Information on Obtaining Benefits for PTSD
Gary
J, Chenett
PMB#235
828 Rue Royal Street New Orleans, Louisiana 70116-3199
504-595-8949 email fuzzyfrog@2fords.net
RECEIVING DISABILITY FOR PTSD
There are two basic steps to receive a disability from the Veterans Administration for PTSD. The first step is filing
a claim with the VA for PTSD. The second, and most Important, is submitting a stressor letter. Most combat veterans do not trust the government or the VA. This is
understandable considering the treatment most veterans received during and after the Vietnam War. But the VA has
improved in most places, and the benefits are there for the combat veterans. The VA does not go looking for the combat veteran
with PTSD. You mush push aside any bad feelings and make the effort to receive the earned benefits.
FILING A CLAIM
As ridiculous at It may seem, ail combat veterans must not only prove that they were In combat, they must also prove
that they were In the military. This process screens out the phony combat veterans. It is surprising how many combat veterans
have surfaced who were on top secret missions, and of course, there is no record of their even being in the military because
their missions were so secret.
You can file a claim on your own, but there are several veteran’s organizations who will represent you on a
disability claim. The best of these is probably the American Veterans (AMVETS), since their primary purpose Is helping the
veterans file claims for disability. It you do not have an AMVETS office in your area where you can meet with a service officer,
you can call the nearest AMVETS office and tell them you want to file a claim for disability. The AMVETS, will send you a
power of attorney. You sign this paper and send it
back through the mail. This gives the AMVETS your permission to represent you in your claim. The AMVETS opens your claim and
forwards it to the VA regional office in your area. Opening the claim is actually a simple process.
THE STRESSOR LETTER
This is the single most important factor In obtaining disability for the combat veteran. After your claim has been
filed, usually within 30 to 60 days, you will receive a letter from the VA stating that they have received your claim for
PTSD. Then you will be asked to submit a stressor
letter.
This is a written record of combat experiences which you felt were life threatening or have caused you to display symptoms
of PTSD. They will also note that they understand how difficult this can be for some veterans (thinking about war experiences
and writing them down). And for many this is difficult. Some can't write well. Some are to terrified to think in detail about
their war experience.
Chances are the average veteran cannot write a stressor letter that will pass the rating board. Once a stressor letter has been rejected
by the rating board, the process to receive disability can be long and discouraging. Many veterans give up and never receive
the disability they deserve. The VA will tell-you how to write the letter or what details to include. If the letter is rejected,
many combat veterans will give up before appealing the rating board decision. So a veteran must submit a solid stressor letter
to pass the rating board. This is my area of expertise. I know what to put in the letter and how to present it so that the
rating board will grant any where from 10% to 50% disability just from your stressor letter without rejection and VA appeal
hearings. It will be impossible to receive a 100% rating from a stressor letter, but once the VA agrees you are disabled,
you can appeal for a higher percentage.
PTSD IS A RECOGNIZED DISORDER WHICH DOES NOT GO AWAY. THE REACTIONS TO COMBAT STRESS OFTEN BECOMES
A PERMANENT PART OF THE VETERAN'S PERSONALITY.
WHAT COMES NEXT: THE COMP
EXAM
At some point after you file for disability, either before or after you have submitted
your stressor letter, you will receive a letter asking you to come to the nearest VA Hospital in your area for a Compensation Examination. This just means that you are going to speak to a VA
psychiatrist. The psychiatrist will ask you many questions about your background (including your childhood and current social
life) and your war service. The meeting with the doctor will probably last anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes. The VA will also
reimburse you with a small travel allowance for coming.
You
must show
up for this comp exam. If for some reason you can't make it, then call the VA and they will schedule you again. Most of all,
relax. This psychiatrist is not your enemy, and it is his or her job to send a report to the VA regional office as to whether
you show symptoms of PTSD. The psychiatrist Is Impartial. If you show symptoms of PTSD, it will be reported without any favor
toward the VA. So relax and answer questions to the best of your knowledge. Always stress the negative side of your life...never the positive. Just like at the close of the stressor letter. You
can do this and still tell the truth just by avoiding the positive. Here are some things not to say at a Comp Exam.
