statutory

[GatorNavy]

filed for statutory housebound back to effective date of IU which is Oct 2011. I have the total one disability of 60% and additional disabilities at 60%. I am scheduled for a C&P exam and was given the infamous housebound//AA form to fill out. I am P&T and don't really care to attend any more of their dog and pony shows.  Not sure what i should do at this point.

[Gastone]

Do you want the SMC S (1)? The Rules of the game never change, miss the C & P at your own peril.

Posting a redacted copy of your IU Award would be very helpful. What & when were your other SC's DX'd?

I got my SMC S (1) 12/15, from an RO Quality Review of a 07/15 Increase Denial. SA went from 50 to 100%. I'd previously been IU T & P No Future Exams, for 70% PTSD from a DRO  Hearing 06/14. At the time of the DRO, I was also CAD 30, SA 50 and Tinnitus 10%, no mention of the SMC S (1) by the DRO during the Award Discussion or in the actual Award Letter.

Did my DRO just miss the SMC S (1) eligibility, that the IU Award afforded me? I certainly didn't have a clue and it appears that the VSO Hearing Rep (a retired former DRO from the Det RO) didn't have a clue either. Nothing was ever mentioned by anyone.

I can't say I really recall any Hadit Vets posting success stories about their receiving SMC S (1) based on initial IU P & T Awards. I have reviewed a few BVA Awards, where the BVA Granted the SMC S (1) on appeal, 3 - 4 yrs after the Denial.

No-Brain-er to me, the additional $4164 per yr for SMC S (1), is definitely worth the time & effort.

Semper Fi

Have you seen any SMC S (1) IU Success stories?

[FormerMember]

 Gastone makes a good point. If you have the ratings to support it (i.e. the P&T plus an additional 60% unrelated to the P&T claim), you qualify and it's like shooting fish in a barrel. VA cannot deny you. On the other hand, if your claims were not sufficient to reach the 100% (IU) + 60% rule, you'd need some pretty severe medical issues that keep you housebound like mobility issues or an inability to drive. As Gastone also pointed out, VA will never grant if you fail to appear for a c&p. That's the law, not VA vindictiveness. I've won claims with no c&p but I had a killer IMO in my pocket VA couldn't rebut.

 

It sounds like you are good to go on the ratings so why the concerns?

[GatorNavy]

This varo likes to handout c&p exams until they can find a way to trump positive evidence. They gave me two exams in April of 2015 which warranted higher ratings on several conditions but totally ignored them. I QUOTED THE DOCTORS IN THOSE EXAMS LAST WEEK When going for the smc-s. Now they scheduled for all new exams. I fired off a letter stating that they should already have enough evidence to decide the claim. I have a BVA hearing certified for another contention. Might as well let the BVA deal with this crap too.