OSC

WOW......Well apparently my email with the post attached struck a nerve with the Bosses. 2.5 hours after I sent the email, I have had 3 responses. Looks like this new upper management might actually be looking out for us and actually get some of these problems fixed which will be a very welcomed change. I know it won't happen overnight, but I'll be satisfied with any kind of steady improvement. Appreciate all your help and moral support out there. Will let you know how it all ends up. OSC

Thanks for listening and the responses. georgiapapa...Yes, I have heard the same, so I did as you suggested in sending a copy of my posting to the Secretary and Under Secretary. I'm not asking for anything special, but if this kind of stupidity is causing delays for me, then it is happening to most if not all the vets. When the RO keeps asking for information they have (this is not the first time this has happened to me) it not only creates this obvious delay in the claim process but also creates anxiety and sometimes a major financial impact with the vet. This is one area that really needs fixing. Sure am glad there are forums like this for both to rant and get some great information. Thanks again OSC

Fully Developed Claim This is more of a rant than a question as the answer really is: that it will be done when it is done. In September 2014, I submitted a simple single item Fully Developed Claim (FDC) for an increase of benefits immediately upon discharge (2 days) from my hospital care at the Las Vegas VAMC and VA approved follow-on treatment. This claim was for (1) Secondary Service Connection for a single new contention of my SC Diabetes and (2) Temporary 100% Total Disability for this hospital stay. All my paperwork, including admission and discharge dates, was submitted at once and all treatment was under the VA. Now 4 months later, the VARO is finally looking at my claim. There was movement on eBenefits where my claim jumped from Under Review to Gathering of Evidence with notes that they will be sending a Development Letter and a request for additional evidence which is the reason for me being here today. The additional evidence they want is and I quote: In support of your claim for a temporary 100% evaluation, we need medical evidence showing you had surgery and/or received medical treatment for a service connected disability which required a convalescence period of at least one month, or hospitalization of at least 21 days. So after a delay of 4 months where my claim sat with no movement, the VARO is now asking me to send in the same information they already have. The medical side of the VA was involved 100% of the way from the ER to my actual stay at the VA Hospital to the transfer to the VA approved outside care facility. This makes absolutely no sense to me why this kind of a delay happens on a simple single item claim, in which all of their investigative work and research has been done, submitted and available at the Rater’s fingertips. THEY have to approve the Service Connection first before I can submit this “additional evidence”; so two hours after seeing the notice on eBenefits, I resubmitted to them the admission and discharge documents along with a letter showing the dates equaling 31 days. I felt like singing the Arlo Guthry song Alice’s Restaurant by submitting “8 by 10 glossy photos along with circles and arrows”…. One additional thing the snail mail letter did say was that they would be scheduling me for a C&P exam which was expected. The good news is that there is movement in my claim, but the length of time to get here is ridiculous when everything was done already Of course I leave for the Philippines in 2 weeks, so the hoop jumping will probably start all over again but then again maybe changing VAROs might actually be good…who knows. Thanks for listening. OSC

Traveler All that work that you did was not a waste of time, like you might think so. Yes you did make it easier for the rater to make a decision and that could well be to your advantage. If I had not gone through my records page by page and wrote every needed entry to prove my case to the Doctor prior to my 2nd C&P, then I never would have gotten my last increase. During this C&P there was a pile of records stacked on the corner of his desk, separated by rubber bands which looked a couple of feet high. He pointed to them at the beginning of my C&P and said something like "I have to go through all of this". ...I knew then he had no chance of reading my records to find anything. By me doing his research work, I was able to show him the specifics of my case and glide right through the C&P. So yes...all that work you did earlier will probably help you later on. Just my thoughts. OSC

I realize this post was a while ago, but it gave me a lot of insight to the Manila workings as I will be moving to the Philippines in a couple of months and will be transfering my claim over to the Manila VARO. Thanks of the post. OSC

When I had my C&P for Hypertension, all they did was take my BP 3 times using both arms and then the doctor and I talked about my claim. There was also a short exam by the doctor. Really nothing to it. OSC

jcowell, Yes the Appeal and Claim can complete at the same time. This happened to me last month. So I don't have to retype everything over again, here is a link to what happened. Hope this helps. OSC

My Appeal had said the same thing on eBenefits, but it turned out that my Appeal was actually still at the original RO with a DRO. It never actually left the RO. Hope this helps. OSC

AH the eBenefits YO-YO. Up and Down Up and Down…………. OSC

New letter generator and changes to the AB letters on ebenefits. Check it out. OSC

