Soc Timeline

[Sailorman]

I sent in a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to to Veteran's Affair 9/14. I Have not received an Statement of the Case (SOC) thus far. This appears to be like a rather long wait and just curious to know how long other veterans have waited to receive their SOC after filing an NOD.

[jeffperry1134]

That is how I got my SSOC. I contacted Mr. McDonald's office and less than 2 weeks later it was in my mailbox.

[Sailorman]

Jeff, that's very interesting. I may try your approach if if takes too long to receive my SOC. Knap, an 1980 case?? WOW!!

[saxman]

I filed my NOD July 2014, and was told that the Oakland office is taking an average of 553 days for a DRO.

[Buck52]

Once the appeal issues are ready for decision (RFD), ideally, NODs should be worked from the oldest pending to the newest received, with the exception of priorities, which include Homeless Veterans, Seriously Injured/Wounded Veterans, Congressional Inquiries, and Financial Hardship cases, etc. Priorities are worked before all other pending claims.

This also means that a Veteran who has filed multiple NODs over time, may only receive a decision concerning his oldest pending NOD, while the issues contained in his other “younger” NODs remain pending.

The file is reviewed and decisions are rendered. If all of the issues within an NOD can be granted in full, a rating is prepared to grant the issues. Otherwise, we must issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) to the Veteran, which provides the applicable VA regulations and explains the reasons for the decision(s).

Once an SOC is issued, the DRO process is complete. If the appeal continues, it is now under the Traditional appeals process. DRO authority does not extend beyond the issuance of the SOC.

In order for a Veteran to continue the appeal, the VA must receive a Substantive (Formal) appeal, which is a VA Form 9, Appeal to Board of Veterans’ Appeals, or an equivalent statement of intent to continue the appeal. There is no legal requirement that a specific VA Form must be received in order to continue an appeal, but VA must receive some form of communication in writing from the Veteran or his Representative indicating an intent to continue the appeal.

A Veteran has EITHER the remainder of one year from the initial decision notification letter, OR 60 days from the date the SOC was mailed, to file his Substantive appeal. Otherwise, his appeal rights for those issues expire, and the NOD is closed.

If the Veteran has filed a timely Substantive appeal, the next step in the appeals process is to certify the appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA), which is to transfer jurisdiction of the appeal to BVA.

[rootbeer22]

Folks:

When I read this kind of stuff, I pray that I turned in the correctly formated and strong disability package at first so I don't have to go thru the years and years that it takes to get something decided in one's favor after the first claim is adjudicated? Now that I've done my CP exams and have gone thru the process, I can see how the multitude of errors and problems occur and are mainly against the Vet? At first, I put myself in the hands of a local VSO, and realised I had made a big mistake by being assigned someone that was not more than and "intake clerk" who gave me advice that hurt rather than helped my case at the start? Thank god, that I figured it out before it became too late and dropped the VSO? Overall, she was nice but did not add value to the process at all. I've learned a lot of from Berta and a lot of the other Subject Matter Experts who really understand the disability process -which has guided me. Frankly, it;'s a good thing that I found this website earlier which continues to be helpful. Certainly, I'm already prepared that it's all going to still be a fight till the end- at least for some of the contentions -but hopefully not all of them? But I've learned even, with clear SMR evidence and a strong nexus, the examiners seem to miss a great deal of the relevant information that we discussed during the examinations but fails to make it on the exam sheet. But I do know someday...that big envelope is likely to arrive and hopefully it will adequately cover me for my service injuries....but it's certainly not a given or foregone conclusion in terms of what the outcome will be.

Edited April 7, 2015 by rootbeer22

[jeffperry1134]

It is a fight to the end, don't give up. I finally got my letter from my therapist today and will be traveling to the VA to have my new material submitted officially by a VA rep because I don't trust blindly faxing stuff in. Also added the waiver of regional office consideration form to hopefully keep it from being remanded back to the RO because frankly my RO sucks.