Question:

When are you allowed to file for 1151 benefits for a secondary condition? Only after you’ve been granted benefits for the primary condition, or immediately upon learning of the secondary condition? Thank you.

Jim's Reply:

Title 38 U.S. Code § 1151 isn't a benefit in the way you're thinking of it. This piece of the code comes into play if you're injured by VA medical treatment or voc rehab. I usually think of it as a sort of mini-medical malpractice suit where both the burden of evidence and the award are lower than a tort claim.

I believe that you're asking when you are allowed to file a claim for a secondary condition? The answer to that is at any time after you have the primary condition rated.

For example: The Vietnam veteran who is diagnosed with type II diabetes is awarded a presumptive rating of 40% by The Schedule for that condition. Once his service connection and the 40% rating are in place the veteran could then go on to file for conditions like peripheral artery disease, carotid artery disease, renal artery disease, coronary artery disease, thyroid disease, retinopathy, and a host of other conditions that DMII is known to cause, contribute to or aggravate.

That same sort of cascading effects may be applied to a service connected injury that causes other disabling conditions. If you lost your lower leg on a mine, you may have hip and back problems over time.

I'll caution that the VA doesn't blindly accept any premise you may offer. There has to be some science to support an allegation and claim of a secondary condition. Overreaching (my active duty broken arm caused my liver cancer 30 years later) will just get you a denial PDQ. If there are doubts, get an IMO.