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Wrong disabilities?

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Supply Guy

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So I filed a supplemental claim via fax in 8 May.  It just showed up on VA.Gov last week and the status is:  we don’t know your status”   Lol.  If that isn’t weird enough.  I claimed GERD, hiatal hernia, and gastritis.  What's listed as disabilities are:

Stomach hernia and Giant hypertrophic gastritis.

Anyone ever have that weird status before?  I’ve seen some people say it was that status until the claim closed.  And has the VA ever changed your disabilities?

 

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This is classic "accepting VA.gov or ebenefits" as accurate, when, they are not.  

Hopefully, you have a copy of your application, and your handwriting was legible, or typewritten.  

If you have some doubts about the legibility of your handwiting, then you should probably call peggy and clarify your "benefit sought".  

Of course, even if your application was typewritten and accurate, VA often figures out a way to create glitches.  

My advice:

Call peggy to see if your correct benefits have been applied for, otherwise, send an applicaiton online.  It wont matter on your effective date whether its dated May 8 or May 27.  Reason:  If awarded, your benefits begin the first day of the month FOLLOWING your effective date.  So its irrelevant which day in May you applied.  Just get it in before June 1.  

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  • HadIt.com Elder

Supply Guy When we file a supplemental claim, the typical status in ebenefits is "we don't know your status." Seriously, that is what they say. It can stay that status until it tells you a decision has been made. It is the VA, and it is their way of keeping you in the dark. You can contact Peggy, but you are not going to get much insight on what the status really is. As for your disabilities claimed, not all disabilities have their own diagnostic code, so the VA uses an existing dc for another disability that has similar symptoms. For example, they don't have a dc for GERD. There just are thousands of disabilities and they just don't have dc for every one. So, they use dc 7346, which is hiatial hernia, which has very similar symptoms as GERD.  The VA has a duty to try and get you the highest rating possible, so they use that code, which is called analogous coding. So look up what you are claiming and compare to what the VA has substituted . If you are still unsure, submit an IRIS question on VA.gov and ask for clarification.This is a good site to start http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/vadisabilityrating.html

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  • HadIt.com Elder

Great information from GB Army...I never knew this about the va making up their own codes if a current disability don't have a code ...learn something everyday  makes sense I suppose.

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They aren't really making up codes per se.  They just don't have every disability in the CFRs. 

For example, I was found to have a varicocele on my entrance exam.  A varicocele is an enlargement of veins in the scrotum next to the testicles.  I should have been sent home for this but they allowed me to stay in anyway.  It was noted on my entrance exam to fix it for infertility or pain.  A few years later I began to have pain and I had surgery at the Army hospital to repair it.  When I was leaving active duty I was sent to the VA to file a claim.  I mentioned that I had surgery for the varicocele and I was told to claim it along with an ankle injury I had.  There's not rating for a varicocele so they did an analogous rating as if it were varicose veins in my legs which I thought was stupid because they are no way near the same thing.  I got 10% for it.  I eventually filed for an increase but since it's rated like varicose veins in the legs, my symptoms did not match the rating schedule of varicose veins so the increase was denied.  I wrote a letter to the VA asking that they include a rating code for varicoceles because it is quite common in men and it wasn't fair to male veterans to rate it as varicose veins.  They are revamping the ratings schedules and I see that they are going to add it.  All because of me!  LOL just kidding!

I also filed for low testosterone secondary to the varicocele and it was granted at 10%.  But guess what - there is not rating schedule for testosterone either!  So, it was rated analogous to hypothyroidism.  Basically at my C&P exam for low testosterone, they asked me questions and examined me from the hypothyroidism DBQ.  Since I did not have hypothyroidism, I didn't have labs to support a hypothyroidism claim for increase and I said no to a lot of the questions they asked me and the increase was denied.  

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8 hours ago, GBArmy said:

Supply Guy When we file a supplemental claim, the typical status in ebenefits is "we don't know your status." Seriously, that is what they say. It can stay that status until it tells you a decision has been made. It is the VA, and it is their way of keeping you in the dark. You can contact Peggy, but you are not going to get much insight on what the status really is. As for your disabilities claimed, not all disabilities have their own diagnostic code, so the VA uses an existing dc for another disability that has similar symptoms. For example, they don't have a dc for GERD. There just are thousands of disabilities and they just don't have dc for every one. So, they use dc 7346, which is hiatial hernia, which has very similar symptoms as GERD.  The VA has a duty to try and get you the highest rating possible, so they use that code, which is called analogous coding. So look up what you are claiming and compare to what the VA has substituted . If you are still unsure, submit an IRIS question on VA.gov and ask for clarification.This is a good site to start http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/vadisabilityrating.html

Great info from everyone.  That’s why I always look on Hadit before submitting any VA claim stuff.  I’m started at 10% rating for 26 years then some vets at work talked me into submitting claims for an increase.  I’m at 80% now :).   I fired my VSO and have been doing it everything myself for the past 3 years.   I am hoping this supplemental claim will take me up to 90%.

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