Berta I couldn’t have done it without you Thank you OSC

Increase from 60% to 90% Just checked eBenefits and I can’t access my claim since it went to Prep for Notification so I checked my AB8 letter and it now shows 90%. I am thrilled and thankful to everyone here that helped me with my claim. Here are the details: And “asknod” you need to get that crystal ball of yours patented because you said I would be done between 15 and 25 August which was right on the money. Haven’t seen the retro yet or the actual breakdown but I’ll keep checking. Thanks to all and don’t give up the fight. OSC

Harleyman, Since you said you are close to retirement, I hope you won’t retire from here soon. I have gotten some great info from you. Ditto on the thanks, OSC

Thanks harleyman for the quick and very detailed response and NO I did not feel that you were playing on your computer during government work time. Hope for a quick recovery for your wife. Thanks again. OSC

After seeing this report, http://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-12-00244-241a.pdf and the horrors within, a question came to mind. When a file finally reaches the Rating or Decision section, do the raters pick and chose which file they are going to work on or do they just take the next one, no matter how big or what the contentions might be? OSC

BigRed, I am no CUE Expert and hope that Berta, Carlie and the rest jump in because they are. With that said; the way I understand you is that the VA (just out of the blue) sent you a letter? It sounds like they are calling a CUE on themselves, and this is a good thing. Yes, you could get your old claim reopened, won and paid back (big retro) to the original date in 2005. I hope you read the fine print on the rules of posting here about the 10% contribution of retros….(LOL). Good luck with your case. OSC

88 mike, Congrats on your claim. And yes like harleyman said, they are working on the weekends. I received a call on a Saturday morning from my RO updating me on my claim. Of course, like most of us here, I am still waiting for completion. OSC

Welcome to the board. My initial claim was about 14 months old when I finally got my first C&P. About 3 months later I got a decision. My second claim was about 9 months old before I was given a C&P which is where I am now, waiting for a decision. I look at any movement on my claim, especially getting a C&P as positive so you might be getting a decision soon thereafter. I can’t comment on MH exams because I don’t know. OSC

cham1968 Complete is a very good word no matter what you got approved. A little bit is better than no bit….Congrats Wait for the letter to see exactly what you got before you panic. Looks like you might be doing what a lot of us do and that is always having paperwork in front of the VA with this appeal system. OSC

Thanks for all the replies. asknod and john999, The NOD I filed was for a local de novo appeal not with the BVA so when I saw the BVA was involved at this point of my appeal, I was confused. And yes, now I actually believe my claim never left Reno. I think AND HOPE that because it was decided so quickly, it has been decided in my favor. Would I not be allowed an SOC and Form 9 along with “My day in court” interview before “they” denied my claim??? Carlie, Yes I have full eBenefits and direct deposit so I will be checking both. Thanks again everyone OSC

Asknod, Hopefully this is one of those “rare” occasions. OSC

Breaking News (maybe) At about 0930 this morning I received a phone call from the Reno VARO. He (David) said he was calling regarding an IRIS email inquiry about my appeal. I emailed requesting some kind of an update because of the current and confusing action listed on ebenefits about my appeal and claim. He confirmed that in fact the appeal and claim were decided on June 13, 2013 and were with the “Promulgation Team”. He explained that this stage is where they prepare the letters and authorize the money both for monthly payment and retros. I asked him how long this takes and he said no actual time is assigned but his guess based upon his experience is about 90 days. He could not tell me what had been approved or disapproved, but he did say that there was an annotation of “New Evidence”, which I can only assume to be the latest C&P I had. Hope I can report some happy news by mid September, keeping my fingers crossed. OSC

Of course the jury is still out on both my appeal and claim but if it had not been for a new C&P the VA had ordered for me, I would never had stood a chance for approval because this is where my Nexus finally was done. If no new exams, then the decision will be made with the evidence at hand, in the Vet’s record with no chance of an exam being added that might SUPPORT that claim. Hopefully this is just a temporary move. OSC

Carlie is 99.99999% ++++ correct on the responses given in the past and I have relied upon her info on multiple occasions, but I have to disagree in this case. I would not have been able to have a favorable C&P done if I hadn't brought in my notes and files of my case. I believe that if the OP has any notes about his case he should bring them to the C&P to assist his answers if needed, with the doctor's questioning. OSC

I have been in Preparation for Decision for over a month, so your guess is as good as mine. The only thing I can say is that ANY movement is good. OSC