Jim Strickland's Mailbag: Volume #40 for 2009
NOTE: Letters in my mailbag are reprinted just as they come to me. Spelling and grammar are left as is and only small corrections are made to improve readability, ensure anonymity or delete expletives that may offend some readers. This is not legal advice. You should always seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified in Veterans' law before you make any decisions about your own benefits.
06.30.09
Letter:
Jim,
It was refreshing to run across your site and as a 55 y.o. Vietnam-era service connected veteran I was comforted to see your advice for unemployable vets who have gotten worse to stay on UI. I left the
USN with service-connection which worsened until I was ruled 90% service disabled. With the help of the DAV I petitioned for unemployability and received it in 02/96. Even though my symptoms have worsened (I've developed bi-lateral foot drop due to a service-connected spinal injury which clearly would give me the extra 10% for 100%) I was advised by the DAV to let "sleeping dogs lie" (as you advised in your column) and just leave my 12 year old rating as is: additionally, I still receive regular treatment.
Unfortunately, I'm trying to find information currently for which the local DAV is not responding (their Oakland office seems to have declined in the NSO officer quality since they helped me in '96). My landlord wants me to move from my flat of 25 years in SF yet rental law protects me. As a disabled person SF law requires him to refund my security deposit and to pay me an additional 8K amount to help me relocate as rents have tripled since I moved in here. As an incentive he wants to gift me the max gift amount of 12K (which I will desperately need to find a place near my doctors at the SFVAMC).
SSA is told me they were uninterested in unearned income and the IRS is only interested for tax purposes if my landlord gifts me more than 12,000.00 in 1 year. My landlord is not required (and won't because the $ comes from his nontaxable reverse mortgage fund) to claim the gift on his taxes. I'm too fearful to talk to the VA directly. It is a true gift to assist my relocation for which I am not providing any work or services to receive. I can't seem to get an answer from the DAV these days as to whether this could hurt my UI - I'd rather not move if it does. I'm searching the net but only come up with hits for UI + Gifts relative to the pharmacy, co-payments and non-service connected vets. Can you please tell me if a service-connected vet (90%) like me needs to be concerned about this gift? I don't/can't work and I never earn one iota of earned income.
Thank you in advance and Bless you for your help to vets.
Reply:
Take the money. NEVER ask the VA anything like that. You'll get the wrong answer and then you'll try to work with them and you'll get more wrong answers. Now you have a source for information about all things VA as well as a new friend.
Your VA disability is awarded to you for the degree of the disability and is not income specific. As you are rated 100% under the IU rules you can't work at "gainful employment" and earn any more than poverty level...about $10,000.00.
However, if you win the Lotto, it will not affect your disability compensation. I get urgent emails all the time from Las Vegas when nervous veterans roll 'em high and suddenly have an extra $50,000.00 in their pockets. Some want to give it back! (I lived there for a time and never had that luck. Just damn.) VA doesn't care.
The theory is simple...no matter the size of the gift or winnings, your degree of disability doesn't change...and that's why you have the compensation.
Keep in mind that you aren't 90%...you're a 100% disabled veteran. You just used the IU path to achieve that. There is no difference in money or benefits. I'm IU and I believe it to be the safer (and thus better) of all.
Pension is different and a lot of people are confused by the two. Pension is awarded to veterans who are not service connected and are also very low income. Pension is often the final safety net for a vet and if he earns more than poverty level, he isn't eligible.
Bottom line...you don't need to be a bit concerned about VA.
I hope this comforts a bit. I also wonder if you aren't eligible for some other benefits? We should talk about Aid & Attendance and Homebound when you're up to it.
Letter:
Jim,
I am writing due to a problem that we are currently having with the VA. My husband is 100%disabled with social security, and 60%-30% due to unemployability. They have given him 100%. Due to a problem with the mail, they have stated that since he failed to mail in his employment questionare, they are taking the 30%. He has been on compensation since 2000, but hasnt held a job since the early 90s. Also he has been treated for the past two or three years for high blood pressure with a medicine called hctz. He developed skin problems and was sent to a specialist who diagnosed him with lupus due to the medicine he was given. Can we do anything about that. His condition has gotten considerably worse. I have contacted the Ky dept of Veteran affairs as well as Disabled American Veterans but everything seems to be falling on deaf years. My husband also wears 2 hearing aids that have been amplified twice. I am really disappointed with the Dept of Veteran Affairs. Is there anything we can do. I have mailed copies to Ky Dept of Veteran Affairs and am in the process of writing the DAV and my congressman. He needs an increase for his current disability and a new claim filed for his lupus which was the doctors error. Could lupus be connected to his service? He was a Hawk Missle Systems Operator USMC, in Jacksonville Fla. He served from 1973 to 1977. We would so much appreciate any advice. Thank you
Reply:
The missing form, the VA 21-4140, isn't at all unusual. We've written about this on VA Watchdog many times. I'm going to insert some links that you may click so that you can read those articles and have a better understanding of how to deal with this. In a nutshell, you must download and print the form, complete it as you normally would and send it to them in certified mail.
Along with the form enclose a brief letter that tells them, "I disagree with your proposal to lower my benefit rating. You did not send me a VA Form 21-4140 thus I did not know that I was required to file one with you."
These articles will explain more. Click on:
The skin condition is probably subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) and is a well known complication / side effect of treating high blood pressure with the antihypertensive agent hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).
Once recognized by the doctor, it's likely that HCTZ was discontinued and that he was given some blood tests and so on to check for any serious side effects. While SCLE can become a very serious problem, it isn't usually.
If you believe that all that should be done is being done to address the complication, then you should simply pay close attention to the treating physicians and accept that it happens that sometimes medicines have side effects.
If you aren't pleased with how he's treated or if you believe that the condition was misdiagnosed or that he is becoming very ill, then you should proceed to filing an 1151 claim and begin consultations with a lawyer who is experienced with VA law. There are many fine lawyers advertising on VA Watchdog dot Org or I can introduce you to someone to review your situation with you.
As he is currently rated at 100% Individual Unemployability (IU), there isn't any other path today for him to receive an increase in his rating.
I would advise that you do not write to anyone else but the VA regional Office where his folder resides. If you follow those instructions above, his 100% rating should continue uninterrupted. Although I don't know when you received the "Proposal To Reduce", you have a short amount of time to respond to that as I described for you and that's where you should focus your energy.
Letter:
Jim,
I just got a letter from VA to go for rating and I did but now my Boss at work said if I got a Rating from VA he would have to go to HR and find out what he needs to do about it. (He is a Ass) What do you think about this?
Reply:
That's an interesting response from your boss. Depending on what you do for a living, he or she may have a point. It has the potential of being very complex.
Your boss may be a know-nothing who is trying to jerk you around or he may be aware that a disability rating could put a limitation on your ability to fulfill the demands written in your job description.
For example, if you're a police officer and carry a weapon 24x7 and your VA rating is for PTSD, you may have a problem. If your job requires loading containers that weigh 250 pounds but your VA rating is for a back injury, you will have an issue to deal with. As our society has steadily become more litigious, employers are becoming acutely aware that they must protect themselves. If you let them know that you have a disability rating of 60% and that in your plea for the rating you've said that you can't accomplish certain physical tasks, there can be a conflict there. You have to be careful of telling VA one thing and your employer another.
