Blind Denial - Want to avoid flat-out appeal. What would be your course of action?

[K_C]

Hello all and thanks again in advance for the advice. I can engineer and troubleshoot complex enterprise and service provider networks, reclaim compromised systems, and develop robust web applications, but what I have not managed to do is understand and navigate the VA. It's like spaghetti in my mind that constantly gets stirred. The more I learn, the more confusing it gets.

So, most recent claim I got a C&P for one condition but not for the other two, which were denied. I call it a Blind Denial because the reason they gave for the decision was obvious I did not even look at your claim material.

Since the decision, I have acquired a favorable IME. There are a few things I know I can do, but I'm still not clear on the pros and cons of each, and that each offers its own benefits in certain situations. My primary goal is expediency and I am willing to sacrifice claim date, etc., to simply get a service connection and rating. I believe at least one of the denied claims is rock solid. As in, there's no way I can see a rational person could even approach denying it after having actually looked at it.

The options I think exist (please feel free to skip this part, I'm just showcasing my ignorance really):

1. NOD Appeal to BVA - Wait in line for years - Want to avoid as much as possible
2. Ask for local hearing? - I'm not actually clear on this, I've been told different things. Can I request a local hearing and actually get one in less than a year?
3. Reconsideration - I think this is where there has to be New and Material Evidence, no? I'm not even sure if there are speed advantages here
4. ??? - I've heard of other things here and there, some I think are just different names for the same thing. Hence my persistent state of confusion

If someone has time and knows all the options I have at this moment, I would greatly appreciate a plain [for dummies] list of those options and their pros and cons/pitfalls in this context (or a general context)? If you were me and your primary goal was speed over all else, in which order would you personally pursue each option? If not, something also helpful would be a knowledge article or other forum post that covers the general options available immediately after an original claim decision is rendered (I have as of yet been unable to pin one down).

Thank you in advance for your help. Best of luck to all on your claims. If your name was Mr. Lockheed Martin or Ms. General Dynamics, you'd have no issue squeezing millions out of the DoD in the name of patriotism. But us, well, on we fight! 

[Chuck75]

Damn, 25+ years? I wonder if they're going to adjust it all for inflation.

My wife has also wtfo'd me about my VSO, but I gave benefit of doubt. He's a nice enough guy, but his constant discouragement might make him a hindrance more than a help. I guess I have some more thinking to do on that.

Thanks again for all the wisdom. This community is the single most significant reason I have succeeded as much as I have. 

 

It would be nice, but the VA's idea of adjustment does not deal with interest. Instead, it uses the rates for each year, figures any months for periods less than a year,

subtracts any lesser payments, and the result is supposedly the retro due.

[Fat]

Good luck.............