ptsd Help With Understanding Remanding From Appeals Back To Ro

[Mil T]

Hello,

I am a Vet advocate in my small town. I help as many as I can with their claims and following them along the process. I am not associated with any organization. We don't have any organized VSO's in our town so I try to take up the slack where I can.

I have an issue that I need to get some understanding of.

One of the Vets I'm helping has had claims in for several years and under appeal. When he came to me his claims were very convaluted and all had been denied because no one had helped him with the processes. He even had an attorney that advised him to file for agent orange but the vet is a blue water and was never qualified for agent orange. I was able to get most of it straightned out by dropping the agent orange presumptive illness claims that were never going to be awarded.

We turned in new evidence for the rest of the claims of PTSD, Hearing and tinnitus. Also unemployability because he has parkinsons and he is in a wheel chair due to his SC Knees that he was discharged from service for with a 0% award and asked to be reopened based on new evidence that I helped him acquire. We also asked to have the claims in appeals remanded back to the RO based on the new evidence. This was in October of 2011. We've been following this on E-benfits and never saw any changes. We visit the RO in Phoenix often and were told the claims were back in RO. Yesterday we visited again and this time the Service Officer finally went and got his file after seeing on his computor that all of his claims were still in appeal. When we inspected the file, the 4138 where we requested the remand of claims was there but there was never any action taken. The SO noted this and said he would take it up to appeals and make them aware of the 4138 request.

Today the Veteran was called by the appeals dept. and was told that if they remand the claims that his initiation date of all the claims would revert to todays date and all of his back pay would be lost.

Can someone clarify for me why that would happen? I've always been of the understanding per the VA website and on the e-benefits website that the appeals board should always automatically remand claims with new evidence back to the RO in the first place. I don't understand why he would loose his origional date for the filing of the claim. Some of the dates go back to 2007.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Mil T]

If his "knees" are SC'd and he has TRK - he can get temporary 100%

under Convalescence (38CFR 4.30) for up to 13 months.

After that he should be scheduled for a re-examinination and I believe in most cases, it will drop to 30%.

I'm sorry for my ignorance but what is TRK?

We did just learn that he could get 100% Temp for the Convalescence and will plan on doing that if he is to have the knee replacements. I have advised him to have one done at a time and that should turn into 26 months by which hopefully the rest of the claims issues will be completed.

Just got a call from the Vet.

The VA just called him. He was only able to get a first name as she said that she cannot give out a phone # or her last name.

She has given him the details of where everything is at. It sounds like they have transfered the claims to different locations. He will be coming over in a couple of hours so I can get the details and I will come back and let you know what he has shared with me.

By the way. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out here. I consider myself pretty knowledgable in these matters but when something like this comes along then I consider myself pretty ignorant but I am willing to learn to not let it happen again to me. It is upsetting to know that no organization wants to place a trained VSO in our community or have them come up at least a couple of times a week. Our community is full of Veterans and there are many that are just now understanding that they are entitled to VA benefits for their service. Most of these vets are War time Vets as well. I have WWII, Korean, Cold war atomic vets and Vietnam. The younger ones don't seem to want to engage the VA or have decided to go down to the Vet Cntrs in the Phoenix area to get their help.

[carlie]

I'm sorry for my ignorance but what is TRK?

We did just learn that he could get 100% Temp for the Convalescence and will plan on doing that if he is to have the knee replacements. I have advised him to have one done at a time and that should turn into 26 months by which hopefully the rest of the claims issues will be completed.

Sorry - I should have posted TKR = Total Knee Replacement

[Mil T]

I just talked with the Vet. Someone by the name of Cheryl from Minneapalis called him and gave him dates of claims and where they have been sent to at this time.

HIs knees and hearing loss that was first denied in 2007 was sent to RO (I'm going to assume Phoenix) on May 7, 2011

The PTSD/Depression which was denied in May 2010 and NOD sent in May of 2010 was sent to RO Jan 2012.

The IU that was denied in 2008 and also Jan 2012 is at Phoenix, and an NOD was submitted in Feb 2012.

His April 2009 adaptive eq. Car Grant (attorney put this in) was denied and DRO hearing was done was sent to RO in 2011.

She also told him that all the claims are at the Washington DC management of Appeals.

Now mind you, yesterday he received the call from the Phoenix RO Appeals that if he remanded his appeals that he would loose his retro dates. We also viewed the file ourselves on Tuesday at the phoenix RO. So the quesion that is in my mind is why the Gal from Minneapalis is calling with this information and how could the claims be in Washington and we viewed them in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Oh and the gal from Minn says that his file is in the sensative area at this time. That's because he had an attorney working it but the VA has the letter from the Vet and the attorney telling them that the attorney is no longer handling the case. It's almost like we have been sending all this information for the past year and no one ever reads it or follows up with what we tell them or ask for.

Are you totally confused yet??

Mil T

[carlie]

I just talked with the Vet. Someone by the name of Cheryl from Minneapalis called him and gave him dates of claims and where they have been sent to at this time.

HIs knees and hearing loss that was first denied in 2007 was sent to RO (I'm going to assume Phoenix) on May 7, 2011

The PTSD/Depression which was denied in May 2010 and NOD sent in May of 2010 was sent to RO Jan 2012.

