It's Official, Secondary Issues Taking Longer To Decide

[Rockhound]

Ten months and counting. According to what I have been told by 1-800-827-1000 and IRIS. my claim for secondary issues has been sent someplace twice and returned to the rater and after having been told that a decision was scheduled for June, the claim was then taken over by the Tiger Team in Cleveland OH. It has been more than a month now since that time and about a month since the TT has a C&P exam done. My latest inquirey has nothing new to say other than that my claim has been in the process longer than it should have.

There is just no excuse for such a claim to take this amount of time without a decision, good or bad. If it takes only nine months for the main claim the secondary issues are based on, then why should secondary issues take longer, it just doesn't make any since or follow any logic that I can make of it.

Sorry guys for ragging on this, but I have to let of some steam somehow or I am liable to go down to my local VARO and rag on them and get myself into trouble and it wouldn't do any good because my claim is in OH with the TT. %$#*&@^ :)

Rockhound Rider :) :D

[bob_abad]

Rockhound,

I hear you. Had this secondary claim since late Y2005 and still waiting. Would you believe it is only for Hypertension?

>Denied from original AO claim in Y2004

>Appealed & then, cancelled

>Case re-open w/ new evidence

>Denied again

>Request for Reconsideration(April '09). Telling VA they made an internal error due to new VA law, etc.

>As of 07/14/09: Still waiting, being reviewed by DRO, etc....VARO-OAKLAND. Heading there tomorrow for a 1-on-1 internal status checking w/ their onsite VA rep.

I keep reminding myself, SELF BE COOL!

[smilen66]

Ten months and counting. According to what I have been told by 1-800-827-1000 and IRIS. my claim for secondary issues has been sent someplace twice and returned to the rater and after having been told that a decision was scheduled for June, the claim was then taken over by the Tiger Team in Cleveland OH. It has been more than a month now since that time and about a month since the TT has a C&P exam done. My latest inquirey has nothing new to say other than that my claim has been in the process longer than it should have.

There is just no excuse for such a claim to take this amount of time without a decision, good or bad. If it takes only nine months for the main claim the secondary issues are based on, then why should secondary issues take longer, it just doesn't make any since or follow any logic that I can make of it.

Sorry guys for ragging on this, but I have to let of some steam somehow or I am liable to go down to my local VARO and rag on them and get myself into trouble and it wouldn't do any good because my claim is in OH with the TT. %$#*&@^ :)

Rockhound Rider :) :D

Please forgive my ignorance but who/what is the "Tiger Team". I've heard of the team through hadit.com, but never before.

Thanks,

Lenora

[Rockhound]

Lenora: No problem! Here is what I know and it isn't all that much.

The Tiger Team expedites resolution of VBA claims for veterans over age 70 and claims pending over one year. Plans to implement the Tiger Team began in July 2001, and the team became operational in November 2001. The Tiger Team's goal fluctuates each month, but is never less than the completion of 1,380 claims per month. Through the end of September 2006, the Tiger Team has completed over 80,000 claims. The Tiger Team is responsible for developing needed evidence, preparing rating decisions, and processing award actions.

I was told that my VARO had been swamped with new claims from new Veterans and that my claim was chosen for no other reason than to take some of the burden off my local VARO. Supposedly the people working for the Tiger Team are of top quality and know their stuff. If I don't get a resolution of my claim soon, I may question this information and if they denie my claims and make it necessary for me to ask for a DRO/reconsideration and/or appeal, it will only afirm my belief that they are no different than the rest of the VA claims system, they just know better how to deny a claim than your average regional office rater, making it that much harder to win and forcing me to rebut their decision with one or more costly IMOs.

Time will tell. Sorry, I am usually an optimist, but when it comes to the VA, all optimism goes right out the window.

Rockhound Rider

Please forgive my ignorance but who/what is the "Tiger Team". I've heard of the team through hadit.com, but never before.

Thanks,

Lenora

Edited July 15, 2009 by Rockhound

[Pete53]

80,000 / 96 months = 833 a month far short of the goal. Maybe my math is wrong? Looks to me like they are doing 60% of their goal. Course they are completing 4.8 an hour impressive by VA standards. The real question is how many of theirs are remanded, how many declines and how many awards?

[Commander Bob]

Ten months and counting. According to what I have been told by 1-800-827-1000 and IRIS. my claim for secondary issues has been sent someplace twice and returned to the rater and after having been told that a decision was scheduled for June, the claim was then taken over by the Tiger Team in Cleveland OH. It has been more than a month now since that time and about a month since the TT has a C&P exam done. My latest inquirey has nothing new to say other than that my claim has been in the process longer than it should have.

There is just no excuse for such a claim to take this amount of time without a decision, good or bad. If it takes only nine months for the main claim the secondary issues are based on, then why should secondary issues take longer, it just doesn't make any since or follow any logic that I can make of it.

Sorry guys for ragging on this, but I have to let of some steam somehow or I am liable to go down to my local VARO and rag on them and get myself into trouble and it wouldn't do any good because my claim is in OH with the TT. %$#*&@^ :)

Rockhound Rider :) :D

You're right Rockhound. You will just add to your torment if you go down to the the VA and "rag on them". I have found that logic is a twisted tool used by that overloaded, apathetic bureaucracy. Besides, the VA gestapo police would enjoy practicing their taser training on someone. Vent here, my friend

[broncovet]

Lenora

Rock was right about the Tiger Teams goals. Now, you need to hear "the rest of the story". The VA was too cheap to recruit experienced rating specialists from all over the country, and instead promoted the best from Cleveland, leaving Cleveland RO with inexperienced, rookie rating specialists.

The results have been predictable. Cleveland compensates their Veterans an average of the lowest in the nation. Cleveland rating specialists are one of the "top 5" in shredding claims, according to the VAOIG reports.

Clevelands appeal rate is one of the highest in the nation, according to the "monday morning" reports.

And the Cleveland RO manager..what happened to her? Why she was promoted to the Central Office, of course, according to vawatchdog.org.

The Tiger team was a good idea, it was just implemented incorrectly, leaving Ohio Veterans high and dry, with super long waits, bad decisions, and then a very long appeal process, and many, many claims not addressed but shredded instead.

It is another example of the VA taking inappropriate action by prioritizing one Veterans group over another. In this case, it was Ohio Veterans who were the loosers. Another example of this is priortizing the "new" Veterans, claims, and let the Vietnam era Vets claims do nothing. I think this is all part of the VA's plan..to divide and conquer. By turning one Veterans group against another, Veterans dont unite in fighting the VA and the VA wins.

AARP, on the other hand, is a united, well organized and well funded group. They are the most powerfull lobby organization on the planet.

If a politician "dares" to even discuss cutting social security benefits, that will mark the end of that politicains career. Right now, the political climate is that we care about Iraq/OIF Veterans, but other Korea/Vietnam Vets are left out in the cold. We Veterans really need to unite, there are about 26 million of us, and we, too, should be a powerfully lobby organization, but the VA has largely succeeded in dividing us into much weaker individual groups based on which war we were in.