Definitely the hard way. I tried to get a CPAP machine, but the VA kept telling me I was borderline and didn’t require it. After 4 sleep studies in 3 years, I eventually got it. But I was already 100% when I retired, so it’s not helping or hurting my rating.
I only expected to submit 2 VA disability claims when I retired; one for my legs and one for my back. But I sat down with a VA counselor before I retired and they spent 3 hours reviewing my medical records and talking over every single inch of my body. By the end, they had 33 claims written up, 30 of which the VA accepted. PTSD alone got me 70% and the other 29 claims inched me all the way to 100%.
For non-military folks, VA disability is not a straight addition equation. A 20% rating and a 20% rating don’t equal a 40% overall rating.
There’s some equation the VA uses that has diminishing returns on each rating. So two 20% ratings might only be a total of 25-30% overall disability.
Not to mention, sometimes the VA will accept a claim but give it a 0% rating, meaning it doesn’t affect me at all, but it might be a problem later in my life. They’re on my record so the VA will cover any issues related to it, but I don’t get any further benefits because it’s not currently impacting my life or health.
So making it to the coveted 100% rating is actually quite difficult. I got a nice boost with that one 70% rating, but the rest required piling on a bunch of smaller ratings to push me through the last 30%.
Damn you had it rough. Sorry to hear bro. Hopefully you’re doing better now. And yeah the VA isn’t all sunshine and rainbows; more like trickle down shit. But good on you for toughing it out and getting what you’re owed.
Did you get 100 the cpap way or the hard way lol?
Definitely the hard way. I tried to get a CPAP machine, but the VA kept telling me I was borderline and didn’t require it. After 4 sleep studies in 3 years, I eventually got it. But I was already 100% when I retired, so it’s not helping or hurting my rating.
I only expected to submit 2 VA disability claims when I retired; one for my legs and one for my back. But I sat down with a VA counselor before I retired and they spent 3 hours reviewing my medical records and talking over every single inch of my body. By the end, they had 33 claims written up, 30 of which the VA accepted. PTSD alone got me 70% and the other 29 claims inched me all the way to 100%.
For non-military folks, VA disability is not a straight addition equation. A 20% rating and a 20% rating don’t equal a 40% overall rating.
There’s some equation the VA uses that has diminishing returns on each rating. So two 20% ratings might only be a total of 25-30% overall disability.
Not to mention, sometimes the VA will accept a claim but give it a 0% rating, meaning it doesn’t affect me at all, but it might be a problem later in my life. They’re on my record so the VA will cover any issues related to it, but I don’t get any further benefits because it’s not currently impacting my life or health.
So making it to the coveted 100% rating is actually quite difficult. I got a nice boost with that one 70% rating, but the rest required piling on a bunch of smaller ratings to push me through the last 30%.
Damn you had it rough. Sorry to hear bro. Hopefully you’re doing better now. And yeah the VA isn’t all sunshine and rainbows; more like trickle down shit. But good on you for toughing it out and getting what you’re owed.