How does the VA determine effective dates for direct and secondary service connected conditions?

In case you missed it, we've been covering effective dates in-depth lately:

• Is your VA disability benefits effective date correct?

• How the VA determines effective dates for presumptive conditions

• Recent updates the VA has made regarding effective dates

Today, we'll be zooming in on how effective dates are determined for direct and secondary service connected conditions. Each type of condition is a little bit different when it comes to how the VA handles effective dates for VA disability benefits – and that's why we're going down the line and covering each of them.

Here's what veterans should know about effective dates for direct and secondary service connected conditions:

But first, a bit of background information

You might be wondering what an effective date even means, or why veterans should know anything about them. An effective date is simply the specific date that the VA decided to acknowledge a condition as service-connected. They're found on your VA disability benefits award letter, along with your ratings sheet or e-benefits image that can be found on the va.gov website.

It's also important to understand the difference between Direct Service Connected and Secondary Service Connected claims.

• Direct service connected (SC) claims are for injuries or illnesses that happened while a veteran was serving.

• Secondary service connected (SC) claims are for conditions that weren't directly caused by military service, but were made worse by a service connected disability.

How the VA determines effective dates for direct service connected conditions

The VA determines effective dates for direct SC conditions in accordance with the 38 CFR 3.400(b)(2)(i) (their code of regulations). It can be complicated to sift through all that info, so here are the basics of what you should know.

For direct SC, the following applies when determining effective dates:

• Claims that were received more than one year post discharge from active duty will follow the general rule, meaning the effective date will be the date the claim was received or the date entitlement arose (when the veteran documented the medical condition).

• For claims within one year of discharge, the effective date can be as early as the day after discharge. The VA has a table to explain how this works:

So basically, if the claim was filed within 1 YEAR of discharge, the veteran will have to assess the conditions of their separation from service which will either give them an effective date of right after discharge, or the date entitlement arose.

How the VA determines effective dates for secondary service connected conditions

The VA states within the 38 CFR 3.310 that secondary SC conditions are considered part of the original (direct) condition, but this only covers "entitlement" to secondary SC without actually assigning an effective date. So here's how it works:

• Since a claim for a secondary SC condition is an additional disability due to a direct SC condition, it can't be considered for increased rating for effective date purposes.

• So, the effective date for secondary SC conditions is treated differently – it's based on the date that the application for VA disability benefits was filed, assuming it gets awarded.

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