1994andcouting.....

I said it was good advice not that anyone or myself actually follows it...hold on ill be right back going to check the status of my claim....preparation for decision...same as 2 weeks ago...what were we talking about?

lol.  I don't think many follow this advice.  Ive been pending my BVA hearing for a few years now.  And any time there is any movement I end up checking behind doors 1 2 and 3 multiple times a day until it clicks that this is the VA and nothing is going to happen for another decade and I give up looking lol.
Then they taunt me with a letter or C&P exam and it starts all over again.

When my claim was nearing the end (review of evidence to prep for notification, I rarely checked it before then), it seemed to update around 1630 CST. Not scientific but I typically waited until after that time and would see changes. Between pending decision approval and prep for notification, it updated the same day. 
Hope that helps.
PS I am one of those that checks it daily btw. I know we are told not to but I rarely do what Im told. 

You might want to review all your rating decisions and your BVA denial decision that may shed some light  in reference to your evidence.  If you can not locate the doctor that treated you, you can always try to contact the medical center that he/she worked at to try to find out where they send their retired treatment records and go from there.  Some medical centers destroy their records and some used to put them on micro fiche or they could have them on a disc.  You never know unless you ask.

The crazy one here IMHO, based on the information you posted the most retro you can get is back to 2008.  The date you were diagnosed with PTSD.  I do not think a new IMO that reviews your medical records and the doctor medical opinion and rationale stating that you had PTSD/MST and or any mental health disorder would be granted because this evidence was not in VA possession or available before the 2008 decision.  Now if you have evidence dated before your 2008 decision that you were being treated for PTSD/MST or any mental health disorder then I think it might be possible to get an earlier effective date.  You need medical documentation (medical treatment records or medical progress reports) that you were treated and diagnosed with PTSD/MST or a mental health condition.  I hope I am wrong and I hope others chime in with a better answer.  Sorry that you are going through this, I am not trying to be insensitive but VA can only go by the evidence that was available at the time of each rating decision.  You were diagnosed in 2008 so any evidence after that date would not be considered material or pertinent for any claim  prior to that date unless there was a diagnosis available before your  2008 decision.

Your effective date is the later of the "facts found" or the date you applied.  If you were not diagnosed until 2008, its gonna be almost impossible to get an effective date earlier than that, UNLESS you get an IMO physician to review your records and state, to the effect, that you likely had PTSD much earlier than 2008.    The doc will have to give a medical rationale as to why he makes such an opinion.  
Was your 2002 claim denied?  Did you appeal it within a year?  Did you "perfect" your appeal by filing a timely I9 in response to the VARO's SOC?  
To get an earlier effective date, you need to show both:
1.  That you applied earlier,
2.  That you were diagnosed before 2008, if that is the case.   This may be a question of semantics:  Is MST or PTSD the same thing?   While it may be in your case (I dont know that, tho), if you were diagnosed with MST, then you could have a doctor opine that your MST was the source of your PTSD, if that is the case.  

When my claim was nearing the end (review of evidence to prep for notification, I rarely checked it before then), it seemed to update around 1630 CST. Not scientific but I typically waited until after that time and would see changes. Between pending decision approval and prep for notification, it updated the same day. 
Hope that helps.
PS I am one of those that checks it daily btw. I know we are told not to but I rarely do what Im told. 

Does anyone know how often Ebenefits updates status for Vets to view???

http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/effective_dates.asp

Generally, an effective date for service-connection for a disability that is directly linked to an injury or disease that was incurred or aggravated by military service is the date VA receives a claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. The date entitlement arose means the date the condition was shown to exist by medical evidence.
There is an exception in cases where the claim is filed within one year of separation from active military service. For these claims, the effective date will be the day following separation.
If VA finds an error in a previous decision, the effective date of the new decision will be the date from which benefits would have been payable had there not been an error.

Actually, I am referring to evidence that a veteran can prove that was in VA's possession prior to the Original decision. Not much with VA is a given, especially Earlier Effective Dates. In a lot of cases a veteran must appeal to BVA and maybe even CAVC but once the claim is reopened and granted. VA must review the entire records for that particular claim/disability.

Once the claim is reopen with the new and material evidence by BVA/CAVC and VA finds evidence that support the original claim that is in the veterans C-File and dated prior to the original denial. VA must re-adjudicate that original decision and grant the Earlier Effective Date.

