Appeals Cancellation

[vincentg]

I filed an appeal 6 months ago and was told my BVA hearing could take upwards of 4 years. Since filing, I have additional compelling medical evidence to further substantiate my claim. Is there a provision for me to cancel the appeals process and submit the new evidence to a DRO? Or am I locked into the appeal for the duration?

[Ricky]

Vincent - all you have to do to withdraw an appeal is submitt a letter to the board (if the appeal is at the board) or the RO and ask that the appeal be dropped. However, BEWARE that by doing so you will lose your effective date of the claim.

Speak with your service officer and he/she will be able to direct you properly on this cause they should know your claim.

Just a note. provide a little more information and maybe we can help you. When you said appeal was this a NOD or have you already been through the NOD action and filed a formal appeal by submitting a Form 9? Also remember you are dealing with an overworked backed-up system so no matter what you do it most likely be quick.

[Pete53]

If it was me I would just ask for a Hearing and submit the new evidence asap.

[vincentg]

Vincent - all you have to do to withdraw an appeal is submitt a letter to the board (if the appeal is at the board) or the RO and ask that the appeal be dropped. However, BEWARE that by doing so you will lose your effective date of the claim.

Speak with your service officer and he/she will be able to direct you properly on this cause they should know your claim.

Just a note. provide a little more information and maybe we can help you. When you said appeal was this a NOD or have you already been through the NOD action and filed a formal appeal by submitting a Form 9? Also remember you are dealing with an overworked backed-up system so no matter what you do it most likely be quick.

Thank you replying! I filed a formal appeal (form 9) last fall. I was discouraged because several friends have informed me that they had pending BVA appeals dating back to 2003. However, I wasn't aware that my claim's effective date would change. This will require some thought.

[Ricky]

Thank you replying! I filed a formal appeal (form 9) last fall. I was discouraged because several friends have informed me that they had pending BVA appeals dating back to 2003. However, I wasn't aware that my claim's effective date would change. This will require some thought.

There are appeals in the system that go way back my friend. This is because the higher authorities (board and court) have found errors and remanded the claim which worked itself back to the RO. As I stated before - this is a slow process for everyone. However, if you are a vet of OIF etc..... they tend to be processing these claims a little facter. Make sure that if you decide to let the appeals process work that you have requested a board hearing via teleconference. A teleconference hearing will save you quite a bit of time. A travel board hearing, which is the one of the options pre-printed on the form 9 can take several years cause an actual member of the board may only make it to your RO once or twice a year. Not much time in an 8 hour day to hear many claims, even if the team stays at the RO for a week. Teleconference's are normally scheduled once or twice a month. See quite a difference.

[vincentg]

There are appeals in the system that go way back my friend. This is because the higher authorities (board and court) have found errors and remanded the claim which worked itself back to the RO. As I stated before - this is a slow process for everyone. However, if you are a vet of OIF etc..... they tend to be processing these claims a little facter. Make sure that if you decide to let the appeals process work that you have requested a board hearing via teleconference. A teleconference hearing will save you quite a bit of time. A travel board hearing, which is the one of the options pre-printed on the form 9 can take several years cause an actual member of the board may only make it to your RO once or twice a year. Not much time in an 8 hour day to hear many claims, even if the team stays at the RO for a week. Teleconference's are normally scheduled once or twice a month. See quite a difference.

Ricky,

Thank you for the insight. I'll take this into consideration.

[carlie]

Vince,

I am moving this thread from Ask the Geeks to Claims/Research.

carlie