1. My life is okay. Ifs not or you wouldn't be there.
2. I sometimes hear voices.
Hearing voices can lead to a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and your PTSD claim may be rejected.
3. I am happily married. It
has often been decided that having PTSD automatically means an unhappy marriage. It can but not always.
4. I love my job. I have been
there twenty years. If you have managed to keep one job, it may be determined that you interact normally and do not have
PTSD. You can have one job and still be miserable. It's a matter of survival.
5. I have
lots of friends.
Never admit you have lots of friends. Chances are you don't anyway. At least, not like the friends you made in combat situations
who you can trust with your life.
6. Don't threaten the doctor.
Some veterans scream, yell, and threaten to kill the doctor in an attempt to show symptoms of PTSD. 99% of the time this is
an act and won't help your claim.
WHAT TO INCLUDE
IN A STRESSOR LETTER
1. Name,
Rank. Service Number, Dates of Time in War Zone:
Make sure your current correct address and claim number are at the top of your stressor letter. Begin by re-stating
your name, rank, and service number. Then begin with your war service. Do not mention time spent in the United Slates. Many
veterans ramble on about stateside service, and this has nothing to do with combat stress, if your MOS or specialty was something
other than combat related (supply, motor transport, ate.) but you did not serve in your MOS or specialty, mention it here
because the VA will turn you down unless you prove you were in combat If you were in Special Forces or Recon, etc., don't
go into any detail about stateside training.
2. Were
you wounded?:
If you were wounded Include dates, If possible, and number of times wounded. This refers only to wounds which ware
treated by medics, corpsmen, or doctors for which you received a purple heart and are a matter of record. If you have malaria
or any type malaria fever and were treated for it, mention it also, if you believe it may be in your records.
3. If you
killed the enemy:
Include the times you actually saw the enemy and killed them. Be specific if possible. Don't say something like (my
outfit killed 53 NVA in the fire fight). This is too general. State what you were doing when the enemy was killed and how
it affected you. (I kept firing and I could see them falling as they ran toward us).
4. If
you saw Americans die:
Most combat vets lost close friends in combat. For some vets remembering names is difficult, but this will definitely
help your claim if you can remember the approximate date and names of men in your outfit killed while you were there. If someone killed was your best friend,
mention it and how it affected you. The names will be checked by the VA against KIA lists. If friends were wounded bad enough
to be shipped home, you may mention this and include their names if possible. (This is all verification that you were in combat.
Try to use real names instead of nicknames at all times).
5. If
you saw civilian dead:
In villages, the jungle, or other places. This was traumatic to many combat troops, especially if they had to handle
the bodies. Seeing dead children often has long range effects on combat vets, particularly if the children or civilians were
killed during fire fights or mistaken for the enemy.
6. If
you were on body detail:
Or if you otherwise
handled the bodies of dead Americans, either in the field or in the rear where the bodies were stripped for shipment home.
This often causes extreme trauma to those who handled the bodies.
7. Times
you did not think you would survive:
Incidents when you thought you would not be alive the next day help with a PTSD claim. When you had given up hope
and thought for sure you would be killed with no chance of survival. (Describe in detail).
8. All
incidents of combat:
Small arms fire, fire fights, mortar and rocket attacks, booby traps, mines, artillery, etc. Each time you were in
a life threatening situation whether you were able to return fire or not. (Walking through mine fields, walking point, etc.)
9. Names
of operations or search and destroy:
Remembering names of specific field operations and sweeps can often be helpful because the military often left much
Information out of service records. Some combat troops have very complete service records. Others have had their records lost
or destroyed, or Information was never entered. Any Information you can remember about field operations Is verification of
combat role.
