Article At Va Watchdog

[Berta]

http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf050307-1.htm

The writer leaves his email addy in this post -

He has some interesting statistics but still this article fails -in the section on the VCAA-

to state that these steps are simply not being taken on every claim the ROs receive.

This is established VA case law- as I called it here the Ultimate Duty to Assist-the VCAA-of 2000, and the VA defys it continually.

[Josephine]

John S,

I sure appreciate the day that you sent me a post to sent you my statement of the case and reviewed my records and put me on the clear path to having my claim closely reviewed by the BVA and the AMC.

Everything that I was over looking you spotted right away.

I immediately starting sending info to the AMC as to what the BVA had ignored and now the AMC is reading my claim.

I do not know if the system is so busy that they just didn't read carefully.

You were correct, I was fighting the sytem and didn't know it. I am thankful that you did.

Thanks again so much,

Josephine

Edited May 3, 2007 by Josephine

[Ricky]

To hell with all of these BVA remands. I know that some DAV court case stopped the BVA from developing claims - for what reason I do not know. Would it not be better if they found a problem to allow them to fix it rather that remand it back to a bunch of idiots who screwed it up in the first place? The only way for this system to be fixed is to allow the BVA to fix problems in claims created by the RO; do away with this kangeroo court we have - you know the one that can only remand back to the BVA and tell them how to legally screw you over!!!! We need to be able to by-pass such a comedey show as the CVAC and go directly to a real federal court and have the opition of having our complaints heard by a jury of our peers. After all I am AMERICAN and I do speak English.

Jez this stuff is really pissing me off. The young vets can not get their claims done cause records are lost; we older vets still hang on to claims that are 10, 15 or 20 years old (oh yes the average claim processing time is 179 days - Bull Crap), RO directors get 33,000 dollar bonuses for supervising idiots, The Prez puts satan, Ole Sec Nick, in charge of a task force to see how to fix this cluster - I JUST CAN NOT TAKE IT ANY LONGER - MY PTSD AND FUTURE ACTIONS ARE A RESULT OF VAITIS which is untreatable as no cure exists in this world.

[Josephine]

Ricky,

I agree with you completely. Why can't the BVA fix the mess of the R.O and stop this remand stuff. Years just add to more years and claims are never settled.

I have looked through all of my records and I do not see anything that looks like a VCAA notice from the R.O and the one from the BVA or maybe it was the AMC is not the correct one and I have been asking for 14 months for the correct one, but it hasn't shown up yet. Everyone is too busy.

In April 2006, the remand states" search for the veterans personnel records.

I contact the Archives and send a complete copy with cover letter from archive tech to AMC, this was May,2006. Pearl , one of the counselors acknowleges receipt of these records.

July, 2006, the rater is looking for these records, they cannot be located. I re-contact the archives again I sent another copy with cover letter to the AMC in July and Candice acknowledges receipt.

In November 2006, the rater is looking for the personnel records again. Bingo in December the AMC receives letter the personnel records are now mis-placed in the archives.

I re-sent the same copies back through again.

The AMC, states the BVA must investigate what happened to the personel records of May and July. .

Next, the AMC sent a transmittal to the R.O of waiver for AMC to rate claim. The AMC waits 13 months for the R.O to return the transmittal.

Now, all flags are removed from my claim and on a shelf "ready to rate", whenever the rater has time to do it.

Back for another, I don't know how long?

Josephine

Edited May 4, 2007 by Josephine

[Berta]

Ricky- I sure agree that it goes back to the idiots who did it wrong in the first place.

However the BVA-if there is sufficient evidence to award- can and does award the claim often-and

Sometimes they will make a full grant but whatever they award --- the claim STILL has to be remanded to the RO for the proper rating.

I have given all this lots of thought-

I am thinking I could ask my Congressman and my two Senators -Schumer and Clinton-to support a bill to amend the VCAA

to include a provision-

upon receipt of a generic VCAA letter that is not specific to the claimed disability and/or a lack of legal VCAA Election Notice, the claimant and/or their representative

can immediately request the VA to CUE it's improper VCAA letter and prepare a legal one.

You all know that DTA violations are not cueable by claimants .(They should be but are not)

However the VA can cue itself.

They have done this in my case twice-or three times-

their correction of their error manifestly altered the outcome and I got more retro-

In other situations

when they snoop around and find that the evidence does not support a standing award-

they will cue themselves on the standing award and propose a reduction.

If a veteran has the right to make VA CUE itself on VCAA violations this bull crap can stop

but it means that both the claimant and their rep have to know what a real VCAA letter is-(the director of NYSDVA didnt know what one was-documented)

and certainly a good lawyer should look right away for the legal VCAA letter in your file.

I believe that claims are only worked properly (meaning they get read)

if the rater finds an election notice in the c file

The Election Notice states:

"Your response (by checking one of the boxes and signing form and sending it back to the RO) will let us know whether to adjudicate your claim without waiting 60 days or whether we should give you more time to provide us with information or evidence."

A legal VCAA letter states exactly what they need and is very specific to the claim and they underline the important parts and it also contains -depending on the type of claim-

the Dingess Hartman provisions.

Most claims filed after March 2006

received a Dingess Hartman letter- that required no response.

VCAA letters sent after Dingess HArtman usually should contain some info comparable to what Dingesss Hartman called for.

If the vet does or does not get the election notice- and the VCAA letter is deficient-

the veteran still has no idea what evidence the VA wants or needs.

I didnt get the election notice or a legal letter-and

except for the crappy BVA transfer that I rectified-due to illegal VCAA notice- I have been in and out of a rating board for over a year.

As a claimant I didnt know that what I got over 2 years ago was illegal-

but my rep did-

The Election notice is what-in my opinion-is triggering the VA to work claims properly-

and if the VCAA letter that came with it was wrong-

they can still deny.

And of course if they dont send the election notice-specifying by the veteran what they want the VA to do next-

the claim just sits there until the claimant raises hell.

Edited May 4, 2007 by Berta

[Josephine]

Berta,

I am confused by this statement: The AMC has told me several times that they and they only will be making decisions - granted - denial - the what evers on my claim and after this is completed , it will only go back to the R.O for storage.

Are you saying that my claim is going back to Huntington - waiver or not and not just for storage?

Please explain this to me, or anyone that knows the answer.

However the BVA-if there is sufficient evidence to award- can and does award the claim often-and

Sometimes they will make a full grant but whatever they award --- the claim STILL has to be remanded to the RO for the proper rating.

Thanks,

Josephine

Edited May 4, 2007 by Josephine

[Pete53]

Josephine:

I would suspect that when AMC finishs they will remand it back to your State VARO. That sucks but that is the way they do it.