hypertension What Do You Think.....do I Have A Shot

[vitaloca94]

in 2000, i left active duty and filed a va claim. in apr 2001 i join a reserve unit. in oct 01, va denies my claim for depression, allergies, tmj and hypertension because they say i was in possession of my medical records. it wasn't true because i assume that my unit had them or was trying to get them. being young ,dumb and uninformed i let it go. fast forward to jun 03, after completing 6 months of being mobilized with my unit and being diagnosed with adjustment disorder, anaphalyxis to cats(allergies on a deadly scale) and asthma. lo and behold my medical records that were missing and that i was in control of just happen to pop up at my reserve unit who send them to va. i file and was denied. after talking to a friend, i file an appeal and and va rates me at 30% for adjustment disorder and 0% for tmj and hypertension, non service connection for allergies and asthma (although it was enough to force me to reclassify MOS and ultimely getting out the reserves). i didn't know i could reopen my claim for the depression so i did. after a lengthy appeal, i finally got rated at 70%. not including depression and ptsd.

so my question is did va make a CUE or does this get chalked to sucks to be you and glad it didn't happen to me. and is there a chance that my claim will be reopened?

any guidance and help will be appriaciated and just so you know two cents adds up

[free_spirit_etc]

§ 3.156 New and material evidence.

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(a) General. A claimant may reopen a finally adjudicated claim by submitting new and material evidence. New evidence means existing evidence not previously submitted to agency decisionmakers. Material evidence means existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened, and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 5103A(f), 5108)

( Pending claim. New and material evidence received prior to the expiration of the appeal period, or prior to the appellate decision if a timely appeal has been filed (including evidence received prior to an appellate decision and referred to the agency of original jurisdiction by the Board of Veterans Appeals without consideration in that decision in accordance with the provisions of §20.1304(B)(1) of this chapter), will be considered as having been filed in connection with the claim which was pending at the beginning of the appeal period.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501)

© Service department records. (1) Notwithstanding any other section in this part, at any time after VA issues a decision on a claim, if VA receives or associates with the claims file relevant official service department records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file when VA first decided the claim, VA will reconsider the claim, notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this section. Such records include, but are not limited to:

(i) Service records that are related to a claimed in-service event, injury, or disease, regardless of whether such records mention the veteran by name, as long as the other requirements of paragraph © of this section are met;

(ii) Additional service records forwarded by the Department of Defense or the service department to VA any time after VA's original request for service records; and

(iii) Declassified records that could not have been obtained because the records were classified when VA decided the claim.

(2) Paragraph ©(1) of this section does not apply to records that VA could not have obtained when it decided the claim because the records did not exist when VA decided the claim, or because the claimant failed to provide sufficient information for VA to identify and obtain the records from the respective service department, the Joint Services Records Research Center, or from any other official source.

(3) An award made based all or in part on the records identified by paragraph ©(1) of this section is effective on the date entitlement arose or the date VA received the previously decided claim, whichever is later, or such other date as may be authorized by the provisions of this part applicable to the previously decided claim.

(4) A retroactive evaluation of disability resulting from disease or injury subsequently service connected on the basis of the new evidence from the service department must be supported adequately by medical evidence. Where such records clearly support the assignment of a specific rating over a part or the entire period of time involved, a retroactive evaluation will be assigned accordingly, except as it may be affected by the filing date of the original claim.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a))Cross References:

Effective dates—general. See §3.400. Correction of military records. See §3.400(g).

[27 FR 11887, Dec. 1, 1962, as amended at 55 FR 20148, May 15, 1990; 55 FR 52275, Dec. 21, 1990; 58 FR 32443, June 10, 1993; 66 FR 45630, Aug. 29, 2001; 71 FR 52457, Sept. 6, 2006]