*** should va have filed**

[david dupe]

23 hours ago, broncovet said:

The short answer:  We dont know, but, if you do meet the criteria, I agree with Alex that you get smc back to the time you DID meet the criteria.  There are 2 roads to SMC S, and you could meet either or both.  One is statuatory smc s, the other is housebound in fact.  If you meet the crieteria either way, you should get smc s.  

What we dont know are your ratings "seperate and distinct" from each other.  Its not enough to get  "just' tdiu or 100 percent and an additional 60 percent, but those have to be seperate and distinct from each other.  This is complicated because we dont know what disabilities the Va rated you tdiu FOR.   For example, were you tdiu for CAD, for PTSD, for both, or from something else?  We dont know that.  

I suggest you simply apply for SMC S..that should be an easier route to get it than filing a CUE that they didnt give it to you, even tho both of these could work.  You may have to fight for an earlier effective date..because VA pretty much wants you to fight your entire life to get/keep your benefits by doing stuff like chopping claims up into little pieces and giving you only one piece at a time, then taking 5 to 20 years to give you each piece.  

Finally, we dont know for sure if you meet the criteria for SMC S under "housebound in fact", but I suspect that, under Howell, you do, since you are apparently not working due to sc conditions.  We also dont know when you became unable to maintain SGE due to sc conditions, so we dont know what your effective date would be.