Decision letter evidence summary/evidence not considered

[DSIG]

The following evidence was listed in my decision letter:

-VAForm21-526EZVeteran'sFullyDevelopedClaim,received January8,2021
-ReviewPostTraumaticStressDisorderDisabilityBenefitsQuestionnaire,received February 16,2021
-Section(§)5103NoticeResponse,received January25,2021

I can't tell if my private doctor's report and DBQ were considered as evidence.  I submitted the report/DBQ as part of the Fully Developed Claim, uploaded it in as evidence and it shows as evidence online.  Was it not considered because it's not listed?  OR was it considered and is actually part of the "VAForm21-526EZVeteran'sFullyDevelopedClaim,received January8,2021"?

Edited February 26, 2021 by DSIG

[pacmanx1]

4 hours ago, DSIG said:

I've enclosed a redacted copy of the IMO that I submitted.  

My apologies if I misunderstand what you are trying to do and forgive my ignorance.  Since you are already service connected for PTSD, the VA cannot award you a secondary claim for OCD because it is also a mental health disorder and you can be rated for only one. Now the VA could include your OCD with your PTSD and increase your overall rating but based on your private DBQ it shows that your rating should be 70%. Please review page 2 section IV OCCUPATION AND SOCIAL IMPAIRMENT. ITEM (4A). The TOTAL OCCUPATIONAL AND SOCIAL IMPAIRMENT IS NOT SHADED IN, IT IS NOT MARKED. This is a lot to review and I may have missed something but I see where it is noted that your condition is permanent in nature but there is nowhere on this DBQ that states that you suffer from TOTAL OCCUPATIONAL AND SOCIAL IMPAIRMENT. Yes, there are multiple times where is shows that you have occupational and social impairment but not total. I sure hope I am wrong and I missed something

Edited March 6, 2021 by pacmanx1

[Berta]

You mentioned the C & P exam kept you at 70% and that the private DBQ did as well.

I cannot tell what exam they actually used.

Do you  have any evidence of work problems.

I felt the VA committed a CUE by not sending you a TDIU form when they awarded the 70%, but then again the TDIU form wants information from your past employers, to determine if your SC PTSD prevents you from attaining substantial employment.

I read a BVA decision yesterday that had determined the veteran had quit many jobs because he didn't like the jobs.He had failed to produce evidence of total disability due to unemployability that  was directly due to his SC PTSD.

On appeal, within a NOD the point that VA never considered you for TDIU should be brought up, with the cases cited in the M21-1 excerpt I gave you as well as the BVA legal statements in the other BVA case, I cited here.

You could enclose a filed out copy of the TDIU form ( 21-8940) avail here or at the main VA web site and list your past employers.

Perhaps the private doctor would be willing, (with a copy of that form) to add an addendum to his IMO,that reveals the PTSD you have would warrant a TDIU (or a 100%) award.

However ,I no longer feel a CUE was committed in the decision,  I realized after reading all of this again- I cannot determine if the decision meant the C & P exam results or the private doctors DBQ, but as I understand it, both supported a continuance of the 70%.So in that respect I realize the decision is correct.

Have you ever applied for SSDI? 

That is what caused VA to grant my dead husband a posthumous increase from his 30% PTSD to 100% P & T SC for PTSD and the SSDI PTSD award was based solely on his VA medical records, years of therapy, hypnosis , many psychological tests, and also 2 VA hospitalizations for PTSD.

As a substituted claimant, after he died, I also learned that Most of the actual therapy records, tests results, etc etc ,were missing from his file, and I also learned that VA had failed to send the SSDI his signed authorization form for SSDI records, and they could have awarded him 100%SC PTSD in his lifetime.He had applied for TDIU before he died.VA never acknowledged the TDIU form.

In any event they awarded the accrued with a very favorable EED,after a 2 year RO battle.

There might be more in your private and VA medical records to help you get TDIU.

But an SSDI award for PTSD or a documented turn down by Voc Rehab ,based solely due to your  PTSD would definitely help establish the evidence you need.A NOD should be filed to give you time to seek evidence that would warrant the higher rating or TDIU.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Berta
cloud

[Berta]

Please disregard my posts as to TDIU, etc :

In a different thread you stated:

El Train, thanks, that is helpful. I've been teleworking for 10 years as a DoD contractor.   My doctor's DBQ mentions the teleworking but not the duration of it. When asked about work during the C&P exam I explained that I telework and that its from 2010 so hopefully the VA noted this and factored it in their decision. 

 

https://community.hadit.com/topic/83657-can-you-get-a-100-pt-ptsd-rating-and-not-have-work-impairment/page/2/

 

 

 

[DSIG]

pacmanx1 please no need to apologize, we are on hadit to help each other and I will not be offended if I receive advise based on facts.  Thanks for clarifying the OCD. I recall reading a decision where the BVA decided for OCD as secondary but I may have misread it. 

Berta, thank you also again for your thorough responses. 
My intent with documenting the telework was to demonstrate that was it not for this work arrangement I would not be able to work in person somewhere and the social impairment is tied to this. I did not submit as evidence my telework agreement or my relocation package paperwork which I declined back in 2010.  The relocation would have offered more substantial work opportunities vs the teleworking.   I don’t know if it’s worth making this case or just letting it go.  I don’t want to piss off the VA and have them hold up decisions for other claims I plan on filing soon. 
 

Lastly on the OCD, should I ask the VA to add it to the PTSD with the MDD? Shouldn’t these mental health disorders be added or removed if they are in remission?