Dro Review Processing Time

[bluevet]

I've been searching for any information on the time it is currently taking for a DRO review in the Los Angeles regional office. If anyone has had a DRO review completed lately in the L.A. office, can you please let me know how long it took from the time you requested DRO review. My problem is that I requested DRO review with my NOD, however this wasn't recognized until I reached someone at the R.O. 10 months later. They then acknowledged my election of the DRO process and sent me the DRO process letter. I am stuck wondering if this is going to cause me a 10 month further delay.

Thanks

Edited June 18, 2015 by bluevet

[Buck52]

Write an email to Allison Hickey! other veterans have did that and she got the Ball Rolling.

Allison Hickey is the Under Secretary of the VA.

its the Backlog of claims for the long wait...But you can keep checking on your claim its better than doing nothing/waiting ect,,ect,,

.......................Buck

[Gastone]

DRO Hearing Wait Times? In your opinion, what do you think they should be, especially in LA?

My experience in DET, you won't know or be able to find anyone on the phone or in person at the VA that can give you a definitive answer. Your VSO MFIC at your VARO will probably say that your Claim shows a "Diary Date" that has come and gone. No real good definition as to what the "Diary Date" indicates. Some obscure VA Rating Department employee rubs or glances at your file and puts it back in place in the DRO Hearing pile, who really knows. Check your VARO Monday Morning Report for total appeals pending, DROs aren't listed separately.

My Hearing took almost 41/2 years before it made it to the On Deck circle. I received a VA Notification letter early 05/14 for a Hearing 06/27.

Looking back, the 1 thing I didn't think of and probably should have, talk directly to a/your VSO DRO Hearing Specialist. Not about your place in line or the pile, but how old his latest DRO Hearing was. As with everything else with the VA, date of receipt of your DRO Hearing request places you in the LINE.

A "Hardship" filing could move you up, but that's rare and hard to accomplish. I requested my C-File 09/13 received it 01/14, did it add another year to my Hearing, who knows?

Semper Fi

Gastone

[Fat]

The Appeals process (NOD) is a long process.

No one for sure knows the exact timelines.

The emphasis is on the current claims backlog.

I'm hopeful by early 2016 the appeals claims will be worked.

[Buck52]

I think its just the luck of the draw, some veterans get there DRO Hearing in months when others take years.

This is why I mention keep checking in with RO at least every month or so.

A lot of it depends on the VARO.

jmo

.....................Buck

[MarkInTexas]

Why would you just be getting a C&P appointment if your already in the Appeal process?

Bluevet,

I introduced new evidence by way of an Independent Medical Examination and Opinion report, along with a nexus letter from my oncologist, which, along with a SMR's that the VA didn't have in their possession when they iniitally rated me, may have helped open the door for the DRO to seriously begin looking at my claims.

You really can't trust what they say on the phone, but he said that my evidence looked good, but C&P's were necessary for proper ratings. He didn't elaborate on which conditions he was talking about, because I have multiple on appeal, and of course, his call caught me flat-footed and I didn't have my handy list of questions with me to quiz him properly. (My fault.)

Afterward, I got a call from Veterans Evaluation Services a few days ago, who advised that the VA had contracted with them to handle my C&P examinations and to do bloodwork. They have handled me before on other claims, and were pretty decent. (They diagnosed two inferred conditions that I have filed as new claims.)

I really don't have a single answer to your question though, other than that I have spent a couple of years debating with the VA on my corrupted C-File that held about 89 pages of other veterans' medical records when my claim was processed and rated, debating on the fact that the VA recognized that a condition existed and was diagnosed in the military but had no residual effects, while saying that my civilian records show that secondary conditions existed, but no evidence of the primary condition existed. (Which is the same one that they said did exist but had no residuals when denying it in an earlier paragraph.)

I think some of it really was that I was able to retrieve SMR's from the NPRC that the VA did not have on file when they processed and rated me, which they now have. I would say that I shamed them into realizing that they really had my case pretty screwed up, but they have no shame and I am still in the waiting arena, so no boasting or crowing here. (That's why I always preach about obtaining your C-File AND everything you can get from the NPRC before you file your claims. I made the mistake of assuming that everybody talked and shared information....the DOD, VA, NPRC, etc. Nope. That error cost me years of processing and waiting and a little chunk of money so far, and it isn't over yet.)

I also have to say that a great deal of the cause, and maybe the only cause, may have been the introduction of new and material evidence. We can sing, dance, curse, do card tricks or hand puppets, but the VA doesn't seem to even flinch until you drive an IME and/or an IMO into their heart. It may or may not do any good, but it does cause them to stir a little.

I also spent a lot of time researching BVA appeals citations and forwarded a few on each condition to utilize as persuasive evidence, along with professional medical journal information alluding to my own situation and conditions that have developed through the years, always citing the SMR's, VA C&P's and civilian medical records of mine that are the real hard evidence.

As I told the DRO when he called me the other day, the VA and I have had 5 glorious years together in this process, and who knows how many more before it's over. He laughed. I didn't.

I am open to any theories from anybody else out there who may have gone through, or may be going through a similar situation as mine. I'm just glad there is some sort of movement. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking.

I hope your process runs smoothly, and that you are awarded your claims quickly. Thanks for your service!

Happy Father's Day!

Mark

Edited June 21, 2015 by MarkInTexas

[auenone]

Good afternoon,

I asked for a face to face DRO review of my appeal and got a call on the phone instead and no explanation why. That was April 4th.April 22 there was an appointment request for a VA C&P on ebennies. May 11 was the

C&P and they sent it to the VARO San Diego on the 12th of May. The 21st of May it was received by the DRO, according to the 800 number. All of this started in 2012 and if the VA medical had given me an MRI to start with,

I wouldn't be writing this. They gave me 10% initially and now there are all kinds of things they found with the MRI in my knee. Still waiting. They said the average wait time in San Diego is 320 days for an appeal. Today is

# 303. Good luck.

.