Active duty Marine. At 20 years, 1st period of limited duty ends in Jan. I was just sent a disapproval letter from HQMC and directed for MEB. My PCM submitted my LIMDU request because I still have weeks of TBI treatment and possible partial hospitalization for mental health. My question: is there any way to fight this or do I just go on a board? Thank you.
2nd Period of LIMDU Disapproval
- Thread starter Jason23
- Start date
Hi Jason23,
I am not a moderator or anything like that on this board but I am curious to why you would want to fight the MEB unless you are not ready to retire from Service.
The MEB is usually a long process in my opinion, anywhere from 3-6 months which is lots of time to conduct your current medical appointments. Also, thru the MEB you will be able to "claim" ALL other service-connected medical issue that are NOT referred to the MEB for evaluation which means you will have multiple Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) forms to fill out on other (non-referred conditions) conditions and have them evaluated at the same time. ALL conditions, referred and non-referred, will be rated by the VA regardless of the MEB Board which mean multiple medical appointments to specialty clinic that are associated with a specific claimed medical condition for evaluation. All these appointments take time (a lot of time) to cover all your claims and with 20 years of service you should have lots of claims...lol
A benefit of going thru an MEB is that you will know what ALL claimed condition will be rated are before you separate from Service. In my specific MEB I claimed 47 conditions which included 3 referred conditions. In all, I was approved for 42 conditions thru the VA plus the 3 referred conditions and 2 that were combat-related which provided me a TAX-Free (exempt) retirement.
Just keep in mind that a lot of conditions are approved by presumption for example; claims with any joints with arthritis (active duty) showing that the level of damage is greater than expected compared to just typical aging. The VA does give a one year presumption if you have it and file within one year of separation. You can file for joints (ankles, knees, hips, shoulder, elbow, wrist, etc..) I had a crap load of x-rays leaving service but I was approved for almost all of them; being Airborne for 20 years might of helped but the point is, is to claim them and let the VA tell you no rather than not filling and try and play prove-it after you leave Service when joints start to hurt really bad a few year after leaving Service.
I am not a moderator or anything like that on this board but I am curious to why you would want to fight the MEB unless you are not ready to retire from Service.
The MEB is usually a long process in my opinion, anywhere from 3-6 months which is lots of time to conduct your current medical appointments. Also, thru the MEB you will be able to "claim" ALL other service-connected medical issue that are NOT referred to the MEB for evaluation which means you will have multiple Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) forms to fill out on other (non-referred conditions) conditions and have them evaluated at the same time. ALL conditions, referred and non-referred, will be rated by the VA regardless of the MEB Board which mean multiple medical appointments to specialty clinic that are associated with a specific claimed medical condition for evaluation. All these appointments take time (a lot of time) to cover all your claims and with 20 years of service you should have lots of claims...lol
A benefit of going thru an MEB is that you will know what ALL claimed condition will be rated are before you separate from Service. In my specific MEB I claimed 47 conditions which included 3 referred conditions. In all, I was approved for 42 conditions thru the VA plus the 3 referred conditions and 2 that were combat-related which provided me a TAX-Free (exempt) retirement.
Just keep in mind that a lot of conditions are approved by presumption for example; claims with any joints with arthritis (active duty) showing that the level of damage is greater than expected compared to just typical aging. The VA does give a one year presumption if you have it and file within one year of separation. You can file for joints (ankles, knees, hips, shoulder, elbow, wrist, etc..) I had a crap load of x-rays leaving service but I was approved for almost all of them; being Airborne for 20 years might of helped but the point is, is to claim them and let the VA tell you no rather than not filling and try and play prove-it after you leave Service when joints start to hurt really bad a few year after leaving Service.
@Jason23
The short answer to your question is, not likely. If you want to really understand the LIMDU process, read MILPERSMAN 1306-1200: Limited Duty (LIMDU) Policies and Procedures. Also, you'd want to read NAVMED P-117 (Chapter 18): Medical Department Manual for MEB procedures. In short, when Marines and Sailors are denied a first or second period of LIMDU and referred into the IDES, it's because they likely meet the referral criteria set forth in SECNAV M-1850.1: the DON's DES Manual.
If you meet the referral criteria for one condition, that usually triggers referral. Otherwise, patients who develop more conditions or have conditions requiring ongoing treatment would never get referred into the IDES before the expiration of their second period of LIMDU, despite being unfit at an earlier date. Generally speaking, the DoN starts the IDES process as soon as the Convening Authority at the MTF believes you’re unfit because they don't want to keep unfit Sailors and Marines on the books longer than they have to.
I hope this helps.
S/f,
Joel
Disclosure: I was a Marine JAG, Active Duty and Reserve IPEB & FPEB attorney, federal government civilian FPEB & TDRL-focused attorney at the Navy PEB, and now a private attorney focused solely on IDES cases. This post is meant as procedural insight only and should not be construed as legal advice related to a specific case or a legal analysis of facts thereof.
The short answer to your question is, not likely. If you want to really understand the LIMDU process, read MILPERSMAN 1306-1200: Limited Duty (LIMDU) Policies and Procedures. Also, you'd want to read NAVMED P-117 (Chapter 18): Medical Department Manual for MEB procedures. In short, when Marines and Sailors are denied a first or second period of LIMDU and referred into the IDES, it's because they likely meet the referral criteria set forth in SECNAV M-1850.1: the DON's DES Manual.
If you meet the referral criteria for one condition, that usually triggers referral. Otherwise, patients who develop more conditions or have conditions requiring ongoing treatment would never get referred into the IDES before the expiration of their second period of LIMDU, despite being unfit at an earlier date. Generally speaking, the DoN starts the IDES process as soon as the Convening Authority at the MTF believes you’re unfit because they don't want to keep unfit Sailors and Marines on the books longer than they have to.
I hope this helps.
S/f,
Joel
Disclosure: I was a Marine JAG, Active Duty and Reserve IPEB & FPEB attorney, federal government civilian FPEB & TDRL-focused attorney at the Navy PEB, and now a private attorney focused solely on IDES cases. This post is meant as procedural insight only and should not be construed as legal advice related to a specific case or a legal analysis of facts thereof.
It has been more than a year since you shared this, and I truly hope you were able to get through the board process and find some stability.
I came across your post and felt a real connection to your story, as it brought back memories of my own struggles before I finally found the right support. I was also navigating the complexities of TBI and a persistent depression that felt impossible to shake. After fighting with the system for a while, I eventually connected with the team at Legacy Healing Center in Florida. They specialize in working with veterans and were instrumental in helping me organize the necessary documentation for the MEB. I hope things have settled for you and that you are doing well.