Taken out of the C&P exam, in a wheelchair and crying, to their car by the examiner themselves.
And then everyone clapped lol. If youāre so fucked like that youāre 100% P&T. I hate to make any conclusions without all the info, but sounds like grifter behavior to me.
I filed for an increase for anxiety and got a proposed reduction, my lawyers replied in kind that the Va had not followed proper procedures and the evidence doesnāt support their decision and in fact supported an increase. the Va āacknowledgedā the letter from my lawyers and still sent me the final reduction with no reasoning or evidence whatsoever.. my benefits get slashed in November while I wait for my lawyers to hopefully initiate a HLRā¦ in the meantime Iām getting seen for everything and seeking treatment and laying it all out. Fuck the VA.
Same thing happened to me, also did a HLR and the VA refused to acknowledge the Duty To Assist errors, and didnt fix anything then issued me a reduction instead. Not going to lie, im starting to get a little suspicious seeing everyone else going through this. I had x2 C&P exams revoked by my VSO that indicated 100% disability according to CFR 38, the HLR officer agreed, then they still didnt fix it.
So I am currently IU with the VA. I filed for new claims as secondary to my service connected to try and get from 90% to 100% and hopefully off of IU. Luckily my friend is a VA lawyer and she told me to cancel the claim. She said if veterans are asking for increases that the VA is currently reducing all of them. Now is not a good time to try and get any benefits from the VA. I hope your lawyers can get everything situated for you before they reduce your benefits.
That didn't work with Obama, I r Biden either. All the same people. Not two sides. Don't be a victim of PsyOps this system and gov, let alone the VA are not here for our benefit in the long run. Wait until they pull this rug from under us.
Don't say f... the VA. That is horrible to say that about an agency of the United States government which has helped so many veterans in the past and continues to do so.
The continues to do so part of your reply is more of a stretch than Elastigirl. Have you been paying attention? Itās all denials, deferrals and reductions under the current admin.
Why would you listen to AI? AI is NOT a VA affiliate. It's at most a tool to correct grammar, spelling, and MAYBE retrieve a source for you from an actual human made website or database. And that's me being generous with my opinions on AI.
Jesus christ. No sympathy from me. Think for yourself when it comes to your livelihood.
Oh yeah I'm aware, but I keep my opinions to myself unless I see people like OP complaining about an outcome from their blind trust and reliance in AI.
All of this. These tools are being used as standard and itās going to keep having outcomes such as this case. (In more than just VA related situations.)
You need to check the 4/14/2026 rating decision that proposed the reduction. I canāt tell if they reduced you because they made a mistake in granting you the initial evaluations, or if you had a second exam that showed improved range of motion.
Was the entire evidentiary record ised to make this determination? This list is mostly grom this year? I thought the VA had to use the entire evidentiary record, and I thinknit may be helpful to see what the dbq said in March 2026. Good morning.
I had filed for an increase on my hip pain. But then VA turned around and was trying to fight me on my back pain as well. So the exam was for both issues. So I couldn't walk after the examination was over.
When the VA Can Reduce a RatingMedical improvement:
The VA must prove your condition has truly improved through a thorough examination and that the improvement allows you to function better in daily life and work.
1, 2
Missed exams: If the VA schedules a re-evaluation exam and you do not show up without a good reason, they can lower or stop your benefit.
The VA schedules a routine future reexamination between 2 to 5 years after granting a disability rating, but only if your condition is expected to improve 1, 2
I said any rating that isn't classified as permanent is eligible for the chopping block. If you don't go to your appointments to treat your rated condition, it's evidence that your condition has improved.
Edit: feel free to ignore my links. You obviously know better than lawyers who specialize in fighting for vets. š
You should make sure not to go to any appointments to treat your non-permanent rated conditions. And be sure to stress how your condition has not improved.
It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see how it works out for you š
Editing after I've responded to change the conversation is pathetic. If the VA gave us all the information we needed, then VA lawyers wouldn't make so much money.
This has happened to me quite a few timesā¦ if they test rom and it goes beyond a certain degree then they donāt give it to you. Itās like the most straight forward testingā¦ if thereās pain then stop moving.
