GatorNavy

That's the way it used to be but no longer. Once you get a SOC you have 60 days to submit the VAF 9 (this hasn't changed). However any statements, evidence sent in after the VARO gets the VAF 9 now goes into the c-file. No SSOCs will be issued unless a waiver of initial consideration by the BVA is sent in with the evidence. Then the VARO will process the evidence and issue a SSOC.

The waiver of evidence has changed since April 2014: Hepatitis C has delay,delay delay....deny,deny,deny written all over it. They will fight toothe and nail to keep it from becoming presumptive. The RO wouldn't give me a C&P so I threw the book at 'em in the NOD and finally got one. Took about a year for that SOC to arrive.

I think the issue was thrown in the bill for convenience. I can't see the VA expediting anything could be presumptive. Better than being stuck in the SSOC loop. My RO writes SSOCs just to incur another two month delay on a claim. For one condition I think I had 5 five SSOCs. The moral of the story is trying to get up when an elephant sits on ya.

FL 14-02 Automatic Waiver.pdf Interim guidance for implementation

That diagnosed within one year is horse apples! A good attorney should be able to make the argument. Here is a link that explains what you can do: http://neuropathysupportnetwork.org/blog/2013/09/va-final-ruling-for-presumptive-peripheral-neuropathy-due-to-ao-exposure/ Don't let that effective date get away from you, suggest you still file the NOD. Mid-seventies we supported Marine expeditionary forces. We would load up with millions of gallons of potable water at Cherry Point. Probably the same water supply. We gators will have to make our argument later like for AO.

A claim is a claim. As in the Highlander: "there can be only one" FDC, BDC, BFF or FNG claim.It really doesn't matter. It's just another hamster on the wheel. As long as the RO doesn't raise the bar on the amount of approved claims or all of a sudden pull off a higher accuracy rate, then we will continue to be stuck in the tar pits of appeals for years. I'm sure the RO would be glad to open another claim on the previously denied contentions. That way they can say that the condition didn't exist until now. They will gladly deep-six all of your evidence and remove your prior effective date as well. We add contentions or conditions to that claim and we ask for increases on those contentions found to be service connected. We work our claims to the bitter end. For those of us with serious chronic conditions well, we will most likely battle the VA for the rest of our lives. We can add evidence any time along the way, up until the BVA hearing and for 60 days after the hearing under certain circumstances. You can ask for a review or a hearing on supplied evidence on a previously denied claim at any time. If the NOD is not timely however, then check-mate, game over you lose. Everything I have stated here is on this site somewhere for reference. Asknod, Berta, Carlie just to name a few. Now back to ranching. The ducklings need a new home as they have turned the chicken house into a swimming pool.

That's good news for ya....good deal! Rating Decisions super-cede prior ones with the same issues. The corpsman gives good advice so the bullet that got him doesn't bite you. In addition, be prepared for a low-ball once you are granted Service Connection. You should know what conditions you will be rated for and what the ratings are. C&P exams and/or DBQs break it down for the rater. More recent treatment records can get you a higher rating as well. Good luck! I'm going back to the ranch now. Yesterday, everyone and their brother was out making hay. I had to drive 200 hundred miles to the nearest VAMC to pick-up a prescription that got all fouled up. I gave a blood test while I was there. Then the joker at travel would only pay me half which was the difference between the CBOC on the reservation to my ranch. And they wonder why us Vets go bonkers! I long for the days when bare trees with knotted ropes could be found and Mr Colt decided all disputes. I guess I am fortunate that I live in a place where I can put the rest of the "civilized" world behind me if I want to.

Considering that the RO reverses and grants within the one year after the original decision that denied, then YES!

Kate, Just as an example: say I filed a claim containing several contentions in July of 2011. In September of 2012, the RO sent a decision letter and denied the entire claim. I filed a Request for a Reconsideration (DAV lingo meaning a re-open) with smoking new hot evidence for service connection I just received two months prior, plus some recent treatment records. In August 2013 they grant the claim and I am satisfied with the ratings. The backpay goes back to the filing date of July 2011. If the RO comes back with another denial in August of 2013 and I didn't motor on down to the RO and file a NOD by September of 2013, the following happened: The VA pushed the reject button case closed! The DAV pushed the purge button and changed the answering machine. I pushed the panic button and then the reset button. Because it is worse then if I didn't file a claim since I can no longer use the evidence that I used in the prior claim. So, don't miss that one year to appeal from the date of the decision letter with a NOD. If the reconsideration is in limbo with nothing returned and you file the NOD within the one year of the original decision date, then you will preserve your original filing date as the effective date. In my example it would be July of 2011. Good Luck! We all need plenty of that! One of the advantages of a reconsideration is that it stays with the ratings team and doesn't go to the appeals team. If it goes back to the rater that did the claim and he/she sees the new evidence then the denial could be reversed and that would be much quicker than sifting through the hierarchy. I faxed a rescission of the POA to the DAV and also sent a copy of that rescission to the local RO containing my claim number.

