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Is There Any Benifit To Requesting A Board Hearing?

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jecsb4

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I am preparing my Form 9 form the SOC I received. They failed to even address several issues in the SOC, even though I had sumbitted medical data and even had C&P exams for thoes issues.

So what is the pro / con of a local hearing VS a DC hearing VS no hearing?

Joe

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  • HadIt.com Elder

Its a toss up but I think asking for a Board Hearing slows it up. This is my opinion but if your SO is not so hot maybe a Hearing would help your claim.

Veterans deserve real choice for their health care.

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Did you get a legal VCAA letter?

If you did it told you the specific evidence they needed.

If the VCAA letter was deficient and you are still within the 90 days transfer period you can ask for a remand prior to being docketed- but you must tell the BVA the specific legal errors the RO committed in the VCAA letter.

Also you can respond to the SOC and tell VA why it is erroneous.There is only a 60 day time frame for that and the VA has proposed to change that to only 30 days-

Is this SOC a DRO decision?

If you have a vet rep and they failed to address your evidence and it supports your claim, your rep should do something about this-

I had them CUE themselves in 2005-I was livid at the ridiculous so called DRO review I got-

it paved the way for a conference with my rep very quickly-

I immediately filed a complaint with the VARO and it got results-

I am always concerned to see claims that go to the BVA when they dont have to-

many -probably most-of the remands there are due to VCAA violations-

if these violations are caught and challenged right away- the RO has to do the job they didnt do in the first place-

a claim remanded like this can either lay around for 1 1/2 years or 2 at the BVA only to have to be remanded to the RO anyhow for VCAA violation.

This is NOT fair to anyone who has bonafide competent medical evidence that supports their claim to have the RO ignore it and attempt to transfer the claim to the BVA.

I read BVA cases that are closed because the vet died waiting.At least if the RO had awarded their claim they could have enjoyed a little of the award before they died.

If there is a surviving he/she has to start from day one to re-open their claim.

I was getting my files in order and found Rod's PTSD claim had been filed in early 1993 and the Sec 1151 in March 1994.

The PTSD was awarded over 4 years later and the 1151 over 4 years too.

If you add BVA time to that (I kept them local at the RO) it would have been much longer.

There is a template here at hadit I posted as to the way a I-9 should be worded.

Make sure the main rebuttal is on page one-my I-9 passed from desk to desk up here for over 6 months-the VA first tried to talk me into them accepting my rebuttal to a SSOC- I said no way-the reps took their time to respond to the formal I-9 with the 646 BS form that vet reps use-then

an 800# rep acted like I had won the lottery and practically told me I had an award because the AO claim got 3 signatures-

yet right- 3 signatures of three people who never read the I-9 but authorized to send it to the BVA 6 months after they signed off.

Try to keep it at the RO-and get your rep to look into this.

GRADUATE ! Nov 2nd 2007 American Military University !

When thousands of Americans faced annihilation in the 1800s Chief

Osceola's response to his people, the Seminoles, was

simply "They(the US Army)have guns, but so do we."

Sameo to us -They (VA) have 38 CFR ,38 USC, and M21-1- but so do we.

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  • HadIt.com Elder

I would try for the local hearing first. Then I think I would send my file and arguments to the BVA for a review of the record rather than a personal hearing. There is a traveling BVA board but I believe that is slower than a review of the record and RO decision. All in all, I would try to keep the thing local and just keep sending in evidence. What is the present wait time for a BVA Hearing these days? I bet it is about two years. This should be the last resort. Most BVA decisions end in a remand back to your RO anyway.

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It seems like it took about nine months for a BVA hearing for my husband after I requested it. The BVA made the decision for 100% and did not send it back to the local VA for rating. It may have been longer, I don't know, but for us it was dragging on and on with the local VA with denial after denial.

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Did you get a legal VCAA letter?

If you did it told you the specific evidence they needed.

If the VCAA letter was deficient and you are still within the 90 days transfer period you can ask for a remand prior to being docketed- but you must tell the BVA the specific legal errors the RO committed in the VCAA letter.

