New To This Forum -- My Claim Has Been In The Ratings

[rdawg]

I filed my original claim for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine on 30MAr2006. They denied it within 60 days. The SOC said my SMRs show I was treated for DDD/back injury in service but no permenant/chronic condition existed. That was my fault, I signed the 21-4142 to realease my Private Dr's records and put it in my mailbox with the little flag up and the VA never got it. So I submitted a radiology report showing DDD of the lumbar spine on Jul28. It went into the rating board on Jul28 with SMRs and the radiologist report. I called and they said a decision had been made (OCT19th) and I would recieve a letter soon. I caled back and they said it was back in the rating board (OCT23rd). I can't get anyone to tell me why it came out and went right back in. Sometimes they tell me it will be 7-10 days, other times they say it will be 60-90 days.

I'm confused and I can't seem to get a straight answer.

[Vike17]

rdawg,

One reason why your claim may have came out of the rating activity and then went back in again was because during the authorization phase, they may have found an error in the rating decision such as a typo or wrong effective date, and they sent it back to the RVSR to be corrected. Keep in mind, generally, authorization doesn't change the RVSR's decsion, they just check for really obvious errors such as the ones I jusy mentioned.

You also mentioned that your claim was previously denied and that you received a SOC. Did you submit a Notice of Disagreement in reference to the VA"s denial, and the VA subsequently sent you a SOC? The reason why I ask is because the way explained it in your first post isn't the way VA is suppose to operate. The VA only issues a SOC when the are reaffirming a prior denial of theirs. At any rate, obviously you sent in additional evidence after the initial rating decision and the VA appears to have reconsidered their previous decision based on that additional evidence.

If you didn't receive a C&P exam, the VA may have all the needed medical documentation to rate the claim without an exam; especially if you have medical records that aren't over a year old that are sufficient for rating purposes.

You stated "I signed the 21-4142 to realease my Private Dr's records and put it in my mailbox with the little flag up and the VA never got it"

Always send stuff to the VA "Certified with return receipt" or hand deliver it to the regional office and have them date stamp your copy.

You also said "They said they had everything they needed to decide my claim. Are they just delaying so they can deny?"

That statement doesn't make any sense. Why would the VA want to dely the claim first and then ultimately deny it? The VA wants to work claims as fast as possible. If they wanted to deny it, they would do it right away, so they could take what is called an "End Product" credit for clearing a case off of the books!

Vike 17

[rdawg]

Thanks Vike17.

They said it went to authorization and went back to the ratings board. Does this mean that it was not denied? If it were denied would they send it back?

I mispoke about the SOC. It was a rating decision. No NOD. I just submitted the radiologist report under the rule that I have a year to submit additional evidence.

I now understand how important certified mail is. I won't make that mistake again.

I would hope they would not delay and deny but I'm still pretty new to this process. I've been reading some of the horror stories here and in the Appeals.

Thanks again. What a well thought out response. I really appreciate it.

rdawg

[rdawg]

I just called today and they said a decision has been made and it is with the post team. I should hear something in a couple of weeks. Hopefully it's like Vike17 said, there was some error (an effective date would be nice) that sent it back to the rating board.

Thanks for thehelp. This board is great.

[rdawg]

Does anybody know what vetsnet is. I called the AL today and they said my status was vetsnet and did not know what that meant. They are going to try to find out today but she said the VA was like a ghost town due to the holiday.

BTW. Happy Veterans day to all. Thank you for your sacrifice.

[Guest jstacy]

Actually tommorrow is the Government Version of Veterans DAY, They should be full speed today.

[rdawg]

Evidentally they are all taking leave to extend the weekend. I'm a fed contractor and the feds are pretty scarce here.