I served in the military in 1996. During basic training I was injured.
1. I applied for disability due to the injury in 2000 and was denied then again in 2002. In 2002 I never received a letter stating the denial. I called several times and was told that I was denied. In 2016 I went back to apply because the back & neck injury that I received in the service is really server now. When I went to reapply the lady at the VA Hospital told me that I was NEVER denied. That I was just rated at 0%. She said that I should have been told whenever my condition got worse to apply for an increase. Since I never received a letter and I was told verbally by 2 different people that my case was denied can I appeal the decision that was made in 2002 or is the only recourse is to reapply. If I reapply can I get them to pay me back to when the condition got severely worse which is about 6 years ago? HELP, What should I do?
I know I should not have waited this long but I also suffer from PTSD which causes me to limit my contact with people and because I had applied twice and was told both times that I was denied I did not have the strength to try again. If my condition had not gotten so bad that I can do nothing now I would never had gone back.