The catch is having that claim reopened and granted. OK, now that the claim is service connected but when did BVA/CAVC say the disability began. If and I say if the BVA Decision or the CAVC Decision states that the disability had its onset during active military service, then VA can only pay back to the date of the original claim. Now if the veteran filed the claim within one year of his/her discharge then VA must pay all the way back to the day after discharge.

Once a claim is reopened, a claimant is "entitled to have his/her claim re-adjudicated on the basis of all the evidence of record, both old and new." Bernard VS. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 384, 390 (1993).


So if VA denies a veterans claim then later the veteran reopens his/her claim and the claim is granted. If the veteran can prove that his or her condition reached a certain percentage by medical evidence, the veteran can get a retro payment for the Earlier Effective date but it boils down to the evidence that was in Va's possession at the time of the original claim.

I have a NOD to the DRO for an EED for PTSD , Information used to deny SC for PTSD was used 12 years later with C&P exam to grant 100 % for PTSD. Should I wait for DRO to decide or get a lawyer soon . thanks.

I’m praising God for my family’s first phase victory. When you find yourself in the position to help someone, be happy and feel blessed because God is answering that person’s prayer through you.

Three weeks ago RO offered me the prestigous”100% P&T Club Membership Card, without mileage plus, but they tossed in no future C&Ps, Chap 35, and retro to 2010 for SC musculoskeletal injuries. I’ve fought the first phase of my best fight, refused to abandon my appeal guard post, the AB letters are in E-benefits (Ratt-Now). I feel like Gomer Pyle rolled into Forrest Gump standing at “Parade Rest” rubbing my sleepy eyes, Shizzzaaammm!—It's Green Light Go Jump--the retro hit the account this AM, before arrival of the BBE.

Thanks Ms. T-Bird for the Hadit Scholarship, and my Professors Ms. Berta the Queen of CUE, Carlie, Chris Attig, Asknod, Jbasser, Bronco, all members that believe in “Leave No One Behind, Not On A Jungle Trail, Not On A Desert Trail, Not On A Paper Trail, you've made my partial victory possible. I’m going into R&R stealth mode before my next shock and awe assault at BVA. Humor is the best remedy I know for VA induced PTSD. Nada-Nada, Jose, I don’t mean getting squishy-soft-n-cuddly during denied or low-balled warfare! Fight, Fight, Fight on into Victory!

Same issue here bud, and I thought it was my dang computer, Lol

No fair. I hid that money from my wife.

I first enrolled on the Agent Orange Registry in about 2008. No real reason then, except others said it was a good idea to get on the list. I was in-country in Vietnam from 1968-69.

In 2012, I saw that Ischemic Heart Disease was added as a covered Agent Orange disease as of September, 2010. I had a heart attack in 2006. So, I applied and got a 60% rating and was paid retro to September 2010. That 2-year lump sum deposit was sweet!

In 2013, I applied for PTSD and was denied because of a doctor filling out his report wrong. I appealed and was granted 50% only 6 weeks later! Now, my rating increased to 80%.

In December, 2014 I applied for a rating because the VA said I was a diabetic and put me on an RX. They rated me 20% for that, but not enough to change the 80% rating I already had.

In February 2015, I asked to have the PTSD rating increased and that I had left my job 2 months earlier because of the PTSD. In April 2015, they increased my PTSD to 70%, for a new rating of 90% overall.

However, they also put the added benefit of Unemployability on the claim, which boosted the claim way up there. With a spouse, I went from getting $1688 to $3415 per month! They now put me at 100% Total and Permanent disability!

When that rating came in, I immediately went to my Motor Vehicle Dept and got a Disabled Veteran plate for my car. Cost: only $4.50/yr! Then to the county appraiser's office here in florida to file for my exemption. At 100% total and permanent, they waive 100% of your property taxes on your home! ($3600/yr savings!) If you are under 65, which I wasn't, you can also apply for a waiver of your monthly premium for some types of Servicemen's Group Life you may have.

Also, but not the least, I went to a somewhat (75 mi. away) local Naval base and applied for a ID card that gives me 100% privileges at any commissary or exchange anywhere in the world, at any military base. I went to an Air Force one yesterday! I can even book a campsite or room at any base that offers it. Disney, Universal, etc are on the discount list too!


The gist of all this, it's that you can do it yourself! Everything you need is available online .Sign up for Ebenefits online today! If you feel you need assistance, see your local VFW, American Legion, of VA Officer. Most states also have service officers that are paid by the state itself. They are usually disabled vets themselves and are there to be on your side. Stay away from the attorneys! They are in it for the money only!