Hardship Case

[#1Cavtrooper]

Does anyone know approximate timelines for a claim to be finished once "hardship" paperwork has been submitted? Just how quick will it expedite the claim process? Anyone that has done this please respond also. Thnx

[UsmcSGTVet]

John,

Yes Im going for TDIU. My comp exams in March 2011 went very well. Shrink says TDIU makes me unempoyable both physical and sedentary. Along with my shoulder dislocation, right lower extremity neurological involvement and bulging disks are "as at least likey as not" render me unemployable both physical and sedentary work. My claim is well documented and plenty of complaining to the docs about wait times. Most the time it falls on a deaf ear but nothing much you can do about that. DAV wasn't any help I'm switching to MOPH once the form takes 6 months to process.

[donna68]

It seems like San Diego VBA deals with things quite differently. If the quick start department receives a congressional inquiry or a financial hardship case the case gets rated quite quicky, like within a few weeks of receiving the letter from the congressman's office or the documentation that proves a finacial hardship. San Diego VBA also seems to be alot more pro veteran than many other VBA's. Unfortunately, their "quick start" case are back up 6 to 12 months.

[UsmcSGTVet]

Ya its terrible there isn't 1 size fits all for these RO's. If you look at the monday morning report some are doing well and others just fall short. You'd think the bad ones would take pointers from the good ones. To many kings and not enough soldiers.

http://www.vba.va.gov/REPORTS/mmwr/index.asp

[#1Cavtrooper]

A friend of mine claimed it took 3 to 4 weeks after she filed the hardship to get a decision. She's an oif/oef vet. My vso said my hardship was picked up by Varo from his office on April 13. According to him, my claim "will move much faster." We shall see.....

Edited April 25, 2012 by #1Cavtrooper

[UsmcSGTVet]

Update:

Recieved this IRIS April 25, 2012:

Thank you for your inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dated April 5, 2012. The information you have requested is not available through our electronic system, as the Congressman’s correspondence is Special Controlled Correspondence. We do not know what the Congressman requested. We do show, however, that your claim, received on October 6, 2010 is currently awaiting a decision by our rating activity. A rating specialist will review it to make sure we have everything we need. If we determine additional information is needed, we will contact you. If we have everything we need, we will prepare a decision on your claim.

The Decision Phase is completed on most claims onaverage in 70 days. Your claim’s Decision Phase began April 24, 2012. The length of time it takes to complete the Decision Phase depends on several factors, such as the type of claim filed, the number of disabilities you claimed, and VA’s pending workload. A claim may take longer in this phase based on the specifics of your claim.

Your claim file was sent to St Louis Regional Office for completion. Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below.

Sincerely yours,

Donovan W. Thompson

National IRIS Response Center Manager

ogm

Temporary Office of Jurisdiction:

St. Louis

In an effort to expedite the processing of your claim, we have temporarily sent your folder to a different Regional Office that will have authority over this specific claim only.

Does anyone one have any input on this change of events?

How is the St. Louis RO on getting claims through in a timely matter?

Does sending my claim from Pittsburgh RO to St. Louis mean bad things or are they actually trying to decide this claim?