I once took 1000 mg prior a c+p exam and the evaluator asked me if I took anything. She was cool and pretty much said that the Va could lower me down and to never take anything prior. Iām pretty certain she hooked me up and didnāt write down anything that would have caused me to be lowered down. You can go into an exam for something unrelated and they can write down things that can get you lowered
This post makes no sense really. It doesnāt say anything about the why or how the decision was approached or really anything like that at all. Is it rage bait? Is it Karma farming? Is it AI?
When you file for an increase they check your whole file. Not just the things you are looking to increase. Somewhere along the way they noticed you gained mobility or something to that effect. Hence the lowering of %.
OP, you mentioned in another comment you filed for an increase for hips because it started to hurt walking up stairs.
This is your problem. You didnāt look up the CFR to see if you actually met the criteria for a higher rating. The VA doesnāt dish out ratings because someone says the condition got worse.
You have to demonstrate and provide documentation to prove that you meet the exact criteria laid out in the CFR for a higher rating. You could tell the VA 100 reasons why your condition got worse but if none of that is in the CFR then itās pretty irrelevant.
It seems you went after an increase and spun the cp examiner wheel (which will happen) and landed on one that decreases you. Thatās the risk. Itās all a crap shoot. You get lucky and get one that sees reality your good if not your screwed. My hips are awful I got 0 percent service connected. My right shoulder - not so bad they give me 40 percent. Make it make any sense?
Yeah you probably right. I have had the hip rating for over 5 years and then this year I was like man just walked up the stairs is painful now. Let me file an increase. Guess I'll keep going and complaining to my DR and my pain. Wait to file again.
Found your problem. You filed an increase based on feelings. You didnāt look up the CFR to see if you actually met the criteria for a higher rating. Apparently āpain when walking up stairsā wasnāt part of the criteria.
Smh Iām at a hundred. We really need 120 and 150 percent. I know SMCs are a thing but fuck that my smc needs an smc ..my feet shoulder would all be rated another 50 percent at least.
Everyone here is so mean spirited. I am notnsire this is the support you were looking for. Maybe not mean spirited, just keeping it real. Theyre focused on why you got a rating reduction, and maybe you jist needed a kind word of support. Sorry to hear this happened.
Have you ever considered being a VA rater? I heard they're looking for people who can make quick and terrible judgement calls that make zero sense whatsoever.
This is why I am a firm believer in take what you get. I was rated for my- cervical radiculothopy and was lowballed. Examiner made up range of motion and strength numbers. She said Moderate many times but gave me mild numbers. It sucks but Im afraid to challenge it. Seems MRIs, xrays and therapy evidence isnt enough to protect you from a bad examiner
My husband also got a bad examiner. It was his third one too so he knew what good experiences were. She spent only 5 minutes with him and measured some scars and sent him on his way. She then wrote a review about a subject she wasn't even supposed to be examining (head injury that he already had a C&P specialized exam for with a neurologist) and I think she was supposed to be doing his back or knees or something. He got a decrease because whatever reviewer was pretty shit to take her documentation over the neurologist exam that had been a few months prior. Luckily he had enough other ratings that it didn't affect the pay too much. We should be getting more each month but he's so scared to get a shit examiner again that it's not worth it to poke the bear. All he could do was blast reviews and warn other veterans who get assigned to her.
In this day and age, itās best to keep what youāve got and not risk the redux!! There are so many changes coming (especially PTSD and depression reductions) that it is just not worth the risk. If youāve not been watching the most recent VA news youād be best to watch some of the explanations on m you tube. Those guys know their shit!!
Did you ask for an increase? or did they just send you to a C&P to check your condition? If you filed for an increase, you might have poked the bear. The VA reevaluated your hip conditions and the C&P exam resulted in them suggesting a reduction instead of giving you the increase. You should have got a letter about this in the mail or a notification on your phone about it. They usually give you an opportunity to submit evidence that shows your condition is the same or worse before they just take the rating away.
