Award

[Ddsr]

I have a question for you knowledgeable Hadit Vets. I am TDIU. I put in for ED under Secondary. I was awarded the SMC-K no rating as ED has no rating. I then put in for TMJ and Bruxism. My question is why was it awarded with a percentage? I thought all secondary claims go under SMC? I absolutely want nothing to do with filing a new claim separate from SMC. I am already 100 and only want to put in secondary issues if needed. So the main question is do some secondary claims filed receive a percentage?

[GBArmy]

SMC(k) is a special situation. You can receive a rating for it, if you have some or all of your junk missing because of an accident, gsw, etc., but the majority of the time it is granted a monthly comp instead  for "loss of use" ($108.00 in 2019). If you put in for additional disabilities after being rated at 100%, you still are evaluated for a disability and given a rating if appropriate. It is possible your combined rating was not  enough to get you to 100% scheduler, so you would still be TDIU. Not sure how that plays out if you did get to 100% though. You need to educate yourself regarding SMK's, and there are plenty of entries here and at the VA on how they apply. But make no mistake, when you submit a claim, the VA will do what they want and look into whatever they want to regarding your existing disabilities, whether they should or not, whether it is for SMK's, or not. They make their own rules and follow them when convenient. Then it is up to you to to clean it up.

[broncovet]

No.  Secondary claims are not all SMC.   For you to get up to speed with SMC, try reading this:

https://asknod.org/2013/02/27/special-monthly-compensation-what-is-it/

[paulstrgn]

All of my secondaries (except ED) have been given a percentage they are between 0% - 20%. Secondary disabilities just like SC disabilities can go towards an SMC, there are just a lot of variables. 

If you research Broncos link above it will help you understand more about SMCs.

 

[GeekySquid]

all rated conditions, secondary or not, receive a percentage award. That award can be 0 to 100% depending on the condition and severity.

no secondaries are not rated as SMC

SMC(k) for loss of creative organ (ED) is a gimme from Congress it is a flat rate unless you lost your genitalia or it is deformed in some way. If you lose it or it is deformed you can get more than the basic 108 a month.

[Valhalla0321]

I wanted to comment as a scenario response to and a question myself. I am

"entitled to disability compensation at the 100 percent rate due to service-connected disability(ies). This total disability is considered permanent. You are not scheduled for future examinations."

I was awarded this almost shy of 5 years ago and it was based on a combination of 10's and a 50- They bumped me up because i think' i was homeless had letters from Voc Rehab and HUDVASH that i was unemployable due to mostly my migraines. I was able to get a place for me and my Son and finally put past all the chaos like medical and housing which was hard to deal with as i had a child in need.

I also had a old claim started before approved TDIU and even though my POA told me to withdrawal old claim for OSA and sinus "or ill shake up my claims and put tdiu at risk" i just let it go through appeals and i was just recently awarded backpay. It moved me from a combined 70TDIU to a 90TDIU. I was then told that if i had any disabilities old or new that i thought would put me at a combined 100 that i should apply so i did. I only applied for "PTSD" which i had been treated for years and having a VA doctor connect it to inservice, so i felt confident to go this route.

A week goes by and instead of noticing the entry of "new claim for Ptsd" in VA.Gov i notice:

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Combat - Mental Disorders (New)
• TBI (New)
• fractured jaw/teeth (Increase)
• broke and rearranged nose (New)
• tension headaches (previously denied as headache due to concussion and head injury) (Increase)                        

And i go apeshi... this happened on a Thursday and i called my POA however was not able to get a hold of them till today. And in the meantime i had a barrage of qtc contractor appointments scheduled before that weekend "5 of them"

When i finally go a hold of my POA i talked with the same person who told me to withdraw my old appeal i had started before i was awarded TDIU. And they told me this...  They don't know why the VA put in a increase for all the other claims that show's i did not apply for (and they verified this) concluding that they are puzzled. The put me on hold and had to call me back indicating they were going to call 937 or some number which i think is inhouse slang for a regional VA office. My POA informed me that they tried to have the VA pull the plug on the mishap however told me that they could not.

This Same POA told me " you see we tell Veterans not to get greedy " You already have TDIU ' you would have received treatment for any condition but you started the TRAIN and now you can't stop it" WHY do the POA talk to Veterans like that .. so so demeaning in my opinion " and i tried to avoid this particular POA because i found 1 in there office that is very on point and nice and thought i was going to get him again.

Anyway the POA did tell me that who ever received my request for new claim read my notes i put in the new claim area comments for example, On delployment during a situation i fell 9 feet to my face, broke or fractured jaw, concussion and blacked out. ( The POA explained that the VA generated a new claim for what they thought should be done per my comments) So interesting odd, i replied why would they also put in for a increase for headaches when the maximum is 50% and i have that' the POA said, maybe they will try and reduce the rating (Like so much negative not positive help here)

 

Anyway' i went to my first appointment for (NEW) claim that i didn't select or start and i think it went well.

I'm not concern about the real situation at hand which amounts to ... my disabilities have also gotten worse and it's notated. The VA doctors have also filled out reports like medical summary reports and DBQ that indicate "no expectations to get better" would miss more that 8 days a month if i worked and be of task 80% of the day if i did work.

My concern is for my SON and his medical issues as well as my service DOG and his medical treatment, everyone get medical assistance covered and if i loose TDIU, i will be reduced to a mere miserable situation.

Hope this helps anyone and i hope anyone helps me with a rep

[Oceanbound]

Valhalla, why didn't you just make a new thread? You're get better responses and not lost in someone elses.

Go make a new thread, copy and paste.