Gen. Shinseki has held the Sec. of Vet affairs job longer than any other I understand. I think it is a mistake putting a General in charge of the VA in my opinion. With military operations, problems and issues always stick out like a sore thumb. With the VA we have Executive Service and GS-15s grabbing the cash and hiding behind locked doors to launder the money. No one is called to bear on their activities. The VA is ripe for organized crime that feeds on big money. The OIG is only there to protect the Agency that they have cognizance over. They are like the three monkeys that see, speak and hear no evil against their beloved "daddy" Agency. I think it is time to close it all down and sell off to the highest bidders. We don't need an RO full of uneducated airheads running a muck and waiting till holiday rootie tootie. Shut it all down and put an office of Vet affairs next to the Social Security Office. Streamline the process so that Vets can get their compensation in a timely manner rather than waiting years for chump change. The VA is against Veterans. There is just no other way to put it. Get the money in the hands of Veterans who were supposed to have it in the first place. Sometimes it is best to just shoot the lame horse and get another. I say dump the unions and the agencies that use up cash like a drug addict and deliver little if nothing at all!

I had one once but the little weasel was scared of me and wouldn't meet with me face-to-face. He cranked out his rubber stamped denial in about 10 days! LOL

I know of one Vet who waited for a SOC for over 20 years. He never did get one. You can send in evidence at any time; you don't need to wait for anything. The hearing at the RO is for you to help them "interpret" your evidence. No one wants a SOC, Vets want a rating decision. A SOC is really about: "how many times won't you understand the word no". On one claim issue I had 4 SSOCs before I came to the conclusion that evidence meant nothing to this RO and it was like beating a dead horse so I went on to the BVA. Once you get away from the RO time slows down into increments of decades. I am on year 5 with only a couple of more years to go (hopefully). There is no "quick fix" or "instant gratification" with the claims process. More like mold, a lot of dust and dry rot. Like John said: "by VA standards"

Author of the Secret List - Nurse Ratched "You want what kind of test? Never heard of it...no you won't get the test." "Your treatment costs how much? don't call us we'll call you" "What in the world makes you think you need to be screened for cancer every 6 months?" "coughing up blood huh? drink fruit punch flavored gatorade. You won't know the difference!" All true but I can't afford medicare as they have no supplemental gap insurance for the disabled under 65 in my state. This state did not extend medicaid either. All I have for healthcare is the VA. The RO knows how sick I am and there is no hurry on their part. I had my BVA hearing last month and awaiting the decision.

DRO review is a formal appeal by a Decision Review Officer. That is the "last gasp" after receiving a SOC when a Vet decides between the formal appeal or traditional (substantiative) appeal (BVA). Everything I was talking about could transpire BEFORE the SOC is generated if there is a need to have one. Awfully stale cake there when it gets to be over 4 years old. Nothing with adjudicating your claim happens in parallel. I meant to say informal hearing above which can be outside of the de-novo review. You need a SOC to get the form 9 submitted and then move on to the BVA. That means the DRO must be done with your claim first. Then if you don't submit any more evidence; the RO goes on to certify the appeal (averages about 545 days). After that the BVA puts you in line for a hearing. The BVA calls hearings by docket number which is generated when you submit the form 9. They are working 2010 RO decisions about now.

Whoa hoss! You still have some options before asking for an appeal. The first step is to get that NOD filed if you haven't as yet. Get creative with your NOD and incorporate the DBQ. If you have already filed the NOD, then submit a statement to that effect with the DBQ as evidence. I would go through the DBQ line by line and make a direct correlation to the rating schedule. Then ask for a de-novo review and a personal hearing. If that fails then you should get a SOC (statement of the case) explaining the denial or with a rating decision explaining a new low-ball from the peanut gallery. Along with a SOC comes a form -9 with your appeal options. Hopefully she gets the increase by then and all is well. However if not, you will have a better feel for how things are going. If it becomes a screw-up of monumental proportions and is obvious to the most casual of uninformed observers, maybe and only maybe, a DRO hearing could cure that. I have not had much luck with a DRO review even though the evidence was convincingly in my favor. Good luck!

