tdiu Does Va Pay Retroactive To Disability Date?

[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

[broncovet]

Thanks BroncoVet (Is that Denver or Boise State?) I have an entry in my med records from 2004 after I asked a VA doctor about disability that reads-

Denver...Tebow, all the way..