Va Denied Before 60 Days ; How Did They Do That?

[cowgirl]

Need Advice! Submitted the VA form letter requesting 60 days before decision; now they have denied my claim before the sixty days. Did I miscount? Does the VA count the 60 days from the date I submitted the letter? or did I goof? thanks! Anxious and Worried here! I do have signed confirmation (thankful for USPS!) If I can even submit my information half way done i feel its better to get initially in.

[Ricky]

Cowgirl,

They just do kinda what they want to. No rhyme or reason. I signed a letter they sent me stating that I had no more evidence to support my claim at this time which would allow them to decide my claim within 60 days. That was Sep 05. Today I was told that the claim is still in the development phase. Although I am kinda of crazy maybe the letter said they would decide the claim within the next 60 months. hahahahaha. Just fire of the NOD and like Berta says evidence, evidence, evidence. Although they will still fight and deny the claim at some point they will give up and do what is right.

[cowgirl]

Thanks Ricky, your feedback was helpful, I get dizzy trying to figure out "when" the requested sixty days started. I am still preparing my package and may take this as a Godsend. I will definitely thank the DAV for giving me headsup that my claim was denied (even tho not official!smile). I will cotact my SO tommorow and double check where/how I should proceed, fast or a bit slower to complete the paperwork. A few more peices to collect and I am on my way; so if I had 4 more weeks success would be more likely than not for my claim. Hope your claim works out the best it can for you! God Bless, cowgirl

[Guest Morgan]

Try not to get too upset until you see why it was denied. VA does dumb things and it is left up to the veteran to straighten them out. Your SO should have a copy of the reason for the decision, so give him or her a call and maybe you can find out over the phone or by fax (hope your SO is easier to reach than most). It could take a while to get the rating decision from the VA. No sense in losing sleep any longer than you have to.

The sixty days is an internal VA clock to be sure a file doesn't sit somewhere with no action for any longer than sixty days. I was told that it does not mean you can't submit more evidence after that, but that they will start moving the file around after sixty days (or before if you tell them you have submitted all your evidence). That could mean absolutely nothing. It can move from one place to another and still sit another sixty days or six months. It just a ruse to make a veteran think they are working the claim in a timely fashion. If you've hung out at hadit a while, you already know that's a laugh.

That said, you must keep in mind that there are certain time limits that are very important and missing them one day could cause you to lose benefits or a chance for appeal. So always be sure to meet all time limits.

You need to know also that the VA sometimes denies quickly for legitimate reasons. Here are some regs that might help you to understand those reasons. You can evaluate them to see if they could apply to you.

I've also included the following to help you compute the time limits. Hope this helps. Good luck.

§ 3.110 Computation of time limit.

(a) In computing the time limit for any action required of a claimant or beneficiary, including the filing of claims or evidence requested by VA, the first day of the specified period will be excluded and the last day included. This rule is applicable in cases in which the time limit expires on a workday. Where the time limit would expire on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the next succeeding workday will be included in the computation.

The first day of the specified period referred to in paragraph (a) of this section shall be the date of mailing of notification to the claimant or beneficiary of the action required and the time limit therefor. The date of the letter of notification shall be considered the date of mailing for purposes of computing time limits. As to appeals, see §§20.302 and 20.305 of this chapter.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501)

The following can explain certain cases of quick denial. It takes a lot less time to deny than to approve.

Duty to Assist

... VA will not provide assistance in obtaining evidence if a substantially complete application for benefits indicates that there is no reasonable possibility that any assistance VA would provide to the claimant would substantiate the claim.

Discontinue providing assistance if the evidence obtained indicates that there is no reasonable possibility that further assistance would substantiate the claim. Circumstances in which to refrain from or discontinue providing assistance in obtaining evidence include, but are not limited to:

· the claimant's ineligibility for the benefit sought because of lack of qualifying service, lack of veteran status, or other lack of legal eligibility

· claims that are inherently incredible or clearly lack merit, and

· an application requesting a benefit to which the claimant is not entitled as a matter of law.

Edited March 7, 2006 by Morgan

[Ricky]

Cowgirl, is the letter you are speaking the duty to assist notification? The sixty days would have begun on the date of the letter. So if you waited, let us say, 4 weeks to respond, three days for the post office to get it there, then depending on which VARO we are speaking of it sat in the mail room two weeks it is possible that it did not make it into the file, which should have been somewhere in the development area, in time so they just cut a quick denial to bump up their "completed claims" numbers. No big deal just as Morgan said it is a tactic. Now is when the counting becomes important. You have one year from the date of the rating decision to file your Notice of Disagreement. Don't miss the deadline date, but also do not hurry yourself. Keep calm and gather all of the evidence you can get your hands on over the next couple of months to support your claim. Then take the rating decision and go line by line and use your evidence to over rule their stupid reasons for denial. Don't wait until the elventh month but also don't get trigger happy and try to submit your NOD within the next few days. Give them all you can get up front and work out the rough spots as they throw them to you later.

[Guest Berta]

You could certainly point out that the 60 days were not up-

But the most important thing here is-

as others stated too-

why did they deny- these Reasons and Bases are the key to the claim-

If you can challenge, with solid medical evidence, the reasons for denial-

you are closer to succeeding-

The NOD is the initial attack on their decision-it helps to keep your focus on the Reason and bases and then refer to and highlight whatever medical evidence you have to combat those things.

I suggest that you refer , in the NOD to any marked exhibits, like Exhibit A, B,C etc-and then list these again at the bottom of the NOD and I use yard sale stickers or colored labels to put onto each page of evidence.

Also those name and address stickers many here get from DAV, Olympics, Heart Assoc.-I say put a name and address sticker and your c file number on everything you send them.

Evidence- I have found that some vets at the local VA believe that since VA has their SMRS- they do not need to point out whatever is in them to support their claim-

But I say- get those SMRS yourself and use copies of them -and dont depend on the VA to read them good-

I have read SMRs that hold keys to SC claims, which the VA never even considered , although they had the same SMRs. They often focus on the discharge certificate without looking through the whole pile of SMRs.

SMR copies can be highlighted with magic markers to call their attention to whatever is in them to support the claim.

Remember they are looking at

1. current documented disability

2. inservice event that can be associated with the current disability

3. medical nexus (link) of both of these facts.

If you need buddy statements or morning reports or ships logs (to find witnesses or documentation of anything that helps your claim)

the time is now to get in touch with your unit- many have web sites-or post a note at the many vet org 'looking for' sites and actively seek the evidence you need.

If you tell us more about your disability and service -maybe we can help more-

Edited March 7, 2006 by Berta

[SLEDGE]

Comrades,

You have to carefully watch the appeal, submit new evidence and n.o.d. time limits and whether

or not they followed their own rules.

In one of my denials, the RO closed my claim for appeal purposes because I missed the one

year to appeal time limit.

What actually happened was,

I beat the time limit by one or two days, back in the year 1989, then they produced another decision

date to show that I had passed the one year to appeal time limit.

The second decision date pushed the decision back the one or two days needed for them to

show that I did not timely appeal within the one year time limit following their decision.

I have the two decision letters in my file for the same decision with two different, but close

together, dates so I'm not imagining this crap.

This is just another issue that we have brought up that the RO has NEVER addressed.

Still waiting to hear about it after 16 years.

The best way to avoid time limit problems is to beat the time limits by a bunch.

The RO however is not bound by the rules like we are.

sledge