SAH/SHA Grant Quick Turnaround to Pending Decision Approval. Good or bad thing?

[mbl22885]

On 08/07/17 I applied for the housing grants and my claim is already at pending decision approval, so I'm not really sure what to make of the quick turnaround.

I am rated 100% P and T with SMC L for PTSD, 40% for Fibromyalgia, 10% for left elbow lateral epicondylitis with painful motion of the forearm,  10% for left elbow lateral epicondylitis with painful motion of the elbow, and 0% for IBS.  (Yep,  as the blue shows, I'm copy and pasting from ebenefits)

When I applied, I included this statement:

"I had a compensation and pension exam for Fibromyalgia (among other issues) with a Dr. X on 08/12/2015. 

Dr. X findings from this exam led to a rating of 40% from the VBA. 40% is the highest value the VA will place on Fibromyalgia, despite as noted in Dr. X exam that my condition exhibits widespread musculoskeletal pain and tender points, with fatigue, sleep disturbance, stiffness, irritable bowel symptoms, depression, and anxiety that are constant, or nearly so, and refractory to therapy. 

As X exam explicitly states, "vet has daily pain in all large muscle groups limiting any exertional

 activiites." These large muscle groups most certainly include those found in the arms and legs. 

Also, as it is noted in the exam and VBA criteria for a 40% rating, the Fibromyalgia must be "refractory to therapy," which essentially means "incurable," so in other words, my Fibromyalgia is permanent."

 

Any opinions on the quick turn around and what the possible reason is? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2017 by mbl22885

[Tdiguy]

I am no expert of course, but it sounds like you really have your bases covered. Perhaps there is a quick decision because of the lack of research the VA has to do in the claim.

I will also say from my experiences that the process now is much quicker than it was back in 2007. My VSO put in for several increases for me about 3 months ago. About 2 weeks after the claims were put in i was called to have a c&p exam. Then about 4 weeks after that i saw the claim as completed online. 

Good Luck!

[mbl22885]

11 hours ago, Tdiguy said:

I am no expert of course, but it sounds like you really have your bases covered. Perhaps there is a quick decision because of the lack of research the VA has to do in the claim.

I will also say from my experiences that the process now is much quicker than it was back in 2007. My VSO put in for several increases for me about 3 months ago. About 2 weeks after the claims were put in i was called to have a c&p exam. Then about 4 weeks after that i saw the claim as completed online. 

Good Luck!

Thanks for the reply and the well wishes. 

The SAH agent handling my claim contacted me the day I applied and told me to not expect to hear anything for a while, so I was pretty taken back by the claim all of a sudden being at pending decision approval. I'm going to make contact with the agent on Monday and see if she can get an idea of what the proposed decision is. 

I'm kind of leaning towards the quick turnaround being a good thing, but my previous experience with the VBA and PTSD tells me "It's a denial. They don't think you'll push it further over fear of potentially losing benefits." 

[jamescripps2]

You are required to have loss of, or loss of use of at least one limb to get a SAH grant if you are a post 911 vet. You need loss of, or loss of use of at least two limbs to get a SAH grant if you are a pre 911 vet. In certain cases total blindness in combination with total loss of hearing will suffice. Absent service connected loss of a limb or loss of use of a limb, no amount of percentage is going to qualify you for the SAH grant.

[mbl22885]

13 hours ago, jamescripps2 said:

You are required to have loss of, or loss of use of at least one limb to get a SAH grant if you are a post 911 vet. You need loss of, or loss of use of at least two limbs to get a SAH grant if you are a pre 911 vet. In certain cases total blindness in combination with total loss of hearing will suffice. Absent service connected loss of a limb or loss of use of a limb, no amount of percentage is going to qualify you for the SAH grant.

No offense, but I think you're overlooking the legalise of the wording. "Loss of use" is not clearly defined as it is currently written. It doesn't say to what degree the "lose of use" has to be among other things. I essentially was told the same thing about qualifying for SMC L due to PTSD by various VA employees and VSOs, yet I fought and SMC L for my PTSD was granted. 

"With widespread musculoskeletal pain and tender points, with or without associated fatigue, sleep disturbance, stiffness, paresthesias, headache, irritable bowel symptoms, depression, anxiety, or Raynaud's-like symptoms:
That are constant, or nearly so, and refractory to therapy
Note: Widespread pain means pain in both the left and right sides of the body, that is both above and below the waist, and that affects both the axial skeleton (i.e., cervical spine, anterior chest, thoracic spine, or low back) and the extremities."

Thank you for the reply though. 

Edited August 20, 2017 by mbl22885

[Tbird]

@mbl22885 I think you may have them there. I would really like to see your decision if you win. I think they do what @jamescripps2 says but I think you may be right about the law.

[mbl22885]

47 minutes ago, Tbird said:

@mbl22885 I think you may have them there. I would really like to see your decision if you win. I think they do what @jamescripps2 says but I think you may be right about the law.

Thank you and I'll give updates. 

Tomorrow I'm going to talk to the SAH agent to see if she can find anything out. The WWP "represents" me, so I'm going to try the same with them if the SAH agent can't find out anything. If it's not favorable, I have further medical evidence to submit and I'll more clearly lay out my argument. 

My first child was born with A congenital defect that resulted in a 21 day stay in the NICU. There's no family history of it on either side, so it being hereditary is pretty much out the window. I would read him this poem and still do. 

"if you’re going to try, go all the
way.
otherwise, don’t even start.
if you’re going to try, go all the
way.
this could mean losing girlfriends,
wives, relatives, jobs and
maybe your mind.
go all the way.
it could mean not eating for 3 or 4 days.
it could mean freezing on a
park bench.
it could mean jail,
it could mean derision,
mockery,
isolation.
isolation is the gift,
all the others are a test of your
endurance, of
how much you really want to
do it.
and you’ll do it
despite rejection and the worst odds
and it will be better than
anything else
you can imagine.
if you’re going to try,
go all the way.
there is no other feeling like
that.
you will be alone with the gods
and the nights will flame with
fire.
you will ride life straight to
perfect laughter, its
the only good fight
there is."

Edited August 20, 2017 by mbl22885