Appeal Status Is Confusing

[jeffperry1134]

I go into e-benefits and under explanation of appeal status it says "no information". Me and my POA turned in the paperwork to appeal to BVA in 2009 and I call the BVA line and they still do not have it and when I called the RO office this week 6 times I was hung up on after going through the phone automated hoopla and told to call in the evening and schedule a time to be called. I did that and no one called. I am thinking of changing POA's to either American Legion or DAV. Should I wait to investigate until I am in the hospital because I plan to go into inpatient during thanksgiving break to change my meds because they are not working.

[Gastone]

JP1134: My understanding of BVA Appeals, from considerable research, you won't here anything from the VA until approximately 4 months before your BVA Hearing is scheduled to be on deck. Now prior to receiving the VA Notice of any and all "New & Material Evidence" submission cut off deadline, your C-File is maintained at your VARO, awaiting to be "Certified" before being forwarded to the BVA. Between the time you officially request the BVA Hearing and the end of the "90 Day N&M Evidence" cut-off your VARO rating department must do an Official VARO Review of your claim each time any and all "N&M Evidence is received from you, your VSO or your VA hospital or private Dr. Each and every VARO Review requires the VA Rating Dept to generate a "Supplemental Statement of Case" which is forwarded to you ad your POA Rep. Note, this VARO Review of your complete claim denial is done by a Senior Rater or a DRO, not the original rater that denied your claim. The only difference to a straight up DRO Review is the VARO Review gives deference "takes into consideration" the original raters reasons for denying your claim. If the VARO Review determines your N&M Evidence changes the Original Decision, you get your claim awarded. No matter what the VA Reviewer decides, you get s supplemental Statement of case. Your claim can't be Certified until the VARO has completed all required reviews and issued the Supplemental Statements of Case, then it's just a matter of waiting till your BVA Hearing is scheduled. Check the BVA Claims Decisions for 2013 and 14 for your respective VARO. Most that I reviewed for Detroit seem to be on average 4-5 yrs old.

I believe, contrary to some popular opinion, the VA would love to resolve any and all appeal issues at the VARO level. As for using a VSO Rep as your POA. OK, TRUST But Verify!!

At he very least, I think you should avail yourself of at least (3) free Legal consultations with VA Accredited BVA Appeals Attorneys. It takes some time but it's free. Will give you some idea how they might approach your appeal. Compare it with what your VSO is or isn't doing. Knowledge is Power, right!

As for switching to another VSO, you may have a real difficult time at this point. The VSO's are VERY reluctant to take on another VSO's Vet once the appeals process is in motion. Can be done with a lot of Bitching on your part.

Semper Fi

Gastone

[jeffperry1134]

I finally got my inquiry responded to that I entered in on October 2nd (the standard VA 5 working days) and here is what is says:

The Board of Veteran's Appeals (BVA) has ordered that additional action is needed on your appeal before making a final decision.

When all of the required actions are completed, your file will be reviewed.

If any further action or development is needed, we will contact you. If not, you will be provided a supplemental decision or Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), prior to returning your appeal to the BVA for a decision.

We are unable to provide any timeframe on how long it will take to complete your appeal once it is certified to the BVA, as it is no longer within your local office's jurisdiction and we do not have any control over BVA.

We are currently processing a large volume of appeals, each is generally being processed in the order received. At this time, we and are doing our best to process each appeal as quickly as possible. We recognize that the appeals process can be lengthy, and apologize for the delay. Your continued patience is appreciated.

In general, appeals are not processed from beginning to end by one individual. During the different phases of the claims or the appeals process, your claims folder will be handled by different departments, which in turn have different VA employees processing that particular phase of the claim or appeal. Please note, no matter who is currently working on your claim, internal policies do not permit us to divulge direct contact information for any VA employee.

Is this fancy talk for blowing me off or are they really doing something??? Hopefully they do not want to do yet another C&P Exam since it has been a few years. It would make 6 total.

[Berta]

"The Board of Veteran's Appeals (BVA) has ordered that additional action is needed on your appeal before making a final decision."

That sounds like you not only had a docket number, but should have gotten copy of this Remand......

Did you?

[jeffperry1134]

I never got a docket number or a copy of the remand. I will confirm with my POA today because she gets that too.

[jeffperry1134]

I got a new e-mail from the VA today saying this:

We apologize for the error in our previous response. Your appeal is not in Remand status. The correct status of your appeal is as follows:

We received your VA Form 9, Appeal to Board of Veterans' Appeals, which formalized your appeal on April 30, 2010. At this time your appeal is awaiting review for any further action or necessary development.

If no further action is necessary, your file will be certified to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) for their decision on your appeal. If any further action or development is needed, we will notify you.

The processing of most formalized appeals takes an average of 576 days. The length of time it takes to process your VA form 9 depends on the specifics of your case and the VA's pending workload.

(Is it just me or is this new e-mail sounding like they are blowing me off. It has been a heck of a lot longer than 576 days)

[carlie]

I got a new e-mail from the VA today saying this:

We apologize for the error in our previous response. Your appeal is not in Remand status. The correct status of your appeal is as follows:

We received your VA Form 9, Appeal to Board of Veterans' Appeals, which formalized your appeal on April 30, 2010. At this time your appeal is awaiting review for any further action or necessary development.

If no further action is necessary, your file will be certified to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) for their decision on your appeal. If any further action or development is needed, we will notify you.

The processing of most formalized appeals takes an average of 576 days. The length of time it takes to process your VA form 9 depends on the specifics of your case and the VA's pending workload.

(Is it just me or is this new e-mail sounding like they are blowing me off. It has been a heck of a lot longer than 576 days)

Sounds to me like they have not certified it yet and transferred it to the BVA.

Your still in a holding pattern for a while.

I'd try to find a hobby and forget about things for a while.

Sorry I don't have something more positive to post on it.

Hope this helps a vet.

jmho