Should I ask for a rating increase for the PTSD as I am unemployable according to my VA shrink?

Should I start a new claim for Hep C as service related? I already admitted to recreational drug use so can I get a Nexus Letter linking the drug use as secondary to the PTSD? And show the link from the service connected exposures plus the recreational use due to PTSD? Is that valid? Is there case law?

I’m about to got to D.C. and visit the Wall. My shrink to me to be prepared to have a partial meltdown. If I do should I go into the Mental Health ER in D.C. to get it into the record?

While in D.C. I will try to get death records that I couldn’t get from the USMC records center in Quantico and hope these will support a rating increase as they were excluded due to no records. I know they got killed but it’s some kind of freedom of information deal. So off I go.

Any tips on re=rateing increase? I want to file withing the year as it looks like I have a year.

Thanks,

Bradlybones

I’ve attached my VA rating letter. (I think I attached it)

TDIU was enacted in 1961 to correct a perceived inability of some Vets to ever attain a 100% rating. So the law was sweetened up a bit to read that any Vet with a 40% or higher rating on one disability combined with other, smaller ratings totaling 70% would qualify. Or, in the alternative, a Vet with a single disability rating of 60% would also qualify.

You indicate the 50% for PTSD is brand new (and no, I don’t see the rating attached) which means you can still file a NOD asking for a higher rating of 70%. That is all well and fine but you have to qualify in VA’s eyes for the higher rating. That can only be accomplished by a proper nexus from the psychiatrist and an appropriate GAF score that supports 70%. VA is notoriously stingy with their money (and ratings) unless, of course, it’s bonuses for VA employees and BVA judges. Somehow I don’t see the trickle down theory ever percolating down to our compensation payment level. Several months ago I met a Vet at my VAMC. He told me he was going in for the TDIU rating as he was now 65 and virtually unemployable. He’s been 60% for 40 years due to a Bouncing Betty shearing off his legs at the knees. They told him he was employable all these years and to basically go away. Oh, and he was missing a few fingers, too. Go figure.

As for starting a new claim for HCV, I don’t have enough info to help you on that one. Was the recreational drug hanky panky during or after service? Have you had any tattoos after service but before 1992? Any documented unsafe sexual practices in you post service medrecs? A guest of the State with free room and board (incarcerated for a crime)? Those can sink your claim. However, if you have significant risk factors documented in service like being treated for VD or Clap (or even a case of NGU) you have a pretty good case. It all depends on how you approach this drug thing. Face it. In the eyes of the world we Vets are all drug addicts and junkies and that’s how we got this bug. How you present your claim will determine your success or failure. You are correct in assuming that you could claim drug addiction as secondary to your now SC PTSD, but you would need to show that it was an ongoing affair. From what you say, it sounds like you are past that chapter in your life. VA does not pay compensation or grant ratings for diseases or injuries which you no longer suffer from. Remember the Caluza triangle (also known as the Hickson elements). These were two famous cases heard before the CAVC which enunciated the requirements for SC. To summarize them: 1) a disease or injury in service (or a documented risk factor); 2) a current diagnosis of same; and 3) a proper nexus tying the two together.

If you are going to the Wall, I can only suggest you take lots of Kleenex or a very large hanky. I’ve been there twice. The second time was worse than the first. I discovered in 08 that a pilot I flew with augured in in Feb. 71 the day before I got out of the hospital from Hep. I never could find him and assumed he DEROSed back home. I went to locate him for a buddy statement for my claim. That was a dead end (no pun intended). I guess I had to go see his name cut in stone for finality.  I don’t think you will find closure at the Wall, Brad. It will open up a brand new set of wounds for someone that genuinely suffers from PTSD. Closure is what you experience when you accept reality and move on.

I got a General under Honorable conditions for “antisocial personality with passive aggressive tendencies” after 2 tours back to back. That was Militaryspeak for PTSD in 1972. It was conveniently considered a “personality disorder” rather than a psychiatric disorder and therefore not compensable by VA. I guess I don’t need to tell you what effect a car backfiring on the street had on me for a decade or more.

A visit to St. Elizabeth’s (VAMC in D.C.) will not hurt your claim, nor will it enhance it unless you turn into a mental disaster area. Remember, you are already rated for this. The GAF score, your psychiatrist’s assessment and you employability are what determine your % of rating. If you honestly believe you’re going to need a shrink after the Wall experience, I suggest you forgo the visit. Either that or eat a $hitton of Valium a few hours before you go and get a designated driver.

As for obtaining any records from Quantico, rots of ruck. VA usually depends on the JSRRC to research and discover these records. You are allowed to submit dates, times, names and places and let them do the legwork to substantiate your claim. As your stressors have already been proved, your mission to Quantico is somewhat redundant. Trust me when I say they will give you zilch when you show up there other than the old “Hail fellow well met” speech along with the old saw “ Thank you for your service to our country. “ With that and $5.50 you can get a good cup of Starbucks to go with the depression that the wall is certain to cause.

As for tips for a rating increase, all I can say is don’t contrive it. Don’t pretend you have suicidal ideation or other symptoms that would support a 70% rating. Either you have it or you don’t.  This is not like being a little bit pregnant, Brad. Psychiatrists can usually see right through it and if you are using VA shrinks, they are wise to the ways of Vets trying to attain higher ratings. I’ve heard of Vets seeking SC for HCV resorting to using yellow food dye in their eyes to mimic jaundice. Or the one where you go in for several visits to the gastro doc. They weigh you each time. Pack about 20 rolls of pennies or quarters (if you’re rich) in your pants pockets and then go in the next time without them. Voila !  Instant weight loss.  Or my personal favorite- have your best bud sucker punch you right on the edge of your right rib cage(I advise you to close your eyes when he does it)to make you wince in pain when the Gastrodoc palpates your liver. That’s always a winner. In fact, so is syrup of Ipecac right before you go in. You don’t even have to pretend you’re nauseous. Hurling a few chunks is worth a thousand pictures. A little bit of charcoal artfully applied under the eyes is also useful.

I hope this covers all the bases for you, Brad. I’m glad to see you’ve finally joined the 10%er club (that’s how many claims the VA grants on average). It was probably a very long, lonely quest for justice. Although it sounds trite, We here at HCVets want to thank you for what you did by serving. So many Americans sit back and just assume someone will look after their interests and preserve their freedoms. Unfortunately, that is a very selfish and myopic viewpoint. If it weren’t for Veterans, I shudder to think of where we’d be now.

Sincerely,

Das noodle