Effective date and retroactive pay

[allboyz]

Hi! My husband was increased from 30% to 50%. Under "What We Decided" they changed one of the claims that was initially denied to 0% with an effective date of 10/2010.  Then they increased another claim from 0% to 20% with an effective date of 2/1/2017 (claim was initially filed in 2010 for this and he got 0%..now they agree that his issue worsened). We are are trying to figure out if he would be eligible for backpay at all? Thanks for any info....

[ScoutLT]

No back pay as his conditioned worsened at the time of the last exam not prior to it.  If he would have appealed the decision and won an appeal he would have been eligible for back pay.  That is the way I see it.  They just did the same to me on one of my service connected disabilities.  The increase came during a standard review of my disabilities.

[brokj]

I was diagnosed in service and discharged i think beacuse of my condition. but i was not medicaly discharged although I was service connected about 7 years after I was discharged at 10%.   If I get my DIscharge changed to a medical discharge could I get back pay to the day I was Discharged?

[broncovet]

Yes.  If your "combined" rating increased from 30 percent to 50 percent, you should get retro pay from the effective date.  Since one went down, the other up, you need to compare the "combined" ratings before and after.  

    You may consider an appeal of the reduction, tho I dont know all the facts.  

[SteelerGirl]

I submitted my initial claim for multiple issues back in 2015. They denied all and then I appealed it last yr and denied again. My rep submitted another claim for my right leg and knee 2 months ago. I was examined and got a 10% rating for my knee only. I was under the impression I would get retroactive pay from my initial claim since my knees and legs were included. The letter I received states effective Sep 2017. Why was it not retroactive from the initial submission from 2015? Do I have to dispute that too?

[lambda5555m]

Yes most likely.  I am getting my date backdated and they will owe me back pay and I want it.  It wouldn't be an issue if they had done the right thing to begin with.  Make them pay you.  Write letters and use social media to get some attention as well.  Good Luck.

[broncovet]

Steeler girl:   Please ask your question in a seperate (new post).  Eveyone gets confused when you dont.  

JUST THIS ONE TIME I will answer because you are new.  Importantly, the volunteers who answer questions wont see yours "buried" in someone else's post.  

My answer:

    Yes.  You have to dispute "each" issue in a NOD.  I found that out the hard way.  Trust me the VA can/does "drop the ball" and forget about one or more of your issues.  File a NOD disputing any unresolved issues.  In most circumstances, you want to "opt in" to Ramp on your appeals, UNLESS you like the idea of waiting 5 years for a BVA decision in the "legacy" appeals process.  As for me, since I also have unresolved issues, I am opting in to RAMP, as I am not so sure I will even be alive by 2023.  Part of my claim is at CAVC, the rest is going into RAMP pronto.  Im opting in, even tho I have not gotten an "opt in" letter.