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Posts posted by Backpay
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Checked benefits today and I have the assigned ratings I was expecting!
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Great news!!! So I got a response today from congressional liason from my RO. Basically as of Friday my claim was still at national work queue. Today it's been rated and waiting on finals sign offs and and letter. Was told probably 3 to 5 days for it to be completed!
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Great news!!! So I got a response today from congressional liason from my RO. Basically as of Friday my claim was still at national work queue. Today it's been rated and waiting on finals sign offs and and letter. Was told probably 3 to 5 days for it to be completed!
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Small update. Still haven't heard from NSO for my VSO. I did email the AMO back though asking for one more confirmation because my VSO told me it was being worked back in March. AMO replied back within hours (super impressed with that) and said as of the moment he sent original email it was with NWQ and that the droc DC or something are the ones who send claims from nwq to the RO. So now that I think about it I assume the NSO from my VSO should know that so maybe he did lie to me.
The AMO did say they would email me Monday letting me know what work has been done since they set things in motion.
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I spoke emailed and got reply again from AMO. Yesterday they sent email to DROC-DC to get my claim sent from nwq to RO. Monday they are going to follow up on that and email me to let me know where it is. I was told they try to get partial grants done within 4 months and mine hasn't left nwq in like 185 days or so.
my VSO hasn't replied back yet either when I asked about them telling me it's been worked on since March when that isn't the case.
ill keep everyone updated
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Appeals management office, they are part of VA.
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My VSO told me it was with rater but appeals management office said it's still in national work queue and that they are emailing RO to actually start working it. So I don't know what to believe. I have to assume AMO is telling truth since they replied to me at request of Whitehouse.
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That's what I'm thinking as well. The NSO hasn't returned my email asking where the disconnect is. I have it in writing that a rater was rating it and back in March he told me that he talked with appeals coach and they were working my case. So either my NSO lied to me or the RO lied to him.
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Update:
Last week I contacted VSO by email and called the Whitehouse hotline.
VSO replied last Friday or so and told me that my granted issues on appeal were with a rater and I just needed to wait.
Today I got response regarding my Whitehouse inquiry from the appeals management office. They are telling me that my claim is not with a regional office but with the national work queue. They said they are sending email to RO to get claim out of queue and work the granted issues then work the remand portion since it's been over 180 days in the queue.
So who do I believe? VSO who says it's already at rater or AMO who replied at request from Whitehouse? Somewhere there is a disconnect.
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1 hour ago, broncovet said:
Because of a Supreme court case, Chevron, the VA gets to interpret its own regulations as they see fit. There are actually "2" definations of expiditious:
1. Expiditious related to Veterans Claims: Defination:
2. Expiditious treament related to VA employee Pay:
I had a remand take 3 years, and it was made clear they had no intention of processing it "at all"...until I contacted Allison Hickey. (former bigshot at VA)
YOU need to be pro active. If the VA has done nothing on your remand, start ruffling feathers. Your claim is probably at the bottom of some pile gathering dust or maybe holding up a desk with a broken leg..or lost, VA's favorite.
Thanks and exactly what I thought. This is interesting read as well.
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/817352/harvey-v-shinseki/?q=cites%3A(416)
My understanding is I now have proof of their violation of clear orders and regulations. So if anyone wants to file writ for themselves and want my email from VA specifically saying that don't prioritize remanded appeals over new claims which shows they aren't being handled expeditiously as required let me know and I'll send it to you.
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Here is quote from IRIS in response to some of my questions where they state that they are not a higher priority.
"In general, expeditiously means with speed and efficiency.
In general, remanded appeals are not higher priorities than new claims."So they do at least admit they don't treat them as a priority. -
Long story short I have in writing from the VA that in general remanded appeals are not a higher priority than even new claims.
So what my question really boils down to is does the above quoted regulation mean that remanded appeals are supposed to be handled at a higher priority than a new claim?
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4 minutes ago, pacmanx1 said:
The problem is that there are other veterans claim that also has been remanded and waiting their turn so who can actually get an expedited claim. The only way to get an expedited claim is if you are in some kind of financial hardship with documentation to prove it or have a terminally ill disorder with medical documents, other than that it is still hurry up and wait.
Sorry I definitely could of been more clear. In general does this mean that remanded appeals are higher priority? I understand there is a line to wait in but want to make sure I understand the basic premise of the above regulation.
