I Now Have A Docket Number....

[Jayg]

I called the phone center (still local) and got an update on my appeal. I was told I have a "docket number." It was assigned Sept. 2007.

What, please, does that mean to me???

[vaf]

If it's a Board Docket Number, that just means that the case is assigned its place in line to be reviewed before the Board of Veterans Appeals. You can continue sending in evidence to the Board until the time it actually reviews your appeal. In our case, that was approximately two years from the time the docket number was assigned.

Other than waiting until your case comes up, that's about all you can do. If you don't like the eventual decision the Board reaches, you can appeal it to the Court of Veterans Appeals and get an attorney. At that point, the appeal leaves the so-called non-adversarial VA system and enters the adversarial Judicial system. Once you appeal to the Court, new evidence submitted will not be considered, so make sure everything you've got is sent to the Board.

Do you have a more specific concern than that?

[Berta]

Does the BVA appeal have anything to do with the claim you just mentioned above -as to someone set you up for a DRO hearing?

[Jayg]

Does the BVA appeal have anything to do with the claim you just mentioned above -as to someone set you up for a DRO hearing?

Hi Berta. Yes. I made a seperate topic because of the disparity in time between this and the call for a DRO hearing.

This is a good case in point about the varying levels of knowledge possessed by or willingness to dig information out by, the different phone counselors. I call once every week or two and know many of the people by name. Most just say "it's still at the raters." But 'Mike' will dig in, root around the different screens and tell you what's in there. He's the first to mention this docket number. Of course, he's hard to get a hold of too.

So after this DRO hearing is the time to drag in an attorney?

Edited August 7, 2008 by Jayg