.  I know full well what it feels like to be shot at and also to be physically shot. I also know the unseen scars it inflicts on the mind. I was booted out with less than six months to go on a stellar enlistment because of what I endured/encountered in Southeast Asia. They called it Antisocial personality with Passive Aggressive tendencies. That was nine years before they invented PTSD. I do not think it is permanent but I'm not a doctor. I don't socialize with a lot of folks and I live in a very remote rural area. I have no doubt that anyone- Zat954 included- can turn his life around (and his mind) if he so chooses. It takes time. Never become comfortable in your surroundings. Change will wreak havoc on you.

The highest calling any of you can do here is to learn and share claims knowledge with those who come after you. I hear far too many express that sentiment after I help them attain 100%. By rights, that should be the "breather" needed to learn this and teach others. Sadly, they all drift away and disremember their promise. There are far too few Theresas, Berthas and Carlies in this world. Think where you'd be without Hadit or asknod.org. Theresa built an inexorable snowball that began its descent in 1997 and has done nothing but gain momentum, followers and a stellar reputation for honest appraisals. I think any who come here can decypher the tenor of our commitment to Veterans. Rarely will you see snarky behaviour or someone purposefully inciting others to argue by 'flaming' them. That is for other sites where seniority, rather than knowledge, is perceived as being most important.  

What will happen when we're gone? I have more diseases than I can count on both hands and I'm 65 in a week. One day our voices will be silenced and the advice with it.  What I did in my war will stay on the other side of the globe.What I do here will hopefully help others now but a new phalanx of up and coming Veterans willing to help teach others is what is needed. Giving advice is easy. Giving good advice that is error-free can be the difference between a 70% rating and R2. That takes study. I do know all of you want to help in a meaningful way. Just remember that reciting your particular journey is just that. Each claim is horribly unique to that person. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' that is appropriate. This thread is a classic example of that. I spotted multiple errors and attempted to enlighten 954. Learning VA law is not complicated or difficult. It's akin to riding a bike. Pretty soon you know the regulations and can recite them without holding on to the handlebars. But you often have to know the why-not just the "because it says so'. We must follow the Hippocratic oath doing this--First, Do No Harm. If you are fuzzy or unsure, the absolute worst thing you could do is to start spouting half a regulation. Look it up. Teach others to do the same. 

Happy Easter to you all and thank you for wanting the best outcome for America and our Veterans. 

 

Well I'm sure you hear it all the time, but thank you. just giving open honest accurate advice to people,  and being as transparent as you are with your personal stories is very rare and special. And in less than 24 hours I've learned more than I imagined was possible with my "simple" case alone from you than in years of research. I definitely have realized I need to take a step back and evaluate and learn much more before I do anything.  I'll definitely pursue my cardiac issues as they are important. Beyond that I'll wait out the next year or two and see what my health is doing and what my options are professionally, talk it over with my family and see what employment options are actually viable and beneficial and then decide if I should try for the 100 on MDD or go the other route. I will definitely be around to learn. Any suggestions on who I could ask to help with my claims for cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia to establish sc?  Dva or a vso?  I've been communicating via my phone so I apologize to everyone for my spelling and grammar errors.  Happy Easter to you as well. 

 

Zat

[Buck52]

Very well stated Alex.

I totally Agree

Happy Easter to you and your family.

 

.............Buck