If tried many different searchs here and on the Board of Veteran Appeals search site but haven't been able to find a situation similar to mine. I have been 10% disabled since I left the Army in 1975 for residuals of a left knee injury. I applied because of pain and a permenant limp that was all documented in the original file. Fast forward to the 1990s and I develop low back and hip pain and begin being treated at the Boise VAMC. Eventually diagnosed with spinal stenosis, DDD, and DJD in both hips. I have 5 doctor entries in my records stating or strongly insinuating that these conditions are caused by my Antalgic Gait (Limp) caused by my left knee. I had no idea VA would consider these conditions secondary to my knee until my knee worsened and I began research to apply for an increase from the original 10% and stumbled into secondary disability references. I have been extremely disabled since Oct 2000, and unemployed since 2003 directly because of my back and hip problems and my VA medical records show the timeline and conditions and their severity in complete detail. I have little doubt that I will be rated enough to atleast qualify for Individual Unemployability from my file date, but I am preparing everything as strongly as I can just in case. I do have a C&P exam monday thru QTC.
My question is, if they find I am in fact disabled, and that it had it's start in 2000 or 2003, will the payments be retroactive to those dates or am I just out of luck for being ignorant? My records have 2 absolute nexus opinions and 3 others that infer they were caused by my limp dating back to Oct of 2000.
Caluza Triangle – Caluza vs Brown defined what is necessary for service connection. See COVA– CALUZA V. BROWN–TOTAL RECALL
This has to be MEDICALLY Documented in your records:
Current Diagnosis. (No diagnosis, no Service Connection.)
In-Service Event or Aggravation.
Nexus (link- cause and effect- connection) or Doctor’s Statement close to: “The Veteran’s (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service”
VA has gotten away with (mis) interpreting their ambigious, , vague regulations, then enforcing them willy nilly never in Veterans favor.
They justify all this to congress by calling themselves a "pro claimant Veteran friendly organization" who grants the benefit of the doubt to Veterans.
This is not true,
Proof:
About 80-90 percent of Veterans are initially denied by VA, pushing us into a massive backlog of appeals, or worse, sending impoverished Veterans "to the homeless streets" because when they cant work, they can not keep their home. I was one of those Veterans who they denied for a bogus reason: "Its been too long since military service". This is bogus because its not one of the criteria for service connection, but simply made up by VA. And, I was a homeless Vet, albeit a short time, mostly due to the kindness of strangers and friends.
Hadit would not be necessary if, indeed, VA gave Veterans the benefit of the doubt, and processed our claims efficiently and paid us promptly. The VA is broken.
A huge percentage (nearly 100 percent) of Veterans who do get 100 percent, do so only after lengthy appeals. I have answered questions for thousands of Veterans, and can only name ONE person who got their benefits correct on the first Regional Office decision. All of the rest of us pretty much had lengthy frustrating appeals, mostly having to appeal multiple multiple times like I did.
I wish I know how VA gets away with lying to congress about how "VA is a claimant friendly system, where the Veteran is given the benefit of the doubt". Then how come so many Veterans are homeless, and how come 22 Veterans take their life each day? Va likes to blame the Veterans, not their system.
However, (and I have no idea of knowing whether or not you would likely succeed) Im unsure of why you seem to be so adamant against getting an increase in disability compensation.
When I buy stuff, say at Kroger, or pay bills, I have never had anyone say, "Wait! Is this money from disability compensation, or did you earn it working at a regular job?" Not once. Thus, if you did get an increase, likely you would have no trouble paying this with the increase compensation.
However, there are many false rumors out there that suggest if you apply for an increase, the VA will reduce your benefits instead.
That rumor is false but I do hear people tell Veterans that a lot. There are strict rules VA has to reduce you and, NOT ONE of those rules have anything to do with applying for an increase.
Yes, the VA can reduce your benefits, but generally only when your condition has "actually improved" under ordinary conditions of life.
Unless you contacted the VA within 72 hours of your medical treatment, you may not be eligible for reimbursement, or at least that is how I read the link, I posted above. Here are SOME of the rules the VA must comply with in order to reduce your compensation benefits:
NOTE: TO PROVE CAUSE OF DEATH WILL LIKELY REQUIRE AN AUTOPSY. This means if you die of a SC condtion, your spouse would need to do an autopsy to prove cause of death to be from a SC condtiond. If you were P and T for 10 full years, then the cause of death may not matter so much.
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gemsurf
If tried many different searchs here and on the Board of Veteran Appeals search site but haven't been able to find a situation similar to mine. I have been 10% disabled since I left the Army in 1975 for residuals of a left knee injury. I applied because of pain and a permenant limp that was all documented in the original file. Fast forward to the 1990s and I develop low back and hip pain and begin being treated at the Boise VAMC. Eventually diagnosed with spinal stenosis, DDD, and DJD in both hips. I have 5 doctor entries in my records stating or strongly insinuating that these conditions are caused by my Antalgic Gait (Limp) caused by my left knee. I had no idea VA would consider these conditions secondary to my knee until my knee worsened and I began research to apply for an increase from the original 10% and stumbled into secondary disability references. I have been extremely disabled since Oct 2000, and unemployed since 2003 directly because of my back and hip problems and my VA medical records show the timeline and conditions and their severity in complete detail. I have little doubt that I will be rated enough to atleast qualify for Individual Unemployability from my file date, but I am preparing everything as strongly as I can just in case. I do have a C&P exam monday thru QTC.
My question is, if they find I am in fact disabled, and that it had it's start in 2000 or 2003, will the payments be retroactive to those dates or am I just out of luck for being ignorant? My records have 2 absolute nexus opinions and 3 others that infer they were caused by my limp dating back to Oct of 2000.
Thanks
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