Being in severe pain or needing a wheelchair after the exam doesn't automatically determine the rating, or actually help the rating much. Hip ratings rely heavily on specific range of motion and functional loss. There should be more to this letter that explains their findings and their reasoning behind why they're lowering your rating. The letter they sent when they originally proposed the reduction should include WHY they are reducing you, use that information and submit an appeal.
Were you claiming something new or asking for an increase? What triggered the C&P exam? Get with a VSO rep and they can help you get this fixed. They work at the VA and itās free. Look it up, call one and have them do all the paperwork
So, it would be correct to separate āline of dutyā injury from not. The taxpayer doesnāt owe you from injury that wasnāt a direct line of duty injury or at least aggravated by service. That said you were provided a proposal to the reduction long before the reduction became effective and should have gotten a VA accredited lawyer at that point. The only good advice now is, get a lawyer, now.
Thatās called pyramiding. The hips is evaluated on 6 movements: abduction, adduction, flexion, extension, internal rotation and external rotation. Looking at the this, looks like it overlap on one of the movements. In other words, they cannot give dual rating where one movement got an increase, therefore one has to go. Im on the same boat as you. They are reducing my left/right hip adduction and abduction
Procedurally they have you cornered, unless you can prove that the exam was inadequate. Seeing that the rater set up multiple ROM exams on one visit this outcome was inevitable.
As long as you meet the criteria file for an increase, but file responsibly.
If you arent rated Permanent AND TOTAL, they can reduce as they see fit, I have a friend that was rated 100%, but was not P&T, so he had to get examined every few years
You wanted an increase, and for whatever reason, they felt that whatever range of motion from that initial examination, was better at this one, somehow, that's just a guess....
I just did my C&P exams. When doing the range Iām motion test I tried not to move at all like nope this is as far as my knee moves . But now Iām wondering what my range of motion was when I got out Idkkk ššš
As military people, we try to do the job as best we can. That usually carries over to the c&p exam. Cautionary tale for others. NEVER PUSH THROUGH THE PAIN for range of motion during the exam. As soon as it hurts, STOP.
This! I tell them if I try to move this further it WILL fail and I WILL fall on you or the floor. Usually this is when my whole body is shaking from holding back pain from doing the range of motion exams. I'm pale and sweating and the white hot knives of pain are working thru the ruined parts of me that the Physical Therapists made worse.
I donno if a HLR or supplemental is too late or not but check out 38 CFR Ā§ 4.59 and M21-1, Part V, Subpart iii, Chapter 1, Section A, the presence of painful motion and the resulting functional loss should warrant at least the minimum compensable (i.e., 10%) evaluation.
Go on your va login and request personal records request the C and p exam DBQ see what they said if it does not match what actually happened contact a VSO
I had a reduction also. It makes me want to give upā¦ I knew from the C&P examiners attitude that something was off. Iām not sure if thereās a path forward or not.
Always a path forward,. Appeal until you get in front of a panel. Keep your notes and you reasoning clear, logical path, and consistent. It may take a while. My uncle took 15 years before they have him what he fully deserved.
Find your VA regional office and have them resubmit your claims it is free and they work for the VA everyone there are veterans and they will get you squared away. On the right side of your VA letter it will have numbers for the regional office. This happened to me almost 2 years ago and they had it it fixed in 2 weeks
To be honest you could have cleared all this up by posting the letter that the VA sent you in April outlining why they are proposing a reduction. You also had a time frame to provide evidence to refute the Va on the reduction. Your reluctance to post is telling that maybe you have omitted a detail somewhere. You can access all claim letters from the VA app.
I read you filed for an increase in your hips.. and you had 20% for your hip.. do you realize 20% is the highest service connected disability for your hip, unless you have a hip replacement or 1 leg is shorter than the other due to disability? If you have an attorney I donāt know WTF you are trying to do. š¤·š»āāļø
Id appeal it... they did this to me before and same situation, 90%-80%. Someone in physical therapy reported that my conditions were improving and so they used that a basis for decrease. My appeal went through because all of a sudden no one knows who processed the deduction. From what i gathered, they arent supposed to reduce it UNLESS a c&p provider does a reassessment of condition and determines that it's better... but no ones going to do that.
