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Retro pay

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sderoy

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Good Morning,

 

Can someone with knowledge of supplemental claims for retroactive VA disability help me?  I want to make sure I have all the right forms and would like to talk with someone who has had success.  I am a caregiver to a nephew who has waited 15 years for his rating for severe PTSD and TBI, which he just received in November but has repeatedly tried in the past since 2004 after leaving the war.    I'm new to your forum and a little unsure how all this works.  

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Ok, you dont "apply for retroactive pay".   Instead, when you get a VARO decision, if you dispute the effective date (the effective date determines the retro), you need to appeal it by filing a NOD.  

If he "just received" his decision in November, (2019), then you can appeal the decision as its in the one year appeal deadline.  To do that, File a Notice of disagreement, on the proper form and describe what it is you dispute about the decision.  

All this said, VA can/does make mistakes "even when" they have the effective date correct.  To determine if you got the correct retro you can calculate it your self or you can use a retro calculator.  https://www.hillandponton.com/va-retro-disability-calculator/

If the effective date is correct, but VA still got the amount wrong, you would need to ask VA for an "audit".  

If you do it yourself, remember your pay "actually begins" on the first day of the month "following" the effective date.  Also, you need to know that VA compensation is paid "in arrears" not in advance like rent.  Example:   Your effective date is today Jan. 10, 2020.   Your pay begins on Feb.1, but you wont see a check until March 1,2020   again, because VA comp is paid in arrears not in advance.    When you calculate retro pay, you have to recalculate it EACH year, because you have to use the "old" pay rate tables, not the new pay rate table times the number of months.  

 

If this is a "large" retro potential, for example, if it goes back 3 years or more, then it may be in your best interest to bring your cfile to a competent NOVA attorney.  He can check your file and determine if he agrees (or disagrees) with the effective date the VARO said.  If he thinks they got it wrong (as often happens), the he can fight it for you and you wont have to pay him until you get paid.  

 

Edited by broncovet
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sderoy  N.O.V.A. 

NOVA is a national organization of attorneys and other qualified members who act as advocates for disabled veterans. NOVA hosts two conferences a year, one in the spring and one in the fall, in addition to occasional training webinars throughout the year.

 

Oceanbound   what makes you say this?  

''The VA is not going to give him a TBI rating, they will instead combine it all into one under mental disorder of something and call it a day.??

And if a VA Dr diagnose him for PTSD or TBI  IF HE HAS THE EVIDENCE I DON'T SEE WHY THEY WOULDN'T SERVICE CONNECT HIM FOR A  TBI? TBI IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT IF A VETERAN HAS BEEN DIAGNOSE  BUT DON'T PRESENT ANY SYMPTOMS   THE TBI IS STILL GOING TO BE THERE  AND IT MAY BE MONTHS OR YEARS FOR A CONDITION TO ARISE

  AND  A TBI CAN HAVE MANY MANY CONDITIONS ARISE LATER ON IN THE VETERANS LIFE TIME  SO IF HE HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED FOR A TBI THATS GOOD FOR HIM TO FILE A CLAIM OR CLAIMS BECAUSE OF THE TBI   THEY CAN DIFFERENTIATE  BETWEEN PTSD & TBI 

 Post-traumatic stress disorder vs traumatic brain injury
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3182010
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) often coexist because brain injuries are often sustained in traumatic experiences. This review outlines the significant overlap between PTSD and TBI by commencing with a critical outline of the overlapping symptoms and problems of differential diagnosis.

 

''

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The reason why VA isn't going to just hand out TBIs are that mental illness disorder of one thing or another and TBI are two very different treatments plans. PTSD is treated by PhD shrinks while TBI are by physicians. Previously I wrote replies to threads mentioned how.

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