Has Anyone Won An Earlier Effective Date?

[broncovet]

1. RO denies parts of Veterans claim, ignores other issues claimed.

2. Veteran appeals.

3. BVA awards benefits.

4. RO awards zero percent per RO failure to implement BVA decision.

5. Veteran appeals.

6. RO "blows off" Veterans appeal and "interprets" it as a new benefit claim.

7. Ro awards partial benefits.

8. RO awards full benefits, effective at #6, Veteran says EED is #1 when I first appealed, not when they first ADMITTED to the claim.

[broncovet]

Basser..

So you are suggesting filing an "EED" claim at the RO? Gee..again this is something I have never heard of. Is this just a 21=4138 Statement in Support of Claim, or how do I do this?

[121212]

I did my audit though my VA rep in Little Rock, he showed me how to do it, we used the same form you would do a normal claim on, sorry I do not know the form number. I will look for it when I get a chance, I had surgery on my ankle hard to get around.I got the form back from the VA for any other info I had, and sent it back, so I know they got it, I will let you know how if works or not. I know one thing the VA will not tell you anything about how to do it, you have to have someone tell you or get lucky and find it yourself. I did have 2 different people tell me to do a audit, one worked for the county VA and the other for the American legion my Rep, I will look for the form numbers in the morning. I hope the info did help.

KEN

[broncovet]

Ken..

Ok, good, when you find the "audit" form number, I will re do the math because I think they made a mistake in their favor.

[deltaj]

NOD NOD NOD NOD NOD.

THAT ACTION WILL KEEP THE ISSUE OPEN.

Yep, my husband got an EED based on clear and unmistakable error. V.A. assigned a particular effective date beginning the first of the month following hospitalization. During the appeal period after that decision DAV filed a notice of disagreement which disagreed with the effective date and perecentage of disability. That regulation cited 38 CFR 3.400 (q) and 38 CFR 3.105. I can't recall the regulation number of 38 CFR 3.400 (q) completely including a roman numeral used after the regulation but the issue raised was something like that new and material evidence received during an appeal period will permit the V.A. to consider the evidence as though the former decision had not been rendered. The fact is that V.A. did medical examinations on my husband during the appeal period of each decision at that time which showed his disability had worsened. Eventually my husband got a 100% back to the date of his original claim for increase. After he got the first decision on clear and unmistakable error which DAV engineered with that NOD, I happened to notice that V.A. had failed to consider earlier evidence during the appeal period after a denial of an earlier claim in which my husband had stated in a claim, "I believe my service-connected disability has worsened." I prepared a Notice of Disagreement and used the same language as DAV's Notice of Disagreement but inserted the proper dates for date of receipt of the claim and date of receipt of the decision and date of receipt new and material evidence by V.A. during the appeal period of that decision. My husband was receiving SSD at the time and V.A. failed to consider some medical records received during the appeal period of that decision. V.A. sent that decision to Central Office and they agreed there was clear and unmistakable error but they did not use the wording date of receipt of claim in that decision. The thing everybody, including me, missed on these decisions was that VARO's April 1971 notification letter was sent to an address that included the wrong zip code and V.A. failed to recognize that as a pending claim. I can't get V.A. to consider this issue. Every time I have my husband mail letters to V.A. about this signed by him V.A. simply sends the letters back. They are hiding behind the finality of a central office decision. Heck, they've stripped out the wage records from Social Security Disability showing he had been receiving poverty wages for many years and discarded a favorable doctors opinion that my husband was unemployable at an earlier date than they granted a permanent and total rating. Other than one decision on date of receipt of claim for increase which was made without notice to my husband as required by 38 CFR 3.103, V.A. has not yet determined the date of receipt of my husband's claim for increase.

Edited May 1, 2009 by deltaj

[carlie]

I have heard of AUDITS from VA finance for things like co-payments

and disability compensation payments that VA made

but I've never heard of an AUDIT for Effective Dates.

Effective Dates are promulgated in Rating Decisions.

If a claimant recieves an Effective Date they don't agree with,

they need to file a NOD on it ASAP.

jmho,

carlie

[Pete53]

Once again if the Veteran does not know to ask the VA does nothing. If the VA was pro active for sick Veterans they should not be so deceitful.