diabetes IRIS Response

[green]

Hadit-teers, I submitted a FDC over 190 days ago.  The claim was for secondary contentions related to my primary disability of diabetes type 1.  This RO processes FDC's within 90 days on average.  I received the following email from IRIS today and I just don't understand.  The RO has requested archived medical records from Oregon (a State I haven't lived in since 1993).  Any idea what may be going on here?  As this was a FDC I don't understand why the RO would be requesting records from 22+ years ago.  This claim was in prep for notification for over a month before it went back to gathering evidence.

This is in response to your inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dated December 22, 2015. (Actually sent in November)

We are grateful for your service to our country.

We apologize for the delay in providing a reply to your inquiry. We strive to respond to all inquiries within five business days; however, we have experienced an increase in the volume of inquiries received, which are being responded to in the order of receipt.

We apologize for the incorrect status of your claim currently showing via eBenefits.

Your claim is currently in the development phase of processing. During this phase, we will gather the evidence needed to decide your claim. We are currently waiting for archived medical reports from the Portland VA Medical Center. These were requested on December 12, 2015 (actually requested on November 9th), and can take up to 10 weeks for receipt. Your claim will be reviewed and we will contact you if additional information is needed.

At this time, it is estimated that your claim should be completed by May 18, 2016. Please understand that this date is an estimate and that your claim may take longer based on the specifics of your claim and VA's pending workload.

It is our privilege to assist you today.

Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below.

Sincerely yours,

A Name
National IRIS Response Center Manager

[green]

I'm at 196 days today, so 125 days came and went a while ago.  Appreciate the good input and perspective.

 

Green

[Andyman73]

I just had a claim denied that was filed on August 24th, 2015, well, I haven't gotten the letter yet, so could be a few more days added on to it.  163 and counting for that one.

[Chuck75]

On 2/3/2016 at 4:15 PM, Andyman73 said:

I just had a claim denied that was filed on August 24th, 2015, well, I haven't gotten the letter yet, so could be a few more days added on to it.  163 and counting for that one.

Under the new scheme of things, you may have to file an NOD to get any useful details out of them. (That's actually a reversion to decades ago practices.)

 

[Andyman73]

Chuck,

No...say it ain't so!  It's been over 2 weeks now that ebennies has showed "decision letter mailed."  So...how long should it take to get that in the mail, when the VARO is about 75 miles away?

 

Andy

[broncovet]

Andyman

     Two weeks after "decsion letter mailed" is an appropriate time for you to take action.  The post office says it takes "2-7" days for a letter to reach anywhere in the lower connected 48 states.  

     This is what I would/am doing.  First, go to ebennies and make sure your address is correct.  Fix it if its not.    (I have a decision letter mailed on Feb. 2). Then   Call your national VSO and ask them to send you a copy of the decision, that it never arrived.    If you dont have a national VSO, then 

call the BVA, if applicable, or your RO.  The Veteran has deadlines. 

       Send an IRIS, or call Peggy.  If none of these produce the applicable decision in 2 weeks, then email Bob.

      The VA is famous for shennanigans like  denying and never sending a decision, and you find out 2 years later, when its too late to appeal.   

Edited February 5, 2016 by broncovet

[green]

The latest response (given I asked for additional information) is below:

This is in response to your inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dated February 2, 2016.

Thank you for your reply.

Although your claim was submitted as a fully developed claim (FDC) the regional office (RO) is still required to obtain any evidence, on your behalf, they deem necessary in making a correct decision on the claim.

Your records from Oregon were first requested on November 8; however, the fax request was not received from the RO. The RO again requested the records on December 22, 2015. The VA medical center indicated it could take up to 10 weeks to provide these to the RO. (so apparently each time they request records the clock starts again)

The claim status as provided in our previous response is current and correct.

It is our privilege to assist you today.

Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below.

Sincerely yours,