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Supplemental Claim Approved- HLR for Effective Date?

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Willy P

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Good Afternoon Team,

Short back story/timeline:

  • Left Active Duty: August 2015
  • Diagnosed with Sleep Apnea February 2016 (6 months later)
  • Submitted claim in May 2016 with my evidence: 
    • Sleep study
    • DBQ
    • In service complaint of snoring exerpt from my medical record
    • Favorable C&P Exam opinion (at least as likely as not...)
  • VA Denied my claim in August 2016
  • I did nothing because I didn't think I could come up with any other evidence

Fast forward to last year.....

I scratched some pennies together and paid for an IMO, then submitted the letter via a supplemental claim.  I was awarded SC for sleep apnea at 50% within a month of the VA receiving my claim.  Success!  Here is the link to that process in the research forum: 

 

So here is my line of thought...

Can I use HLR to fight for an earlier effective date, or do I have to use CUE?  I mean, the VA had everything it needed to make the proper rating the first time (In-service event, nexus from the C&P doc, current diagnosis...).  I have a hard time with the fact that I had to pay an outside doctor just to agree with the C&P exam doctor.  Why would the rater place his/her opinion over the VA's own doctor?  Shouldn't the benefit of the doubt have gone to me?  From what I understand, I can't CUE the benefit of the doubt anyway.

Since I am within the appeals period of the supplemental claim, I'm thinking the easiest path may be to request HLR in order to ask them to CUE themselves on the 2016 decision.  Is that possible?  I'm just trying to avoid CUE if I can, since it's mainly a "last resort" type of measure.

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  • HadIt.com Elder

This may help.

 ''The M 21 covers this contingency in M21-1, Part III, subpart  iv, chapter 7, section B(3)(a) (requiring correction of errors on the rating codesheet, including disability evaluations, effective dates, and diagnostic codes); id., sec. B(3)(c) (requiring referral of an erroneous decision “to a decision maker to issue a new decision” once an error has been identified).''

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Update 7/3.

It's official- the HLR on VA.gov shows up as closed and my ebenefits effective date on the disability tab goes back to the day after discharge.  Success!

 

image.thumb.png.27a89b11ed9d45a3052ef1ebaef615e1.png

 

Now my only question- it looks like when I try to generate a letter, it keeps showing an effective date of December 1, 2019.  Is this just because that is when the 50% monthly compensation rate was last updated, or is there a mistake?

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  • HadIt.com Elder

Willy there is some error on one or both of them. I'd like to be positive, but ebenefits makes a lot of errors and the letter generator usually is fairly accurate. It is best to get your decision letter first to make sure. The VA isn't going to do much of anything until enough time has passed for you to have received your letter. You may have to appeal your EED though. In any case, congrats on your win.

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8 hours ago, Willy P said:

Update 7/3.

It's official- the HLR on VA.gov shows up as closed and my ebenefits effective date on the disability tab goes back to the day after discharge.  Success!

 

image.thumb.png.27a89b11ed9d45a3052ef1ebaef615e1.png

 

Now my only question- it looks like when I try to generate a letter, it keeps showing an effective date of December 1, 2019.  Is this just because that is when the 50% monthly compensation rate was last updated, or is there a mistake?

December 1, 2019 is most likely the last COLA change. From this it appears that your effective date is August 20, 2015

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Congrats!

I agree with pacmanx1. The December date is the last COLA and your effective date is 8/20/15. You should have a nice deposit coming your way. 
 

I think the raters have erred on the effective dates of these supplemental claims and the HLR is the quickest way to get it fixed. This gives me hope that mine will be corrected now. I filed in 2010 for knees, back and left ankle secondary to pes planus and already service connected right ankle. Pes planus, knees, back and left ankle were all denied. Pes planus was granted on a DRO review but knees, back and left ankle were still denied. The NP at my C&P exams kept erroneously claiming that having an abnormal gait caused by my service connected pes planus and right ankle could not cause knee and back issues. Any orthopedist will tell you that it will. It sat at BVA for about 3 years until it was remanded and I filed a supplemental in February 2020 with an IMO from my orthopedic surgeon. It was approved but with an effective date of February 2020. I filed the HLR in March 2020 and I’m still waiting for my informal conference. The VA even has all my records to show that I had knee and back issues well before I even filed the claims in 2010. I’ve been service connected for my right ankle since 2000. 

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  • HadIt.com Elder

This may have been mention?  but  if not , make sure they pay your dependents too 

THEY ARE GETTING PRETTY BAD ABOUT NOT ADDING DEPENDENTS. SO WATCH THAT.

FOR 50% RATING ALONE PAYS THE VETERAN MONTHLY COMP PAYS 833.00  & WITH A SPOUSE THE PAY IS 979.43 MONTHLY.

This is  NEW &PRESENT effective DATES (CLICK LINK BELOW)

Be sure and check the ''FOOTNOTES''

IF YOU HAVE  CHILDREN THEN IT WILL BE MORE...SO BE SURE THEY ADD YOUR DEPENDENTS...ITS BETTER TO GET THIS SQUARED AWAY NOW THAN HAVE TO APPEAL THE DEPENDENT PAY.

broncovet knows all about that.

https://the-military-guide.com/va-disability-compensation-rates/

Edited by Buck52
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