10. How your life has
changed because of the war:
State your problems today because of your war service. Divorce, substance abuse, nightmares, paranoia, trouble holding
jobs, lack of feeling, etc. If you have been in therapy or other treatment, mention this. Stress the negative side of your
life. Mention nothing good that has happened to you. Don’t say you get along great with people and you are happy most
of the lime. Stress that life is a constant struggle due to your combat service, (You used to love fireworks but now when
you hear them you hit the ground. You used to love to go to sporting events but now you can't cope with being in crowds, etc.)
NOTE: These ten points will help you write a stressor letter which will have a good chance of passing the VA rating board.
When writing about combat, write how it affected you personally. Don't write stuff like…(We sat around and ate
dinner and then the sergeant told us a story about his wife and then Joe tried to steal my bean and wieners). Too many vets
go in to detail which Is not important. Begin each segment of combat with the combat and how it affected you. (You were scared.
You thought you were going to die, etc.). Many veterans are afraid to mention certain situations when they killed people for
fear of charges being brought against them. This will not happen. Killings during combat are for survival. The government
would have to prove you killed on purpose without just cause, and in the case of enemy troops and civilians, this is not possible.
Many of these ten
points overlap with each other. You must try to put them in some kind of order. Think about what you want to say for a few
weeks before writing it down. Then try to arrange your thoughts in some kind of order. The best solution is to be brief and
to the point. This is difficult for many veterans, which is why so many veterans with PTSD never follow through with a claim.
The best average length for a stressor letter is not more than four pages single-spaced.
0%
Neurotic symptoms which may somewhat adversely affect relationships with others but which do not cause impairment
of working ability.
10%
The psychoneurotic disorder produces mild social and Industrial Impairment.
30%
The symptoms result in such reduction in Initiative, flexibility, efficiency, and reliability levels as to produce
definite Industrial Impairment There will be definite impairment in the ability to establish or maintain effective and wholesome
relationships with people.
50%
The veteran’s ability to establish or maintain effective or favorable relationships with people is considerably
impaired. By reason of psychoneurotic symptoms the reliability, flexibility, and efficiency levels are so reduced as to result
in considerable industrial Impairment.
70%
The disability severely impairs the veteran’s ability to establish and maintain effective or favorable relationships
with people. The psychoneurotic symptoms are of such severity and persistence that there is severe impairment in the ability
to obtain and retain employment.
100%
The attitudes of
all contacts except the most Intimate are so adversely affected as to result in virtual isolation in the community. Total
Incapacitating psychoneurotic symptoms bordering on gross repudiation of reality with disturbed thought or behavioral processes
associated with almost all daily activities such as fantasy, confusion, panic, and explosions of aggressive energy resulting
in profound retreat from mature behavior will be present. He or she will be demonstrably unable to obtain or retain employment
100-91
Superior functioning
in a wide range of activities. Life's problems never seem to get out of hand, is sought out by others because of his or her many
positive qualities. No symptoms.
90-81
Absent or minimum symptoms (e.g. mild anxiety before an exam),
good functioning in all areas, interested and involved in
a wide range of activities, socially effective, generally satisfied with life, no more than everyday problems or concerns ("e.g.. an occasional argument with family members).
80-71
If symptoms are present, they are transient and expectable reactions to psychosocial stressors (e.g., difficulty concentrating
after family argument); no more than slight impairment in social,
occupational, or school functioning (e.g…
temporarily failing behind in schoolwork).
70-61
Some mild symptoms (e.g., depressed mood
and mild insomnia) OR some difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning (e.g., occasional truancy,
or theft within the household), but generally functioning pretty well, has some meaningful
interpersonal relationships.
60-51
Moderate symptoms (e.g.. flat affect and
circumstantial speech, occasional panic attacks) OR moderate difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning
(e.g., few friends, conflicts with peers or co-workers).
50-41
Serious symptoms (e.g., suicidal
ideation, severe obsessional rituals, frequent shoplifting) OR any serious
impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning (e.g., no friends, unable to
keep a
job).
40-31
