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- Welcome back to Hill & Ponton's VA disability vlog.
I'm Natalia Jofre, a firms manager.
- And I'm attorney Rachel Cheek.
- So last time we talked a lot about PTSD and a 70% rating
and we really got into that
because I guess it's probably
one of the more common ratings, right?
For PTSD.
Even if it's not common, it should be.
A lot of veterans fall within that,
at least that 70% criteria.
- Okay.
So now, today we want to talk
a little bit more about beyond that.
So a hundred percent rating, what would that take?
- Absolutely.
So again, I do want to say for, a lot of times,
throughout this, I'm going to be referring to PTSD.
It is one of the most common conditions that we see
but again, all mental disorders
are rated under the same criteria.
So symptoms that come from depression or anxiety,
other mental disorders,
they would be rated at the same criteria.
- Okay, perfect.
- So it's not impossible to get to a hundred percent,
but it is pretty difficult as we'll see
a lot of these symptoms are very severe
and really impact everyday life to the point
where sometimes you're not able to function.
- Let me just stop you for a second.
When you're saying pretty difficult,
you're saying it in not to minimize it
because obviously PTSD has a significant condition
and disorder.
But when you're saying that,
you're saying if it's only PTSD, right?
So we're not talking about a combination of disabilities.
We're talking about if your only condition is PTSD,
then it can be difficult to get a hundred percent.
- Precisely, yes.
- Okay.
- Thank you for clarifying.
I want to make sure, I want to make sure,
I want to understand too.
Okay, so, but if that is the case,
then what kind of criteria would probably need to be met
for PTSD or any mental disorder I guess?
- So within a hundred percent criteria,
there are symptoms such as persistent delusions
or hallucinations.
And so that's things like your seeing things
that aren't there, you're hearing things,
maybe you're hearing people walk around,
you know you're at your house by yourself.
You're always hearing this.
You're seeing things that aren't really there.
Maybe your spouse is in the room
and is able to tell you, no there's nobody there.
You might still be seeing that thing.
I hear a lot of times people will see shadows move
all the time out of the corners of their eyes,
always on alert.
Another symptom that is considered within this criteria
is danger of hurting oneself or others.
And so we talked a little bit about impaired impulse control
in the last video within that 70% range,
within this, and we also discussed suicidal ideation,
this symptom, again persistent danger of hurting oneself
or others, that's something
where you're not just having violent thoughts
or suicidal thoughts, you're acting on it
or there's a danger of you acting on it.
So this would be someone who's been hospitalized
for suicide or someone who's had attempts.
You don't necessarily have to be hospitalized,
but recurrent attempts over and over,
someone who is having these thoughts of hurting,
maybe their family members sometimes,
you know, this condition so severe
and makes you do things or makes you consider things
that you would never really consider.
So it can be something like that.
Unfortunately a lot of times
there can be domestic violence involved,
and that's a danger, persistent danger of hurting others.
- So having those issues and,
or having those instances documented, it's really important.
- Absolutely.
- So if you have an occasion
where something like that should occur,
is that something you should talk about
at your doctor's appointments or at a C&P Exam?
- Absolutely, you need to be honest.
You have to, you have to let them know what's going on.
Of course obviously if something's ongoing you,
you want to get help as soon as you can.
- Right.
- So it doesn't have to be something where
you're actively, you know, trying to kill yourself.
At the doctors appointment.
- Right, right.
- But it's something where you know,
that this has been a pattern,
it's something that you do need to talk about.
Another criteria that we actually see a lot
that I don't see discussed enough in C&P Exams.
I don't see it addressed.
It's what's called intermittent ability
to perform, an intermittent inability
to perform activities of daily living.
- Okay.
- That's things like showering,
that's things like preparing meals,
you know, getting out of bed.
A lot of times this is something that's common,
especially with depression or depressive symptoms of PTSD.
A lot of times I'll speak to clients
and they'll say, you know, I haven't showered in three days.
I can't be bothered to change my clothes.
I wouldn't eat if my wife didn't check in on me.
So things like that, that's an inability to do those things
because it's, you may be physically able to do those,
but this is considered when your condition,
your mental condition is so severe
that you're just not able to have the motivation to do it.
You're not able to mentally get up the, work up the nerve
to just do these normal day to day activities.
- Things that seem so basic to us, like get out of bed,
you brush your teeth, you,
you know, make yourself some breakfast
or whatever it is that your routine is.
But when it's a struggle just to get out of bed,
it's like, that has such weight, you know, and gravity too.
And it's, it's something that really needs
to be talked about because like you said,
many times, like, unless there was a spouse
or a partner or that's coming in and bringing you in meals
and prompting you to shower,
or prompting you to change your clothes, you wouldn't do it.
And unfortunately the C&P examiner doesn't live with you
nor does the doctor that you regularly see at the VA, right?
And so they need a little,
they need a picture into your, into your world.
They need to know what's going on when you're not there.
Would you say that it helps then for a spouse
or a partner or whoever, significant other
to be present at those exams?
Like will they normally, if they're in,
will they let them into the,
not necessarily for a C&P exam,
cause I don't think that they'll allow them to come in.
But at the medical appointments.
- Absolutely.
- Will they be allowed?
Okay.
- With, I would imagine pretty much all of your providers.
I don't think, I think as long as you're,
you know, sit and give your okay for your spouse
or whoever to come in and sit in and give some information.
I know that provides a lot of context
and in our cases, I know a lot of times,
we'll interview our clients, we'll interview their spouses
or partners or family members as well.
It helps just get a better picture of what's going on.
- Okay.
- And an important thing to talk about
is we're talking about a hundred percent is, again,
this is a very severe, basically the condition is so severe
that it's completely disabling.
A lot of times for the VA
that will raise the question of whether the veteran
is competent to handle their own funds
and that's something that we can address,
I think maybe later on.
- I think we should, because I know that
that comes up a lot.
And so I do think that it merits its own time.
- Absolutely.
- To discuss it.
Okay, great.
Well we're work going to talk about that some more.
But in the meantime, if you have any questions,
please feel free to visit our website or call our office.
- Thank you.
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