Proposed Findings
- Thread starter neecy
- Start date
Permanent?
No as of right now temporary.
Depending on your situation I would take it and run bc 30 percent is the goal right?
It does retire me temporarily. I just don’t understand how TDRL works in long term.
Was depression listed as a referred condition for your PEB? Do you have documentation that your symptoms are more depression-related than anxiety?
I would reach out to your local PEB legal counsel and discuss all of this. They will be able to review your records and give you their recommendation.
Thank you! I will definitely try to reach out to them first thing Monday.
Let us know what the JAG says.
It's hard to give recommendations on what to do without knowing your previous treatment history, current prognosis, etc. Also, you have to think about your own goals. Do you just want to be done with the military, or do you want the retirement (for family, etc)? TDRL is a different beast once you're on it, and the re-exams seem to come out of nowhere (even though they're every 1.5 years once you're out for a max of 3 years). Being in the perfect position is key, and making sure you leave nothing on the table is best. That's where the legal and medical counsel come in. Hope that makes sense.
Yes it does. How often do they do exams? Is it common for mental health conditions to be on TDRL or PDRL? I will definitely update once I talk to legal. Thank you!
Right now, it's every 1.5 years for a total of 3 years. So you should expect 1 or 2 exams while on TDRL. The board can move you to PDRL or lower your percentage to below 30% and separate you with severance pay after any of the exams. As far as your question on which list (TDRL or PDRL) is more common at first, it's usually TDRL for mental health since these conditions may improve over time. However, there's always a case or two that may result in PDRL, depending on the circumstances.
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If they separate me while I’m out on TDRL will my other disabilities still apply? My other conditions total 50%, but if I’m understanding right, you are saying because the mental health condition is what I was referred for, that is the basis for my TDRL.
More than likely, yes. If the condition that got you referred to the PEB is only Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), then that's what they will review during your TDRL re-exams. Your DoD and VA ratings are separate. And you are correct--your unfitting condition (GAD) is the basis for TDRL.
However, to explain all of this a bit further for you, the purpose and benefit of the IDES (what you're going through) is to get your DoD and VA disability complete at the same time vice doing the DoD side first and completing the VA side later once you've separated (LDES). That's why, if someone is found fit, the case never goes to the VA since the person isn't separating. If someone is found unfit, like in your case, then the case goes to the VA, and the VA reviews your unfit condition (GAD) and also reviews the other claims you put in (think back to your VA C&P exams). The PEB will more than likely use the rating given by the VA for your DoD percentage. So for you, the VA rated you at 30% for your GAD, so the DoD will rate that, as well. Your combined VA rating (the 80%) is your unfit condition plus your other listed disabilities that were evaluated at the C&P exam. Again, this is all separate from the DoD.
Now with that specified, when you go for your TDRL re-exams, like I said earlier, the DoD will only evaluate the condition they separated you for originally (GAD). If they choose to lower or increase your percentage, the VA side is usually untouched. More than likely, you will be summoned every so often at random intervals (usually) for a VA re-evaluation to review all of the conditions you're rated for through the VA. Now, you could get bad luck and go in for your TDRL and VA re-exams within months of each other, but that's usually merely coincidence.
Also, your other conditions are not rated 50% total. There's a formula that the VA uses to come up with that 80% based off of the percentages of all the conditions the VA rates you for. If you add up all of your percentages, it will be more than 80%. This is normal.
I know I threw a lot at you there, but I was trying to think ahead to some follow up questions you may have (I had the same ones when I went through).
Furthermore, I'd say just focus on figuring everything out now. TDRL and all the other stuff mentioned above can wait until later. Just say what you said in your intro post to the JAG and see what they think.
Thank you so much for the help!
The difference in the diagnosis is a waste of time you are rated on your social and occupational impairment regardless of which MH condition that is it will still be 30% its all the same DBQ.
Oh ok thank you! I think I might have worded that differently, I was more focused on attempting to get opinions on whether I should accept my findings or not.
Just so you don't think I'm ignoring you, I don't have much experience with this. Hoping someone in this group does. Is this what the legal counsel suggested?
Yes it was. He did give me an option of submitting evidence after I separate but told me if I was able to provide a letter beforehand I wouldn’t have to wait a year to get my findings re-evaluated.
Hmmm. Interesting. But will doing this change your DoD rating at all? Like oddpedestrian stated, it may not make a difference if the social and occupational impairment is the same between diagnoses. For me, I would want the accurate diagnosis documented, but this should have been done from the beginning. And you may (keyword is may because I’m not 100% positive on this) need proof that the diagnoses should be changed to such. If there was any hope of getting a higher DoD rating, I personally would go for it to give you some “wiggle room” for when the board re-evaluates you while on the TDRL. But this isn’t legal advice or a recommendation on what you should do...I’m just speaking on my view of things.
Yes. Well, if all goes well, the request would increase my DoD rating to at least 50%. My provider wrote a letter that aligned with a higher percentage rating, providing examples that aligned with the 50% verbiage, instead of the original 30% that I was given. I definitely thank you for the advise. I'm hoping for good results. Since it was the day before Thanksgiving when I got ahold of my attorney and I was not able to meet physically, just over the phone, I wish that I was able to ask more questions.