Federal Court Ruling On Va

[meghp0405]

(CN) - The Federal Circuit gave the Department of Veteran Affairs 60 days to show why it should not be sanctioned for denying veteran benefits.
Previously, veterans seeking benefits filed claims with a regional VA office, which processed the claims and decided whether to grant the benefits. If the veteran disagreed with the regional board's decision, the Board of Veterans' Appeals reviewed the claim and made a final decision.
Federal law requires the benefits system for veterans to be pro-claimant, laying out procedural and appellate rights for veterans seeking adjudication. VA officials tasked with approving or denying benefits must actively look for ways to improve the cases of veterans both at the regional level and in the appellate process.

read the full article at courthouse news service, dated march 27, 2013

would not let me post the full article

Edited April 13, 2013 by meghp0405

[john999]

I think the easiest thing for the VA to do to get out of this jam is to grant more claims fully, so there will be no appeal.

[meghp0405]

I do believe that there should be a viable process in the determination of these claims. To just approve all claims before VA would be less than intelligent I believe. I see many veterans that want to do a claim, but with no medical documentation or a diagnosis, they are bound to be denied at the earliest stages.

I do believe that if a veteran submits a fully developed claim, it then becomes a no brainer, but then again what do I know.....

[john999]

As long as the VA denies half of the claims made by vets that will just expand the number of appeals. I do think the VA will eventually just lower the standards for OIF/OEF and Vietnam Era claims and grant 90% of them down and dirty. This is the only way to get the backlog under controld short of hiring 100,000 new claims examiners and that is not going to happen. We discussed the concept of the VA granting all claims a long time ago. How do you propose to get rid of 2 million claims and appeals? My CUE claim has been on appeal for 7 years with no end in sight. I started my claim in my 50's and now I am in my 60's. Do I have to wait until I am in my 70''s? Yes.....at this rate I will. Remember most living Vietnam vets will probably die from AO presumptives. That means DIC claims in the 100 of thosands.

[Vync]

I do believe that if a veteran submits a fully developed claim, it then becomes a no brainer, but then again what do I know.....

Bump

[carlie]

I do believe that there should be a viable process in the determination of these claims. To just approve all claims before VA would be less than intelligent I believe. I see many veterans that want to do a claim, but with no medical documentation or a diagnosis, they are bound to be denied at the earliest stages.

I do believe that if a veteran submits a fully developed claim, it then becomes a no brainer, but then again what do I know.....

I do not agree that there is ANY VBA CLAIM at all -

that is a no brainer.

JMHO

[Chuck75]

I'd like to see how widely the court's 60 day rule is applied. I have two appeals that have been just setting at the VARO for years. I should add that another is pending, and CUE is involved in a couple as well.