Unwarranted TIDU Denial Letter Received

[dawsonatl]

Good Afternoon fellow Vets and a Blessed Memorial Day weekend to all. I am a new member and this is the first site I have came upon in order for me to vent. I will jump right into it. I am a combat vet (Iraq) rated at 70% PTSD. I filed for an increased rating and TDIU back in November of 2018 as the symptoms I experience regarding my PTSD were worsening and keeps me from maintaining employment. I left my last place of employment in June of 2016 due to anxiety and constant panic attacks. After a C&P exam for the rating increase in December I was approved for the increase this March of 2019. A second exam for a medical opinion regarding TDIU because of my PTSD was scheduled May 13, 2019. The exam went very well I thought and the denial letter I received confirmed this. The letter stated, "Logistics Health Incorporated LHI examination dated May 13, 2019 confirms that you are incapable of maintaining employment." It also reads, VA Examiners Rationale: Individual has difficulty maintaining concentration and focus on work over an extended period, he tends to skip from one task to another without completing the prior task. Individual has significant difficulty functioning, around other people and has difficulty functioning as a team member and feels uncomfortable around others. Individual has other mental health problems or symptoms, e.g., panic attacks, irritability, suspiciousness, etc that interfere significantly with the ability to work. He has panic attacks and is easily irritated, agitated, suspicious of the motives of others."

And here is the statement where I am totally confused and that got me highly agitated and irate at the time. I feel this was a gross human error and someone just clicked a submit button with doublechecking their work or paying attention to what was stated in my files. It reads, "Although you have been found unable to maintain employment, you do not meet the scheduler as provided in 38 CFR 4.16, therefore entitlement to individual unemployability is denied." I'm at a loss of words regarding that last statement. As I previously stated, I am rated at 70% PTSD and therefore meet the scheduler rating in 38 CFR 4.16. How could they blatantly mess something up so obvious!? It's unfortunate that the decision makers at the VA make things so hard for us and have some of us contemplating going to extreme measures to be heard and taken seriously about our issues and entitlements.

Thanks for reading and any opinions and advice on this matter from you guys would be appreciated.

 

[kanewnut]

 

You stated - 

The rating examiner failed in to apply this section of Federal law 

Shouldn't this  be "The rating examiner failed to apply"

Does it make any difference that you say Federal law? 38 CFR is Code of Federal Regulations.

[GeekySquid]

4 minutes ago, kanewnut said:

e rating examiner failed in to apply this section of Federal law 

sorry for the typo.

38 USC is built on 38CFR which is built on Public Laws.

You can use any of them depending on your skill with legal formatting and deep reading into legalese docs.

[dawsonatl]

UPDATE JULY 25, 2019: A little over 3 weeks of sending off my CUE claim I found out today that my claim for 100% TDIU was..APPROVED! A very satisfying and relieving day for me. To all those who provided their insights and input, especially Berta and notably GeekySquid; I can't thank you enough and I appreciate all the advice that you took time out of your day to give.

[GBArmy]

Congratulations! That's terrific.

[GeekySquid]

6 hours ago, dawsonatl said:

100% TDIU was..APPROVED!

absolutely terrific! I am so happy for you.

[dawsonatl]

12 hours ago, GeekySquid said:

absolutely terrific! I am so happy for you.

Attached is my final draft CUE claim that I sent off and was approved. I am still waiting on the approval letter from VA has I am basing my approval off of the backpay I received yesterday from when I initially put in for IU. I will post that letter as well as soon as I received it. Also, I received an interesting voicemail last Thursday. An RO director left a message stating that he wanted to discuss the issue regarding my IU denial and left a number of 1-800-827-1000 to reach him at. 30 minutes later I called the number and after about an half hour of them researching the reason for this call they stated that they have no idea what the reason for the call was but that they see there is activity in my file regarding my IU claim. They said the reason for the call was confidential and that was why the caller may have wanted to directly speak to me. I found that odd and that stayed on my mind up until I found out about my approval yesterday. I never, EVER received a call from an RO director or any type of claims person working directly on my case for that matter. Calling to apologize for such a blatant error maybe? I may never know.

Final draft CUE.docx

Edited July 26, 2019 by dawsonatl