You will get a letter from the RO once it is certified. Your appeal will "leave" the RO and be transferred to the BVA when they are ready to assign your case. Once the appeal (C-file) is received by the BVA, you will get a letter from the BVA with docket number.

It will be worked as a re-open. So what laws, regs do not apply here? The appeal period starts with the decision letter. I bolded PENDING CLAIM. VSOs have been doing this for years and they will continue with it. Request for reconsideration does work given the right situation. It has personally worked for me and I got bucks sooner than later. However it does not fit all situations. I will never use a VSO again so I could care less what they do.

§3.156 New and material evidence. (a) General. A claimant may reopen a finally adjudicated claim by submitting new and material evidence. New evidence means existing evidence not previously submitted to agency decisionmakers. Material evidence means existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened, and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 5103A(f), 5108) (b) Pending claim. New and material evidence received prior to the expiration of the appeal period, or prior to the appellate decision if a timely appeal has been filed (including evidence received prior to an appellate decision and referred to the agency of original jurisdiction by the Board of Veterans Appeals without consideration in that decision in accordance with the provisions of §20.1304(b)(1) of this chapter), will be considered as having been filed in connection with the claim which was pending at the beginning of the appeal period. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a)) © Service department records. (1) Notwithstanding any other section in this part, at any time after VA issues a decision on a claim, if VA receives or associates with the claims file relevant official service department records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file when VA first decided the claim, VA will reconsider the claim, notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this section. Such records include, but are not limited to: (i) Service records that are related to a claimed in-service event, injury, or disease, regardless of whether such records mention the veteran by name, as long as the other requirements of paragraph © of this section are met; (ii) Additional service records forwarded by the Department of Defense or the service department to VA any time after VA’s original request for service records; and (iii) Declassified records that could not have been obtained because the records were classified when VA decided the claim. (2) Paragraph ©(1) of this section does not apply to records that VA could not have obtained when it decided the claim because the records did not exist when VA decided the claim, or because the claimant failed to provide sufficient information for VA to identify and obtain the records from the respective service department, the Joint Services Records Research Center, or from any other official source. (3) An award made based all or in part on the records identified by paragraph ©(1) of this section is effective on the date entitlement arose or the date VA received the previously decided claim, whichever is later, or such other date as may be authorized by the provisions of this part applicable to the previously decided claim. (4) A retroactive evaluation of disability resulting from disease or injury subsequently service connected on the basis of the new evidence from the service department must be supported adequately by medical evidence. Where such records clearly support the assignment of a specific rating over a part or the entire period of time involved, a retroactive evaluation will be assigned accordingly, except as it may be affected by the filing date of the original claim. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a)) [27 FR 11887, Dec. 1, 1962, as amended at 55 FR 20148, May 15, 1990; 55 FR 52275, Dec. 21, 1990; 58 FR 32443, June 10, 1993; 66 FR 45630, Aug. 29, 2001; 71 FR 52457, Sept. 6, 2006] Cross references: Effective dates—general. See §3.400. Correction of military records. See §3.400(g). Supplement Highlights references: 8(1), 47(1), 73(2).

You will need a recent IME from a board certified shrink stating that you cannot work due to your service connected disabilities (PTSD). The dr. may have stated you cannot work in the C&P exam which will help quite a bit.You are a priority 1 and the VA will take care of all of your physical and mental health issues. My suggestion is to get an appointment with a VA shrink and go to regular mental health appointments. They will reduce your PTSD rating if you don't. "Have you tried to obtain employment in the last 5 years? My answer is no, will that harm my chances?" no, I don't think so.

The VA only goes back 5 years in employment. Any 4192 for a past employer that was longer than 5 years ago will just be tossed out. It is the VARO's responsibility to send out the 4192s anyway. Not very many get returned because past employers don't want to incur the expense or the liability. The only time a 4192 will help you at all is if you can get a past employer to say that they let you go because of your disabilities. The VARO will do a two month song and dance regardless. They will send out the forms, wait 30 days for a response, then send them out again and wait 30 days. However DO FILL OUT a 8940 ASAP! Send it in to the VARO that is processing your claim now. I'd drop that VSO like a bad habit. You need to terminate a POA with the party you gave it too. What I did was fax a memo to rescind the POA with whom and for what sign and date. Then I would send a copy of it to the VARO with your claim number and signature in the right hand corner of the page. There should be plenty of TDIU stuff on this forum to get you started. Once you get a denial in a decision letter, then you can reatin an attorney to help you. But hopefully you won't need to appeal it. Something new: make sure you list each and every service connected disability on the 8940 form!

