VA will pay Army vet $40,000 in back benefits
June 06, 2019
A disabled Army vet from New Jersey will soon be paid $40,000 in back benefits from the Veterans Administration.
Ronald Choplinski, 71, was awarded the money after the VA Board of Veterans’ Appeals decided in January 2018 to upgrade the severity of his disability and that he should have been compensated for it earlier than he was. The Philadelphia VA Regional Office did not comply with the ruling until seventeen months later.
Choplinski was drafted into the Army in 1968 and was hospitalized for a month during basic training at Fort Bragg. He suffers from a condition that affects his stomach and esophagus called gastroesophageal reflux disease. He says that the conditions he experienced during basic training, specifically during exercises in which he had to put his face in the mud and swallowed the mud and water, exacerbated the disease. This led to his hospitalization and subsequent honorable discharge from the military.
In 1972 Choplinski first filed for benefits based on a service connection for his condition and was denied by the Philadelphia VA Regional Office. However, the
Choplinski reopened the claim in 2010 and was granted a service connection. Then, in 2018, the rating of the severity of his disability was raised. His monthly benefit went from $140 to $482, and the Veteran’s Board of Appeals decided that he was entitled to his extra amount retroactively, starting in 2010. There is also an investigation ongoing into whether he should receive this amount retroactively from 1972 when he made his original motion.
This payment comes not a moment too soon for Choplinski. His automotive repair business was facing a sheriff’s sale due to unpaid taxes and his home was in danger of being foreclosed. With the money he will now receive, he can now cover his expenses.