Veterans Said This All Along

[broncovet]

The VA OIG now says that Pittsburg RO employees delay Veterans claims to get bonus money.

Are we supposed to believe that this does not happen in other Regional Offices?

You can bet the VA will do one of two things:

1. Say this is an "isolated incident" and that corrective action has been taken. Or

2. Remain silent on the issue, covering it up all together and not responding to it at all.

The story is here:

watchdog: VA delays claims for bonuses

My claim took 7 years and I lost my home during that time. I wonder how much of a bonus VA employees got by causing me to loose my home?

Edited May 23, 2009 by broncovet

[jbasser]

The pittsburg stealers.

Would like to see a chart ont he bonuses on claims denied vs approved.

We may be amazed but not surprised at the outcome and we will never see it.

J

[Berta]

I feel this is going on at Buffalo as well-

The person who prepared my award letter didnt even read the BVA remand.

The decision suggests that due to Rod's Vietnam Service- his heart disease -which caused his death- has been directly service connected.

Huh?

The whole point of my claim was that this was a claim under Nehmer(Agent Orange)

That is exactly why the BVA awarded it last month.Agent Orange induced diabetes -causing a direct service connected death by virtue of its complications as found on death certificate-heart disease and strokes-

The BVA decision is perfectly clear to read.The prior remand and another decision clearly state they owe me retro. Another thing the decision overlooked.

NVLSP did not fight for Nehmer to have claimants get something like this-I told the VSCM I was going to request to submit this letter into testimony at the Sub Committee Investigations/Oversight as prime facie evidence of the ROs incompetence.

I am giving them time to get it right.But not much time-

Either these employees are illiterates or they are simply under too much stress to take the time to do anything right-

The EP (end product code) is the same whether the claim is awarded or denied- and these EPs add up to show all the wonderful amounts of claims that the RO finished working on every month and year to support the Director bonuses.

As NVLSP said many times in testimony- it is quantity not quality that rules the claims system.

What an insult this award letter is !

After beginning a relationship with NVLSP in 1991,taking their claims advocacys courses, and then deeply getting involved in studying the Nehmer Class Action lawsuit -as far as comprehending what this important decision meant to all Vietnam Veterans-NVLSP won it in 1999-

I never even considered that ,many years later I would be a class action Nehmer member and that Rod had been one in his lifetime.

The decision suggest that all Vietnam vets can be service connected it they have heart desease.

This would be great news for many vets but this is simply wrong in every respect.

Now I am wondering just how many awards that come directly from the BVA are then deliberately misinterpreted by the RO and the vet is stuck again in the delay tactics-fighting for the BVA award to be properly prepared.

the RO has the audacity to completely ignore in my award letter the most important case Vietnam vets ever had and the sole reason that my claim was awarded by the BVA.

[Pete53]

I would bet it goes on at every VARO

[Eric_M]

I was fired up when I read this post. When I read the whole story, not so much.

They say these guys delayed 10 claims for a month, and got a $300 bonus, wow!

Not saying it is right, it's not, but I would be happy if my claim was only delayed a month.

The people I've talked to at the RO seem to be good people working hard (just my experience).

People should be rewarded for above average work, give them a percentage of the claims they decide, watch the back-log vanish!

Eric

[broncovet]

Eric

The problem is that if this can happen in the Pittsburg Regional Office, it can happen in other RO's.

AND If employess are paid a bonus for delaying a claim a month, how much bonus money do they get for delaying a Veterans claim for years? 12times as much for each year?

The VA said it was because of "confusion"..I can see it now:

VA EMPLOYEE: I am confused with this Veterans claim and dont know what to do???

VA Management: Delay the claim and collect a bonus. I dont think that Veteran will complain..after all, we collected a bonus from delaying his claim last year, and the year before, and the year before...

Please note that it was also "bad training and confusion" when Detroit RO "forgot" 16,000 Veterans claims, and when 40 of 57 VARO's "accidently" shredded Vetrans evidence.

Did it ever occur to anyone that Shredding Veterans Evidence = Delay for Veteran = more bonus money for VA management?

Edited May 23, 2009 by broncovet

[Pete53]

Please make no excuses for the VA. Only 10 claims a month is 10 to many and how in hell can someone get a bonus for not doing their job? Oh I forgot about AIG