Sounds like you are waiting in line for a DRO review. Only judges or a court can make a ruling so I will surmise that you are talking about a denied/lowballed rating decision from a Regional Office. Sadly, it seems as though most DRO reviews are a rubber stamp of the previous decision. They make us wait sometimes for two years only to get the same flawed decision. I take it you didn't get a SOC and a form 9? There is little reason to ever wait to submit evidence that can win a claim. The sooner the new evidence is before the eyes of the decision maker the better in my books. They can fight you on an effective date once you win but that is another battle. You have to "win" first though before they can grapple with effective dates!

As for your DAV representation, just how are they getting a "reconsideration" at the RO level? There is no reconsideration at the RO level, it is ultimately a request to re-open with new evidence on a claim that is not final. DAV VSOs are trained to request a reconsideration after a denial or the first lowball. As long as there is any evidence to submit, the DAV VSOs don't care what the evidence is because 99.99999% of the time it will be denied again. However, it cannot be said that they didn't do everything they could before the claim goes to appeal. And they won't mention the appellate process unless their client asks in the first place. I fired my DAV VSO after he filed a reconsideration because it was a waste of time and there is plenty of time wasted by the VARO to begin with. That claim went on to a BVA hearing and I feel that if the VSO would have handled it correctly; I would have won at the AOJ. Having said that, I requested a reconsideration of another claim when NPRC (out of the blue) sent me Naval Hospital inpatient records that contained evidence that was incontrovertible. I went on to get 80% from 40% with enough time to NOD the TDIU which went to a BVA hearing also. Ebenefits will show that your claim is open again if the RO determines that the evidence submitted is "new and material" to the claim. The VSO should know what the RO is doing with it. Good luck! P.S. As far as arguing politics is concerned with regards to Veterans' claims: Reminds me of a 1700s duel where both shot each other right between the eyes.

What was the status of "your trip to the BVA"? If it became final and you didn't RFC to BVA or appeal to CAVC, then you may have re-opened the claim by sending in new evidence. Or the TDIU was effective from the submission of new evidence? You may want to start another thread and ask about the cue. § 20.1304 Rule 1304. Request for change in representation, request for personal hearing, or submission of additional evidence following certification of an appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals. (a) Request for a change in representation, request for a personal hearing, or submission of additional evidence within 90 days following notification of certification and transfer of records. An appellant and his or her representative, if any, will be granted a period of 90 days following the mailing of notice to them that an appeal has been certified to the Board for appellate review and that the appellate record has been transferred to the Board, or until the date the appellate decision is promulgated by the Board of Veterans' Appeals, whichever comes first, during which they may submit a request for a personal hearing, additional evidence, or a request for a change in representation. Any such request or additional evidence must be submitted directly to the Board and not to the agency of original jurisdiction. The date of mailing of the letter of notification will be presumed to be the same as the date of that letter for purposes of determining whether the request was timely made or the evidence was timely submitted. Any evidence which is submitted at a hearing on appeal which was requested during such period will be considered to have been received during such period, even though the hearing may be held following the expiration of the period. Any pertinent evidence submitted by the appellant or representative is subject to the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section if a simultaneously contested claim is involved.

I don't quite understand where you are in the claim's process. When was the last date you filed a claim? When was the last decision date on that claim? When did you file the NOD on that claim? You can submit evidence at any time for an "open" claim or a claim that has not had a "final decision" on appeal. This will not change your effective date. If you missed the appeal date (one year from the initial RO decision) or the decision has become final on appeal, then submitting new evidence could re-open the claim. This evidence must be "new and material" and the "new" effective date will start when this evidence is submitted (should this evidence be accepted to re-open the claim). Unfortunately things change and it can take years to squeeze out 100% from the VA. You can still work with a 100% schedular rating. DIC could help your family in the future.

As long as you got the statement letter in requesting reconsideration based on the new and material evidence that you submitted it should be in the works. Your recon doesn't fit the bill for an FDC anyway. Just my personal opinion but after reading the denial, I think the RO may sit on this until Sept. hoping that you will miss your appeal date to submit the NOD. However in this case 5 months is a very short time anyway. I would start crafting the NOD now and submit that along with the same evidence you submitted with the recon.at least 30 days before the one year is up. The ROs have a tendency to lose NODs and positive evidence for some reason.