Why it takes about 5 years to appeal to the Board

[broncovet]

The 2014 BVA Chairmans report is here:

http://www.bva.va.gov/docs/Chairmans_Annual_Rpts/BVA2014AR.pdf

On page 22, the "time frames are listed".  Here they are:

NOD to SOC     330 days.  

SOC to I9          39 days (This is the Veterans time to file I9)

Substantive Appeal Receipt to Certification and Receipt of Appeal at the Board    681 days

Receipt of Certified Appeal to Issuance of Decision                                           357 days

Remand time factor                                                                                      311 days

Total NOT INCLUDING the time "with VSO"                                           1718 days  or 4.7 years  Total.

Unfortunately these numbers are from 2014, where they explained the number of cases to the board has already increased, big time, so your claim will likely take MORE THAN 5 years, and that assumes "nothing" goes wrong, and your case moves along at an average pace.  

REMEMBER, this assumes your case will NOT sit at your VSO's office, and this is not true.  Mine sat in the VSO office for an additional 18 months.  This means filing a NOD now means you probably wont see a BVA decision on it until year 2022 or 2023, maybe even later.  

Edited September 20, 2016 by broncovet

[lotzaspotz]

With all due respect, Buck, I don't look at individual posters here as being positive or negative.  I look at the experiences they describe that they have actually had to work through in terms of being positive, negative, or sometimes a mixture of both.  We can cherry pick the easier ones, the ones that flowed logically, and never speak of the more challenging ones, when we had done everything according to textbook and got shot down in direct defiance of a regulation or two in 38 CFR.  Or, we can realistically describe what really happens out there.  I've said many times that the more stubborn of us, the ones who spend years seeking justice more for the principle of the thing than the money (or simply because the VA seriously ticked us off), have learned to develop a strong stomach for tolerating the journey.  The longer people stick around here and read our questions and answers, the more likely they will realize that these situations can occasionally get complicated and, in fact, may happen to them.  I never found things confusing when I first got here, the good, bad, and even the apparently insurmountable odds everyone discussed.  I found it enlightening, encouraging, and, most importantly, enabling.  Hadit gave me the tools I needed to structure a defense.  It's still doing that.  So, what I chose to talk about here was not meant to discourage or confuse newly engaged disabled veterans from taking on what is more than likely going to be a long-term project.  It's to say that if they get denied, they shouldn't blame themselves for missing something even if they've done everything right.  Having a Plan B ready as I think you said is an excellent strategy and sometimes becomes necessary but, unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons. 

Edited September 22, 2016 by lotzaspotz

[Gastone]

I think the take away here for Vet FNG's is to, Pack a Lunch when they get on the VA Claims/appeal Train.

Personally, I don't subscribe to the notion of "LUCK" and "Hope" playing into any part of the VA Comp Claims journey.  With that said, New Vet's to a greater degree and we Well Seasoned (Old Dog) Vets to a somewhat lesser degree, are really LUCKY the VA came up with the "FDC" claims process. Anyone that has used the New FDC Claims program, which moves at Warp Speed, would have to agree.

Then there is the FNG Vet stumbling on to Hadit or VA WatchDog.org, earlier rather than later. That, in and of itself, would have to be considered the Luckiest Day in the Vet's Claims Journey.

Old Dogs, just think how much time we wasted, due to our ignorance of VA Comp Claims Rules and Regs. Really, if we had known then, what we know now.

Many Thanks are due both Hadit & VAWatchDog. T-Bird, Berta and Larry, Job Well Done!

Semper Fi

[lotzaspotz]

I would like to add to that list Alex Graham, aka "asknod" and his blog at www.asknod.org, who often (like today) joins hadit's podcast.  Today, it's at 1600 Pacific Time, 1800 Central and 1900 Eastern (Mountain Time and what Arizona does with time zones has always confused me, not meaning to ignore anyone there on purposes, lol).  If you're new here and have never tuned in, please do so sometime, it gives hadit another dimension to assist you. You can call in with questions, too.  Broadcasts are archived if you can't listen live.  Hadit offers many research tools in its library besides this Forum to help us.  

