Appeals Process

[sam1962]

I submitted my NOD over a year ago. SO far I have heard nothing on it except the letter asking how I want it processed. Is it normal to take a year to just get it looked at by the local VA office?

Edited January 15, 2013 by sam1962

[meghp0405]

Some VARO's are taking longer than a year. I would suggest that you proceed with the descision review officer. He/she will review your claim in its entirity. If the medical documentation in your claim warrants a positive outcome in your favor, they have the authority to make that decision. Regardless of the DRO's decision, you will receive a rating decision frrom the DRO. If the decision is not favorable, the VA will include a Form 9 for you to fill out and send back if you want to appeal that decision.

[71M10]

Did you complete that form/letter and return it? If you didn't ask for a DRO review then they will process this as an appeal to the BVA, they will do a SOC, send it to you. Enclosed with the SOC will be a Form 9, you will/would then complete the Form 9 and return it to your Local VARO to perfect your appeal to the BVA.

I just passed waiting 2 years for a DRO decision out of Detroit VARO. If you did not choose the DRO process, the SOC my be completed a little quicker (but no one will try to determine if the Local VARO was wrong). Multiple people have related second hand information that VA is putting more people hours to claim decisions and are only assigning minimal staff to work appeals (backlog is the big headline). I don't have any hard data on this but This DRO review is taking longer than any of my previous ones.

[john999]

Make sure your claim is headed for DRO's desk and not being sent to the BVA. That happened to me once. I caught them just in time before they shipped my claim off to the BVA. I had specifically asked in letter form for a DRO Hearing. I made an appointment to look at my file and found out it was headed to the BVA. I got that stopped and a few months later won my claim at the DRO. I had no warning the VA was going to send my claim to the BVA and was just lucky I found out in time to stop them or months and possibly years would have gone by. I was claiming TDIU so I needed that claim to win and fast.

[carlie]

I submitted my NOD over a year ago. SO far I have heard nothing on it except the letter asking how I want it processed. Is it normal to take a year to just get it looked at by the local VA office?

I thought you just recently got your decision.

Is this the same decision you submitted your NOD on.

If yes - what was the actual date of the decision ?

IMO - it is very normal for a claimant to submit a NOD and not

receive anything from the DVA, (other than what you posted above)

for a year and many times, quite much longer than one year.

Here's a link to check some current appeal time frames at your VARO.

http://cironline.org/veteransclaims

Can you post what your NOD stated ?

[sam1962]

I thought you just recently got your decision.

Is this the same decision you submitted your NOD on.

If yes - what was the actual date of the decision ?

IMO - it is very normal for a claimant to submit a NOD and not

receive anything from the DVA, (other than what you posted above)

for a year and many times, quite much longer than one year.

Here's a link to check some current appeal time frames at your VARO.

http://cironline.org/veteransclaims

Can you post what your NOD stated ?

I submitted this appeal based on information that the TN VA Rep told me. He was the one to tell me to put the appeal in on my tinnitus. He stated that a recent (when we talked) court case stated the VA should have awarded me a higher percentage due to having tinnitus in both ears. I submitted this for a Decision Review Officer Appeal Process on 9 Jan 2012 and check eBenefits Online often and have never seen the status change. I called at the one year mark and was told the back log was about 275 days for Tennessee. Not sure why mine is taking so long.

[Jim MAC]

If you find out any info on that recent court case for tinnitus. please let me and others now. I hace been SC for tinnitus in both ears since 2004 and been told no matter what it is 10 percent for one ear or two. Has anybody else heard about this court case?

Thanks,

Jim