Board Appeal

[vaf]

Hi, quick question. A veteran received a denial, asked for a de novo review, and was denied again. Does he have 12 months from the original denial date, or 12 months from the de novo review denial decision, to appeal to the Board?

Thanks!

[Berta]

I think the statement the BVA put into my recent formal remand might help you-

Appeal deadlines are nothing to overlook-

but circumstances can alter the appeal deadline date.

My AO claim was denied by a Feb 2004 rating decision.

"Although the appellant is already entitled to benefits "as if" service connected for the cause of the veteran's death under 38 USCS 1151 there are a number of ancillary benefits to which she would not be entitled absent a finding of actual service connected death: hence there has been no full grant of the benefit sought."

(a prior BVA decision to me states the exact five figure award amount of one of those benefits)

"The claimant perfected her appeal with regard to service connection for the cause of death by filing correspondence accepted in lieu of a VA Form 9,in January 2006."

(I filed formal appeal within 60 days of the 2nd DRO decision but my vet rep somehow got the VSM to accept something else)

This is what I mean:

"Although this was outside the one year period from the February 2004 denial,and beyond the 60 day period from issuance of a SOC -in September 2005 the claimant submitted or caused to be created additional evidence requiring the issuance of a supplemental statement of the case SSOC in December 2005. The time for perfection of the appeal was therefore extended." 38 CFR 20.302.(:P (2)Sept.2008

(In September 2005 I asked the VSM to CUE to initial DRO decision and it was cued)

I did this in the late 1990s too-

not stuff for the feight of heart-

Unless you can provide very significant new medical evidence (which still might well not have any bearing at all on the appeal deadline) -or prove they committed CUE as I did-with legal evidence to support that charge-as my IMO evidence still remained unacknowledged at this point-

then you must perfect the formal I-9 Appeal 60 days after the issuance of the SOC (Statement of the Case) or within one year from the initial VA denial.

I absolutely do not recommend anyone doing what I did.

This gets into the fine techniques of the legalise of VA case law.

and of course knowing CUE regs in and out-

But your question made me post it all here as this could apply to someone out there-

Also read the DRO's job description that I have posted here at hadit.

I charged and won CUE because the DRO did not follow the M21-1 job description thus legal error was created on the VA's part and they had to do something quick.

They cued the older DRO decision in less than 2 weeks.Maybe it took a few days I forget-but I knew I was right.

Your appeal deadline should be clearly spelled out in the SOC.

M21-1 and the regs in 38 CFR are the best weapons we have to combat the VA with-along with Medical evidence.

Edited October 6, 2008 by Berta

[john999]

VAF

Did you get a personal hearing or just a review? I would ask for a personal hearing with the DRO. If that does not work then go to the BVA. As long as you getting approved for a DRO Hearing then your BVA time limit is is a state of suspended animation as far as I know.

[Ricky]

You have 60 days from receipt of the SOC which is/will be sent to you by the DRO.