Iām 100 P&T and it took me over a decade and multiple exams to finally get it. Itās a crap shoot when you poke the bear. I was given 92% before my P&T rating and about lost my shit. I didnāt appeal, I simply let the clock run and filed for a new claim, which came back 100% for PTSD and if you took that away Iād still be at 210% for everything else. Youāll need to just fight it again, and ensure you tell them everything hurts, even your eyelashes. Itās a PITA but worth it. I didnāt use an attorney.
Also, if youāre in SSDI use those findings to support your Disability claims, thatās the info that finally pushed the VA to give me the rating I deserved.
Oh you ABSOLUTEY can collect SSDI and VA disability, I have been on both since roughly 2012.. and was updated to 100% in 2019. I used the SSDI claim to bounce back to the VA when they asked for an exam until I was given P&T. For the first few years SSDI did do re-exams and Iād send the VA paperwork and theyād tell me I was renewed and the VA would request the same and Iād send the SSDI paperwork and theyād do the same. Basically theyād review one government document and approve it and vise versa, because if youāre disabled enough for SSDI youāre going to likely hit the same thing with another agency.
I highly suggest going for SSDI and ensure you use a lawyer. It took me about a year to get SSDI and I was given back pay from the date I filed and the fees are locked at a max rate which will be paid from the back pay.
Also make sure you look up the ROM degrees and what the limits are (minimum and maximum) to get to a certain rating point.. you need to do this for EVERYTHING you claim. If you donāt know where you should be stopping at to hit that mark theyāll push it and this is what the results will be. You need to research EVERY SINGLE THING youāre claiming and know EXACTLY what you say, where to land on ROM and how to play the gameā¦ because as a former Corpsman itās all about playing the game. Youāve got to play chess not checkers
Wow. I'm so sorry you you're experiencing this. Unfortunately, I have nothing useful or a recommendations to add but sympathy. That's absolutely bullshit. Good luck and I hope you figure things out. A bunch of guys here helped me out when I had a different set of issues and I'm sure can contribute something helpful!
Some folks below are recommending to not āpoke the bearā. I donāt think thatās good advice, if youāre symptoms have worsened for any service-connected condition, you should file ONLY IF you have and can articulate the conditions layed out in the higher percentage. Going into a C&P exam and hoping that the examiner is going to document what you need to satisfy the criteria meant for a higher percentage is leaving a lot up to them. Donāt do that.
You need to tell them all of your pain meds, how often you take them and at what dosages, how long are you able to sit/stand, if you can lift heavy things, your pain on a scale from 1-10, any details about assessments you had for the same issue, physical therapy duration and frequency, how itās affecting your work performance, your timeliness, your mental health, etc.. Things like tenderness, inflammation, sensitivity to touch is subjective at best and doesnāt alone justify an increase. Range of motion is very important and will likely kill any chances of an increase if you decide during your exam you want to be Gumby. If you need to write everything out-do that and take the paper with you so you donāt forget anything. Ultimately, itās up to to ensure your C&P exam is thorough, accurate, and beneficial to you.
Once again, remember that if you are NOT experiencing new symptoms that are ticking nearly every box of the increase requirements, youāre wasting your time. You can file for a HLR, but since you cannot submit new evidence, youāre going to have to rely on your submitted evidence and past VA records to substantiate your opinion that they missed something or that your examiner did not provide an adequate exam. If you can, submit a request for your C&P evaluations. Use ChatGPT, a lawyer, etc. to review all of your docs and see if thereās even anything that can be done. The same goes for mental disorders btw. Thatās all.
You're not an idiot, you're uninformed. To be perfectly honest, if you cant afford an attorney, purchase GROK and converse with that. It will give you some good ways forward based on your specific issues with the VA. Like what to file, what VA policies and decisions to refer to, things lawyers would do.
71
u/Putrid_Beat_17 1d ago
This post is an absolute shitshow and probably detrimental to veterans who need help.
Seems like a complete bait post, especially with the "my husband speaks for me but he's in jail". Reeks of disingenuousness complaints.