Wes and me are like peas and carrots. One of these days he’ll realize that Scotch is far superior to Bourbon but that always takes time and years of culture. Besides, they probably don’t have Scotch in Georgia so I don’t hold it against him. Wes and I both have interesting combinations of initials. Wes’s are WAM. I think that scares the VA raters. Mine are GAG. Same difference. I think that’s why we’re both so successful at VA Poker. But that’s another story for another day.

You folks ought to read this even if it doesn’t directly affect you. It’s an example of the sheer audacity of the VA to up and revise regulations without so much as a normal discussion on the pros and cons of doing so.

https://unitedforvets.us/spectator/81-monthrule

We, as Veterans, are supposed to have a special place in the scheme of things where our benefits are concerned. I’m not talking about being given special privileges , acting like spoiled brats or being entitled to more than our civilian counterparts.

Few of you, (2%) chose to raise your right hand and volunteer to get up at 0dark30 for 4 years to work for chump change for America. Those who do always run the risk that a war might break out during their time in service. Once that happens, you can’t just say “Not it!” and bug out. You’re stuck until someone says Olly Olly In Come Free.

Consequently, should you be injured during said service, you are entitled to certain benefits- some of which are as discussed in this article. VA seems to have a different view of how much you get and they’ve been giving a haircut to those benefits since the War of 1812.

If you could look at the way the regulations were written in 1946 when the war ended, you’d be shocked to see they were far more liberal than they are now. Up until Halloween of 1992, if you came down with lung cancer, you’d get service connected for it-even if you smoked 3 packs a day. What the hey? They sold Marb Reds down at the PX for 13 ¢ a pack when I got to Nam. You could drink yourself into cirrhosis with dirt cheap booze up until 1990 and they’d give you 100% until the day you died and DIC to the oke san afterwards. In fact, you could shoot up heroin and get addicted and it was service connected until 1990.

So it should come as no surprise that each year we suffer some shrinkage of what we get paid for in the way of disabilities. This article touches on one such haircut they just gave to college benefits. I’m sure it won’t be the last either.

In addition, I’d like to show you an example of the old Thursday Rule. You’d think loss of use of the upper or lower extremities would be a simple test. Can you walk? Can you walk without falling down every few steps? Do you need your spouse or sig other to hold on to you to keep you from falling down? You’d think answering any one of those questions with a “no” would be a shoo-in for loss of use and entitlement to SMC at the L rate. Boy howdy would you feel stupid when you got denied.

I’ve been working with Johnny Vet here for quite some time to get him a rating for loss of use of his lower extremities. He came to me with the claim already in motion. Were it me, I’d have started out with aid and attendance first but you fight a war with the gun you were given.

John boy has gone up and down the ladder to the BVA a few times. I’m starting trip number 3. Interestingly, Secretary Denis the Menace said he had loss of use in a favorable finding of fact but kept denying him. I’m going to try out Sec. Doug and see what he says. Seems if they say you will be considered to have loss of use if any of the 3 descriptions of what loss of use consists of exist… then you do. See §4.63.

But now, in 2025,  loss of use is a Thursday Rule game.  Let me explain that. You file for loss of use and they ask you if you were born on a Thursday.  If so, then you qualify for  loss of use. But there’s one more little test first. Were you born in the AM or the PM? If you pass that test correctly, the next one is suddenly “inside or outside the continental US? Gradually, VA will weed out all the people that qualify and reduce their liability.

Here, Johnny has all the goodies. Complete paralysis of the peroneal nerves? Check. Drop foot? Check. Seems that would be the ticket. Not so fast, cowboy. You’re missing something but they won’t say exactly what. So you read further and see that you need some organic and trophic changes. The c&p exam says Roger that. Numb from the knees down and can’t feel shit. Your legs are shiny and hairless so that box is checked. But still no bucks in the bank. Seems you need someone (a doctor) to say you’d be equally well served by elective amputation below the knees and get fitted with suitable prostheses.

The phrase is so convoluted that doctors often think VA is saying you qualify if they cut them puppies off and fit you with plastic feet. So, in reality, you could be forced to crawl on all fours and technically never qualify because a VA c&p examiner would say you can still walk ambulate after a fashion.  Define walking. Is it accomplished with a cane? Denied. Is walking a danger but you can still do it for short distances like from the wheelchair to the toilet transfer? Denied. Do you kiss the concrete trying to go up a stairs? Use the wheelchair ramp and slow down. Denied. Next?

The fact is loss of use is harder to get than teaching your dog long division. Try it some time. Do you use a wheelchair? Doesn’t mean you have loss of use. Are you forced to use Canadian Crutches to walk? Bummer. You can still walk. Denied. About the only guaranteed way to win is to step on a Bouncing Betty and blow them dogs off completely. But that’s cheating. It’s actually loss of- not loss of use.

So, after going zero for 4 on this one, I decided to explain the rules to the Judge. If they deny it again, I think I can beat them up at the Court. At least that’s the game plan here. Grab a cold one and read this brief. Could be you’ll get some ideas on how to win your own battle for loss of use.

redact ex pgs LOU PRELIM