additional monetary benefit over 100%

[LESASSIER]

Many vets who use lawyers to submit their claims have reported they received an additional $400 or more than the regular standard benefit amount.  I have been assigned 80% and TDIU to bring me to 100%.  I do have some things debilitating for which other vets have been compensated.  Do I submit another claim or just leave it alone?  

[broncovet]

I agree.  Dont stop posting.  Its okay to have a difference of opinion!  Most of you may not like the Denver Broncos..you may have another favorite team, or not like football at all.  ALL is good.  

To the contrary, its "healthy" to disagree!  Let me explain.  

When JFK was shot, they interviewed hundreds of people.  School teachers.  Pastors.  Many professions, there to see the president.  

They differed on almost every detail.  How many shots fired?  Depends on who you ask.  Where did the shots come from?  Grassy Knoll?  Not sure.  These are credible people, and were interviewed where they were watching from a vastly different viewpoint place, etc.  Some had children crying.  Others had poor hearing or poor memory.  Some were far away, where 2 shots could sound like one..or three.  

Its normal to have differnces of opionion.  

Where the police dont like it is if 4 people each give exactly the same version of "what happened".  Why? Well, that almost certainly means they rehearsed their "story" because the truth was something vastly different.  If 8 people watch a shooting  from differnt angles and view points, and every one describes every detail the same, there is something fishy.  Its probably hard to tell "what color shirt" they had on, because, I know Im color blind and I have no idea what color "mauve" is, and I thought peach was a fruit.  

So, if I was a witness, I can almost guarantee I would give different colors of clothing than others.  But Im pretty good with a tape measure so I can guess how tall they are fairly well.  Others may not know the differnce between 6 feet and 70 inches.  And weight?  Goodness Im not good at guessing weight or age of the perp.  What about race of the perp?  Gee, Im not sure what "Italian" looks like.  Im not completely sure many/most people could identify many race's.  

And, weapons?  Gee, 8 people probably have a wide range of their weapons experience.  Was the gun a Colt?  Ruger?  Revolver?  Was it black or gun blue?  I can keep going.  You get the idea.  

At hadit, we are free to disagree,a nd that keeps us honest.  Its okay if you disagree with me.  What is not ok is name calling, You can disagree, without calling each other an idiot.  Most doctors dont agree on everything.  My wife and I certainly dont agree on everything but we have a great marriage where we respect each other's opinion.  

Hadit is better than other places where disagreement "with the boss" is not allowed.  I was ridiculed on the other site, because that guy had 30 years experince with VA.  Well, I had less, but I was good at reading, and could read the 38 cfr's, which often conflicted with what he said.  And I told him so.  So, I was banned.  Now, Im a moderator.  
 

I dont permit name calling or insulting other Veterans.  But healthy, well reasoned disagreements is just good communication.  

Berta and I were/are good friends.  WE still disagree sometimes about Cue.  But, its often pretty much a preference.  I like Blue, you like red.  I think my wife is beautiful, but thankfully not everyone agrees.  Im glad I dont have to fight off 140 million men each day to see her.  They think their wife is prettier, and Im glad.  

[john999]

You know VA often tends to forget or ignore their own regs.  I was entitled to "S" for a couple of years before I found that out for myself.  I did file a claim for "S" and VA called CUE on themselves.  I think that if I had not filed the claim for "S" I never would have gotten it.  I got two years retro on the "S".  I know a vet is not supposed to have to file a claim for "S" but there it is.  No claim, no S in my situation.  There is no argument here just the VA doing stupid stuff and us having to figure it out.

[john999]

Flip

   I have about 10 conditions besides the ones I actually got service connected for.  VA medical and VA compensation don't even talk to each other.  My VA doctor knows nothing about agent orange.  All she sees is a patient in front of her.  We could be coming from the moon. VA doctors are generally hacks who just want to do their 8 hours and go home. Then there is the pharmacy which is a world onto its own. I have to call my congressman once a month to get them to send my drugs on time to the right place.  I send my congressman $25 every time they help get the VA off their asses.  It actually works here in Tampa. I just wish I had a bigger hammer.

