Waiting on Rating, BVA, hardship flagged

[Doc_Sinned]

I've been a lurker on here for a little bit, I have been able to find most of my questions answered on here through a quick search, but I'm having trouble finding anything related to my current question.

I had a partial grant last month from the BVA; two approvals, one increase, one denial, and two remands. I'm currently waiting on my RO in Muskogee, OK to promulgate my rating. They received my file on February 28th, 2017, and so far nothing has changed in ebenefits, and iris inquiries have left me with more questions than answers. I'm also in an expedited status due to extreme financial hardship.

Is a case that's been flagged for hardship treated more expeditiously than a normal BVA grant? I ask because VLJ already stated that it should be treated in an expedited matter because it's an Appeal (everyone is expedited after BVA = no one is expedited, lol). I left a complaint on IRIS to my RO about how that the BVA has the FL 10-02 going over this exact circumstance and that I'm also flagged under hardship status. What else can I do from here? Running out of time...

[Berta]

You did the right thing to bring up FL 0-02 in an IRIS complaint.

 

I have suggested here to other vets to send the RO a copy of it and ask them to properly apply it to that part of any remand that the BVA has granted.

I searched for it here but the link didnt work---will find it and post....

"They received my file on February 28th, 2017"  but the RO has not had your file back for enough time to really work on the remand at all,  in my opinion.

It could involve more time for an additional C & P exam..for a proper rating ..... dont know........

can you give us the Docket # and Citation # as it might be posted at the BVA web site by now. or can yiou tell us, in the exact verbiage BVA used, what they granted?

 

 

 

[Berta]

I couldnt open the Fast Letter here.

VBN had it:

http://vets.yuku.com/topic/37711/VA-FAST-LETTER-VA-RULE-CHANGE#.WNj92DsrJhE

[Doc_Sinned]

Docket Number 14-39 139

 

Service connection for Sleep Apnea is granted.

Service Connection for Tinnitus is granted.

A rating in excess of 10% for a left shoulder disability is denied.

A 10% rating for the right thumb is granted, subject to the laws and regulations governing the award of monetary benefits.

 

IRIS Response

 

This is in response to your inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dated March 26, 2017.

VA is grateful to all Veterans for the service and individual sacrifice they made to our nation. 

The Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) has ordered that additional action is needed on your appeal before making a final decision. 

At this time, our records do not indicate any pertinent actions have recently occurred on your remand.

When all the required actions are completed, your file will be reviewed.

If any further action or development is needed, we will contact you. If not, you will be provided a supplemental decision or Supplemental Statement of the Case, prior to returning your appeal to the BVA for a decision.

We are unable to provide any timeframe on how long it will take to complete your appeal once it is certified to the BVA, as it is no longer within your local office's jurisdiction and we do not have any control over BVA.

Please know; a claim and/or appeal, that has been flashed for hardship, will still require being processed in the order received. We are processing each, as fast and efficiently, as possible.

You may attempt to contact the Ombudsman with the Board of Veterans Appeals, for any possible additional information - Contact information is listed below: 

Phone: 1-800-923-8387

Fax: (202) 343-1889

Email: BVAOmbudsman@mail.va.gov

The National Resource Directory (NRD), http://www.nrd.gov/misc/about_us, is a resource website that connects wounded warriors, Service Members, Veterans, their families, and caregivers to programs and services that support them.

Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below.

Sincerely yours, 

C. Boyd
National IRIS Response Center Manager
tpI

 

I stated that I wanted to know what was happening with my partial grants and mentioned the fast letter. They didn't say anything about my grants, just the remanded portion. So I replied with the actual copy of the fast letter and told them I didnt want to know about the remand, I wanted to know about the approved grants. I also sent an email to the BVA ombudsman.

[Doc_Sinned]

I got a reply back from the BVA ombudsman. My main issue was that when I asked through IRIS the first time they said my appeal was back at the BVA, but they never acted on the judge's orders. This is why I've been hounding them. I realize it may take some time (hopefully a couple months or less) but I was getting frus rated because it sounded like they sent the whole thing back, grants and all. Anyways, heres his reply:

 

Unfortunately, the Board of Veterans Appeals and Regional Offices use different systems to track claims.  I am only able to comment on the issues before the Board.  I am copying the Muskogee Regional Office for direct reply to you concerning those issues not before the Board.

 

I will note that the decision granting Sleep Apnea, Tinnitus, and Right Thumb disability was written only a month ago and they may just need more time.  Hopefully the Muskogee Regional Office will be able to tell you where those three issues stand at the moment.

[Doc_Sinned]

Got word back from the BVA ombudsman and the RO called me this morning. Turns out they made a mistake and sent my appeal back to the BVA. I talked to the RO this morning and he apologized and stated that they have my partial grants and he'll ask the raters to look at it today. He also said he sent out a letter yesterday to follow up on my remand (ptsd stressors), once I return those he'll set up my C&P. 

[broncovet]

In a partial grant, partial remand, the VA is supposed to issue 2 decisions:

1.  The first, to implement the grant and get the benefits to the VEt.  As Berta pointed out, the 2010 FAst letter requires this.  

2.  The second will come later, the implementation of the remand, since it takes much longer.  

 

In my case, I got a partial grant/remand/denial.  I got the grant portion implemented fairly quickly, but I had to fight them for 3 more years to implement the remand.  Amazingly, VA at first said they already implemented the decision AND DID NOT EVEN READ the portion which required a remand of TDIU.  (It was a 28 page BVA decision).  Some people are like that..if its "too long to read", they dont read it.  

The remand portion also entitltes the VEteran to expiditious treatment.  However, "expidtious treatment" means different things to different people.  As I explained "expiditious treatment" meant that it took 3 years.  

You need to stay on them and keep the pressure on.  Otherwise, its "out of sight out of mind", and it can just enter the huge 

pending claims file.  

This is one of the things wrong with VA.  Some claims get worked while others sit.  One cause:  "Cherry picking". 

Rating specialists have a quota, so many claims per day.  So they try to "pick" a claim they can work in just a few minutes, that is easy, when they go to the pile for their next claim to work on.  They avoid claims with a large file.   

Do you know how long it would take to read a file that is 1400 pages long?  (Mine was 1400 pages back in 2009).  If you can read a page in 2 minutes, it would take 46.6 hours just to read my file.  (I have read my file, and it actully took me longer).  If you have to get 3 claims done in a day, would you pick up the one that takes a week just to read it?  Probably not.  

The other problem is "top sheeting".  They take the "fat file" and read the top page or two, and issue a decision, that is almost always wrong.  

This is the main reason that there are so many delays:  Top sheeting and cherry picking.  I really can not blame the VA employee for doing this...one "fat" claim (a claim with a big, long fat bunch of evidence) will "blow" your making quota, and hurt your promotion possibilities, or even threaten your job, if you repeat it.  

The obvious solution is that some employees need to be "not" on quota, so they can/do work the fat claims file.  This should not be that complicated to exempt a few people from the quota system so they can work the longer more complex claims.  VA has resisted such a change.