NOD and DRO process

[Joe1766]

I recently received a rating on several disabilities 4 of which I have submitted as part of the NOD/DRO process.  When they review the claim does the DRO confine himself/herself to the issues that are listed on the NOD (4 items in question) or is it a de novo review of all the disabilities originally submitted?  I know that the DRO can downgrade a rating(s) as well which is concerning.......what is the risk/benefit analysis when it comes to submitting an appeal?

Edited July 10, 2016 by Joe1766

[Joe1766]

Navy4life,

 

Wow that sounds like an unpleasant surgery to say the least....hope you heal and recover quickly.  My wife had a hemorroidectomy and she had an absolute miserable time....and she has a HIGH pain threshold.....tough deal.  I will absolutely work with the VSO rep and get him to correct the hearing request oversight.  I am thinking about working with another VSO rep in that office to get things back on track.

[Joe1766]

Here is the entire quote from the former DRO......FYI.

"As a DRO I seldom found an actual "error" in a Rating Decision, and when I did it was just as often an error that favored the claimant as it was one that didn't.  When a DRO changes a decision it is almost always a simple difference of opinion usually revolving around the weight given to different pieces of evidence.  When I actually found a true error I had to correct it whether it was in favor of the veteran or not, and like I said the errors run about 50/50 for and against the claimant. 

For example, a common error that inexperienced Rating specialists make is to assign separate evaluations for conditions that cannot legally be evaluated separately.  An experienced DRO will see this and will have no choice but to correct the error.  Sometimes one doesn't want a more experienced person looking at their rating, although they usually don't know this until it's too late.  Otherwise, actual errors in the Rating Decisions aren't nearly as prevalent as most folks think."

Edited July 11, 2016 by Joe1766

[Navy4life]

Joe;

So back to your thread. What are filing the NOD for?  What was the original denial for those contentions?  Do you have the decision letter for us to see?  Want to help you out and prepare you if we can. I got solid info here before my hearing. 

[rootbeer22]

Joe1766:

I agreed with Navy4Life whom has  made some excellent observations and we are lucky to have that input and experience to draw from now. I'm learning as much as I can  about the NOD process and the various strategies and see that we have similar concerns about risk? Certainly, we don't want to lose what we have been provided in terms of our hard fought for ratings. But, we don't want to lose either so risk is always a concern as we are inexperienced with the  NOD process. I'd love to have a DRO that we could just have for a couple of hours to ask basic questions of? Yes, the rules and laws are posted and discussed on hadit.com all of the time but it's the application and the individual rater objectivity/subjectivity that could make the difference for us? That's why you can give 5 VBA Raters the same cases and they would probably come up with 5 variations in their final ratings--maybe? Frankly, I felt that my original rater was pretty fair with the initial ratings with a few exceptions. My real problem was the contractor CP exams that could have been conducted closer to the actual requirements in the VA Exam manual. In  my case, over 60% of my smrs are handwritten and are up to significant interpretations? That said, my new IMO/IME's could make a significant  difference for me but it's going to be years before I ever see any updates in my ratings anyway? I was concerned that maybe the original rater may start to  feel challenged by me doing the NOD and the requirements of going to a more senior rater for review? Also, that future ratings of any brand new contentions by the original rater may be impacted by this challenge  as well? But, honesty I don't know and would like to get a sense of how this is received by the original rater on a claim and may be reading in too much? Who knows,,,,maybe it's nothing at all and this is all routine to them? So, hopefully we don't have many errors in our files to worry about that would affect  our ratings?

Please let me know how it all turns out in the end and I'll do the same on my end?

So, Good Luck and Godspeed ---Rootbeer22

 

 

[Navy4life]

Root beer;

Keep in mind that not all disabilities are static. Meaning that you are not entitled to feel secure that your rating will stay as is. The non-static ratings like PTSD are that way because some get better or worse or stay the same. 

I got my code sheet to see what I had and all mine except for PTSD are static. 

VA disability is a true blessing to me. 

Edited July 12, 2016 by Navy4life

[rootbeer22]

Navy4Life:

I know and believe that we are never completely feel secure in anything. A relative whom I was very close to was a helicopter test pilot and suddenly died in an accident last week? We all knew the risks including his family. That said, if someone's condition or conditions improves then it makes sense for the disability rating to change and I fully understand that concept. However, I 've seen a lot of CP Exams for vets over the last couple of years including a couple of mine that have not been done properly and Vets and their families have suffered as a result? But, my main plan so far is to learn as much as I can with my own claims and also to help other Vets as best I can by passing along that knowledge when appropriate. Thanks again for your help in this NOD situation. I know the basics but have a long way to go...

 

Anyway, how does  one get their  code sheet?

Thanks Rootbeer22