TBI question

Cj4n

PEB Forum Regular Member
PEB Forum Veteran
Registered Member
When my husband was going through the med board he claimed TBI and the c&p examiner didn’t seem to understand what he was saying about how/why he is claiming this (partial language barrier I think). So the c&p examiner said nope you don’t have one and it was listed in his ratings as ‘not propsed service connected’ because she said no. He just medically retired and had his first VA appointment with his Dr there. They reviewed all sorts of stuff with him and are sending him to actually be evaluated for TBI because they feel apparently it is a definite possibility due to his deployments and how he answered their questions I guess.
My question is if this TBI clinic does testing and decides yes he has one (is this even how it works??) does he have to do a VARR to have it reconsidered or too bad because they didn’t find it service connected in the first place? We’re already learning that CRSC was never explained to him (us) during this process and now going back through that as well to gather everything and write everything up to submit. I thought the hard part was all over now that he is retired and we were done doing more more more paperwork. :( Any thoughts, advice, suggestions...much appreciated.
 
When my husband was going through the med board he claimed TBI and the c&p examiner didn’t seem to understand what he was saying about how/why he is claiming this (partial language barrier I think). So the c&p examiner said nope you don’t have one and it was listed in his ratings as ‘not propsed service connected’ because she said no. He just medically retired and had his first VA appointment with his Dr there. They reviewed all sorts of stuff with him and are sending him to actually be evaluated for TBI because they feel apparently it is a definite possibility due to his deployments and how he answered their questions I guess.
My question is if this TBI clinic does testing and decides yes he has one (is this even how it works??) does he have to do a VARR to have it reconsidered or too bad because they didn’t find it service connected in the first place? We’re already learning that CRSC was never explained to him (us) during this process and now going back through that as well to gather everything and write everything up to submit. I thought the hard part was all over now that he is retired and we were done doing more more more paperwork. :( Any thoughts, advice, suggestions...much appreciated.
Since your husband is now in receipt of his DoVA official ratings as a military disabled veteran due to his completion of the DoD IDES process (I assumed IDES not LDES), he has up to one year from the date on the VA decision letter by the DoVA D-RAS to submit a DoVA Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to appeal any VA rating decision. Indeed, initially by requesting a VARR with supporting medical evidence and/or medical documentation would seem to receive a faster decision by the DoVA Rating Agency.

At this point in time, if there now exist supporting medical evidence and/or medical documentation for the TBI contention then requesting a VARR should probably be your first option. As such, you will need to closely monitor the progress of the VARR until its completion hopefully within one year after the date on the DoVA official ratings decision letter in order to not miss the opportunity to submit a DoVA NOD appeal there afterwards.

Otherwise, in my experienced opinion, it may be best to wait (up to the one year limitation) before submitting the DoVA NOD appeal until there exist medical evidence and/or medical documentation to support the previously claimed TBI contention. It seems that your husband's VAMC Primary Care Provider (PCP) is recommending a TBI referral for a further detailed TBI evaluation; no worries and good deal. Either upon the receipt of an official TBI diagnosis and/or the accumulation of medical documentation in support of a TBI medical condition, then submit the DoVA NOD appeal immediately within one year of the date on the DoVA decision letter from the DoVA D-RAS.

Moreover, it's important to note that if there were any additional medical conditions not claimed during the IDES process or upon becoming a military disabled veteran then your husband should submit a new DoVA disability claim via eBenefits for faster processing. As such, your husband needs to submit the new DoVA disability claim within one year after his departure from the military so that the additional medical conditions are automatically assumed to be military service connected by the DoVA Rating agency. After one year of being separated from the military, there needs to be medical evidence and/or medical documentation to prove military service connection of any claimed medical condition.

Nonetheless it may seem burdensome at this point albeit it's in your husband & your best interest to ensure the receipt of any federal disability compensation benefits (i.e., SSA SSDI) and/or military disability compensation benefits (i.e., DoVA, DFAS CRSC) as a military disabled veteran upon meeting the qualification criteria. Also, please don't forget about any State/County/local government programs for military disabled veterans (i.e., no cost vehicle registration for disabled plates/placards, free or discounted fishing/hunting license, property tax exemption or reduction, etc.) and civilian organizations which offer military discounts (i.e., Lowe's and Home Depot at 10%, Burger King at 10%, Military Star Card purchases at 10%, etc.). Take care!

Thus, I quite often comment that "possessing well-informed knowledge is truly a powerful equalizer!"

Best Wishes!
 
Thank you! This is all good information and I will be sure we keep all info we gather and file within one year. I appreciate the knowledge of the great people on this site. :)
 
Re: Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC)

You can download a significant amount of information pertaining to CRSC at this LINK: Supplement to CRSC Information

Ron
 
Re: Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC)

You can download a significant amount of information pertaining to CRSC at this LINK: Supplement to CRSC Information

Ron
When I try to follow that link there is nothing there. It says across the top ‘No permission to download’. I would absolutely love any information you can give as we’re going in to this not knowing much. Thanks!
 
I just opened it and asked another retiree to attempt to download it. They had no problem.

Here is a sampling; there is much more:


CRSC for Chapter 61 Retirees with less than 20 years AD


Combat Related Special Compensation for Chapter 61 (disability) retirees is the lesser of

--a. the dollar amount of the longevity portion of the DoD disability retired pay

or

--b. the dollar amount of VA compensation for combat related disabilities (i.e., service approved percentage mirrors the rates found in the VA compensation tables.)
Note: Active duty time is used to determine the longevity portion. Reservists can use their total career retired points and divide by 360 to determine the active duty equivalent factor.
Also, the CRSC amount will be reduced by residual retired pay (after VA offset) if any.


CRSC Websites

DFAS: https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/crsc.html


Army: https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/CRSC


Air Force: http://www.afpc.af.mil/Combat-Related-Special-Compensation


Navy/USMC:


http://www.secnav.navy.mil/mra/CORB/Pages/CRSCB/default.aspx


USCG: https://www.uscg.mil/ppc/ras/CRDP-CRSC-News.asp


Ron
 
Last edited:
Cj4n,

Warrior644 detected the reason for your downloading problem.

"...[the] hyperlink opens up a webpage in the "Resources" section of the PEB Forum and displays a "No permission to download" message in the upper right corner albeit a "Log in" will be required to gain access to any of the resources material. "

"That said, it seems that an individual needs to be a "Registered Member" of the PEB Forum in order to obtain automatic access to the "Download" button which is then displayed in the upper right corner of the "Resources" webpage upon a successful 'Log in'."

---------

Registration is free.

Ron
 
I assumed since I was logged in here that I just was there too but apparently I needed to re log in. Sometimes the easiest things sneak by me. Thanks again.
 
Thank you! This is all good information and I will be sure we keep all info we gather and file within one year. I appreciate the knowledge of the great people on this site. :)
Indeed, you are welcome! Keep moving onwards and take care! :)

Thus, I quite often comment that "possessing well-informed knowledge is truly a powerful equalizer!"

Best Wishes!
 
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