Looking for Others Who’ve Been Through Something Similar (BCMR / Medical Separation vs Retirement)

Hey everyone, I’m hoping to connect with anyone who’s been through a situation like mine, or who’s successfully fought for a correction through the BCMR.





I was medically separated from the Army in 2016 as a with just a 10% DoD disability rating. I received VA disability pay immediately after, and was rated 80% by the VA, including 40% for PTSD — now I’m 100% VA as of 2021.





Here’s where the issue is: during my MEB process, I was only evaluated for physical issues. But before my separation date, my mental health provider wrote in my record that I was unfit for duty due to PTSD and other disqualifying psychiatric conditions, citing AR 40-501. That condition was never included in my MEB/PEB rating.





So now I’m trying to go through the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) to have my record corrected to medical retirement, since I should have been rated at 30% or higher, especially with a combat-related PTSD diagnosis.





Has anyone here:





  • Had a condition added to their MEB after it was closed?
  • Had BCMR approve a correction to medical retirement years after separation?
  • Dealt with the Army missing PTSD in their original rating?







Any insight, experience, or advice would mean a lot. I just want to make sure I’m not the only one who went through this. Appreciate you all.
 
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To persuade the ABCMR that the Army's failure to consider your PTSD as part of your medical separation was a material error or an injustice, you will need to show by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) you suffered from PTSD while on active duty (or it was incurred or aggravated during a period of active duty more than 30 days) and (2) the PTSD was unfitting, that is, it prevented you from being able to reasonably perform your duties. It appears you have service treatment records that establish that you were, in fact, diagnosed with PTSD or a behavioral health condition. But the mere presence of a medical diagnosis is not enough to establish that the condition was unfitting. You must produce contemporaneous records that establish the condition prevented you from reasonably performing your duties. Such records typically include evaluation reports, counseling statements, profiles, bars to reenlistment, flags, or service treatment records that document performance issues. Absent proof that the PTSD was unfitting, the likelihood of obtaining relief from the ABCMR is remote. The VA's post discharge determination that you suffered from service connected PTSD or behavioral health issues will not be given any probative weight by the ABCMR, because the ABCMR will take the position that the DoD and VA operate under different statutory and regulatory provisions and the DoD is not bound by VA determinations, particularly with respect to a condition the DoD did not view as unfitting.
 
This was the exact statement from my mental health physician prior to my discharge:

Fitness for Duty:


Patient is not fit to continue with military service. Patient have disqualifying psychiatric conditions which would warrant disposition through medical board channel IAW AR 40-501, paragraph 3-31 through 3-37. SM has completed MEB process for physical issues and need to include psychiatric issues for MEB reconsideration.
 
I started getting seen for my mental health February 2016. My medical separation/decision was complete in March 2016. My mental health physician wrote that note May 2016 and I was discharge or my last day in the military was June 2016.
 
The statement by your MH provider is strong evidence that you suffered from a medical condition that did not meet retention standards, which may be sufficient to meet your burden of showing that your MH condition should have been considered as part of your DES process. But, a conclusory statement by one provider without additional evidence corroborating that the condition prevented you from being able reasonably to perform your military duties is likely to be insufficient to convince the ABCMR that the condition was unfitting and that the Army erred in not considering MH as a rated condition in your separation. There is no reason not to pursue an ABCMR application using the provider's statement as support, but the application has more likelihood of success if you can show through other contemporaneous documents that your MH condition affected your duty performance before your separation, even if not formally identified as a MH condition being the cause. You may want to request your Claims File from VA (known as a C-File) VA Form 20-10206 before proceeding, to see if it contains any service personnel or treatment records you can use as support that your MH condition was unfitting because it affected your duty performance. It can take up to a year for VA to produce the C-File.
 
RetiredAtty said:
The statement by your MH provider is strong evidence that you suffered from a medical condition that did not meet retention standards, which may be sufficient to meet your burden of showing that your MH condition should have been considered as part of your DES process. But, a conclusory statement by one provider without additional evidence corroborating that the condition prevented you from being able reasonably to perform your military duties is likely to be insufficient to convince the ABCMR that the condition was unfitting and that the Army erred in not considering MH as a rated condition in your separation. There is no reason not to pursue an ABCMR application using the provider's statement as support, but the application has more likelihood of success if you can show through other contemporaneous documents that your MH condition affected your duty performance before your separation, even if not formally identified as a MH condition being the cause. You may want to request your Claims File from VA (known as a C-File) VA Form 20-10206 before proceeding, to see if it contains any service personnel or treatment records you can use as support that your MH condition was unfitting because it affected your duty performance. It can take up to a year for VA to produce the C-File.
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VA C file took me a few weeks to receive, once my VA rating was finalized.
 
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