teddybear said:
My husband was Sgt. Darcy Tedford. He was killed in Afghanistan on Oct 14th, 2006. You would think that this case would definitely be cut and dry!! I am still waiting for the 75% top up of his pay. Apparently they have to "investigate" his military service, pay and rank. As of the week before Xmas, the claim was still in progress in PEI. It took 2 months for the Sudden Death Benefit to be awarded - again they had to investigate!! :
If it takes this long for something sooo simple to be awarded, I can't imagine how long it takes to be awarded a medical pension.
Good luck to all of you with claims still pending or on appeal.
You're right, it should be easier for those in your case... That seems almost unacceptable. I hope it works out for you.
I have recently recieved information on my own claim (from the friendly fire incident in September 06);
The verdict is; I am not currently eligible for a 'favourable' claim.
I was told by a VAC / DVA rep to put in a claim asap, once I returned home from Afghanistan, so that it would be processed immediately. Others who have been through this process advised to wait for various reasons; No long term diagnosis of disability, no diagnosis of PTSD, no loss of income, no need for support for medical needs.
The VAC / DVA rep advised having each wound assessed individually, as each of them caused a large amount of damage. I won't go into detail, I'll just say it's going to be a long road to get back to normal mobility, and there are no forcasts for long term issues (besides having trouble at airport metal detectors).
So I filled out a mountian of paper work for each one, and submitted it. About a month later, I recieved a call from a DVA claims rep, who informed me that my claim was currently 'unfavourable' for the following reasons;
- Disabilities due to fresh wounds don't merit a claim as they are still healing and the full effects are not yet evident.
- No permanent disabilities have been diagnosed (and probably wont be until healing and progress in physio reaches a plateau)
- PTSD has not been diagnosed officially (Still waiting for a session with the head shrinkers)
- There is no loss of income, as I'm still on contract with the regular forces untill they deem that my healing and physio has come to a plateau, conduct a physical and PT review and either medically release me, or deem me fit for duty and return me to my reserve unit.
- There is no need to provide for medical care, as the military covers it.
Because of these reasons, my claim as it stands now, would be 'unfavourable' and I would be appealing it forever. And if the claim ever went through, it would be extremely low.
There are upsides, though.
- Weather I am released or not, DVA / VAC will cover any losses due to lack of employment, and will cover re-education if I can't return to the field of (civilian) employment I was in before deployment.
- Now that my application is in, it is just a matter of submitting it for process once conditions are met.
I must say, I was a little disappointed when I was told all this, but I understand it, and I sort of makes sense.
But, IMO, the families of the fallen should not have to wait. They should be priority, followed by soldiers who's disabilities are very apparent (loss of limb).
The next issue I have is the 'lump sum' Payment instead of pentions. My issue is simple; I have unknown metalic pieces in my body (which may or may not be; casing from the ammo fire at us, debris from the ground or surrounding area, or depleted uranium, which was possibly fired at us) which could cause unknown long term effects... not to mention the other wounds to both legs and arm (which already effect mobility)... What happens then? They say they will re-assess the claim and adjust as needed, but that just doesn't seem reasonable. Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't make sense.
I hope the system becomes more streamlined and efficient as time goes on, as there will be more and more soldiers in these situations as things progress in Afghanistan.