Lost Cue At Federal Court

[john999]

After more than 8 years of appeals I lost my CUE appeal at the Federal Court yesterday. My lawyer did stick by me all those years. Perhaps if he knew more at the time he would have told me we would lose eventually. It was a long shot, but I learned a lot. I did learn that regardless of the reason if you do not file a NOD within one year of a decision no matter how bad it is, or how flawed you will lose 95% of the time. Even if the VA sends your decision to Outer Mongolia and you never get your appeal rights you will lose if you don't appeal in a timely way. For all you vets and spouses out there if you get a decision and it is not all you want file an appeal on time.

John

[Navy04]

Sorry to hear about the bad news bud, but happy that you can move on now. That is a long time to be put thru the ringer. Good luck

[rootbeer22]

John:

I'm really sorry to hear that and know that this has probably created a lot of stress over that 8 year period in your life. That said, that for letting us know and passing on some of your "lessons Learned" from the expereince with regard to the NOD. Even with "long shots", I figure that if it's important enough to get a lawyer involved that it's really worth going for? I've learned that there are a lot of "ups and downs" with this disability process and that you only really lose if a vet gives up. Folks like AskNod and Berta have been fighting for years and either winning or making progress, so in the end "the fight" is worth it...

[Berta]

But the fight takes a toll, either way......

I commend John for fighting this because one never knows at the start, what the result will be.

"I did learn that regardless of the reason if you do not file a NOD within one year of a decision no matter how bad it is, or how flawed you will lose 95% of the time."

Cripes I didnt file a NOD on my 1998 award letter because the vet rep I had at the time discouraged me from doing that.

But I filed CUE on it anyhow ( 3 Cues in the decision over SMC) filed in 2003. Awarded 2012. 9 years at a VARO level...and even that 2012 decision is still being CUED but I did nod it in time.

We had very few rights though in the days when Vietnam vets were first filing their claims....

the claim had to be "well grounded' without telling vets what evidence they need, and plenty were denied that could have succeeded,if we really had strong DTA rights then..

John, you might, with all the CUE knowledge you gained, find something else in that or a different decision they did wrong , to file a CUE.on a different basis.

You sure put up a good fight and your lawyer believed in your case. I think you should be very proud of yourself.

[Buck52]

John999,

sorry to hear about this bud, but now you can have peace of mind and not have to worry about it so much anymore but if your like me I'd always have that doubt.

if you don't mind what did they decide the decision on as not cue? was it the NOD was not filed in time or was there something else?

just curious.

Buck

[FormerMember]

John, you have my sympathies. Fighting the behemoth VA is a daunting task under the best of circumstances. Winning a CUE claim is immeasurably more challenging by far. I commend Berta for her forte in choosing this venue when it is such a fruitless task for most. I am amazed VA gets away with it as frequently as they do. I note with pride my recent win of sorts in that venue when the Extraordinary Writ forced VA to grant (on the same exact evidence) that which they denied less than 4 months previously. I notice they were circumspect and tried like the devil to characterize it as anything but a CUE but nevertheless, that's what the filing was for. The very last thing I suspected was that they'd chieu hoi. I was praying you would finally prevail as well. Those really old ones from the eighties are a bitch when a denial simply said just that-i.e. "We made a decision. You lost." absent any cogent reasons and bases, it failed the test of §19.29 which was on the books at that time. Winning claims is an art form. Winning CUE claims is a crap shoot and hinges frequently on the luck of the draw of the judge(s) assigned. Shit happens-and then you grow old. They just handed me another useless 40% for old claims never settled yesterday. https://asknod.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/varo-346-40-more-hes-highly-overrated/Idiot's delight. I needed another 40% like I needed another hernia. Think of it in a positive light. Now you can come over to Asknod occasionally and be a contributing wizard and teach others how to do it right. VA does their level best to keep us in the dark like mushrooms. Your experience, while not positive, was a teaching moment few will ever experience-or be forced into. Thanks for persevering for all of us and trying to push back against the Machine. Your actions bestow honor on you for even taking up the gauntlet. My respect for your dogged determination knows no bounds, sir.

Edited April 10, 2015 by asknod

[jefmil50]

John,

Sorry about that loss, especially after an exhausting long battle. Good luck on moving forward now.