I retired OCT 06, and a month later rec'vd my rating( I started the process 6 months prior to retiring). I was not happy with some of the 0 %'s on some items and No %'s on others soooooo I put in a rebuttle letter in March of 07. Recv'd a letter shortly after that the VA got my letter also asking if I wanted a board of review or a DRO (?) I went with the later on advise of my Rep.
Just wondering how long this should take next month it'll be a year.

MC...Congrats! Glad they even looked at rating you before you got out. Mine package went in 6 months before retiring on 1Nov07 and got lost in the VA! STILL have not got my C&P scheduled! Got nice letters saying they are still processing the claim, but I have fallen into the lost pile I am guessing. I had a nice itinerary for my retirement timeline as a cover page on EACH section of my SMR, but still everything got confused. VSO has not been any help to date, but I have documented everything (not that it will matter). Good luck on your appeal. Glad I am not stuggling to get by waiting on the results. Enjoy retirement!

Steeler Dave

quote:

Originally posted by MCCOASTIE:
Just wondering how long this should take next month it'll be a year.

Hard telling how long. It depends on how big the backlog is where they are processing your claim. If you click here, VA Monday Morning Report, you can download a weekly workload report. Its a spreadsheet format, but will give you a sense as to how much they have going on.

Some things by law are 0%. Your hearing has to be really really bad to get other than 0%, but the 0% will get you hearing aids. Scars will be 0% ... tinnitis is rated at 10% period, whether its one ear or both, whether the fellow next to you can hear the ringing in YOUR ears or not. I have some links I can send you if you want to look into it more, just let me know.

Did you run the claim through on your own, or use an organization like the DAV? I use DAV, and am happy with their service. They also should be able to get a status update for you. My upgrade claim last year took about 9 months start to finish. I'm not familiar with the DRO process, but it seems like it should have been done by now.

Good Luck,

--Jim
Life is good!

ditto on the depends on where it is being processed. My first claim took around 18 months from start to finish. The next one which I did not accept took 3 years from start to finish.

Thats Interesting on the length of the process. I retired Oct '06, submitted my claim Jan 07, got my rating Aug 07, unhappy with the results. Sent letter of disagreement through DVA rep. Received letter to decide DRO. Decided on DRO at the advise of my rep. Submitted letter in Dec 07. I guess to make a long story short. No hope for me for a decision any time soon. Oh, I am in Los Angeles, bummer for me....

I retired in Oct. 06 and submitted my C&P application in April 06. I got a response in late Jan of 07 and accepted the results at least for now. I am a County Veterans Service Rep. in Colorado and have helped other Vets file their claims. They average 6 to 8 months for a reply and from what I have seen on the initial claim and much longer for an appeal. Not sure what to say about all of this short of don’t give up and get someone to represent you. The DAV is the best organization I know of and from what I have seen gets the best results. The VFW and a few other Veterans organizations are also there to help you free of charge. Good luck with your claim and your appeal.

Thanks all
I do have a Rep, she works for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs for the State of Florida. She has been very helpful through out. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I retired on Sep 1, 2007 and subimtted my claim on about December 6, via the DAV office in Houston. In three months I had my 60% rating from the VA and my VA benefits, backdated to my retirement date, direct deposited to my checking account. I retired as an 04, I am not politically connected in any way, and I did not enlist the aid of my congressman.

I did take care filling out my claim, using the VA's website, and I tabbed all references to my claimed conditions in my medical record with color coded tabs for each condition. I also went to the physical the VA scheduled for me after they got my package. Some people advise against this.

Don't know if any of this helped, but it sure didn't hurt!

CB

9 months later, I did finally get my C&P exam. Not sure what to think of it since the Doc had me type all of the answers in MYSELF after doing and showing me how to do the first one. Maybe he was tesing me for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a claim in both hands after one operation and a recommended (documented) surgery on the other. It was a strange and VERY through exam. Then I was given a tour of the facilities by same Doc when we took a break and continued with the exam afterwards. Waiting for the results, but have a feeling the VA and I will be disagreeing for awhile.

Dave, do you work for the VA?

Wray...

quote:

Originally posted by Callan88:
...
I did take care filling out my claim, using the VA's website, and I tabbed all references to my claimed conditions in my medical record with color coded tabs for each condition. I also went to the physical the VA scheduled for me after they got my package. Some people advise against this.
...
CB

What are people advising others not to do? I hope they are not telling people to not go to VA appointments. You want your claim to be closed without a rating and lose your date it will be affective, all you have to do is blow off their appointments. This first physical usually leads to C&P exams, on the issues you have requested a rating for. In some cases the info you supply is enough and a further exam is not needed. DO NOT EVER IGNORE AN APPOINTMENT REQUESTED BY THE VA.

