VERY Old Claims such as those denied.

[broncovet]

Treasure HUNT:  Do you have an "old" claim that was denied?  One Veteran spoke of a 1985 denial.  Alex had a 1994 claim that was denied and he eventually won benefits back to that date, apparently.   Its possible you could have a potential for large retro, especially if the VA made mistakes, and my experience has been that about 90% plus of RO decisions have mistakes.    

Here is what I recommend if you have a very old denial.

1.  Look the decision and the rest of your documents over thoroughly. 

2.  Do you have a copy of that old decision?  If you do not, try to get it through the VA, or your VSO.

3.  Look in your records to see if you submitted new evidence, or even if you filed a NOD that VA never sent you a SOC.  That could mean your claim is still pending.  If its still pending, that could mean you have a large potential for retro.

4.  If you are in doubt, take all your documents to an experienced NOVA attorney and ask his opinion.  

5.   Did you get awarded benefits later?   Did you appeal the "new" decision that may have awarded benefits disputing the effective date?  

6.  

[green]

So, I applied for peripheral neuropathy in my feet back in 1994 (secondary to diabetes).  I was denied saying there was no evidence to support my claim (there was).  Recently I was looking through M-21 and found the following criteria for rating peripheral neuropathy.  If this is in fact true, I should have been rated at least at the "mild" level.  I am currently waiting on a FDC I submitted 8+ months ago to be decided.  I once again applied for peripheral neuropathy and submitted doctor notes from a private neurologist and an EMG (EMG shows both sensory and motor issues in all four limbs).  My C&P noted at least as likely as not and stated each limb was "moderate".  Legs can be rated mild, moderate, moderately severe, or severe for incomplete paralysis.  I have objective proof as well as notes saying I have no reflexes in my arms or legs, weakness, trophic changes, etc.  It will be interesting to see how I'm rated and if they do anything regarding the 1994 denial.

 

If the level of incomplete paralysis regarding peripheral nerves is…	Then the evidence will indicate the following criteria...
Mild	subjective symptoms, and/or decreased sensation.
Moderate	absence of sensation confirmed by objective findings.
Severe	more than sensory findings are demonstrated, such as atrophy, weakness, diminished reflexes, and so on.

Edited April 1, 2016 by green

[broncovet]

Take everything you have (all documents and evidence) and have him/her evaluate it to see if there is a possibility of CUE, the claim pending from reopen due to n and M evidence (38 CFR 3.156) or maybe an egregarious error such as the VA "forgetting" to send you notice of appeal.