SMC-2?

[allansc2005]

Was awarded an on-the-spot CUE and Perm IU back in January, during a formal review. Total percentage was 80%, with the largest single condition rated at 40%, a lower spine condition rated at 20%, with other smaller ratings. Also, if it means anything

The issue of me needing help with such things as getting dressed, showering, help getting out of bed was raised by my rep; I also provided a sworn affidavit signed by my fiancé that she helps me with these issues.

Reviewing officer didn't say one way or the other about awarding me SMC.

Do I meet the requirements for ANY kind of SMC?

Also, I have gotten responses to this question that have nothing to do with meeting the requirements, I was just given a link to the SMC pay tables, which mean don't answer my question.

[allansc2005]

Buck, it's so much better than a CPAP, less invasive...

Anyway, I'm outta here, got a few vets I need to help with their claims.

Have a good day.

2-2-0 HUAH!

[Buck52]

Roger That!

[FormerMember]

This is why I said to be careful about that 1990 P&T rating. VA often will attempt to lowball that 1990 date and not begin IU until a later date like 98. You end up with a subpar rating from 90 to 98. Depending on the date assigned for the P&T IU, add twenty years to it to get the protected date.I had one Vet who got to 19 years and 4 months. Bingo. New C&P downgraded him to 50 from 70 for PTSD and a small bump in DM2 from 20 to 40% kept him at IU but the protected 20 year rate flew out the window and a new clock began. We got it overturned at the BVA because they only gave him one c&p instead of two and no discussion on whether the "improvement" was expected to be sustainable. 

[allansc2005]

Would being Scheduler instead of IU prevented the 50 from 70?

 

asknod, actually the CUE went back to 1990, and the TDIU back to 1998.

Edited March 2, 2017 by allansc2005

[FormerMember]

<<< Would being Scheduler instead of IU prevented the 50 from 70? >>> Yes if it , or even the 70% was substantially protected by five or more years @ 100% schedular.

 

I understand your question, sir. Let's take 1990. You were awarded X %. In a CUE claim, it has been decided legally that you are allowed to employ the Joe Fenderson staged ratings game. VA has to, by law, give you what your medical records would support from 1990 to 1998. They never do. If you go 5 years with no c&p exams then that/those rating(s) become "substantially" protected. You are substantially protected unless they do two exams within a 12-month period and find a doctor to say you're now expected to be better for the rest of your life. They cannot do this in a CUE. They are bound by the evidence of record. You can go to the VAMC ROI office and introduce all those medrecs as new and material evidence to use for a staged rating. It's pretty near impossible to go back and have a c&p now.  Nowadays, if they do ask for a checky check a few years later, and you're still toast, then they leave you alone.

Remember, at 19 years (1998-2017), you are a sitting duck for them to try to pick you off and prevent you from permanently protected 20-year P&T. I always get a doctor to write it up with a clear 'he ain't gonna get no better'. That works well. A CUE win is a rare opportunity to go back in time and argue every little item. The Presumption of Regularity that VA employees are knowledgeable in their jobs is rebutted in a CUE decision. Everything is now open for re-interpretation and benefit of the doubt. VA knows they'll lose-both on appeal and the Court of public opinion. Lose/lose. Make them see that. 

So, you get from 1990 to 1998 at somewhere between 10-60% for a malady(ies). It/they got worse and the VA agrees you were unemployable and eligible to extraschedular rating (TDIU). Either you put in for an increase to get one rating at 100% (which is what we call a total schedular rating, or you wait several years and then ask for P&T. In retro terms, I find that a RO grant is usually a low ball number requiring appeal. I like to barter for a higher one and offer that we won't appeal. They usually throw in a 20% jump from 30 to 50 or 20 to 40 just before you go to the BVA to see if you'll chicken out. If they do, that ought to tell you something. Either they're lowballing or stupid and don't know the law. But if they agree, that's breaking the law. Purposefully low balling when the record supports a higher rating is appealable but you want to get 'er done. Get a lawyer or agent and let them barter in VAspeak. Never ever write down anything about bartering. It occurs "off the record".

[allansc2005]

I don't have that "big white package" as of today, so I don't know the details of the case.

If I find ANY BS with the case such as "low balling", or short changing....rest assured I will jump in boots first!

Also, I do have other open conditions, 20% here, 10% there...that have been lingering since 1990.

Whatever is going on, it's taking them a long time to get the "official" decision to me. I was approved on 12 January, 2017, verbally by a RO review officer.

It's my understanding that it takes "3 signatures" on decisions where 20K or more is involved, do you know this to be true?