The IU that was denied in 2008 and also Jan 2012 is at Phoenix, and an NOD was submitted in Feb 2012.

His April 2009 adaptive eq. Car Grant (attorney put this in) was denied and DRO hearing was done was sent to RO in 2011.

She also told him that all the claims are at the Washington DC management of Appeals.

Now mind you, yesterday he received the call from the Phoenix RO Appeals that if he remanded his appeals that he would loose his retro dates. We also viewed the file ourselves on Tuesday at the phoenix RO. So the quesion that is in my mind is why the Gal from Minneapalis is calling with this information and how could the claims be in Washington and we viewed them in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Oh and the gal from Minn says that his file is in the sensative area at this time. That's because he had an attorney working it but the VA has the letter from the Vet and the attorney telling them that the attorney is no longer handling the case. It's almost like we have been sending all this information for the past year and no one ever reads it or follows up with what we tell them or ask for.

Are you totally confused yet??

Mil T

Something I have been a bit concerned with is that you post that you made a request for the BVA

to "remand" everything back to the VARO. I just don't feel that this would be a correct process as BVA

is the ones to determine if a "remand" needs to be done and there are even rules for this procedure,

I don't know if a rep or claimant can even actually request the BVA to remand.

I would contact the BVA Ombudsmans Office and see if they have physical custody of the claims file

and if so, find out exactly what issues are shown in the appeal, that are under their jurisdiction.

If they have physical custody of the file I would ask them to withdraw the request to send everything

back to the VARO.

I would tell them you are sending some new evidence to factor in during consideration,

directly to them along with a signed waiver of RO consideration.

I would also verify that you are the rep for the claimant - I believe you already did a 21-22a.

Be sure they DO NOT have that attorney listed as the rep.

Be sue to get the name of who you talk to and a contact or reply # to send the above info to.

JMHO

http://www.bva.va.gov/OMBUDSMAN_CustomerService.asp

Our mailing address is:

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

810 Vermont Avenue, North West

Washington, DC 20420

For your convenience the Board of Veterans' Appeals has a FAX line. FAX: 1 202 343 1889

We may be reached by our phone number (202)-632-4623 Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm (Eastern time zone).

For an Email status report on your claim before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, please state your name, file number and request, click here BVAOmbudsman@mail.VA.Gov

[Mil T]

Something I have been a bit concerned with is that you post that you made a request for the BVA

to "remand" everything back to the VARO. I just don't feel that this would be a correct process as BVA

is the ones to determine if a "remand" needs to be done and there are even rules for this procedure,

I don't know if a rep or claimant can even actually request the BVA to remand.

I would contact the BVA Ombudsmans Office and see if they have physical custody of the claims file

and if so, find out exactly what issues are shown in the appeal, that are under their jurisdiction.

If they have physical custody of the file I would ask them to withdraw the request to send everything

back to the VARO. As said in earlier post that we physically saw the claims file ( 3 seperate folders) at the phoenix RO. the VA service representative went up stairs in the Appeals section and pulled them for us to see and for him to look at.

I would tell them you are sending some new evidence to factor in during consideration,

directly to them along with a signed waiver of RO consideration.

I would also verify that you are the rep for the claimant - I believe you already did a 21-22a.

Be sure they DO NOT have that attorney listed as the rep. We turned in a 21-085 authorizing me as a third party to have the private information disclosed to me. The 21-22A did not allow me to do that since I am not a formal Veteran Organization VSO or attorney. We were told that with the 21-22A that it would go to sensative filing. Well it seems that it is any way because they must think the Attorney is still handling it. Yes we have the letter that the attorney actually wrote and filed with the VA and the Vets file that he is no longer the representative.

Be sue to get the name of who you talk to and a contact or reply # to send the above info to.

JMHO. I will do that.

http://www.bva.va.go...omerService.asp

Our mailing address is:

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

810 Vermont Avenue, North West

Washington, DC 20420

For your convenience the Board of Veterans' Appeals has a FAX line. FAX: 1 202 343 1889

We may be reached by our phone number (202)-632-4623 Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm (Eastern time zone).

For an Email status report on your claim before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, please state your name, file number and request, click here BVAOmbudsman@mail.VA.Gov

Wording of 4138 turned into the Phoenix VARO on 10/11/2011: I would like to remand all of my claims in appeal status back to the Phoenix RO for adjudication based on the new evidence I have submitted over the past 6 months and doctor exams that were conducted for the claims. I wish to have the claims re-opened with the new evidence that I have submitted regarding PTSD, HEARING LOSS, TINNITUS, and MY SC KNEES.

Second request sent 11/7/2011 with small change in wording and also sent to Phoenix VARO: I am requesting that all of my claims in appeal status be moved back to the Phoenix RO for adjudication based on the new evidence I have submitted over the past 8 months and doctor exams that were conducted for those claims. I wish to have the claims re-opened with the new evidence that I have submitted regarding PTSD, HEARING LOSS, TINNITUS, and MY SC KNEES.

[deanbrt]

If new evidence has been submitted with a waiver of RO consideration it would be considered at BVA. They are going to be very thorough at BVA.