Reasonably raised claims of IU

[Rivet62]

First let me say I am in the Legacy system and now dealing with the SOC in response to my NOD.

On the decision letter of my initial claim, granted 80% combined, it stated that my SC conditions "...interferes with work." It's acknowledged in the decision letter that granted me 80% combined.

Today I get an SOC (from the NOD we filed for increases and TDIU consideration) denying all issues, simply because the evidence and records they have stop at 2018, and simply no mention at all of TDIU.

So I call 1-800-Peggy and ask her what about the TDIU? The SOC shows all issues denied (for increases and additional service connects) but no mention of TDIU whatsoever. 

Peggy told me that raising the issue of TDIU should not have occurred on an NOD, that it should have been submitted as a new claim, and therefore I would want to file an Intent to File Claim for TDIU, meaning that my effective date would be the date of Intent to File (January 8, 2022) and not the last day of employment as the judge had noted in my BVA hearing.  Well I received a letter from the Board saying my hearing was improperly docketed as AMA, so the hearing I had in August 2021 is meaningless. I'm back to whether the issue of TDIU was reasonably raised on the NOD.

I searched the Hadit forum and I happened upon a post by Berta, dated March 5, 2021. that she had titled Identifying Reasonably Raised Claims of IU.

This causes me to wonder if my IU is a reasonably raised claim, when firstly the VARO had already recognized my SC conditions (at 80% combined) as "interferes with work" on my decision letter and secondly we state on my NOD that the VARO "...didn't consider TDIU" when it should have. Is Peggy right that I should have filed a separate claim for TDIU, or is my attorney right in following rules of Reasonably Raised Claims of IU when he used the NOD to do so?

Thanks in advance for all responses on whether or not I have a reasonably raised claim of IU as it stands now.

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by Rivet62
Updated info, greater clarity

[Rivet62]

2 minutes ago, Berta said:

Rivet, can you scan and attach here the SOC to include the Evidence list?

Cover your C file # Name, Address prior to scanning it.

Yes. I can do that momentarily. I already have it scanned...I need to remove ID info... hold on...

[Rivet62]

11 hours ago, Berta said:

Rivet, can you scan and attach here the SOC to include the Evidence list?

Cover your C file # Name, Address prior to scanning it.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Rivet62

[Rivet62]

41 minutes ago, Berta said:

"Yes, I think I am realizing the caveats. And yes, "reasonably raised" would have my effective date much earlier than the last day I worked at the VAMC because all along it was proof of inability to maintain employment (maybe), with my doctor involved all along signing off."

This was in response to Broncovet, when he said that the earliest effective date should be when I first told my doctor I was unable to work (provided I had a vets claim in progress (I think). My doctor became aware when she had to approve my medical transfer to a sedentary position, and she later had to approve unpaid leave due to medical, and also FMLA.

[Rivet62]

45 minutes ago, Berta said:

I dont understand- do you mean you worked at the VA but are attempting to get a TDIU prior to the last day you worked at VA?

Yes and yes. Because of inability to maintain a job I think. I had worked part-time in food service at the VAMC, then briefly full time but ended up in emergency room for back strain, then HR gave me a medical transfer into an office job after about 3 or months. I was in that office job for about 6 months and had work disruptions all along due to SC conditions. Then I submitted a medical resignation. My primary care doctor and my psychiatrist are both at the same VAMC that I worked at.

Is it possible for an earlier effective date? I didn't go into full detail with Broncovet.

[Rivet62]

50 minutes ago, Berta said:

You said  "...interferes with work." is on the 80% SC decision.

Yes. It is, on the initial decision that granted me 80% combined service connect.

[Rivet62]

52 minutes ago, Berta said:

My husband was in Food Services Part time, when the Director had to place him somewhere because I said he would file a EEOC case if he didnt. The director said he would be considered for any other position he qualified for-full time, speciically Engineering as he was a former Nuke and PHVAC operator,but that never happened, nd they replced that director.

HR did everything, and directors sort of played second fiddle, in my transfer.

Well, as it turned out for me, I was part-time in food service, at a pay grade of W3 if I recall, and I asked my supervisor for full time because my old car's engine blew (heavy knocking at bottom of engine) and buses didn't run to the VAMC on part-time shift.

Let me back up by saying that my primary care doctor warned me against working food service because I risked being paralyzed, but that statement never made it into my record. I told her I had to work, to establish documentation for my SS attorney. And so full-time in Food Service pushed it to the edge because the work was actually much much more physical. 

So anyway, HR at the VA arranged a medical transfer because I had been an employee at the VAMC just beyond the designated duration which allowed the medical transfer. HR said that OPM(?) would not allow a promotion (higher pay grade) in a medical transfer. Prior to all this I had applied for a little office position of paygrade 4, a few months earlier on my own, but didn't get it. That position became vacant again after the lady they hired went AWOL. So as it turned out, the director of that department re-posted the same position with reduced responsibilities at a pay grade of 3!  The only other sedentary position at that paygrade of 3 was one in Philidelphia, and nowhere else across all of USA.gov, and especially nowhere else in a VA across the nation. The VA was good to me. But, I hadn't worked in an office-like environment for 30 years. I had some college...quite a bit actually, quite a lot of hours, but it might as well have been a glorified high school diploma because the major was watered down so much after trying to complete it over 40 years.  There's difference between online school when you can take breaks and stop and start whenever you want, and working in an office with no extra breaks.