Filing A New Claim When You Already Have An Appeal...

[Domepeace]

I've had a claim in since 2004 that is under appeal now. But I would also like to start a new claim for a different service-connected disability. I would like to know how this will affect my appeal? Since (and I'm guessing here) the people in Washington D.C. have my medical records, will this delay my new claim that I want to file? I believe I should still file the new claim via VONAPP. But, I want to know when I file for the new claim, will my new claim have to wait to be seen until the VA in D.C. is finished with my appeal?

Thanks

Domepeace

[Pete53]

To save an effective date you could write a letter and make the claim informal with a follow up in less than 1 year. I believe in filing as complete as you can takes the VA to long anyway.

[john999]

I second those who say to file the claim. You want to protect the effective date. Even if they don't do a thing until your appeal is done your new claim's effective date will be established. Probably the only time not to file a new claim is when your older claim is on the verge of being decided at the VARO. For instance, if you have a claim that will result in TDIU or 100% when decided you don't want to file for something that will net you 10% if it means the VA is going to wait until the new claim is developed.

[Philip Rogers]

Domepeace: absolutely, file the new claim now. The VA starts a temp file, at your VARO, to store any of your evidence, etc., when your c-file is elsewhere. A widespread rumor was that "when you file a new claim your c-file is removed from it's position in the claims order and placed at the end" but that is pure BS, probably started by the VA to deter more claims being filed. ;-) File now to protect that early claim date.

pr

Thanks for all the replies! I do think I should put in the claim to get my date of origin established. Don't get me wrong, I do wish my appeal will get handled as quickly as possible, but I don't want to delay my date of origin for my new claim. I will have to be patient. But, that is my mantra at this point. The silver lining (provided I win my cases) is all the backpay I will receive when this is all finished.

Thanks again,

Domepeace

[Domepeace]

Based on all the information, I am filing ASAP!

Thanks all,

Domepeace

[vaf]

I agree with the recommendation that you file new claims with your VARO asap, despite the fact you have appeals pending elsewhere. You may also want to request copies of your temporary C-file, as your original claims file can be in D.C. for years. My husband's file was in D.C. for four years due to appeals, and when we finally got the copy of the temporary claims file from the VARO (after having complained to the Office of the General Counsel that our request had been ignored for almost a year), we found some interesting and helpful information in there.

If your Board decision goes against you, the next appeal level is to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the VA attorney and your attorney would need the original claims file for designation of record purposes. If the Board orders a remand, then your original claims file probably would go to the Appeals Management Center, also in D.C., and from personal experience, I can tell you they may take years to handle a remand. After three years, we had to file a writ of mandamus request to force the AMC to do something with the remand.

So if you wait for your appeal to finish and your original claims file to be returned to the VARO before you file a new claim, you can be losing years off your effective date of claim.

[Berta]

Sometimes they can screw up though-

I filed an AO death claim in early 2003 and then 2 CUE claims in 2004.

The VA ignored all of my medical evidence for the AO claim until a month ago (at the AMC).

I got a denial on a reconsideration of my CUE claims and here they had listed as evidence the IMOS and stuff that were specifically for my AO claim.This hjad nothing to do with my CUE claims at all.

The BVA took note of the many copies of my IMOs and evidence that they had but had disregarded for almost 6 years.

As soon as I get my decision from AMC I will use the "October Incident" stuff to ask VARO for a CUE decision tht is based on the Legal evidence I sent them -which has never been acknowledged or listed as evidence at all for the CUE claims.

All of my AO claim evidence was sent in and stated it was specifically for the AO claim.Even the IMOs I had clearly stated that.

For many years I thought VA was destroying this evidence as soon as they got it- but the reality is they were using it as evidence for the WRONG claim!

I raised this in r4sponse and requested a DeNovo.

Since they did not send my legal VCAA letter for the AO claim -it was easy for them to get away with this crap.

I made sure when BVA remanded my AO claim in Sept -that I again supplied with AMC with most if not all of my medical evidence again just in case.