Watch: C& p Exam For Ptsd Secrets
WATCH: C& P Exam for PTSD SECRETS!
#4. Do NOT have your best daythis does NOT mean you shouldlie or stretch the truth. Its against Federal Law to file a false claim. Whatthis means is you need to tell the C& P examiner how you are on your veryworst days. And be prepared to discuss how often you have those bad days.
#5. Be UNFOMFORTABLY VULNERABLE.This means that ifits awkward or hard for you to discuss, especially with someone you dontknow or trust, youre probably on-the-right-track. This is your one chance totell your uncomfortable truths. Maybe youve been abusing drugs or alcohol tocope with your PTSDtell the examiner. Maybe youve driven another caroff-the-road and got into a fighttell the examiner. Maybe youre divorced andstruggling to maintain healthy relationshipstell the examiner.
#6. PTSD claims comes down to severity of symptoms, specificallyyour level of Occupational and Social Impairment. Are you prepared to talkabout HOW your PTSD is negatively impacting your work, life, and relationships?
#7. Know your true story coldand potential in-servicestressors that caused or made your VAPTSD claim worse.
#8. You must be prepared to talk about your life in detail.Before joining the military. During the military. And after your active dutyservice. How long have you been suffering from PTSD? Have you ever soughttreatment? Why or why not?
Does The Va Give All Ptsd Veterans A 50% Disability Rating
One of the most common misconceptions among veterans is that they believe they will receive an automatic disability rating of 50% if they are diagnosed with PTSD. Unfortunately, this is simply not true. A veteran must first meet a very specific set of criteria in order to get an automatic 50% rating.
First, in order for a veteran to get an automatic 50% disability rating, they had to have been discharged from the military as a direct result of their PTSD symptoms. This means that if they were discharged from the military for any other reason, the automatic 50% rating does not apply.
Also, veterans that do get an automatic 50% PTSD disability rating are only guaranteed to have it for six months. After the initial six-month period is over, veterans will have to be re-evaluated to ensure that they still qualify for the 50% disability rating.
Some of the criteria that will be looked at during the re-evaluation include:
- The severity of PTSD Symptoms
- Frequency and duration of the PTSD symptoms
- The severity of social and occupational impairment
- Has the veteran experienced remission periods?
- The ability for the veteran to readjust into civilian life
Once you have been re-evaluated, the VA will decide whether or not you still qualify for disability based on the criteria listed above. In some cases, they may decide to extend your disability period. They could also either reduce or increase your rating based on the severity of your symptoms.
Discuss Alcohol And Drug Use
If you’ve used alcohol and drugs to cope with your PTSD symptoms, it’s ok to write about that. This is your chance to explain that you couldn’t handle having PTSD and that your alcohol or drug use began, or worsened, after the stressful events occurred. You can also talk about whether you are now clean and sober and how long you have been in treatment, if applicable.
If you still use alcohol and drugs, talk about why you do so, and how often. Again, this can be evidence of the impact PTSD is having on your life.
Finally, write about how you are now feeling about your present life, whether you are in treatment for PTSD, and if you aren’t, why not. Sign your statement, and if there are several pages, add page numbers and staple the packet together.
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Get Help On Your Ptsd Claim From Our Attorneys Today
If you think you may be eligible for disability benefits on the basis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or other service-related disabilities, contact us today for a free consultation. We can offer guidance regarding your PTSD claim, and we do not charge veterans unless we are successful in obtaining disability benefits.
Tips For Using The Disability Benefits Questionnaire
In any reports from your physician, make sure that they review and state in writing that they reviewed your complete C-File. .
Dont use outdated medical information we consider anything older than 6-12 months to be outdated for impairment rating purposes.
If you use out of date information, the VA will likely still schedule you for a VA C& P Exam, and you will be back to waiting months, or years, for a VA Ratings Decision and Impairment rating of your service-connected disability.
What kind of experience did you have with the VA in a C& P Exam or in using a DBQ?
Did you prefer one approach over the other?
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Individual Unemployability Benefits & Your Ptsd Claim
Veterans that cant work because of severe PTSD may be eligible for Total Disability Individual Unemployability benefits. The VA will consider not just your PTSD but other mental and physical conditions too. PTSD Individual Unemployability benefits pay the same as a 100% rating. However, you are not required to obtain a 100% rating to be eligible. Eligibility will depend upon your rating and how much your service-connected disabilities prevent you from working.
