Introducing Myself...

[kellybrown]

hello everyone, my name is Kelly and I would like to start by giving my thanks to all those who have and who are currently serving our country. I especially want to say to all of our Viet Nam veterans, WELCOME HOME!!!

I am a veteran currently rated at %70 disabled. when I received my award letter the VA said they were denying my claim for %100 disability for un-employability. the curious thing about this is that I did not ask the VA to consider me for individual un-employability. they even went so far as to provide me with the forms and encouraged me to fill them out and return them so I could be considered for this rating.
so I have registered with this site in the hope that there folks here willing to give me some advise on what I should or should not say when filling out thee forms.
I also am curious to know if it is possible to collect both VA disability compensation and SSI. any help or advice would be a huge help and very much appreciated.

thank you,

kelly

 

[Ned]

Morning KB

 

[Spock]

Good words Kelly ~ Welcome! :)

 

[Sarg]

Hi, Kelly! Welcome. To answer some of your questions, I offer...YES! You can draw SSI and VA comp both. File for your SSI immediately. For your question about how to fill out your forms, go to WWW. Hadit.com. The ladies there will help you. Also ask them about whether you still have time to request a "face to face" with a rating officer on your denial. Gives you a second shot at the RO before it go into the black hole of appeal.

Anything else, just hollar.

Sarg

 

[Zipperhead]

Morning Kelly. Lot's of Americans on here to give advice about the VA. I'm not one of them.

 

[JennyMac]

welcome!

 

[Sleeping Dragon]

Kelly,

Sarg gives great advise. The VA likes the T's crossed and I's dotted in a particular way. Find an advocate who knows the process. My guy is from the Military Order o the Purple Heart, but there are many others.

There are lots of pit falls and they are very deep. If you fall in it can take years to get things straightened out. I was on minimum compensation for eight years before someone finally explained the mistakes that I made.

One more important thing: YOU EARNED THOSE BENEFITS!!!!!! The government asked you to put your life on the line, and you did. The things you lost because of your service are very hard to regain. Some are gone forever. The nation that asked you to serve has a debt to you because of those losses.

SD

 

[Fargo1]

Good morning Kelly and welcome.

 

[reddevil1111]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[JarHed]

Hey Kelly

Welcome to the forums. I'd follow Sarg's advice about the website he posted. You can appeal the unemployability thing. It also has to do with the PTSD rating and not percentage that you receive. Your papers should include a letter with a rating from 0 - 100. Here's a link to Wiki that will explain those.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Assessment_of_Functioning

You'll see that to receive IU your rating has to be below 50. Also, get in touch with a service org like the DAV, VFW, ect. as they will help as your advocate to appeal or reapply your claim.

Oh, and as a 'Nam Vet, Thanks. :D

Semper Fi

JarHed

 

[Sarg]

Not to be a snot but the GAF is just one aspect of the disorder they evaluate. Yes, a GAF of 50 or lower is suggested for a rating of severe. However to meet the requirement of being IU, one has to have a single rating of 70% or more, or have multiple ratings, of which one should be at least 50%. Confused? I'm not done yet.

After reaching one of the above %'s, a C&P is done to determine if you are unable to sustain full time employment in a job you usually have done.

Now, sometimes, when a Vet is putting in for an increase and it appears they might get a rating high enough to qualify, the VA will automatically you him in for IU.

What does all this mean? Absolutely nothing. Tomorrow, we go into plan B. I'm serious! The word "controlled pandemonium" comes to mind.

So, Kelly, I'd view it as a good omen, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Sarg

 

[Lee C]

Welcome