Certification Of Appeal

[MPsgt]

The VARO just posted a Certification of Appeal dated 07/23/2013 for my TDIU claim. They've been working the claim just about two years already. My Veterans Service Officer was trying to get a DRO before it ever left for BVA. At this point, is it already to late to get the DRO. If it is, I'm up the creek without a paddle for two to three years!

[MPsgt]

I just received a scheduling for a Travel Board Hearing in Louisville, KY dated for 09/09/2013. My service officer will be there to speak on my behalf. According to the letter, I need to be available for several hours. Because there will be several other claimants going before the same board. In a nut shell, what can I expect from this board? Will I be required to speak too?

"Up the creek for two to three years". In order for your appeal to be certified to bva you had to have submitted a Form 9. The date that you signed that Form 9 is the docket date you will receive when your files are actually received at the bva. Keep in mind also that if you have sent in any new evidence to the varo while waiting on that dro review, and the varo has not issused a soc or ssoc on that new evidence BEFORE actually sending the files to bva then you really are screwed. This forces bva to remand for procedural errors, UNLESS you have an ironclad case you can win, therefore it would not prejudice you in anyway not to been issued the soc/ssoc... Let's hope so...Another barrier while at bva is if you have a poa with any vso..They are the ones who really contribute to the backlog while at the bva. Good thing for you is that you have 2 years already into your docket date to be heard at bva. Last i heard from case management was bva were on 2011 docket dates to be worked. Good Luck..........

This concerns me:

"My Veterans Service Officer was trying to get a DRO before it ever left for BVA"

Did you or the DAV respond to the SOC in time to request a DRO review?

Please check me and correct me.... someone here -----

but I think the response time is 60 days for SOC and 30 days for SSOC in which one can request a DRO review.?

I had a case transferred to the BVA quite some time ago, after many years at the VARO and things moved faster at that point....

I made sure the BVA had my evidence (sent them copies of all the good stuff the RO had ignored) and rebutted the C & P exam the BVA had ordered

on a remand. I sent everything directly to the BVA and used their ombudsman from time to time via email to make sure they had all of my stuff.

"Faster" at the BVA is a relative word however.

Claim filed in 2003. BVA award 2008, retro took until 2009....the retro became a battle of it's own due to FTCA issue.

But I knew the BVA could read and it was far easier to await their proper decision ,once they got the case.

I still dont get what the VSO said he/she was 'trying' to do.

Do you have a copy of your signed request (or his/hers) for the DRO review?

.

The VA almost shipped my claim off to the BVA even though I did have a NOD with a DRO request that was in their hands. You have to keep your eye on them and check frequently yourself. You can't depend on some VSO to do this for you. I know that is a shock, but true knowledge to old timers. VSO's have caused me much grief over the years. Piss poor representation to the point of malpractice.

[Berta]

Bring your evidence with you . Use Manila folders and tab them as to what specific evidence they contain.

Focus on the reason why, per your I-9 form, their decision was wrong.

I am glad the service officer will be therewith you but ,it is best to be prepared yourself.

This is good news in my opinion and could change the tide for you hopefully.

[MPsgt]

Bring your evidence with you . Use Manila folders and tab them as to what specific evidence they contain.

Focus on the reason why, per your I-9 form, their decision was wrong.

I am glad the service officer will be therewith you but ,it is best to be prepared yourself.

This is good news in my opinion and could change the tide for you hopefully.

Thank you for all the information

[bhoward422]

It is important that you don't submit any other evidence let it proceed if not your case will be sent back to the beginning phase.

[FormerMember]

Or... cut the Gordian Knot and sign a Waiver of Review and let the Veterans Law Judge review the new evidence (if any) and decide without remanding it back to the RO for a one-year round trip remand for a de novo decision. How did this get so far down the road with no DRO review? When they send you your initial denial, it clearly asks you which path you would like to pursue- i.e. 1) traditional appeal or 2) DRO review. This is years before you get the SOC or file a Form 9. I'm confused here. Is the VSO lost in space or am I missing something? You say you filed your NOD in December 2011. Did you ask for a DRO Review then? Or, I guess, more appropriately, did your service representative ask for one?

As for your travel Board Hearing, I sure hope you plan to speak. That's why you asked for it, right? You have to impress upon the VLJ who hears your case that you are honest and above board. This is your golden opportunity to convince this individual that you are, for all intents and purposes, unemployable. Every piece of info you have corroborating this should be with you when you testify. Chances are, your Service Rep. is inundated with Vets as you mentioned and no one knows the facts of your case better than you. Best of Luck, sir.

Edited August 18, 2013 by asknod

[carlie]

BVA Waiver Of VARO Consideration (2).pdf