Treysnonna

[treysnonna]

Ok I saw on a board of veterans appeals somewhere,  they are saying 5yrs for an appeal.  Is that from the day you file nod or is it from the time of docket?

[Buck52]

I agree Gastone!

[MikeHunt]

An organization that needs:

a floor of independent negotiators at each RO (VSO's)

county office in every county (CVSOs)

an internal court (BVA)

an external court (Court of Veteran's appeals)

an entire segment of private attorneys (NOVA)

aides in every cong's office

not to mention entities not in my narrow ken

to deal with it-

There's just something fundamentally wrong.

[john999]

Mike

              I think the VA fundamentally stinks.   Even at the level of the Veterans Court of Appeals errors are made and caught in the process which may involve a remand back to the BVA and then back to the Court.  I spent almost 8 years on a CUE and I had a lawyer and both BVA and Court made errors such as using the wrong law to rate my claim etc.   This added years to the process.  Congressmen are useless and lawyers are not always that much better because I had some of the best and I lost on a technical letter of a wrong headed regulation meant to screw a million vets.   This is one reason that when a vet gets TDIU or 100% they never usually give it up to try and better themselves because it took so long to get it.

 

 

[ArNG11]

John you got that right on your assessment, however, it is not all lost and doomed.  There are loopholes and you can use some regulations and laws to your benefit.  New and material evidence is a good one, or you know the evidence that the VA had all along but decided to ignore or conveniently lost. Of course I am talking about Duty to Assist and you know the presumed Benefit of Doubt to favor the Veteran.  You must learn and research the indiscretions that were used to lowball and deny you and use those to fight your claim.  Sometimes it is the simple things that can be of use to you in defense for your claim.

Easier stated and written down, much harder to apply though.  Just don't give up. keep fighting, keep appealing.  That is just my two cent's worth of an opinion.

[allansc2005]

My appeal sat at the BVA for 6 years, without a word from my so-called "representative", the American Legion.

No calls, no letters...nothing for 6 years, then come to find out last year that my case was "remanded" back to the RO.

Yes, one can ask why I didn't ask what was going on, but I did, only to hear "your case is still waiting in line..."

Even to this day, the American Legion has told me nothing(the RO was the ones who contacted me about my case being remanded), and at this point all I'm going to do is write a letter to AL's HQ, and let them know my concerns, then sit back and wait on the blame game!

GRRR!!!

 

 

[john999]

I agree with ArNG11 and I agree Allan, Buck and Mike.  All see how screwed up the VA claims system is and that perseverance is key.   I don't trust any VSO to do more than just send in the evidence and forms you give them.  When I have a claim at the RO I usually call about once a month to chat with the VA rep on the line.   What I am looking for is something that is lacking.  When I requested my father's VA SMR's I did not follow the request closely.   The VA turned my simple request for records into a claim for benefits and sat on it for a year while I forgot about it.  This is the wrong approach.  You have to inquire regardless.  When you deal with the VA you know you will be screwed.  It is just a matter of when and what you do to remedy the situation if there is a remedy.  Not all claims are fixable.