I am a surviving spouse of a VietNam veteran receiving DIC. In the request for DIC I also requested any back payment due my late husband and because there wasn't a formal claim made by him prior to his death it was denied. The DIC was approved. There were additional facts about his health that we tried to add to his rated conditions, but were told by VSOs from 2 different organizations that he couldn't go above 100% and they wouldn't help us file a claim for it. We also asked the VA doctors he saw and were told they didn't know how. He was rated for ischemic heart disease, diabetes and neuropathy....equaling 100%. Then he went into kidney failure and was on daily dialysis at home for 5 years before passing of his heart condition. He would have at least qualified for housebound and aid and attendance in addition to loss of use of his kidneys. I don't know what else. After the first 2 years of treatment, VA wrote saying they would be paying for it going forward. We hadn't applied for their help. Of course, VA had records of paying for it and it was many times referenced in his 6 month checkups with the VA doctor as well. But as I said, no one could tell us how to add it to his rated conditions. Several months before he passed we found out about SMC online. We engaged a lawyer's help to determine what to claim for in the SMC tier and by the time they got the C file and reviewed it to advise us, my husband passed. They advised me to apply for additional $ owed along with my DIC form. But beyond that they weren't involved. After the denial, I began putting together claim information by myself. I filed a NOD with a DAV rep, in person, at the local VA hospital to give me more time to finish. Many months later I found out it was never filed due to a direct instruction NOT to. The person giving that directive was in an authoritative position so it was obeyed. No one ever told me until I called to see why VA didn't have it. And on the phone was told what had happened. Of course that ended my opportunity to show reason for back pay. Also during that time there was a change in the VA procedure that they could no longer use material evidence of a condition, such as their records I referenced above, to prove they knew about the dialysis, but never put anything in the C file about it. So then my records couldn't be honored anyway.
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Persistant
I am a surviving spouse of a VietNam veteran receiving DIC. In the request for DIC I also requested any back payment due my late husband and because there wasn't a formal claim made by him prior to his death it was denied. The DIC was approved. There were additional facts about his health that we tried to add to his rated conditions, but were told by VSOs from 2 different organizations that he couldn't go above 100% and they wouldn't help us file a claim for it. We also asked the VA doctors he saw and were told they didn't know how. He was rated for ischemic heart disease, diabetes and neuropathy....equaling 100%. Then he went into kidney failure and was on daily dialysis at home for 5 years before passing of his heart condition. He would have at least qualified for housebound and aid and attendance in addition to loss of use of his kidneys. I don't know what else. After the first 2 years of treatment, VA wrote saying they would be paying for it going forward. We hadn't applied for their help. Of course, VA had records of paying for it and it was many times referenced in his 6 month checkups with the VA doctor as well. But as I said, no one could tell us how to add it to his rated conditions. Several months before he passed we found out about SMC online. We engaged a lawyer's help to determine what to claim for in the SMC tier and by the time they got the C file and reviewed it to advise us, my husband passed. They advised me to apply for additional $ owed along with my DIC form. But beyond that they weren't involved. After the denial, I began putting together claim information by myself. I filed a NOD with a DAV rep, in person, at the local VA hospital to give me more time to finish. Many months later I found out it was never filed due to a direct instruction NOT to. The person giving that directive was in an authoritative position so it was obeyed. No one ever told me until I called to see why VA didn't have it. And on the phone was told what had happened. Of course that ended my opportunity to show reason for back pay. Also during that time there was a change in the VA procedure that they could no longer use material evidence of a condition, such as their records I referenced above, to prove they knew about the dialysis, but never put anything in the C file about it. So then my records couldn't be honored anyway.
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Persistant
I am a surviving spouse of a VietNam veteran receiving DIC. In the request for DIC I also requested any back payment due my late husband and because there wasn't a formal claim made by him prior to h
broncovet
If you have timely filed substitution of claimant (your attorney should have informed you of this necessity), then you should be able to get "accrued benefits". In regards to SMC a "claim is not
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