Edited September 22, 2016 by lotzaspotz

[Buck52]

I agree with the above , However we all should encourage other veterans with hope & our experience and not Negativity , with 18 months to 5 years to decide your claim or claims & a denial at the end   (is discouraging in my opinion.)

 There's is a Lot of What If's???

We don't know how long it will take to decide a veterans claim each vets claim is going to be different, although I do agree its good to let the veterans know what has happen to us and the reasons about the long train journey that some of us have went through or going through.

We don't want that to happen to the newer vets. (do we?)

I was working with a disabled veteran one time  he went years before finally his spouse talked him in seeking his much deserved benefits...another veteran mention to him about being denied and it can take years & years of appeals to win and told him about the BVA CAVC ect,,ect,,  about waiting years for a decision and only get shot down with a denial...well that veteran changed his mind  and with drew his claim eh!

We never filed , Had I known he would do this I would have got him to file right away  but I was busy checking his records ect,,ect,,,Anyway I sure felt bad about that b/c they sure needed his benefits...this was 2 years ago.

 I tried and tried to get this veteran to let me help him with his claim and lets  go ahead file it or I could find him a good VSO  or an Experience VA Attorney  b/c this veteran would have had boo coos retro....although  by this time if/when we get to the BVA  its not about the $$ so much as it is getting what is right for him ( its the principle)

''He said nope I don't want the stress and at my age  if I have to go to the BVA like I was told  I will probably be dead before they make a decision  from what he has been told.

Well with all the negative things this other veteran had mention to this Veteran I was trying my best to change his mind, Unfortunately  he died in sleep 2 months ago..they said his heart just stopped. Now since he would not file a claim  his widow is out in the cold so to speak.

I did mention all the reasons why he needed to file and for his spouse..but his mind was made up!

So needless to say I an very cautious about telling veterans about the Long wait periods he can be up against   and about the Appeals process and the frustration stress it will be for him.

If he/she is denied  then that's when I tell them about what they maybe up against.

  The long journey will start and no one knows how long that journey will last.

I am sorry but the post about how why it take 5 years to appeal the Board to only be shot down is discouraging. 

I suppose the negative parts to this subject is debatable and how one looks at it.

Most of us here on Hadit has been through the long appeals line, and endured all the frustration stress and worries with the VA and the Appeals process, we need to take our experience and put it into a positive for the new Veterans coming forward for the first time.

Like brother Gastone mention  ''if we had known then what we know now''

I agree we do have some great and wonderful people here at Hadit that has the knowledge and experience with dealing with the VA in all sorts of claims and I am so glad we have them. besides not to mention Hadit members are like my family  maybe even better than some of my family &  great LifeLong Friends ships are started here at Hadit.

We have lost some wonderful people too I'll always remember them.

My Thanks and appreciation goes to Ms Tbird   without her creative skills and wisdom Hadit would not been.

Plus Ms T does everything she can to make Hadit the best and is always encouraging other veterans and she sees to it that Hadit and its members are always  civil/ respectable to one another  even when we disagree with each other.

Jan 2017  will be the 20th Anniversary of Hadit  a Very Special Day For Ms Tbird

In my opinion Hadit is the best out of any/all VA related help sites on the internet today.

[lotzaspotz]

There have been a number of veterans who have contacted me locally to talk about this process, newly engaged disabled veterans.  I find that their motivation levels vary, depending on how serious they are about seeing this process through.  I give them a homework list of what they need to gather for me to review. There's a little legwork involved in that, as we all know.  I try to tell them where I think we can stress the strengths of a claim and shore up the weaknesses right from the start.  The people who are truly invested in their success stick with me through long periods of time and all had claims granted in the end, including a few CUE's (if one wants to talk about the negative aspects of the claims process,that's a great example).  I've also had people never contact me again after our initial visit, or go part of the way down the road, but decide later on that even with someone helping them carry the load, they are no longer willing to continue.  Believe me, Buck, that if we had someone like you helping us way back when, we would have done exactly what you told us to do immediately.  Jump?  Sure, no problem.  How high and how often?  

