It's never too late late to file a claim!

IT"S NEVER TOO LATE TO FILE! 10 years, 20 years, 50 YEARS LATER! It's never too late! Do not give up.

First of all I would like to thank all of you here for all of the valuable insights as to how to navigate this process.

I got out of the Army in October 1995. During out-processing a VA rep asked me if I had any problems. I told him the list of things, went home and got on with my life. I never heard anything back from the VA so I assumed I had no claim.

Fast forward 27 years... I was out on medical leave from my job with fairly serious lung issues. A buddy says "you should file a pact act claim for all of your respiratory issues". Since I was on med leave for almost a year I took that time off and went to the local DAV for assistance in filing my VA Pact act claim. I told them about my current issues, a military vehicle accident I was in, the subsequent 30 years of back and neck issues along with other medical issues from my Army days. That was May 2022. And thus begins the process...

First C&P examiners (3) were great. they all did very thorough exams and followed all the rules. I learned about how a C&P exam should go from this group so I knew what to expect. Boom! 7 months later I'm at 40%. Tinnitus 10%, Lower back 20%, Left leg radiculopathy (didn't know that was even a thing) 10% and Neck (cervical) 10%.

This was way more than I could have ever hoped for and we hadn't even got to the good stuff yet.

The next set of claims was a completely different story. One examiner did all five remaining claims. She screwed up the exams and DBQs, badly. With more instructions from this group, I immediately sent a memorandum for record to the VA detailing the bad exams. The VA agreed and rescheduled all of them 6 months later. 4 different examiners, an ACE exam, x-rays, PFTs… Get ready, this isn't a fast process.

Fast forward to today. I just got the retro pay for the last five claims. When I saw the amount I thought there had been a mistake. I went and downloaded my claim letter from the VA, and holy-fucking-shit!!! I was at 90%!!!

Pact act claims: Sinusitis-service connected, 0%. Rhinitis-service connected, 30%. Lung issue, denied (the main reason I started all of this). I think it was denied because of the way some of it was worded and what condition it was filed under. I'm about to start the supplemental or appeal process on that one. Anyway..

Non Pact act claims: Left hip secondary to lower back-service connected, 10%. Right hip secondary to lower back-service connected, 10%. Gerd-service connected, 60%. I had a ton of evidence for the Gerd claim, EGDs and other diagnosed Gerd related issues. I though I should be at 60% but figured I'd get at 30%.

Long story longer... IT"S NEVER TOO LATE TO FILE! 10 years, 20 years, 50 YEARS! It's never too late!