Has anyone successfully gotten an ergonomic chair through Voc Rehab?

[rel8ted]

I am trying to get an ergonomic desk/chair setup due to severe employment handicap. My voc rehab counselor says she has never heard of such a thing and she does not even know where to find a regulation on that. Just wondering if anyone has successfully gotten one and had some tips on ho they did it. It seems to me that should fall under special equipment, but want to make sure before I send her back the info cc her supervisor, regional director, and probably my congressman since she feels like it will take "months" for this to be approved :if she can figure it out"

 

I'm in online classes, so they can't say the school should accommodate it. She first told me I need a note from my doc, so I managed to get the physical therapist to make an exception for me and write a recommendation, then she said it HAS to be an MD, and stated she wasn't even sure how to process.  

 

Any help would be appreciated.

Edited September 1, 2018 by rel8ted

[broncovet]

Welcome to the VA hamster wheel.  Are you a disabled Vet (rated by VA)?  

And who is this "counselor"?  Is this a VA voc rehab counselor?  Do you have a representative?  

Did you apply "in writing" for this "reasonable accomodation" to your disability?  

Did you get a written denial of your request?  Do you work for the VA?  

"Months" may even be an understatement.  An average BVA appeal is 5 to 7 years.  

Have you applied for Voc REhab through VA?  

[Buck52]

I Would request the Voc-Rehab and through the Independent Living program the councilor can request this equip for you...if you qualify??

[pwrslm]

Check out Benjamin Krause website for a huge source of info on this.

 

https://www.disabledveterans.org/chapter-31-voc-rehab-page/

[rel8ted]

That is a matter of opinion. I couldn't find anything on how to actually get a counselor to follow the rules of the program, just a list of the things that Ben was able to get as a social media presence who happened to have met the director ofVocRehan at the time, Ruth Fanning.

 

I am looking for info on where to find the regulation for getting an ergonomic chair. My employment handicap is back related and I cannot sit in a normal chair long enough to hold a regular job. My voc rehab counselor is saying that there is no such provision in Chapter 31 for such things as chairs, desks and the like. I have seen numerous stories of people getting them, but if I can't prove to her where the program regulations say it,I'm basically getting nothing and she has said that in not so many words.

[broncovet]

Ok, so apparently rel8ted is in Voc Rehab.  Alex has much on Voc Rehab.  If VA wont give you your chair, did you ask them to deny it in writing?  Its one thing to tell you, "oh we cant do that", and something far different to deny it in writing because you can appeal it.  

I think the mistake you may be making is trusting VA employees and not trusting hadit members, when you should be doing the opposite.  

[FormerMember]

VA OGC Precedent 34-1997 is your basis for the chair. Also OGC Precedent 6-2001. VA has only spoken to wheeled vehicles such as a riding lawnmower or  a tractor. Ditto a Cub Cadet 4 wheeler. All that could change as there is no such thing in 38 USC §3120. VA can claim Chevron deference but that only extends to what Congress has forbidden as much as what it has approved. As such, there can be no strictures on anything-period. Remember there is no $ value to an ILP. The test is whether it is "necessary and vital" to you being able to succeed in your activities of every day living. 

To date, I've helped in a Tempurpedic bed, a $23,000 sling to get my Vet in and out of his 6X8  exercise pool, a walk in tub and my greenhouse. VA did choke and puke on the greenhouse and we're still in contention over what size and what's going to be inside it. A chair should be a cake walk. Get a good therapist to opine that it is a must for your well-being.

Just because a VR&E "expert" has never heard of something being granted is not dispositive of your never attaining it. I spent 7 years on the greenhouse and went to the CAVC 4 times. VA variously stated 1) it was forbidden by law as being avocational rather than vocational; 2) that I had not one but 3 greenhouses; 3) that the one I did have was adequate even though it wasn't ADA; and lastly 4) that I filed my VA 9 more than 60 days after the SOC. Fat chance. I had the green card from the USPS to rebut that one. That's where it is right now. See #18-938, #17-1450 and #16-2098. 

Win or Die (trying).