Also you can respond to the SOC and tell VA why it is erroneous.There is only a 60 day time frame for that and the VA has proposed to change that to only 30 days-

Is this SOC a DRO decision?

If you have a vet rep and they failed to address your evidence and it supports your claim, your rep should do something about this-

I had them CUE themselves in 2005-I was livid at the ridiculous so called DRO review I got-

it paved the way for a conference with my rep very quickly-

I immediately filed a complaint with the VARO and it got results-

I am always concerned to see claims that go to the BVA when they dont have to-

many -probably most-of the remands there are due to VCAA violations-

if these violations are caught and challenged right away- the RO has to do the job they didnt do in the first place-

a claim remanded like this can either lay around for 1 1/2 years or 2 at the BVA only to have to be remanded to the RO anyhow for VCAA violation.

This is NOT fair to anyone who has bonafide competent medical evidence that supports their claim to have the RO ignore it and attempt to transfer the claim to the BVA.

I read BVA cases that are closed because the vet died waiting.At least if the RO had awarded their claim they could have enjoyed a little of the award before they died.

If there is a surviving he/she has to start from day one to re-open their claim.

I was getting my files in order and found Rod's PTSD claim had been filed in early 1993 and the Sec 1151 in March 1994.

The PTSD was awarded over 4 years later and the 1151 over 4 years too.

If you add BVA time to that (I kept them local at the RO) it would have been much longer.

There is a template here at hadit I posted as to the way a I-9 should be worded.

Make sure the main rebuttal is on page one-my I-9 passed from desk to desk up here for over 6 months-the VA first tried to talk me into them accepting my rebuttal to a SSOC- I said no way-the reps took their time to respond to the formal I-9 with the 646 BS form that vet reps use-then

an 800# rep acted like I had won the lottery and practically told me I had an award because the AO claim got 3 signatures-

yet right- 3 signatures of three people who never read the I-9 but authorized to send it to the BVA 6 months after they signed off.

Try to keep it at the RO-and get your rep to look into this.\

Berta,

This is a SOC deal from my NOD. I believe my case is really messed up. I got the SOC back without it addressing several of my issues!. I called the 1899 # and my SO they they say they may be still deciding those issues. That my be true, but my 60 clock is ticking to respond to the SOC!

i have called thew 1800 # several times, and finally one person tols me that I should be peleased with the decision but would not give me the percentage of SC. I then did a IRIS and after 9, thats 9 days they finally responded and said unoffically, your combined SC is 80% and I should get an award letter soon. This would be an increase form where I am at currently. But again, I can't intellengently respond to issues that I have not seen on paper.

Berta, I agree they just want to push the case load up the chain!!

Joe

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  • In Memoriam

I requested a VC (Video-Conference) BVA hearing on the form 9. It took 3 months to get the V-C VBA hearing. It took 3 more months to get the VBA decision and remands. From the time of the BVA hearing decision to an Award was 1 year*.

*The last year of my claims I went through the AMC and back to the DRO, another C&P, and rating. There are several issues still in remand and DRO denials with my claims.

Over all it took 5 1/2 years from start (filing of initial claims) to the finish.

I wrote-in Video-Conference on the form 9, for process, and sent via fax to the VA. I called the VA and scheduled the V-C. The VSR said rarely does anyone go for the V-C. I was scheduled for the V-C during my call. The V-C VBA hearing, beats the VBA traveling board hearing in time (they are basically the same thing).

If your claims are a matter of process, then the V-C is the shortest route and may cut up to 11 months off your wait.

The V-C VBA hearing judge ordered evidence that the DRO would not get. (Complete SMR-rather than decimated or parsed SMR) There was also other information that the judge requested. I know that this information requested, by the Judge, helped in the decision and rating of my claims. I had hadit with the VA and I was dead set on the CAVC (Vets Court), which is after the BVA.

Stretch

Just readin the mail

 

Excerpt from the 'Declaration of Independence'

 

We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity

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