Veterans that cant work from PTSD may be eligible for both Individual Unemployability and Social Security Disability. Remember, both benefits are completely separate from each other. Each benefit system has different eligibility guidelines. It is possible to be approved for one benefit and denied the other benefit. They each require different evidence as well.
If you cant work from your PTSD, talk to the Individual Unemployability lawyers at Woods & Woods. Our law firm has handled thousands of PTSD claims for veterans that cant work. Our law firm fights for veterans that cant work from PTSD every day.
In this video, a VA disability attorney explains how veterans with PTSD can obtain Individual Unemployability:
Records To Have Available
It can help to have both military records and records of your own communications to help jog your memory. You can request a copy of personnel records and service medical records from the military, and these records will help you remember dates and other details of what happened. Read Nolo’s article about how to obtain your records.
Ask friends and family members for any letters you sent them while in the service, and check your email account for any messages you sent describing what you experienced. If you keep a diary, it can be helpful to refer to it.
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Worried About A Loved One With Ptsd
n many cases, it is not the veteran themselves who initially acknowledges the need for help, but their spouse, children, family members, or friends who become worried after recognizing the signs and symptoms of PTSD in their loved one.
PTSD may not only be disabling to the affected veteran, but also cause their relationships with everyone in their lives to suffer as well. For those searching for what to do when a loved one is a military veteran with PTSD, please know one important fact first:
Its okay that youre scared. Its perfectly understandable, normal, and acceptable to feel worried, frustrated, and angry when dealing with the effects of Military Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on a formerly happy home.
A returning servicemember with PTSD may become emotionally distant or irrationally angry, withdraw physically and/or emotionally from those they love, isolate themselves, or self-medicate through drug or alcohol use.
Who Qualifies For Veterans Disability Benefits
In order to qualify for any type of veterans disability benefits, certain criteria must be met. First, the veteran must currently have a medically diagnosed disease or disability, which may include a mental illness or mental disorder such as PTSD. Second, there must have been a triggering incident during active military, naval, or air service. Third, the veteran must prove a causal connection between the military service and the current injury or disease, otherwise known as showing that the disability is “service-connected.”
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How Do Veterans File A Ptsd Claim
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The United States Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that one in five former soldiers suffer from combat-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Heres what you need to know if youre considering filing a claim with the VA.
A wide variety of benefits are available for those diagnosed with the condition, however, the claims process itself can be complicated and stressful. This step-by-step guide will help you get to grips with the benefits system.
To complete the process you will need to think about your experiences of combat trauma, and it is likely you will need to document every incident you feel may have contributed to your current state of mind. You are strongly encouraged to submit as much evidence as possible to help with your claim.
Quick Guide Of Va Ptsd Ratings
Once you have undergone the C& P exam, the VA will review the findings along with any additional evidence in your claim. The VA rates your PTSD condition using 38 CFR § 4.130, Diagnostic code 9411, which is a schedule of ratings used for mental disorders. This schedule helps adjudicators assign your PTSD a rating that will range anywhere from 0 to 100% with rating thresholds of 10%, 30%, 50%, and 70%. These rating levels describe the level ofimpairment, frequency, severity, and duration of mental health disability due to mental health conditions like PTSD.
10% Your PTSD symptoms are sporadic, or medication minimizes or stops them altogether.
30% Symptoms of your PTSD condition are manageable but more frequent and interfere with your ability to perform your job, though you can still function satisfactorily.
50% At this threshold, the VA will focus more on actual symptoms where the previous two ratings assessed effects of PTSD on your daily life.
You will likely receive a 50% rating if your PTSD includes some of the below symptoms: Judgment, memory, and/or thought impairment Impaired speech
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Some Experts Now Think That Most Veterans Who Served Active Duty During Wartime Will At Some Point Suffer From Ptsd
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs , Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is the most common mental health problem suffered by troops returning from combat. If you are a veteran of the United States Armed Forces, and have developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of your service, you are likely eligible for veterans disability benefits.
Why Use A Dbq
Keeping in mind that the primary purpose of a DBQ is to establish the degree of your impairment, using the DBQ can typically yield a more objective and accurate rating from the VA.
A VA C& P Doctor is either paid by the VA , or paid pursuant to a contract with the VA.
Point is they know who butters their bread.
Their relationship and their loyalty in that relationship is often to their employer.
This is going to be a bitter pill for many of you to swallow the VA Claims process is supposed to be non-adversarial, and it can be hard to believe that a doctor would put his employer ahead of his patient. A lot of times, those interests align, but it is not always so.
One VA Regional Counsel whose name I am not going to mention told me that they are instructed to tell VAMC doctors NOT to offer opinions in VA service connection claims, because such opinions are conflicts of interest.
