?at Rating Board? Again?

[KennyJ]

OK let me get everyone up to speed on this... I have appeals that have been remanded back to VARO since October 2004, also I have new claims from March 2005. Several times in the last 12 months 800# has said your claim is at rating board only to be disappointed. I had 4 C&Ps in July and one in August of this year. Ok couple weeks ago they said claim was back at development and now as of today they say the claim went to the Rating board today. Could it possibly be close to the end of this agonizing experience. How much longer could it be to the end of the process?

[KennyJ]

I got the Congressmen and Senators involved 14 months ago, to no avail so don't expect any votes from me tomorrow.

[RockyA1911]

John999,

I wish there was a way I could find out what the 6 packets of additional information are. I asked the 800# guy and he was helpful. He even checked another place to see if there was any other info other than at the rating board in Cleveland. That is when he came back on the phone and told me about the 6 packets of additional info received in Cleveland on 2 November 2006. Other than that he did not know what the peculiars of the additional information were, just that 6 packets of additional information received is all.

I'd bet that when Chicago sent the file they did not send the additional information and medical evidence with it.

Like I said the last thing I had was a C&P for Tinnitus and I sent them a copy of the C&P report, even though they should have had it when the file was returned back to the RO from the VAMC. I got that C&P report the first week in June and mailed the copy right away myself with signature confirmation requested.

This is just the damndest cluster F I have ever seen! It will be more than likely that I won't get a decision for two complete years from the date I filed the claim.

[sixthscents]

Personally, in the last 24 months I have seen a VERY large increase in the turn-around time for a NOD, or even a basic rating. I suppose it is due to the influx of new claims coming from the veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq. I personally have been told by my local VARO raters that these segments of the veteran population are filing claims at over 5 times what was projected. The VA did project a need for more ROs, but not anywhere near what they are seeing, so the lag time is growing until enough people can get trained and into the loop. Further, the VA is not going to hire enough people to cover the influx...period. Since the theory is, they will not have the need for them once the War end. I suppose I can see the point there, they dont want to go to the expense of training people, just to have to let them go when their position is no longer justified, but I personally think that the need a longer telescope. These claims are not going to decrease in any appreciable way anytime soon, like within the next decade.

I am seeing anywhere from a 90 to a 120 day additional delay. Since what I deal with several regional offices..all over the US, I think this is typical, and we are just going to have to accept it. Not like it, but accept it. Further I am seeing...well stupid mistakes on claims. Usually the VA at least makes a logical, though biased argument in support of their decision. Well, mostly anyhow, but recently they are just denying things and saying basically, I said no because I said no. The are refusing to schedule EMG's for patients that have radiculapathy, without a claim being filed etc. Go figure, its just the influx of new raters I suppose, as well as the VA's knee jerk reaction to the potential amount of compensation they are going to be paying out from now on.

Anyway, thats what I see.

Bob Smith