tdiu How Does My Family Surive?

[SABruce1]

I am over all rated at 90% of which 60% for compression fracture of lumbar spine alone and numerous others to include chemical burns at 30%, depression at 30% and 5 minor things at 10% each.

Three years ago I was making 80k with a MA degree in HR and my SPHR certification and then my neck started to hurt one day at work. I ended up having to have a neck fusion. I was out of work for a long time so I was let go when the company was sold. I started out at the bottom in federal civil service as a GS-5 in a developmental position to GS-11 because I wanted the job security for my family. Last year 2006 one of the fusion plates came loose from my first fusion and they had to redo the surgery this time from the back of my neck and placed two rods and a lot of screws and small plates in my neck. It didn't help and I was still in pain. Last year I was away from work for medical reasons for more than 500 hours and because of leave donations from co-workers my family and I barely made it through the year. I had my third fusion in March of 2007 and went back to my surgeon today for my follow-up. The pain has shown no improvement and I am still on 10 mg of methadone every 8 hours and 60 mg of Prozac along with various other medications.

For some reason the VA said my L2 spine compression was not related to anything that could have happened in my cervical so I am appealing my neck to become service connected.

Long story short version is I can’t perform my computer data input on the medications and if I don’t work I and my family of 5 don’t get paid.

If I were to file for TDIU the VA says it would take about 6 months to a year and during that time I could not work. Since there is no workers comp or disability except for $1,000 per month from the federal civil service. How can it be done? If my appeal every gets won I may or may not get to 100% which is important to me mostly because I have three teenagers still living at home and they would then get college assistance because I was at 100% TDIU (or is that only at 100% scheduler?) Which they can get tuution help only if I am at 100% or I can die from a service connected reason.

...................bottom line how can we live with out working money for 6 months to a year?

[john999]

It might still be possible to file for federal workers compensation (OWCP) if you have a doctor's opinion that your work caused an aggravation of your pre-existing injuries. You file what is known as a CA-2 which is a claim for an injury that occurs over time. Do you have a union? I was a federal employee and I was out on workers compensation for two years while I waited for my TDI to be approved.

[carlie]

The only way I know is to totally change the way you live -- anything that is not essential has to go. Many vets waiting on rating decisions have lost everything they had ... while waiting, homes, cars etc... I know that's not the answer your looking for, but if cutting the extras will keep you from something like a foreclosure then you have to do it.

jmho,

carlie

[sixthscents]

Like Carlie, I have watched as veterans have lost everything, file bankruptcy, lose their homes... all the while waiting for the VA to make up its mind. Yet... I know your situation is serious, but I dont see enough information to give you any other answer than I dont know....

I suffer from Cervical as well as Lumbar injuries... and they are service connected, but I just dont have enough information about your claim to state anyhting other than, like Carlie says, you will have to trim off everything. If you do work and file for TDIU, well you are in fact working... so the VA will say, with only 1 rare exception that I know of, you are working so you can work... period. That exception is in "protected" jobs in which ONLY disabled veterans can be hired... and I dont see that in your case.

So, I am sorry but your options are limited... if you work, the VA will most probably deny TDIU. If you dont, well only you can say what will happen then. There's a guy called Dave Ramsey... do a search for him on the internet... and try to read some of what he councils... maybe you can find some answers theer. I certainly believe in him....

I'm sorry, but unless I have more info, thats all I really can say...

[Pete53]

I recommend that you cut back only pay your utility and rent and ask those teenagers to pitch in and get jobs to help. Sounds harsh but you are in the Battle of all times. Many Veterans lose a lot going through the grinder of the VA. Call your creditors and tell them that you will pay when you can.

Don't give up as when you are on the other side you will learn many valuable lessons.

You can do it but it won't be easy. Believe it or not there are a lot of people who make it on less than 1000 a month.

I wish you the best and most here are survivors and have made it in similar conditions.

[allan]

>Since there is no workers comp or disability except for $1,000 per month from the federal civil service. How can it be done?

Hello SABruce1,

It's not easy. At first it gets hard, than it gets worse. It takes sacrifice from all the family members.

We had our land paid for when I became totally disabled, or the cost of a place to live, would have taken most of the $1000. It took ten yrs to get power & running water to our place & now the well needs drilled deeper.

We recieve $1100 now, but in 1994 & a family of four, it was several hundred less.

I'm still waiting for the same issues to be decided on now, as I filed for back then. Cervical, Thoracic & lumbar stenosis & spondilosis, left arm & shoulder issues, right leg, neurological, visual, hearng, mental, gastrointestinal & lung disorders.

So far, i've recieved a 30% SC rating.

If your totally disabled, the choices are very limited. Best prepare for hard times the best you can.

Allan

[free_spirit_etc]

Have you paid into Social Security? I know that can be affected by government pensions though --and you have to have so many Social Security credits within the past 10 years.. but it might be something to check out.

I agree this would work more as a family project - than you trying to shoulder the burden alone. See how the family can work together to generate options that will chip away at the overall BIG picture.

When my husband had cancer -- I looked up information about accelerated benefits on his Life Insurance --to see if we could get some of the money while he was still alive. His insurance didn't have the accelerated benefits rider --BUT in looking for information on that -- I found out that his $91 a month life insurance premiums could be waived while he was disabled. So there was $91 a month.

That led me to think -What else could be waived? I found out his student loan payments could also be waived for several years with a medical statement that he was unbale to work. After the initial acceptnce of waiver - you can work if you make under $12,000 a year. After 2 or 3 years of the "conditional discharge" -- if you are still disabled - they completely discharge your loan.

So we got his conditional discharge for disability for the student loan.

That was another $326 a month he saved...and the possibility of the entire loan being discharged.

And since the student loan mentioned Social Security standards - while looking up those standards -- we realized my husband was eligible for Social Security - because he had cancer that had invaded the medistatian... We had always heard you don't necessarily get SSD for cancer. But in reading their standards I realized my husband had the EXACT standard to which they compare against. In 2006 - we realized he would have been eligible for SSD since mid 2004 - when his cancer invaded his aorta.

He ALMOST didn't qualify because of the work credits -- but since they could file back for up to 12 months -- (and he had been working PART of those 12 months) - he made it --

Social Security processed it as a TERI claim (terminal illness) to expedite it - and he had a decision AND over $7,000 back pay deposited into his checking account within a few weeks. And he got another $1,475 a month.

We had never even CONSIDERED Social Security before...

So by doing a little exploring we "found" close to $1,900 a month that kicked in pretty quickly.

It sure did help a lot..and I am glad we didn't listen to the people who say "you can't get this and you can't get that -without checking it out ourselves.

Wow! 6 months is a long time -- but I would think you would be lucky if a claim is decided that quick.

I just called the VA today to see about obtaining copies of my husband's discharge phycial -- and to make an appointment to see his C-file -and was told it would take at least 6 months for both of these. ACK! He asked for these way back last summer.

I know they have some kind of procedure for expediting APPEALS if you are old, terminally ill, or in danger of starving..being evicted..etc.. at the VA. But I am not sure how this works UNDER the appeal level.

We DID ask that my husband's claim be expedited due to his terminal illness last July. He died this February with nothing but form letters (we are working on your claim - we are working on your request for records...) BUT they did write a letter to a senator telling him that they were asigning his case to a supervisor so it could be decided more quickly. But hey! We deal with the Chicago RA -- Yours might be different. You never know if you can't get something - unless you ask for it.

Hoping some of this helps...

Free