Question About Effective Dates

[Tomahawk]

My original claim was filed in 2001. I got my 30% rating for a generic foot condition in August of 2008. I refiled in april of 2009 for an increase for my foot condition as well as for other issues. If/when they decide the claim and if they do give me the 40% for my foot, will they back the extra 10% to 2001 since I filed within 1 year of the 2008 decision, or will it only back date it until 2009 as I think I filed it wrong? Meaning I opened a new claim for the foot along with the other conditions that I had not previously claimed? Or is there something that I can do, i.e. a letter or phone call to make it so they treat the request for the foot condition as a reconsideration instead of a new claim?

[Berta]

"I got my 30% rating for a generic foot condition in August of 2008. I refiled in april of 2009 for an increase ".

from what I see here,you re -filed during the appellate period-Aug 2008 to Aug 2009.

Was the "re file" a formal NOD telling them why the rating of Aug 2008 was wrong? If they award a higher rating for the foot condition due to the NOD and any additional evidence, they will award retro back to the date that specific claim was filed and continuously prosecuted.

[Tomahawk]

I did not file it as a NOD. I did my initial claim on my own and it took me 10 years to get it done. So I opted to go through a veterans service rep with the VFW this time, and the guy totally screwed it up. But he filed it as a new claim not a NOD. He even had things in there I wasnt claiming, so I had to go to the regional office, tell them to pull the POA for the service rep and fix the issues with what I was claiming, but I didnt think about changing the foot part to a NOD. Am I able to still do that as my claim still hasnt been completed?

[Berta]

Not enough info here for me to answer that question- but maybe this will help

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=162a570176fa083b618b01200d5fe7ee&rgn=div8&view=text&node=38:1.0.1.1.4.2.68.173&idno=38

This is the regulation as to how VA determines the earliest effective date.

If the claim (s) are all still in process maybe it would be good idea to ask for a status request from IRIS at the VA web site.