John Hardin

Thanks for all the responses. Im gonna give RAMP a try, should have my packet today.

Thanks for the response. That is what I was looking for. I think I will do RAMP, but do you have any info about my second question? Does your appeal go to the bottom of the stack when you submit new evidence, Or do you know? That is the only part of this that has really bugged me. Why, if I submit evidence for my claim, would I be punished (for lack of a better term) by the VA? This whole process ahas been stressful, especially asking for a buddy letter from a guy in my platoon from Somalia. Not sure if that resonates with anyone, but it was not easy to do. I'm just ready for an end to all this... Thanks for your input, it is appreciated.

Thanks for the reply! My case is not in the BVA appeals, I opted to have a decision review officer decide the case, which is supposed to be a faster process than a traditional BVA appeal. It seems there is nothing quick with the VA, which is why I am hesitant to go with the RAMP option.

Hi everyone, I have been fighting with the VA for over 15 years, and a couple of years ago decided to go the lawyer route after having zero luck on my own. My situation right now is I filed a claim in September 2016 for PTSD which was denied (they said they could not find a record of the "incident"). AT this point I hired a lawyer who sent me to their own doctor, and put a packet together for me for an appeal. I opted for a DRO appeal, which they received Jan 6, 2017. Since that time I came in contact with a guy who was in my platoon overseas, and witnessed the incident the VA says they have no record of. He wrote me a buddy letter which I have sent to the VA (and the attorney) and verified they have received it. Recently, the attorney has contacted me and thinks it would be a good idea for me to go the RAMP route. This person at the attorney's office indicated when the VA receives new evidence for an appeal, they put you back at the bottom of the stack. I have not made my decision on doing RAMP yet for a couple of reasons, and that is why I am here hoping for some advice. 1) I am over a year and a half in on this appeal. The wait time for an appeal in FL was 277 days when I started the appeal, it is now at 366 days. I have passed both of those thresholds, so I am hoping this will be done soon. Is this an uninformed opinion???? 2) The person who told me when the VA receives new evidence for an appeal, they put you back at the bottom of the stack did not sound certain of that. It kinda sounded like rumor mill stuff, and no one could give me a straight answer on it. Anyone have any experience with this?? 3) IF (big IF) I am close to the end of this appeal, why go the RAMP route? Any and all advice and input is appreciated. My level of frustration is high, and I'm not sure what to do here.