tdiu Triage Unit?

[LeroyJohnson]

does anyone know what the triage unit and pre determination teams are? was told today that is where my TDIU claim is.

Thanks Leroy

[john999]

Triage unit??? Does that mean they divide the claims into the wounded, dead and dying? Leroy, I don't know what that Triage means unless they want to expidite the claims because the vet is very sick or old and might die before the claim is resolved.

[Guest DON20906]

Triage teams are an attempt by C&P service to improve overall claims processing times by assessing the difficulty of incoming claims an assigning them to VSRs with the apporopriate levels of experience. Easy claims requiring little or no development are given to newbies, ususally right inside the triage team. Claims with multiple issues requiring extensive development are given to old-timers in the pre-determination unit. The pre-determination team does required development and duty-to-assist actions and reviews claims that are supposedly "ready-to-rate" for completeness before they are sent to Rating VSRs or "the Rating Board." In the old days, VSRs were "adjudicators" and RVSRs were "rating specialists." RVSRs or Rating teams make the actual decsions and get the required numbers of signatures, depending on the type of claim. VSOs are given a look at the files on which they have POAs at this stage. Once a rating is complete and has been reviewed and signed off on it is sent to the post-determination team where the decision is made into an award of monetary benefits, pending a final administrative review on things such as character of dicharge, willful misconduct, etc. The decision is the "promugated" to the claimant in writing. The process is supposed to be consistent across VAROs but some variation exists.

does anyone know what the triage unit and pre determination teams are? was told today that is where my TDIU claim is.

Thanks Leroy

Edited May 26, 2006 by DON20906

[mssoup1]

Don20906,

Thanks for the explanation. I do have a question. Is "ready to be signed off" and "DRO has the claim" essentially the same thing? If so, what happens next?

Thanks,

mssoup1

[Guest DON20906]

"Ready to be signed off" could be a stage of completion at the Rating Team. Could also mean other things. "DRO has the claim" would mean that an NOD (appeal) has been filed and the claimant has elected to have his or her claim reviewed de novo by a Decison Review Officer before the appeal is certified to the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington DC.

Don20906,

Thanks for the explanation. I do have a question. Is "ready to be signed off" and "DRO has the claim" essentially the same thing? If so, what happens next?

Thanks,

mssoup1

[LeroyJohnson]

thank you for your answer. It was exactly what I needed to know.

Leroy

[Alex]

Triage unit??? Does that mean they divide the claims into the wounded, dead and dying? Leroy, I don't know what that Triage means unless they want to expidite the claims because the vet is very sick or old and might die before the claim is resolved.

At least in the Baltimore RO, they have two teams: the triage team, which everything from opening the mail to working up claims, and the rating team, which makes the decisions.