Falsely claiming PTSD for VA benefits?

People, if EVERYBODY in this country had health care, you'd all have health care. Worrying your head over who gets to be in the club just hurts you. PTSD of course is never "healed." It's why the Marines call it Battle Fatigue and treat any stress injury - including rape and childbirth - the same way. The VA gets away with denying you care because they're counting on vets to help deny other vets. Don't play their little game.

I'm ptsd rated, never fired my rifle with the intent to kill... 240/50 on the other hand. Been blown up, mortars, rockets, having to scramble etc...I know what bodies look like, burning vehicles etc

My best guess would be at least 50% are falsely claiming PTSD and 99% of civilians. Especially women who have never been near the military let alone combat.

Each Veteran has some type of PTSD. Maybe you do not see combat but you may see the result i.e. seeing every day the unloading of the coffins of the fallen. Each case is different and needs to be thoroughly examined by competent physicians.

as someone with severe PTSD, i personally find this kind of broadside attack on PTSD disability offensive. the VA does not hand out 100% disability for PTSD like candy at holloween to whoever knocks on the door.

PTSD professionals do not give a diagnosis based solely on private personal patient testimony. lying does not get you there. period. the VA adjudicates to deny. Unless someone is a trained PTSD professional, no one can diagnose PTSD or not. People with PTSD have clear objectively measurable signs and symptoms and the diagnosis is based on specific well spelled out criteria. If a trained professional PTSD clinician gives a diagnosis of PTSD, that is a matter of years trained competence and years of professional experience, not speculation.
1. not everyone who's seen combat has PTSD and there are many reasons why some trauma does become permanent while most does not. 2. many veterans who've never seen combat develop PTSD for many reasons: combat is not the only trauma a person might experience while being trained in the military or serving. accidents, hospitalization, medical malpractice, sexual assault, sexual abuse, head injuries, conditions like cancer, any kind of death threatening situation: 3. a traumatic experience or a series of traumatic experiences take many forms, on base and off, and only a trained clinician can give a medically sound evaluation. traumatic experiences are a matter of record. other service people and civilians witness them. 4. there is a well developed science of trauma codified in VA, in DSM5, and in international standards of trauma and PTSD. those cannot be faked. if it is in the records it happened. 5. most people with PTSD are absolutely no threat to anyone and a diagnosis of PTSD is irrelevant to owning and using arms, cars, machinery, kitchen equipment or watching tv. that is an egregious mischaracterization of PTSD. an offensive mischaracterization of every person who has served and been diagnosed with PTSD: people with PTSD are no more a threat to others than any other illness.

About 90% of VA denials of PTSD that go to court are returned to the VA for re-evaluation because the VA denials are so strict they break usa law to deny. the VA aggressively, proactively denies PTSD and only trained qualified experienced PTSD clinicians have any business diagnosing anyone

Well I work for the VA and I know there are a lot of people who try and abuse the system. This hurts those of us who do not abuse the system. But the VA does have Investigators - we have an office right here in Orlando. And if you report someone, they will investigate for abuse. But PTSD is a fine line, there are so many things that can cause it and you may not even know you have it. But the VA does test for it and if you do have it - they will assign you a doctor to work with to try and help. It will take a while, but you can recover.

The VA has its own investigators. They just call a 51-year old man claiming to be blind and drawing 100% benefits. The neighbors reported him mowing his grass, driving a car, operating a boat on a lake. VA investigators conducted surveillance on the guy and arrested him for government fraud and charged him $410,000 dollars to pay back to the government and then sent him to prison!

I believe there are many claiming PTSD that have nothing wrong with them. I know of one I don’t believe she has it. She never seen combat yet she claims to have it and she somehow got claim approval. I’ve been shot in the back myself and am still fighting my claim. It’s not PTSD. But it’s is for mental health. Mainly depression. They did bump my mental health up from 50% to 70%. But I’m still at total of 90%. Still in the process of getting my total to 100%. I’ve had injections in my lumbar for several years and surgery on lumbar and neck. My whole spine is shot. I got my scooter a couple of months ago to get around on.

This article feels motivated by an institutional reluctance to pay for damage. How can we cut costs? I know, cast doubt on those claiming PTSD. Low class, but I've come to expect this sort of underhanded narrative steering. It's okay, I understand that the DoD needs to keep grossly overpaying Lockheed, L3 Harris, etc., so the politicos can keep getting that sweet sweet campaign money and remarkably well paid speaking gigs. Best to throw the actual war fighters under the bus ... they're the easiest to squeeze. All I'm saying is, how many hurting people don't seek PTSD treatment because of articles like this? And how many of those result in suicides? For shame.

First and foremost PTSD can be caused by a lot of things besides combat such as Military Sexual Trauma, Personal Assault, Vehicle Accident, getting stuck on the side of a C130 when your chute did not open.... anything that exposes you to trauma that made you "fear for your life and safety". Loss of comrades would even makes it worse, dealing with morale injury, self blame and make sense out of suffering.

The comments mentioned by MSgt Grimes reference to another military service member could be quite complex. More than likely, there's more to it than just what's being said. PTSD cannot be cured all of sudden. It does not just go away, it reoccurs overtime specifically when a stressor triggers it.

You don't have to fire a single shot to be diagnosed or rated for PTSD. In addition, "medication is not the only treatment for PTSD". You have multitude of options such as counseling, Prolong Exposure Treatment (PET), Chronic Pain Treatment (CPT), Cognitive Behavior Treatment (CBT) coupled with LENS, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Transcendental Meditation, Resilience Retreat, and other applicable PTSD available treatment.

Furthermore, just because you are not receiving any continuous care does not mean the symptoms are not there. At times, most of us self-treat with alcohol or other means.

A lot of anomalies and questions arises whether the person joined with a preexisting condition...this might be true, but a question must be answered: "Did the preexisting condition aggravated by the military service? If it is, then its ratable.

Can a PTSD rated Veteran can have a CCW? Absolutely, if he is deemed stable. The person in question must recognize he does have an issue (identification), get treatment for it (act on it - initiative), and stabilized. No different than a Police Officer who is 100% service-connected: (1) is his condition affecting his proficiency and performance at work, (2) is he impaired while on-duty, (2) does (s)he have any egregious behavior while on duty; all leads to fit for duty.

If the claims are indeed fraudulent, VAOIG can investigate the matter and seek charges and prosecution for fraudulent claims.