R2 fight for mom

[dredubb]

Hello everyone! I've been fighting for about 8 years for my mom who has severe dementia as a result of several strokes caused by her service-connected hypertension. I'm her fiduciary and POA, so I've been handling this on my own. I want to thank everyone who has shared their stories, because I wouldn't even know about SMC if it weren't for this forum. Our VSO gave up the fight as soon as mom obtained a 60% rating.

I recently got her to SMC-L with K this month, but I feel the VA has still missed a condition in her medical records and made some errors in determining her current rating. Honestly, she should have been TDIU since 2012 but she was stuck at only 20 or 30% for her resistant hypertension at that time. She never received a full workup and the correct medication until it was too late.

She is currently in need of a memory care facility, is wheelchair-bound and housebound with a hoyer lift for the last several years, and needs total assistance with all activities of daily living. With all of her conditions and her need for total assistance that otherwise would render her to a nursing home, I'm pursuing SMC-R2.

Oddly enough, they just gave her K due to Loss of Use of both buttocks, but didn't give her LOU of both lower extremities or even LOU of both feet. She literally cannot walk or transfer without the help of at least two others. I thought from other threads that the inability to perambulate equates to LOU of BLE?

They also have her rated for 60% urinary incontinence (highest level they give), but don't have her rated at all for bowel incontinence which should be at 100% itself and is mentioned in her medical records upwards of 30 times!

We had a C&P exam in December and all of these items were missed.

So the question is, what's the best path forward to R2???

Also, section 8 of her Decision Letter is quite confusing to me. Can anyone help explain it?

The Redacted Claim letter and List of Disabilities are attached.

 

Mom ClaimLetter-2024-3-14.pdf Rated Disabilities Veterans Affairs.pdf

[broncovet]

Its not unusual, but yes, it can be disappointing when a law firm refuses to represent you.  Remember there are many reasons they may decline, many of which have nothing to do with you.  For example, their case load may be too high right now, they may have attorneys on leave/ vacation/sick, etc.  

Some other good Veterans law firms Im famiiar with are Hill and Ponton, Woods and Woods, Berry Law firm, and, Attig Steele that represented me.  I can not say whether or not they will represent you, you will have to discuss that with them.  

However, after hiring 3 different law firms on 3 different issues each time I was turned down at least twice by other law firms, and each time, I won.  So, being turned down by a law firm does not mean you do not have a case of merit.  Try another firm.  Persistence works when giving up rarely does.  

[Lemuel]

I checked on Laska v McDonough, the SMC-t case today.  It occurred to me that it might be under the stayed cases because of the decision delay.  It is.

Does not having an order for a stay on the docket have any special significance.  For example, getting a stay from the CAFC prior to the decision from the CAVC by the VA GC because he did not like the way the hearing went at the CAVC.  Maybe asking the CAFC to stay the case while the Secretary gets a clarity revision of the code from congress?