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.

[Berta]

I dont really know what the AMC does Josephine-

my only direct experience with them was with a local vet I helped

he had been denied at BVA about 10 years ago, CAVC, back to VA, CAVC again, back to BVA and remanded-I met him and THEN we got the evidence-

no one had told him what to do to get to perfect his claim.

At the very last minute when we knew a good decision was coming-

based on his evidence and 2 IMos- they sent the claim to the AMC- to make sure the remand had been fulfilled.

The good part is- and I said it here before - is that we did not depend on VARO to fulfill the BVA remand . We punched up his nexus and his medical evidence-

we did everything the remand called for-except of course the C& P -they had to do that twice-

but we were so upset-to hear the AMC news-he waited so long-----

It took about 4 more weeks and then AMC sent it back to the RO and they prepared his award. $40,000 in retro- and they made error on that too and we nodded it.

I believe they forgot about 60,000 more dollars.

Edited May 4, 2007 by Berta

[john999]

Berta

That's right, if you don't have an election form in your folder your claim will just sit there for months if not years. Their excuse is they are waiting for evidence.

[Josephine]

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.

Pete,

What does the State VARO do with it. The Form-9 came out of the Roanoke, Va. office, and the decision came from Huntington, W.Va. If I had a scanner, I would love to post my Statement of the Case on this site.

There are times that I don't know why I am where I am at.

I re-filed for benefits in 2002 and received a pension in March 2004 stating no service connection, 100% non - service comnected for anxiety with depression. I did not receive a statement of the case to this decision.The pension was denied due to excessive income of husband.

I turned in the "New and Material Evidence" the psychiatric records and filed a NOD to that decision. This was June 2004.

The DRO at the Roanoke Office sent me a statement of the case October 7, 2004. Service connection for anxiety with depression is denied.

THIS IS NOT MY FINAL DECISION. (HE ALSO SENT ME A FORM-9 TO TURN IN WITHIN 60 DAYS AND THIS I DID.)

Your claim is re-opened due to the " New and Material Evidence and I am sending you for a C&P for " An acquired psychiatric disorder". The DRO had the " New and Material Evidence in June ans this was in October. He had the info when he denied the anxiety with depression.

Why did he sent me a Form- 9, if this was not his final decision?

The counselors at the VA said for me to fill it out .

I sure wouldn't have filled the thing out had I known that I would be in this big mess.

That form - 9 was turned in by the Roanoke Office in December 2004 and I received a final answer December 2005. Off to the BVA on both decisions , I guess?

Josephine

Edited May 4, 2007 by Josephine

[Pete53]

There used to be a Veteran who posted on Hadit from Louisiana. He had a very complicated claim and La botched it. It went to BVA and BVA remanded to AMC. AMC held it for a year and than AMC remanded to another VARO that eventually made a decision of partial service connection. The Veteran appealed and it went back to La. Although he got 100% he appealed the effective date and moved to another State to get a quicker opinion.

[Josephine]

Pete,

Thanks, the word is "complicated". This has been going on for so long, maybe soon someone will figure this one.

Josephine