When I was going through the C&P exams, I had to cancel several appointments. The VA was not happy, until I explained to one person that my health was not allowing me to travel the amount of time to the VA Hospital for the exam. I also pointed out it was an item on the list of exams they schedualed. Prior to that I was informed about missing appointments.

Wray;

Yes I am now working for the VA, which created part of the problem in getting my C&P exam. When on terminal leave last fall, the VA offered me a Telephone Operator position (GS-4) at the local VA and I took it to get my foot in the door. When I did, the C&P that was scheduled at our hospital had to be canceled and rescheduled at another VA because policy says you cannot get a C&P at the hospital you work at. After 6 months of answering phones (most have no idea how often the phone rings at a VA hospital--800+ in an 8 hour shift!) I interviewed and accepted a Safety Specialist (GS-9) position at the hospital. Glad to be able to use my MST experience out in the civilian world AND get paid for it!

Oh...almost forgot. I have ANOTHER physical tomorrow morning required for my new position! I explained that I just had a complete physical less than two weeks ago..FROM A VA doctor and was told it didnt matter, I needed another one as an employee?!?!?! Whatever...I'll take the promotion!

Dave
I have the same problem.. I work at the Daytona Beach OPC. Have to go to Gainesville for my C&P's.... Congrats on your new job.. How did you get to go from a GS 4 to a GS 8? I thought the Fed. rule was you could only go up one pay grade? How did they get around that?

Wray..

Wray;

Actually, I was told that the rule is internal job postings are limited to a two paygrade increase so starting out at a 4 limited me to 6's and below when looking to move up (which was when I hit 91 days!). BUT, if they solicit the job outside on USAJobs, then the two paygrade rule does not apply. I got the 9 position when they put it out to USAJobs and I competed with everyone else who applied. Placed #1 and was the only person interviewed for the job. Good luck if your looking to move up with the VA. It does happen.

quote:

and was the only person interviewed for the job

THAT don't sound right. I thought it was supposed to be "the rule of 3". They interview the 3 highest placing applicants and select from those 3.

And as far as how long should it take. Well, this is kinda old but in 1992 when I was 10% I was starting to have some seriuos SC related problems, filed for an increase, and was granted 40% in early 94. I let that ride for just over a year and really couldn't function at work very good anymore, and in early 95 filed again. They denied many any more of any increase, I appealed it, fought it, and kept appealing it and in June of 2000 was granted 100% "P&T" back to early 95-JRC

pachesma,

He may have been the only qualified person appplying for the job. I put in for a job at housing at the local CG Base. When I lived there I believe they had a 2nd class working in the office. I was told I didn't qualify, because I was missing a year of working in the CG housing field. They did not allow you to use other things as a substitute for that requirement.

pach;

Only what I was told. May have been the last to interview, first to interview, had smoke blown up you know what, I dont really know. Dont care how many they interviewed, just that I have the job pending physical.

Just got my results! All 4 items denied. Have 60 days to appeal. Going to see my rep and fight it.

quote:

Originally posted by MCCOASTIE:
Just got my results! All 4 items denied. Have 60 days to appeal. Going to see my rep and fight it.

Read through some of the stuff here. A lot could have to do with the way you word things during a C&P or in a statement. This site is very helpful:
www.hadit.com.
If you register, you can do a search on your particular ailments and see how others handled their issues.

Another helpful link is here:
Board of Veterans' Appeals.
You can search for your ailments by year, and see how others were handled by the BVA.

And here: VA Disability Exam Worksheets
There are a lot of them, and this is how they are supposed to check you out.

This link is to the CFR's:
38 CFR 4.
You should be familiar with what's there. You will find, among other things, the schedule of ratings in Subpart B. It's kind of scattered, so it will take some time to browse. At the bottom is an index of disability codes by sorted by number and by name.

It has been my experience that I got the best results when I used the DAV as a go-between, but did my own leg-work, provided my own copies of medical records, and wrote my own statements. I've gone from 60% in 2000 to 80% last year, and we are not done yet. I retired in 01 Oct 2000, and a lot of stuff on my claim was deferred. Once I learned the system, and read my medical record I saw that some deferred items are clearly documented ... and now I have a new claim in. If they make the service connection (which they should), I can appeal the effective date to 1 Oct 2000.

Your claim is one of those things you have to take care of yourself, and can't pass that responsibility on to anyone else. If the denial letter you got back has deadlines, you have to comply strictly by them. If you have 60 days, that's 60 days from the date on the letter until your new information or NOD or whatever, arrives and is received by the VA (not your rep). A day late could be costly.

Best of luck to you!

--Jim
Life is good!

I have a few more links in this post, at the bottom of the page: More Links