Denied for lack of diagnosis but wait

[Carl the Engineer]

I just received a decision letter today.  I was granted one increase, 3 contentions deferred, and one denial.  The denial says I don't have a diagnosis for the claimed disability.  But, I sent the diagnosis in with the claim, in person, at my CVSO, and I watched him put in the computer.  Not sure if the rater missed the medical record, or if it was taken out, etc.  Anyway, you can see what I see.

Any thoughts, 

Hamslice

[Buck52]

6 hours ago, john999 said:

Ham

All in all you did pretty good considering who you are dealing with and the number of conditions claimed.  Are you at 100% yet? I was at 90% for ten years and it took another 150% to get to schedular 100%.  It should have only taken an extra 50% but the VA threw in another 100% just to kind.......not!

 

John about the same here  but I got some increases along the way WITH INCREASE'S  1998  FLAT OUT DENIED ON ALL CLAIMS.  1999  0% S.C.  2000 INCREASE TO 50%S.C  THEN SAME YEAR 10% INCREASE . 60%  S.C. THEN 2002 TO 30% INCRESE  S.C.   TOTAL 90% TDIU P&T WAS AWARDED 90% WITH IU...THEN IN  FEB 2014  FILED A SEPERATE CLAIM AND GOT 70% FOR PTSD OCT 2014 SMC S-HB was inferred.

Now on e benefits  it says I have a 100% final degree rating....WONDER WHAT THEY MEAN ''FINAL''  I might file some more claims...

DOES it say the same thing on yours?

Ham if you get up to 95  95.1/95,2/95.3 /95.4   they still will drop you back, to 90%  you need a 95.5 % to jump to 100%  with this crazy VA Math.

''We use a method called the “whole person theory” to determine what we call your combined disability rating. We do this to make sure that your total VA disability rating doesn’t add up to more than 100%. That’s because a person can’t be more than 100% able-bodied.''

If you have 2 disabilities
We round that combined value to the nearest 10% to find your combined disability rating. We round combined values ending in 1 to 4 down, and those ending in 5 to 9 up.

Remember to ask to be rated to the fullest extent of the Law on all your claims.  VA is suppose to do that...some times they don't  there's a lot of low balling  rating going on...so watch that.

 

[Buck52]

https://www.va.gov/disability/about-disability-ratings/

[john999]

VA math is just a scam.  If I totaled my ratings using regular math I think I would have about 300% disability.  I have a 70%,60%, 40% 30% and five 20% ratings.  I just barely got to 100% from 90% TDIU.  The VA will use any means possible to minimize compensation to vets.

[brokensoldier244th]

Va math is no different than math used by insurance companies to calculate disability. It may be a sham but it’s not OUR sham. It’s the standard way to calculate it. What’s do you want, exactly? invent a new system, but I’m not going to abide blame where it’s not due.
 

Va has a lot of issues, but this isn’t one of them. You have no idea how many approved claims there are in a day. I do. Way more than denials, so it’s not some personal vendetta. 

[Carl the Engineer]

VA math is what it is, but there is fun with the numbers.  I like math and play with the chart and the computer programs a bit.  I have proven the Hill and Pont bilateral program wrong in the past by using the chart and a pencil.  I'm not sure who invented the chart, but might be worth my time to find out, LOL (while I wait for my decisions).

Here's one,

The bigger the number you start the chart, the more points you get.  And remember, by reg, you always start with the bigger numbers, and with bilateral's first.

As an example, a 20 plus a 20 plus a 20 with get you 49, but a 40 plus a 20 with get you a 52, and both would get you a 50 by rounding.  But, like me, if you have many (12) rated disabilities, the difference between getting a one new 20 rating or getting and old 20 increased to 40 is 94 and 95.  Or in other words, a 90% rating or a 100% rating.

I'm an obvious advocate for scouring one's medical record to find and include anything that is ailing and can be attributed to one's military service.  I am also for looking for things that are happening because of those problems and claiming them as secondary.  I developed a very slight limp, which was noted to me by my wife, from my right foot plantar fasciitis.  Years after my original claim, I was awarded left foot secondary.  That is were bilateral's come in.  To date, I get 6.3 points from my bilateral ratings.  And that gives me 92, instead of 91.

Remember, 80's are hard and 90's are a bitch,

Hamslice

 

 

[GBArmy]

Agree; the higher you go, the harder it gets. I think that one benefit that veterans sometimes miss on is the bilateral factor. A few extra points but the points are, like I said, hard to come by. They should be considered by veterans whenever possible.