Im not saying this happens a lot of the time but it happens enough of the time.
A private doctor, on the other hand typically has a more intimate, long-standing and personal familiarity with your condition and the desire to heal or treat you if possible.
For these reasons, you are much more likely to get a fair and objective although not always favorable review of your medical condition from your Treating Physician than a VA C& P Doctor or VA Contract examiner.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Service
Anyone who has gone through combat or an event that causes feelings of intense fear or helplessness can develop PTSD. This includes combat veterans and survivors of terrorist attacks, serious accidents, and physical or sexual assault. Strong emotions caused by the event create changes in the brain. The symptoms of PTSD usually start soon after the life-threatening event, but they may occur months or years later and continue for years, making it difficult to continue with daily activities.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs , signs that a veteran could be suffering from PTSD include:
- Reliving a traumatic event
- Avoiding situations that remind you of the event
- Feeling numb or withdrawn
- Physical symptoms
PTSD is the most prevalent mental health disorder resulting from combat. PTSD claims have increased sharply. From 1999 to 2007, the number of veterans receiving compensation benefits for PTSD went from 120,000 to nearly 300,000, according to the VA.
While the VA pays disability benefits to former servicemembers who have been diagnosed with service-related PTSD, it is unwise to take on the VA bureaucracy by yourself. It can take months or even years before you get the benefits you are entitled to without the help of a knowledgeable attorney who understands the VA claims system.
Compensation And Pension Exams
After filing a VA disability claim for PTSD, VA typically schedules the veteran for a compensation and pension exam. VA uses C& P exams to determine if a nexus exists and to evaluate the severity of a veterans symptoms to decide a disability rating.
It is essential to go to every scheduled C& P exam, as VA may deny a veterans claim if they fail to attend an exam. If a veteran is unable to attend an exam, they should inform VA as soon as possible. If they accidentally miss an exam, they should be sure to contact VA to try to reschedule.
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What Happens After Va Grants Service Connection For Ptsd
Once a veteran establishes service connection for their PTSD claim, the battle isnt over. The veteran must do what he can to make sure the VA gives him the correct compensation.
Compensation is based on the rating VA assigns a veteran . This rating is based on how severe the veterans PTSD symptoms are.
Because the ratings are based on the veterans symptoms, its important to have medical records. These records should detail the symptoms the veteran suffers, and how they affect the veterans life.
Again, this is another area where having medical opinions is crucial to building a strong case. The max rating is 100%, but this is hard to get. A lot of veterans end up with a 70% rating and unemployability because they cannot work.
The VA will use a C& P exam to help them determine what the appropriate rating is. A veteran should review the PTSD rating criteria that VA uses. The veteran should discuss with family and friends how they see PTSD affecting the veteran. This will give the veteran evidence he needs to assure the C& P examiner as a full picture of his problems.
Do You Need Help Appealing Your Va Claim
Veterans can work with an advocate at Veterans Health Group to help them understand their options if their disability claims are rejected, denied, or delayed. After serving the United States and defending the liberties Americans hold dear, veterans deserve to have the veterans disability benefits that will help them live full and dignified lives. Call Veterans Health Group today at 855-8992 to speak to an advocate who can help you.
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Va Classified You As Permanently And Totally Disabled
Permanent and total disability is a special classification used by VA when it believes that a veterans condition results in a total disability that is reasonably certain to continue throughout the life of the disabled veteran.
Once you receive this classification, your rating is mostly safe. Only in very rare situations, such as fraud, can VA lower the rating of a veteran who has a permanent and total disability.
I Think I Am Disabled Due To Ptsd Caused By Military Service What Can I Do
Service-connected disability for PTSD is determined by the Compensation and Pension Service. C& P is an arm of VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration: Compensation. This decision is not made by the providers who care for you in VA’s PTSD clinics and Vet Centers. The process for making the decision involves several steps:
- A formal request must be filed using forms provided by the VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration.
- After all the forms are submitted, you must complete interviews about your:
- social history .
- psychiatric status .
The forms and information about the application process can be obtained from Benefits Officers at any VA medical center, outpatient clinic, or regional office.
The process of applying for a VA disability for PTSD can take several months. It can be confusing and quite stressful. Veterans Service Organizations can help Veterans and family members with VA disability claims. VSOs provide Service Officers at no cost. Service Officers know all about every step in the application and interview process. They can provide practical help and moral support. Some Service Officers are experts in helping Veterans with PTSD disability claims.
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