ekgilley

Long story coming. In 1991, my husband was in a Light Armored Vehicle accident which killed his best friend. My husband did not adjust well after this, and started having gruesome and violent hallucinations. Sixteen years later in 2009, my husabdn's PTSD was becoming horrifying again. He stopped talking for a month. I panicked and called the VA hospital where he went for his regular spinal cord injury treatment ( he was considered a catastrophic non service connected veteran). I filed a NEW claim for PTSD, with all of the evidence from his LAV accident in 1991, notarized affidavits from his girlfriend at the time stating he was suicidal, evidence of the LAV accident,etc. He was given a 30% service connected rating in 2009. He was then able to receive proper treatment at the lake City VA Hospital. In 2011, my husband died at the age of 39 from complications due to his quadriplegia. I receive no widows benefits. I would like to re-open his claim from 1992 so that he could get a 100% service connected rating. It is what he deserved, and I feel he was stomped on and spit out by the Marine Corps and the VA. I am not concerned about back pay or accrued benefits, although I won't turn them down. What is the best way for me to get the rating he deserved? Reopen his claim using the 30% service connection as evidence for his PTSD/quadriplegia? Or do I claim his quadriplegia is secondary to his PTSD? Or should I just try to get his successful 30% increased to 100%? Thank you so much for this site. I have avoided this for 4 years, and it may be too late. But I really want to give him the rating he truly deserved while he was alive.