Car Accident

[qrdgv2tebc]

Hi To All

Now that my BVA hearing is over, i was going through abunch of papers that i don't need anymore. like downloades, stuff i can get at any time. I came across a page from my medical records, that showed i had a car accident within one year of my retirement, My friend was driving i was in the passenger side, we were hit almost head on by a drunk driver, he was a cop. my head hit the windshield and smashed the windshield into a cobweb crack, and i busted up my thumb. i was put in the hospital overnight and my arm was put in a sling for a week.. My friend busted his nose and broken wrist.

I am S/C for headaches, but it is tied into my cervical Arthritis.

Would it be a lost cause to put in a claim for a higher rating on my headeaches. since i did not put in claim within the one year after retirement?

Patrick

[Guest fla_viking]

Dear Veteran

If you have medical documentaton of illness or injury within one year of discharge. You can get SC for it. You dont have to have filed a claim within one year. Only need proof of disablity.

I took some medical tests in 1976 that proved I was disabled. IT wasnt until 1998 the VA bothered to read them and now im 100% SC.

If you can get an IMO stating the disablity and the rate do disablity you have.

Terry Higgins

[olenavygoat]

I'm thinking your headaches are either sinus or cervical spine related? If there was no other trauma to the head other than the car accident, it's probably what has caused the condition. If there was a serious condition you may want t orelay you had head trauma. However, if you've been through your C & P they've connected you for "headaches". How your headaches manifested were assumed to have occurred in service, no matter the cause. Now the broken thumb, you may wish to have them service connect if not already done in case meds or surgery may be required later in life.

They actually rated you for "headaches"? I was under the impression it had to be "migraine".

[Vike17]

Patrick,

I don't understand what you are asking. Are you asking whether or not the VA will consider a request for increase for a service-connected condition if the original claim wasn't submitted within one year of disachrge/retirement? If that's what you are asking, that's not the case at all. If you are already service-connected for something, you can request an increase at anytime regardless of when you first submitted the original claim. For an increased evaluation, the VA only needs to see medical documentation of how your condition is currently affecting you i.e. current treatment records from the recent past.

There seems to be a misunderstanding in regards to the presumptive service-connection criteria. Just because a veteran gets hurt or comes down with an illness within one year of discharge/retirement doesn't mean that it will automatically warrant service-connection. The only conditions that warent service-connection under the presumptive rule are those listed under §3.307 through §3.309 which manifest themselves within the prescribed periods.

Vike 17

[Guest rickb54]

In addition to what vike said,

I think you would be hard pressed to get a broken thumb service connected if you were involved in a car accident after you retired. My experience has shown that you can get service connection for a problem years later as long as the active duty medical records, and the current medical problems are related. In fact it was 18 years after my retirement that I was awarded claims for COPD, Hearing, tinnitis, Hemorroids, & eppidmittis but these problems were all in my active medical records. You can also get service connected for many presumed conditions, but I don't see how you can claim service connection for anything due to a car accident after retirement. You could try to get an increase for headaches but you will need to show medical evidence to get an increase.

[Guest jstacy]

The first year presumptive states chronic Illnesses.

[qrdgv2tebc]

Patrick,

I don't understand what you are asking. Are you asking whether or not the VA will consider a request for increase for a service-connected condition if the original claim wasn't submitted within one year of disachrge/retirement? If that's what you are asking, that's not the case at all. If you are already service-connected for something, you can request an increase at anytime regardless of when you first submitted the original claim. For an increased evaluation, the VA only needs to see medical documentation of how your condition is currently affecting you i.e. current treatment records from the recent past.

There seems to be a misunderstanding in regards to the presumptive service-connection criteria. Just because a veteran gets hurt or comes down with an illness within one year of discharge/retirement doesn't mean that it will automatically warrant service-connection. The only conditions that warent service-connection under the presumptive rule are those listed under §3.307 through §3.309 which manifest themselves within the prescribed periods.

Vike 17