Get SC backdated to onset of condition?

[Christheexplorer]

 Good Morning community- 

Earlier this month I recieved 100% service connection, a surprizing 2 1/2 months after submitting my claim on e-benefits. After living off of a few hundred bucks a month for the past 3 years I woke up to $6k in my bank account, so life feels great right now.

 

A friend of mine is telling me to file my NOD anyways, for the other disabilities  they didn't connect, and also to get my SC backdated to the onset of condition - which would be considered starting in the last 2 months of service before recieving my honorable discharge, 9 years ago.

 

Who has experience with this? Is there a legitimate route I can take to get my 100% backdated to the diagnosis of my PTSD, and without a lawyer?

Thanks and happy Sunday.

[brokensoldier244th]

Usually you can't get it back dated to onset, or in your case, to your last service date, unless you filed within a year of leaving service. NOD-ing for the other conditions is really a judgement call. Are they conditions from which you could potentially die? Then you would want to file for them so that if they were granted then your spouse would qualify for dependent compensation. At 100% your other conditions are all treatable under VA medical even if they aren't service connected, and you potentially won't net any more in compensation at 100% unless you are really messed up and housebound or need constant attending. 

[broncovet]

Mostly, I agree with brokensoldiers reply, but would add this:  Effective dates are very complex, however, the only instance I know of getting an effective date BEFORE you first applied would be if you were within a year of service.  There is an exception, however, in the case of an increase, if the increase occurs within a year.  See 38 CFR  3.400(o)(2)

The above regulation is often overlooked by VARO, as it was in my case.   

You can read more good stuff on effective dates here:

http://www.purpleheart.org/ServiceProgram/Training2014/BasicEFFECTIVEDATES.pdf

This explains several exceptions to the rule that you can not get an effective date earlier than the date you applied.  

[Vync]

That is good information.

My personal opinion about EED limitations is that they are anti-veteran. It gives the VA more reasons to deny claims and not pay retro.

[brokensoldier244th]

EED is not a denial, its just not as early as everyone would like. I feel they are necessary. Why should someone, even a veteran, be able to claim something like Sleep Apnea or some kind cancer based on service if there is not a direct correlation 15 years after service? They give you a year to get your claims and ailments in a row, and for those other diseases and disorders that are already tied to presumptives those are already accounted for. I don't think just because someone is a veteran that they should be able to claim everything under the sun (what one of my Sgt's told me to do when I got out in 2002) years afterwards. Sometimes you get diseases, sometimes parts don't work right- its not always applicable to service. Sometimes its just getting old, or bad choices. I think the 1 yr is pretty generous as it is. 

[broncovet]

The "one year after service" is a presumption, which is rebuttable.  A great example of this is if you had a car accident with injury in that 1 year window.  VA could easily rebut the service connection and contend it occurred as a result of the car accident.  

The "arbritrary" one year presumption is just that...arbritrary.  There is nothing magic that occurs a year after service.  Many, many diseases take much longer than a year to manifest themselves.  A couple examples are hearing loss, and Hep C.   These take many years, and are often very difficult to service connect, even when/especially when, they are a result of service.   I dont consider the one year very generous, reminding you this is supposed to be a pro claimant ex parte, Veteran friendly system...that often takes 5 years or more for the Veteran to get his deserved benefits.   Why is there a one year prestumption, when it oftten takes 5 years for VA to pay these benefits??   If it was truly pro claimant, then why 5 years or more?  

If Veterans benefits are that great, why is it that recruiters are needed..why isnt everying just beating down the doors to get in the military in order to get those (allegedly) great benefits.  

Many companies offer both health benefits, retirement, disability (short term and long term) for their employees, including VA.  If VA health care is Sooo great, why dont VA employees use that, and use private care instead?  More importantly, if these benefits are so great, why dont politicians use VA medical care, if its the best in the world?  

There is a culture, in VA, where VA employees somehow resent the benefits given to Veterans, for reasons which are unclear.  I wont deny that some Vets game the system, and a rare few may have even obtained benefits for conditions which are not really service connected.  That is, they got benefits when they did not deserve them.  However, for every one of those there are 10 Vets who get denied, delayed, slip through the cracks, and often die before VA gets around to approving their benefits.  

Edited August 15, 2016 by broncovet

[Vync]

I have seen a lot of veterans asking the question, "If I knew then what I know now..."

 

The other day I talked with a veteran who didn't even know it was possible to file a disability claim because they were told the VA only handled GI Bill.

In the service, many acquired the "tough it out" mentality despite injuries. They got out and continued to live under that philosophy, but their injuries caught up to them and didn't have adequate health care. By then, damage is done and it might be too late to turn things around.

Back before the Internet and before the VCAA of 2000, many of us were told to just visit our local VA rep after getting out, but in reality the representation may have been pretty awful. Unlike today, all resources were pretty much locked up in an ivory tower back then.

And then there are VSO's who helped veterans file their claims. The veteran comes back later with another issue and is told not to file anything else because it "might slow down" their pending claims.

 

Personally, I was out of the military for 13 years when I found Hadit. I had no idea what a secondary claim was until I learned it here. If I knew it was possible to file a secondary claim, I would have done it years earlier, got treatment, and not feel like I am falling apart.