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What does this mean? Does it mean remanded appeals are supposed to be handled as higher priority compared to new claims when they get sent back to RO from BVA?
That's in CFR 38 in case anyone wants to look it up.
5109B. Expedited treatment of remanded claims
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to provide for the expeditious treatment by the appropriate regional office of the Veterans Benefits Administration of any claim that is remanded to a regional office of the Veterans Benefits Administration by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
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Definitely will, thanks.
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Just got email from VSO. I sent an email asking what they were talking about since their last email made no sense what so ever. So allegedly my appeal is currently with a rater. So hopefully not much longer.
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On 5/24/2020 at 1:09 PM, pacmanx1 said:
My Reps haven't been that helpful either unfortunately. I filed my own appeal, submitted my own evidence and made my own arguments since they would never call me back and would never answer the phone after I gave them right to represent me.
I think it's been about 2 months now that they have allegedly been working my granted issues.
But now Peggy says it's being worked along with the remand which Peggy told me in past they don't do.
Maybe I'll give them another week or two then send letter to RO demanding action citing Harvey V shinseki https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/817352/harvey-v-shinseki/?q=cites%3A(416)
They keep telling me I'm in a line and they will get to me when they get to me and it seems they are allocating more resources to the new appeals system and not the legacy when they specifically have duty to handle remands expeditiously since they have been waiting longer then any other type of claim. So why new claomsyare getting handled faster makes zero sense to me other then they are ignoring their mandates.
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21 hours ago, pacmanx1 said:
The issue is VA won't even follow their own regulations, it is likely that VA will hold your granted claim until they have completed your remanded claim and then process the granted claim with the remand. I Know that is not what supposed to happen but VA has been doing this so often that BVA sent a fast letter out trying to correct the local VAROs but they still do it.
I was told by the national service officer for my representative organization they spoke with the appeals coach to work my claim. But yes this last week all the Peggy's keep saying they are being handled together.
Can you point me to the rules and regulations specifically with them being handled separately?
I want to call them back. I've been calling them at least once a week for a couple months now. Sometimes multiple times a day if I get conflicting information and I have a ticket open with white house veterans hotline. They wanted to send me to Peggy until I said they were the problem.
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7 hours ago, pacmanx1 said:
Not sure when your BVA claim was granted but it normally runs six months to a year, it could take even longer if you have remands.
Dec 5th I was granted connection for tinnitus and tenosynovitis which I had surgery for in service.
I also have 1 remand issue which is for increase in rating for the scar from that same surgery.
Honestly I am just so confused at this point over everything.
The VA.gov website says that if my granted issues lead to increase in disability I should see that reflected in 1 to 2 months while the remand is estimated to take 16 to 29 months. The remand instructions said they need to do another exam on scar because the other one wasn't proper and the RO didn't take into account all my VA medical records.
The BVA person I spoke to, my Rep and 80% of the Peggy's I've talked to said that my remand and granted issues should be worked separately.
They used to be able to see my granted issues separately from the remand but now when I call they only see remand in system and assume they are being worked together.
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Are they even doing those exams right now during covid-19?
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I was granted connection just waiting for RO to do rating and all that. Reason why I asked is because my Rep said that if they didn't do another exam he was going to automatically appeal rating because it's been so long.
That said after reading other BVA decisions I found a case that matches me pretty close except I have more documented issues so I think I should get 10%. Problem is the original examiner said I didn't complain of flare-ups which I certainly did and are well documented in medical records.
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If my last C&P exam was 6 years ago when they denied my claim and BVA granted me service connection will I need a new exam before they can rate it properly or will they use the old exam information?
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How do you find out status of appeal? Peggy used to be able to tell me status of my granted issues and now only sees remanded issue which I'm not asking about.
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Spoke with Peggy twice today and both don't see my granted issues and only see my one remanded issue. I spoke with BVA after and they confirmed they only see the remanded issue as well.
I was told a few weeks ago that my granted issues had a decision made at RO and waiting for final sign off.
Does that mean decision has been finalized and letter should be going out any day?
Also is it true that to assign a rating the RO needs a C&P exam no longer than a year old?
How to find out appeal status?
in Appealing Your Veterans Compensation Disability Claims NOD, DRO, BVA, USCAVC
Posted
Checked benefits today and I have the assigned ratings I was expecting!