Re-Consideration Claim Not Decided Within 1 Year

[COOL BREEZE]

Deleted

Edited June 8, 2011 by COOL BREEZE

[carlie]

It appears that the odds of having a re-consideration claim decided within 1 year are slim to none. With that said, what should a Veteran do?. I have a claim already for a NOD with several claims. Now if this current re-consideration is not decided by October it has been discussed here that a NOD must be done. By doing so will this void the reconsideration claim by upgrading to a NOD, and if so will they merge it with the other NOD? This was a simple CUE claim(by notes in the C-file). And how should this new upgraded NOD to be worded in such a manner that it won't take several years. A re-consideration claim was supposed to be the quickest claim to file when it has been shown that certain medical evidence was with held that would have rated a higher claim. I have 4 months left before the 1 year mark-need to start preparing another NOD.

Thanks for any input!

CB,

You will only confuse yourself and new members with this terminology

your tossing around.

There is no such process as upgrading a request for reconsideration to a NOD.

A claimant either files or does not file,a timely NOD.

A request for reconsideration and a NOD are two completely separate things.

A RforR has additional evidence submitted with it.

A NOD doesn't need to have anything additional submitted with it.

[bobbyq]

I am in Phoenix, and I have no idea why claim detertimation is SO SLOW. I have at least five claims in since August/September of last year. All is done.........exam, evidence, etc. There is just no more action on them. All they tell me is that they are awaiting decision and final determination that they can be rated. I have one or two of the vets are in hurt city but like I said they just will not issue a determination. There is just nothing you can do and I am sure they hate me calling EVERY week. ?????????

[john999]

Cool

I think you should file a NOD. You are banking on what the 800# people told you. You have a effective date to lose. We have been over the reconsideration vs NOD argument and time clock many times here at Hadit. If you file a NOD I think the VA will just go ahead and finish your reconsideration, but you will cover your ass.

[Pete53]

NOD on a Form 9 is required to be filed within 1 year of denial. No Form 9 than your claim is dead.

[COOL BREEZE]

Here is a link that may help this resolve this:

http://www.veteransr...de-part-ii.html

"Reopened claims and NOD's are not worked by the same people nor by the same administrative procedures. If one requests a "reconsideration" with the one year appeals period and then file a NOD before the one year elapses because VA hasn't made a decision on the "new" evidence, then one is asking that VA go through all the administrative procedures for a "reopened" claim up to and including a review by a Rating Specialist and then if the claim cannot be granted to just stop without a formal decision and send it back out to start reprocessing as an NOD. This would create an Administrative nightmare and simply cannot be done. If after requesting a "re-opening" of the claim you then file an NOD, the "re-opened" claim is no longer valid and whatever evidence you submitted with it will be considered as part of the NOD. As soon as the NOD is received on that particular issue, whatever it is, it MUST be worked under the appeal procedures. One cannot have both a reopened claim and an NOD on the same issue at the same time. In short, one must keep an eye on the expiration date for the appeal period so you could convert the "reopened" claim to a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) in the event a decision was not rendered before the appeal period expired. If you disagree with the decision and you aren't 100% certain that the new evidence will result in a grant, you cannot let that original appeal period run out. If the reopened claim is not granted and you don't submit an NOD within the appeal period for the first decision, you have lost the date of claim on that decision as a potential effective date. There are a limited number of situations where one should "re-open" the claim instead of filing an NOD, but these are few and far between and one must really, really know what they're doing when they make the decision to do this. The overwhelming majority of cases a Notice of Disagreement is the best path to take."

Can someone please put this in an easier way to understand. I am not sure if I correctly posted this-I put a link-and the part that I would like to understand in the part above-thanks-. This doesn't say you you need to to this-just says if you do it.

"

Edited June 3, 2011 by COOL BREEZE

[carlie]

Here is a link that may help this resolve this:

http://www.veteransr...de-part-ii.html

"Reopened claims and NOD's are not worked by the same people nor by the same administrative procedures. If one requests a "reconsideration" with the one year appeals period and then file a NOD before the one year elapses because VA hasn't made a decision on the "new" evidence, then one is asking that VA go through all the administrative procedures for a "reopened" claim up to and including a review by a Rating Specialist and then if the claim cannot be granted to just stop without a formal decision and send it back out to start reprocessing as an NOD. This would create an Administrative nightmare and simply cannot be done. If after requesting a "re-opening" of the claim you then file an NOD, the "re-opened" claim is no longer valid and whatever evidence you submitted with it will be considered as part of the NOD. As soon as the NOD is received on that particular issue, whatever it is, it MUST be worked under the appeal procedures. One cannot have both a reopened claim and an NOD on the same issue at the same time. In short, one must keep an eye on the expiration date for the appeal period so you could convert the "reopened" claim to a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) in the event a decision was not rendered before the appeal period expired. If you disagree with the decision and you aren't 100% certain that the new evidence will result in a grant, you cannot let that original appeal period run out. If the reopened claim is not granted and you don't submit an NOD within the appeal period for the first decision, you have lost the date of claim on that decision as a potential effective date. There are a limited number of situations where one should "re-open" the claim instead of filing an NOD, but these are few and far between and one must really, really know what they're doing when they make the decision to do this. The overwhelming majority of cases a Notice of Disagreement is the best path to take."

Can someone please put this in an easier way to understand. I am not sure if I correctly posted this-I put a link-and the part that I would like to understand in the part above-thanks-. This doesn't say you you need to to this-just says if you do it.

"

CB,

Now you're talking about 3 different processes.

1) Request for Reconsideration

2) NOD

3) Re-open

If you haven't received an answer on your Request for Reconsideration

by XX/XX/XXXX date then just file your danged NOD on time - quit driving yourself nutty.

Between this and the Monday Morning Workload reports you will go bonkers.

It's all really not as difficult as you are making it become.

Analyzing the heck out of everything - checking ebenefits and calling 1-800

will not provide you accurate answers or make the adjudication process go any faster

for you.

Get a hobby.

JMHO