Increased Ratings & Effective Dates

Increased Ratings

A veteran's disability may deteriorate overtime. For example, a disability that warrants a 10% rating one year may fit the requirements for a 70% rating or 100% rating in the years following. If that is case with you, then you should consider filing a VA Form 21-526EZ and argue that you require an increased rating.

 

An increased rating claim

is always a new claim

because the VA is faced

with a different set of facts,

e.g., a worse injury. These

new, initial claims do not

require "new and relevant"

evidence. However, you

should be sure to submit

with your new claim

medical evidence

establishing the increased

rating. I work with medical

experts who can help you establish your increased rating. You may also warrant a 100% rating via TDIU benefits if your worsened disability inhibits your ability to secure and/or maintain substantially gainful employment. 

 

If the VA denied your increased rating claim, give me a call for a free case evaluation and to ensure that you do not fall into the VA traps. Appealing the claim can be tricky, especially under the new AMA laws because the VA staggers your ratings - you must appeal the claim in a specific way to avoid loosing your benefits forever.

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Earliest Effective Date for Increased Ratings

The general rule is that the effective date is the date when the VA received your claim or when the entitlement arose, whichever is later.

 

However, there is an exception to the general rule, and you can push back your effective date by a maximum of one year if you submitted medical evidence substantiating that your claim arose within one year prior to when you submitted your claim. This is referred to as a one-year "look back," and the VA commonly errs in performing an adequate look back review. A medical examination, hospitalization, or treatment record, which addresses the severity of your disability can trigger this look-back exception. Contact me today if you feel like the VA failed to give you the earliest effective date possible. 

 

Other Effective Date Exceptions

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• Effective Dates for Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) - When you prevail on a CUE claim, the effective date is the date that would have been assigned but for the error, which generally will be the date that VA received the claim upon which a denial was based. 

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• Effective Dates for Newly Obtained Military Service Department Records - If the VA could have obtained military service records, but did not, you may be able to obtain an earlier effective date if the records substantiate an earlier claim for benefits. This might be a situation where you were denied benefits and later filed a subsequent claim for the same benefit and included the newly obtained military service records. If the records result in a grant of benefits, then the effective date should be the date that the VA received the claim, which it previously decided. In other words, the VA will treat the original claim as if it had been granted, rather than denied. Contact me today if you feel like the VA did not provide you the correct effective date. 

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• Other Effective Date Exceptions - There are other exceptions to the general effective date rules, such as in the following instances: if your claim is granted due to a Discharge Review Board (DRB) upgrade or Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) correction, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) claims received within on year of the Veteran's death, disability compensation claims received within on year of discharge, and initial claims submitted under VA's fully developed claim program on or before August 6, 2015.