Hello Everyone,
I am looking for advice concerning a medical separation to a medical retirement. I was discharged medically in 2018 by the MEB/PEB from the Army and I am appealing their rating; I believe it should be upgraded. The Army awarded me a 20% rating while the VA awarded me a 50% rating for the same injury. My lawyers through NVLSP (who gratuitously put together a great packet/case file) believe there is a strong chance that I will have my discharge upgraded. I received severance pay upon discharge; however there is a strong chance that I will qualify for CRSC at the 100% rate. My question is will I have to pay back my severance or will it offset because of CRSC? If it won’t, is there an algorithm on how much I will have to pay back and when I will have to pay it back?
Any help is greatly appreciated! I looked in the threads and didn't see this question but if it exists and I missed it please point me in the right direction.
Hi, I can share with you my experience so you can be prepared. I served honorably from 1976 to 1993. I was injured in line of duty during physical training. My back started hurting and suddenly one day, my legs gave out.
I sought emergency room treatment where I was also the NCOIC. I had been there three years prior and was commended for all my work done on that prior assignment.
This time however, ran into a witch which was the Chief Nurse Light Colonel. For some reason she didnt see me with great spirit and we always had conflicting issues but I never ever, disrespected anyone.
I was treated and my pain never went away. My journey began to end my career. She would move me around and always set me up for me to fail by moving my peopke around and together with the Medical NCO in charge, he never looked out for me. I suppose was one of those instances, where you know that something does not drive and is best to look for an exit.
I had volunteered for an assignment to Korea to get away from it all, imagine how bad the situation was and how desperate I was.
To make a long story short, but for some reason, I suddenly could not work in deep pain, and they took this as if I was making things up. I had never ever had any health issues at all and everyone knew me as hard working and actually I believe I was always discriminated in the service.
I was sent to all types of clinics to get a consensus from all doctors who knew me well, and my nightmare began as she even thought I was trying to get away from military orders, so everything that was done medically, was with a purpose of trying to charge me for dereliction of duty.
I was humiliated in the process, as I was never given a medical profile, and placed in my own emergency room on third shift while my subordinates replaced me and inspected my work in the mornings. This was done because patients could not understand how was I working, and my condition worsened. As a result, after many visits to all types of clinics, they all put the same diagnosis, Mechanical low back pain, so this intrigued them and so I demanded to get MRIs, x-rays and be sent to Walter reed. I was also placed on physical therapy but they never took me away from working and never relieved me from my official duties as the NCOIC because I never gave them the possibility of making any mistakes of loosing my head to create a disciplinary problem.
MRIs came back showing herniated discs in my spine, but they had thought it would be negative in order to get me military disciplinary action of my doing my work and I assume faking an illness. More tests showed the same problem even in ER the internal medicine doctor showed diagnosis of radiculopathy condition on left leg and arm.
Here is the result to cut my story short>
Walter reed said to stay behind for therapy and that was in reality the documents that should had stopped my orders byt that chief nurse sent me anyway to Korea against doctors orders.
Returned medevac from 2 ID where the trip really worsened my condition.
At Fitzsimons's medical center, the chief nurse was there when I arrived, even though I chose in Korea the return place to be treated.
90 day hospitalization, worked after 30 days at blood bank as part of rehabilitative Therapy, 2 months short of locking in my retirement. Colonel at blood bank wrote letter to keep me there but peb was only 10 %, overlooking cervical spine issues, and nerve problems. No mental health physicals. Told I had ten days to concur or get new medical evidence when I couldn't walk and was hospitalized.
At that time, they would put so much pressure and mistreated you that we chose to sign and fight from outside, as that was the advise from First Sergeant to me.
I was put out with 17 years and 7 months active fedral service without a brake in service.
In 1998, I was given 100 per cent due to unemployability and since then, the severance pay they gave me lying to me it was for service years, they have taking it back ever since. Today there are a couple of payments left. I also have my case with all medical evidence and recertified by VA in 2018 that everything they did was wrong nd all evidence is service connected including my PTSd which at the time it was not even thought about as I did not get a mental health evaluation and I am a former medical NCO.
