I put in a claim back in 2009, and it was denied, due to no diagnosis of the disease in service. I didn't appeal or follow up on the claim. In 2020 I found new "material evidence" for the disease during my service. The VA approved my claim, that was denied originally and granted me 20% disability for it. Should by effective date of the claim be when I first claimed the disability back in 2009 and not 2020? I put the claim in within 1 year of my separation of service. Both the VA and the higher level reviewed denied the reopen claim.
Let us suppose that you left the service on January 1, 1990, and applied for benefits. The VA, however, denied your claim. You did not appeal. Ten years later, however, military service records or military medical records were rediscovered, and you found out that there was evidence of your disability, so you decided to file a new claim on March 1, 2015.
If the VA agreed that this new medical evidence justified reopening your case, and you were awarded disability benefits this time, your effective date would be the first time you applied on January 1, 1990, and not when you filed your appeal.
You can see the importance of filing as soon as possible for disability benefits when you are either still serving or within a year after you have left the service. If you miss this filing deadline by even one day, it could cost you several months of disability benefits.
If you have any questions about your effective date in the situations above, contact a VA-accredited attorney. While Volunteer Service Organizations (VSO) can help in many situations that vets face, figuring out effective dates for VA benefits is probably better done by a VA-accredited attorney.