Can "they" Cancel An Appeal?

[OSC]

Can the BVA just cancel or negatively decide your appeal without input from the Vet or am I looking at a possible quick approval? Also my appeal was for a de novo review request by a new DRO.

Here is what I found on ebenefits. I have yet to receive any letter and have made an IRIS request for clarification.

Timeline of Your Appeal

Date of Progress

Progress

Progress Office

03/09/2012

Local VA Office Decision

RO

12/18/2012

Notice of Disagreement (NOD)

RO

01/09/2013

Appeal Pending

BVA

06/13/2013

Decision & Claims File Dispatch

BVA

Details about your BVA Appeal received on no date

• Local VA Office of Jurisdiction: Reno, NV
• Power of Attorney: For more information about Powers of Attorney, please refer to FAQs
• Current Progress: Decision & Claims File Dispatch
• Current Progress Description: Your case has been received at BVA, and BVA has mailed your decision to you (and your representative, if any) and will be returning your claims file to the VA Medical Center. Please note that transit times vary, and there may be some lag time between when BVA forwards your claims file to its appropriate location and when that location receives it.

I also have a CUE claim pending which shows movement to PENDING DECISION APPROVAL. Both the Appeal and the CUE claim moved on ebenefits the same date of 06/13/2013.

From what I understand, it takes 2-5 years for an appeal to go through the system. I am looking at movement after only a few months.

Any guesses as to what is going on??

OSC

[OSC]

Asknod,

Hopefully this is one of those “rare” occasions.

OSC

[FormerMember]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<I received a phone call from the Reno VARO.>>>>>>>>>>> If you receive a call from the VARO, it means the claim(s) is still at the VARO unless you are a Senator's son. If the claim were still at the BVA, you would receive a phone call from one of their wonderful staff updating you on the progress/location.The BVA doesn't promulgate financial decisions.

<<<<<<<<<<<<He confirmed that in fact the appeal and claim were decided on June 13, 2013 and were with the “Promulgation Team”. He explained that this stage is where they prepare the letters and authorize the money both for monthly payment and retros. I asked him how long this takes and he said no actual time is assigned but his guess based upon his experience is about 90 days. >>>>>>>>>>> If your claim had been decided at the BVA in your favor, 90 days would be about right for the "promulgation of the award" and a check in the bank account but you would have received a copy of your BVA decision(s) by now. You usually get them in short order to facilitate an appeal to the CAVC within the allotted 120 days.

Strikes me that this never left the Reno area. If you win a remand, reversal, vacate and remand, or a set aside and remand at the CVA, it takes, on average, six months from the legal decision there to get it back to the VARO. It has to make a stop at the BVA for a John Hancock from the BVA Judge who screwed it up first. Then it's back to Fort Fumble for a lather , rinse, and repeat.

If a decision was made at the BVA, it would result in a 8-10 page decision. You would have a citation number as well as a Docket number. You would have signed a waiver of review for the RO if new evidence was involved. You would also have had it in your hot hands within a week of the date it was decided. VARO chuckleheads use the word "appeal" loosely. In the eyes of the VARO, an appeal is any decision contested- be it for ratings percentage or outright denial. The CVA considers an appeal as one that has been finally decided by the BVA. Big difference. Going up to the DRO review is merely not willing to take no for an answer. It is not, however, an appeal in any way shape or form.

If the Reno boys did all this, they need a month-minimum- from the date they decide you're right to get all the signatures together (two). If the amount currently owed exceeds $25,000.00, then they require three signatures-including one from the Veterans Service Center Manager. From there it goes over to accounting to figure out the smallest amount they can get away with paying you legally. A claim decided June 13th would put your BVA decision in your hands by the 19th of June at the latest. On the other hand, if the decision was made in Reno by a RVSR or DRO, you could expect a ratings decision and the paper by August 15th-25th. You'll see the deposit before the rating paper.

VA is almost 2 years out on docketing BVA appeals right now. SOC's following NODs are running 16-20 months. SSOCs are slightly less. VLJs are now instructed to crank out one (1) decision per day no matter what. Do the math. 50,000-plus appeals every year and going up astronomically. Current backlog from just 2012? About 46,000. 72 designated VLJs. Approximately 40 Acting VLJs (staff attorneys) authorized to play dress up judge for up to 90 days. 112 (approx.) decisions a day Monday to Friday-excluding national holidays. 560 decisions a week including rubber band remands coming back after more development. Forty weeks X 560 =22,240 decisions a year. BVA cleared out about 48,000 last year left over from 2011. They did this via a lot of remands for more development. This bumped the average up to 44,000 decisions (2 per day) but half were just put off for another day. Think Wimpy and Hamburgers.

Edited July 21, 2013 by asknod

[john999]

You know the BVA screwed up my decision and the mistake was caught at the CAVC. It went back to BVA and then came back to CAVC one year later. Now my claim has been sitting with the Judge at CAVC for over 6 months. My claim started at VARO and it has been at least 7 years with two trips to CAVC. My claim did not need development since it is a CUE. Just a legal argument based on the facts of the case. 7 years.......and more to go I am sure.

This is why if you can win at VARO do it by all means. It does not get better the higher you go.

John

[FormerMember]

Yes and no, John. I tried for two years and even pursued the dreaded DRO dead end. VA just wasn't buying one of those antique Macklem decisions locally. Neither was the BVA. Often, when you approach the CVA, the General Counsel looks at their cards again and decides to fold. OSC here looks like he had his house in order and got it all locally. I'm surmising that because nobody but Sen. John McCain's son is going to get the First Class treatment he is in the time frame he claims. I have no idea when he filed the original, but the smart money says it was well within 5 years. It took me five plus from my filing in 2007 just to get to the CVA and another year before Will Gunn and Co. folded. CUE is a horse of a different color.

Edited July 21, 2013 by asknod

[carlie]

Asknod,

Hopefully this is one of those “rare” occasions.

OSC

If you have an ebenefits account check you access to the different letters

and payment history - say maybe once a week.

Also, if you are signed up with VA for direct deposit - check your deposits about once a week.

[FormerMember]

What, Carlie? And forgo a warm, intelligent conversation with the technician at the Prize Redemption Center after being on hold for 53 minutes? Ebennies is sooooo impersonal.

a