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In 2015, a veteran did exactly what he was supposed to do. He submitted a VA disability claim on paper, kept copies of everything, and even retained a fax confirmation showing the claim had been successfully sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Then he waited for a decision. And waited.
Years passed with no response from VA. No decision, no acknowledgment, no explanation. After years of silence and mounting frustration, the veteran eventually resubmitted his claims. This time, VA acted. He was granted service connection for several conditions, but VA assigned effective dates based only on the later resubmission, not the original 2015 claim that VA had lost. The result was devastating. Nearly a decade of benefits was erased.
Despite the veteran producing copies of the original 2015 claim and proof of submission, VA refused to grant an earlier effective date. The agency maintained that the earlier claim did not count, even in the face of clear documentary evidence. That is when the Veterans Clinic stepped in.
Staff Attorney Carter Brooks Templeton took on the case. Over the course of more than a year, the Clinic filed multiple appeals, including a Higher-Level Review, a Supplemental Claim, and ultimately a petition alleging clear and unmistakable error (CUE). The advocacy focused on forcing VA to confront the evidence it had ignored. After sustained litigation and advocacy before VA, the effort paid off.
VA finally granted the correct effective date tied to the veteran’s original 2015 claim. The correction resulted in $109,000 in retroactive benefits, money the veteran should have received years earlier.
“This case shows how devastating administrative errors can be for veterans. Our role is to make sure the evidence is respected and the law is applied the way it’s supposed to be. Hannah Rodriguez, a former Veterans Clinic student and current Mizzou alum, worked on this case, and I’m incredibly proud of her work,” said Carter Brooks Templeton, attorney for the veteran.
For the veteran, the decision brought long-overdue relief and financial stability. For the Veterans Clinic, it was another reminder of the Clinic’s mission to hold the system accountable and ensuring veterans receive every benefit they earned through their service.