What Happens After You File A Form 9....?

[joeyjoeyb]

Been trying to get the chain of events here. I submitted a form 9 appeal to my NSO June of last year. So happens next? Like step by step...

[Berta]

http://www.bva.va.gov/docs/Pamphlets/010202A.pdf

This link will explain the Appeals process.

Has VA acknowledged their receipt of the I-9 yet?

Did you request a DRO Review or the traditional appeals process?

At some point the VA will prepare an I-8 and your vet rep will prepare a 646 and the claim will be transferred to the BVA. You will receive a transfer letter when that occurs.

in my case:

"The claimant perfected her appeal with regard to service

connection for the cause of death by filing correspondence

accepted in lieu of a VA Form 9, Appeal to Board of Veterans'

Appeals, in January 2006. Although this was outside the one

year period from the February 2004 denial, and beyond the 60

day period from issuance of a statement of the case (SOC) in

September 2005, the claimant submitted or caused to be

created additional evidence requiring the issuance of a

supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) in December 2005;

therefore, the time for perfection of the appeal was

extended. 38 C.F.R. § 20.302(b)(2) (2008)." BVA 2009.

I think the formal I-9 was filed in February.The extension for my I-9 was an unusual tactic I don't advise anyone to use.

The SSOC grew out of my request that they CUE themselves on the past SOC.

So Feb 2006 appeal I-9 was filed, BVA remand Sept 2008, BVA award May 2009.

Without the remand (which I requested)or if I waived RO consideration -I think it would have taken only 2 years at the BVA and not over 3 years.

Two years is about the average when a BVA appeal gets to them before they can make a decision.

I sent the BVA evidence right up until they made the award.

The I-9 should state exactly why their decision was wrong.You can add additional pages and refer to and attach additional evidence to the I-9.

If VA failed to consider any probative evidence, tell the BVA right away on the I-9 and refer to it and attach it.

If the VCAA letter was not compliant ,tell them that too.

NVLSP suggests adding this somewhere on the I-9:

"I take exception to and preserve for appeal ALL errors the VARO may have made or the Board hereafter might could make in deciding this appeal. This includes all legal errors, all factual errors, failure to follow M21-1,all due process errors and any failures to discharge the duty to assist as violation of basic VA laws and regulations within 38 USCS and 38 CFR."

I just looked at the first page of my I-9-

maybe this will help someone- I see the NOD as the first avenue of attack and the I-9 as defining the battle. I feel they should be hit hard right away with the argument as to why the denial was wrong.

"The Buffalo VARO , by consistently ignoring my irrefutable, undisputable, and probative medical evidence-to include an Independent Medical Opinion from Dr. Craig Bash whose area of Special Knowledge gives him a professional rationale for this opinion, and a statement from Dr. XXXXX XXXXXX, significant as to this doctor’s entries in the veteran’s VA medical records and conversation with the veteran and me, as former treating VA physician, along with evidence I submitted from the veteran’s medical records, FTCA documents, Section 1151 award, prior SOCs, and autopsy, which I correlated with medical information on diabetes known within the standard medical community and also within VA itself via VA Training Letter and C & P regarding diabetes, has continued to deny a claim that rests well within the Doctrine of Reasonable Doubt as the evidence I have submitted fully outweighs the rationale of the VA examiner, as found within the December SSOC, that I received on Dec 23rd,2005."

I also had VCAA violation and raised every legal error they had made in the SOC,SSOC as well as every medical error.

The subsequent additional IMO I obtained after this initial filing stated right away that the SSOC dated ( forget what date) was "medically inaccurate."

If they didnt believe me in my rebuttal to the medical inaccuracy,the BVA sure consdiered what a real doctor stated on that.

I then obtained an additional IMO in 2006 and additional evidence which I sent to the BVA, and although my appeal had 2 more pages added, I kept to the point of why the RO was wrong and I listed again all of the evidence they ignored.

I suggest writing the appeal argument in word and then cutting it and scanning it into the first I-9 page.

This above is all I could get on the form's first page so I made sure, in case they lost the rest of it, this was in fact the main points of appeal.

Edited March 27, 2011 by Berta

[carlie]

Been trying to get the chain of events here. I submitted a form 9 appeal to my NSO June of last year. So happens next? Like step by step...

joey,

You can also check out Chapter 5 (at the link below) for your research and answers.

http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/M21_1MR1.asp

[vetwife]

After it goes to the BVA -..... If they grant your claim , then it goes BACK to your VARO (or over to AMC ...) for rating.

When we got the envelope from the BVA granting 2 claims & remanding others, we thought it was over & award would soon follow. A year later... we're still waiting on AMC to rate...

[retiredat44]

when your claim reaches the BVA, do you get a notice it is actually being reviewed by the BVA?

example..

I requested a BVA hearing ( a long time ago, about 2 years ago, but just had a DRO hearing),,

my VSO told me the BVA will use my DRO hearing transcripts and audio tape (DRO has not approved anything yet,, they only sent me the SSOC and SOC, I had the hearing Dcember 8, 2010, and got the SSOC and SOC January 26, 2011). And that I will not have to appear at any more hearings...

Will I be notified when it reaches the BVA? or will I just get a decision somededay, out of the blue without even knowing it finally got there?

[Berta]

At some point the VA will prepare an I-8 and your vet rep will prepare a 646 and the claim will be transferred to the BVA. You will receive a transfer letter when that occurs.