New Claim Appeared Automatically

[MarineLCpl]

I logged into my VA.gov account today and noticed it said there was a claim for compensation started. I never filed a claim on my end. I’m not sure if it’s just coincidence, but there’s a few things that strike me. 
 

The claim is dated for today(June 30th, 2020). My last claim was July 1st, 2015 which was a re-evaluation. I was called for a C&P exam back then, can’t remember if it was before or after this date. 
 

So it’s been almost 5 years exactly, do you think this was automatically triggered by the VA to do a re-evaluation of my current status? I honestly can’t think of anything else it could be. 
 

One last thing, I submitted my taxes this morning also. I’m currently rated at 80%, but getting paid for TDIU. On my taxes, the only income there was to report was around 2k in hobby income, in which my expenses almost matched(few hundred dollars shy, I believe). 
 

I know I shouldn’t be as worried as I am, but the paranoia in me says that they saw this tiny bit of earned income and requested a re-eval. I can’t say for sure, the status of my generated claim says they’re still adding details and to check back. 
 

Any ideas or info on the matter is appreciated  

[deedub75]

I’m in the SSA reconsideration phase now. I had a finance type job with CBP and I was approved for disability retirement because I could no longer do that desk job. I have a host of endocrine issues because my pituitary has shut down on me over the years. I’m not service connected for the endocrine issues thought I am 100% P&T. I also have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, intracranial hypertension, migraines, etc. All this has caused significant brain fog, short term memory loss and a slowdown in my mental acuity. I was missing 2-3 days of work per week and I was in FMLA. 

I had surgery in February on my service connected ankle and for some reason SSA focused on it instead of all of the issues that I claimed even though they sent me for physical and mental exams as well as bloodwork and x-rays. It was already abundantly clear that I could do no physical type work. They then denied my claim saying that since I had my ankle fixed I could perform a sedentary job even though I had just been retired from my CBP desk job because I could no longer get do the work. 
 

I hired an attorney and he thought the denial was ridiculous. Now SSA is sending me for another mental exam this month. 

[MarineLCpl]

Well, it appears they abandoned the idea of a virtual exam. I got a call today saying they scheduled me for a face-to-face next Monday, at 7:30pm!? I looked up the doc, his office hours say he closes at 5. I plan to call and verify this, I’ve never heard of an appointment that late..

[brokensoldier244th]

If they are a contractor they can change their hours easier than a private practice, or, the doctor is moonlighting. 

[MarineLCpl]

On 7/6/2020 at 10:19 PM, brokensoldier244th said:

If they are a contractor they can change their hours easier than a private practice, or, the doctor is moonlighting. 

I did a little digging on this doc and it appears they run a sole proprietorship. Doubt a doctor would do what he earned a doctorate for as a side gig, probably just working over. I sorta feel like it’s my fault because when the scheduler called and asked me about the appointment, I requested it be as late as possible due to my sleep issues. Didn’t think it’d be this late though...what if my direct actions made this doc stay late...he’ll probably not be in the best mood, might rush to get the exam done, may rush the report, etc....I’m likely taking this guy away from his family...all things that won’t help my case, I feel  all bc I can’t f’ing sleep normally.......

[MarineLCpl]

So I had my C&P this evening. The doc gave me his own custom worksheets to fill out, similar questions to your typical DBQ. He was a nice guy, fairly good mood and provided a calming environment. Didn’t make me go into detail about stressors, which was a nice surprise. All in all, he said I still display all the symptoms I showed at my last C&P(in 2015), and even a few that appear to have worsened. I’m not suicidal and can remember my name, so I doubt I’ll be getting a bump to 100, but everything points to me keeping the current 70% rating. Just hoping the VA doesn’t try to reduce to 50, which would make me ineligible for TDIU...can’t see why they would if symptoms haven’t changed. The only change that could be considered positive was the completion of a college degree, which took 3 attempts. Not sure that’s enough to propose a reduction or take away IU. Time will tell, I guess.

I’ll post an update when I get the report back. I asked the examiner about it at the end of our session and he said I could call the contractor after a few days and request it. Will also be keeping an eye on eBenefits for any changes. Thanks to all those who chimed in, hopefully it’s good news. 
 

 

Edited July 14, 2020 by MarineLCpl
sp.

[brokensoldier244th]

You don’t have to be suicidal or a basket case to be at 100%, or have to have all the symptoms on the list.