100% P & T after 5 years of denials

[Mikey33T]

Winston Churchill once said “Never give up, never give up, never, never, never.” This holds true for those that have the invisible wounds of war. Sixteen years after my retirement I received a letter that outlined possible VA presumptions. The letter explained many challenges I experienced and encouraged me to apply for VA disability and the beginnings of denial.

I received a 60% rating in 2017 with a service connection date of Aug 2014. However, my main challenge (PTSD) was  denied. The denial was because I didn’t have a therapist confirming my condition; they agreed with the stressor. Since I am retired and use Tricare Prime, I went there for therapy and appealed. I was again denied because the therapist was not a certified therapist. How would I know?

i was headed to an appeal with the BVA and my VSO (Virginia Department of Veteran Services), specifically Caleb Johnson, helped me get two independent evaluations from a university and a therapist.

I entered the RAMP program and received a 50% PTSD rating in 2018 but with a service connection date of Dec 2017. I appealed the date and for an increase in Nov 2018 and yesterday (19 March 2019) received a 100% P&T with SMC (S-1) with a service connection date of Aug 2014. Below is my HLR Ramp timeline:

1.. 1/17/19 CR 26 Apr 19 - 10 Aug 19 

2. 1/28/19 PFD 25  Feb 19 - 1 Apr 19

3. 2/6/19 PDA 6 Feb 19 - 10 Mar 19

4. 2/7/19 9 PFN Feb 19 - 11 Feb 19

5. 2/11/19 PDA 26 Feb 19 - 15 Mar 19

6. 2/19/19 PDA 6 Mar 19 - 23 Mar 19

7. 3/4/19 PFD 1 Apr 19 - 6 May 19

8. 3/5/19 PDA 20 Mar 19 - 6 Apr 19

9. 3/5/19 PFN 7 Mar 19 - 9 Mar 19

10. 3/6/19 PDA 21 Mar - 7 Apr 19

11. 3/8/19 PFD 5 Apr - 10 May 19

12. 3/11/19 PDA 26 Mar - 12 Apr 19

13. 3/13/19 UR  10 May - 23 Jul 19 

14. 3/15/19 PDA 30 Mar - 16 Apr 19

15. 3/18/19 PFN  20 Mar - 22 Mar 19

16. 3/19/19 Complete

As you can read above, there was a lot of bouncing back and forth. Yes, I watched eBenefits more than I should. This site was a source of support throughout my painful wait. This is what I learned:

1. Don’t quit!

2. EBenefits does not accurately demonstarate the RAMP stages. You may see the progress in EBenefits but the stages don’t apply correctly.

3. It is futile to tell a veteran to stop watching EBenefits. What else are they going to do?

4. If you feel like you must call EBenefits (Peggy), they cannot tell you everything they see but some will tell you more than others. I called several times till I at least got some type of information I thought was the most they could give.

5. While I had success with my VSO, it was with Caleb and not with the other people that worked there. So, sometimes you have to ensure your VSO cares. As a matter of fact, after receiving the 50% PTSD an idiot at that office told me to be happy with it. I submitted the HLR RAMP on my own. I didn’t bother to complain to Caleb but he found out and that person’s supervisor called me to apologize. The moral is that you are ultimately accountable for the outcome so don’t give up!