 

[namvet6567]

14 hours ago, pacmanx1 said:

The way I see it is there is no reason for you to stop posting, I just did not understand what you were disagreeing to. Now as to the regulation and the VA making sure that veterans are confused. Keep in mind that the VA is supposed to follow not only the regulations, but they are supposed to follow Precedential Decisions. Once a veteran is rated 100% P & T, and then awarded additional ratings/benefits, the VA has a duty to assess all the veteran’s disabilities to determine if the veteran qualifies for SMC-S but instead, the VA forces veterans to file a claim for SMC-S and tries to cheat veterans out of retroactive benefits. 

According to Precedential Decision Buie v Shinseki, the VA is supposed to assess the veteran’s disabilities to determine if the veteran meets the criteria of SMC-S and it does not state anything about the veteran filing a claim or new claim for SMC benefits. It states that the VA have a duty to maximize the veteran’s benefits. So, if the veteran meets the criteria, why have the veteran file an additional claim? 

The best thing about Buie v Shinseki is that it states that, if after such assessment, VA determines that the claimant/veteran is entitled to special monthly compensation, the effective date of the award of special monthly compensation will be the effective date assigned for the award of benefits for the final disability that forms the relevant combination of disabilities. That is Buie v Shinseki, 24 Vet, App. 242, 250-251 (2010) amended (Apr. 21, 2011).

 

Thanks, pacmanx1 & all.  I was personally denied A&A after a 31+yr appeal, because I can bathe myself, brush my teeth, etc., even though I caused a cooking fire that cost me my house in 2014 and can no longer cook, for safety reasons.  I did win the "S" award for HB.  I plan on filing a CUE on the A&A soon.  I've been to the CAVC x2 and the BVA at least 5+ times.   For HB, the VA often quotes the CFR about it being permanent and you are basically stuck at home, but I believe the court has interpreted it differently.  Thanks again.  I used to keep up w/all the regs but stopped when Hadit changed so much, and I was unable to keep up with the changes.  During my time here previously, I was able to meet w/Tbird & her nephew, Berta, the late Carley(sp), Wings and one other person from SC, who has passed now, whose name is failing me at this moment.  All great people!!

[john999]

I think we should invite Berta back to the game.  I got "S" for being TDIU P&T, and an extra 60%. Bronco helped with that.    I am not housebound per say.  However, going out to the VAMC is hard on me due to my bad feet and parking problems.  I don't think you must be totally stuck at home to get HB.  If you are stuck at home how would you get treatments?  I go to the VA about 4-5 times a year and I have to drive 20 miles.  That is nothing for many vets drive 50 miles one way.  Every time I go to the VA the nurse asks me if I have fallen.  I tell them "Yes, and I busted my head".  They just note and go on by.   The care we get is substandard.  Real doctors don't act like that as if they did not give a damn.

[Rattler]

On 11/20/2023 at 1:33 PM, john999 said:

I think we should invite Berta back to the game.  I got "S" for being TDIU P&T, and an extra 60%. Bronco helped with that.    I am not housebound per say.  However, going out to the VAMC is hard on me due to my bad feet and parking problems.  I don't think you must be totally stuck at home to get HB.  If you are stuck at home how would you get treatments?  I go to the VA about 4-5 times a year and I have to drive 20 miles.  That is nothing for many vets drive 50 miles one way.  Every time I go to the VA the nurse asks me if I have fallen.  I tell them "Yes, and I busted my head".  They just note and go on by.   The care we get is substandard.  Real doctors don't act like that as if they did not give a damn.

I am not going to go very deep into to this as it is a dead issues with me. Berta was a contributor to this site for a long time. A lot of her advice was spot on that is why most of her post are still hear. (see below, Berta Post) broncovet posted an excellent on on CUE claims with links to her post.

https://community.hadit.com/topic/91500-some-facts-and-reference-on-cue-clear-unmistakable-error/comment-537648&gsc.tab=0

Berta was banned for threatening to file a lawsuit against Hadit, and Tbird. She also did the same thing to other sites. (And file a complaint with the OIG. Something you can't due with non-government sites.)

Berta will never be back on this site. So don't ask. I will shut the site down before that happens. That may be what she was trying for all along as she could not control what others did hear. This forum is dedicated to you the veteran and their families. 

If you want to read Berta posts go to this link that can be found under the find My Active Streams, Berta's Post. 

https://community.hadit.com/discover/86/#gsc.tab=0