To one of your points, Buck, today, I received the rating denial from the Evidence Intake Center in Wisconsin re. claim we filed for which there was no C&P scheduled (waiting for the details in the SOC).  I sent a formal diagnosis of ED from a board certified urologist.  It said "erectile dysfunction."  The EIC states there is no diagnosis of erectile dysfunction.  All the Caluza triangles in the world wouldn't have addressed that issue.  Boy, will my husband's urologist be surprised at that, lol.  I sent the prescription list plus their side effects, which was left off the Evidence list altogether.  We were told my husband completed a form to give POA to a VSO, which never happened.  Plus, we were told a December 2015 rating decision was considered, Great, except for one thing -- we didn't receive a rating decision in December 2015.  Not too long ago, we received a VCAA notice for a knee claim.  News to us because we never filed one.  

My point is that these things happen, despite being well prepared.  We have the tools here to deal with them.  The Board and the Court exist for good reason, if a DRO review doesn't work out well for the veteran.  We do the best we can at the onset, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  I don't think we disagree on that point, and admittedly, I don't have anything more to add, so thank you to everyone for allowing me to give you my point of view.

Edited September 22, 2016 by lotzaspotz

[broncovet]

Buck

    Here is the flip side.  Sure, it stings when you find out the reality, which is that when you apply about 85% of first time claimants are denied, and then, as the BVA chairmans report shows, its a 5 year trip to the BVA.   However, they did it the opposite for me.

    "Sure, come in and apply.  Heck most claims are completed in 125 days, so in a few months, you could have your benefit (check).  In my case, I was one of those who was denied.  Back then, it was only 18 months or so to go to the BVA.  Sure enough, I won a complete grant at the BVA.  So, benefits are on their way, right?  

     Not so fast.  The RO "implemented" the award, and decided I got a 0 percent rating.  So, after about 2.5 years, still no money.  Now, I was really discouraged.  Devastated, was more like it.  I lost my home, my family, and my depression worsened so deep I was suicidal.  

     If I would have known the reality that it takes 5 years for the average Vet to get benefits (unless you are in the lucky 15 percent who get benefits without an appeal), then I could have handled it better.  But, every day, I thought the next day the benefits would arrive.   When they finally did arrive, it was too late and I had lost my home.  Had I not been given a false hope of 125 days, I could have handled the years it actually took to get benefits.  

     Dont beat yourself up when another Vet decides not to file, not to appeal, and/or withdraws his or her claim.  

     Whenever I give good advice, and people elect not to take it, I have to realize its their life, and their decisions.  

I used to tell people, years ago, to "clean" (run disk cleanup and disk defragmenter) once a week.  On several occassions, someone complained their computer was slow.  I asked how long it had been since it was defragmented and cleaned?  
      "What is defragmented?"   Ok, that answers the question.  If I give people good advice, and they dont take it, then why should they be suprised if things dont work out well for them?  

      If I learned anything from my father, it was to seek out (good) advice.  He had many, many advisors, who he trusted.  Insurance men.  Realtors.  Bankers.  Even a great guy at the feed store.  Because my dad had such great advisors he did very, very, well.  You know..kind of like the president, who has many, many advisors he consults.  

      So, people generally "pick" the lot they have in life with their actions and decisions.  (Of course, there are people who get a raw deal, but it generally works out with persistence.)

      God has us do our part.  Telling people about VA benefits is a good thing.  But we cannot make them apply.  You did your part.  Now, bless someone else, and tell someoone else.  

      One gal, was considering testifying about a rapist.  Her counselor told her to testify, but to "divorce yourself from the result", because a lot of that had to do with peoples actions "other than herself".  It was the right thing to do, to testify against an attacker.  But, the counselor knew, that, even if she testified the truth, the attacker may or may not get convicted, or sentenced.  That had to do with the judge, attornies, laws, etc.  She needed to do her part and let others do theirs.  

      Likewise, Buck, your part is to tell people about VA benefits, and help those who seek your help.  The ones that decline your help, may get help from others, or they may do it on their own entirely.  Whichever they choose, you should support their decision.