To "RAMP" or not to "RAMP"

[broncovet]

As many may know, Congress has passed new legislation which essentially requires VA to cut down on appeal backlog.  This plan is known as "RAMP".  

Currently, only Veterans who ARE INVITED by VA can elect to go with RAMP.  Im not sure it will do much good to write to VA and tell them you want RAMP, tho its POSSIBLE that VA may grant this request.  

A well known law firm has published some credible, and valuable information on RAMP.  If offered a chance to "RAMP" through a VA letter, its probably a good idea to:

1.  Just do it and go for RAMP.

2.  At least read the following before declining ramp, and discuss this with your representative.  

https://cck-law.com/news/news-cck-live-revisiting-ramp/

MY summary:

    UNLESS you have a compelling reason, opt "in" for RAMP.  

    CCK says you should not do RAMP if any of these would harm your claim:

However, veterans should fully consider that participating in RAMP means:

• not being able to appeal to the Board until at least February 2019.
• not being able to take their claim directly to the Board of Veterans Appeals.
• never going back to the legacy appeals process.

 

 

[HorizontalMike]

On 8/11/2018 at 1:27 AM, pwrslm said:

My NOD--> RAMP took about 65 days +/- from 15 May 2018.  It was originally 6 Sep 2018-15 Dec 2018 but closed 19 Jul 2018.

Dont go by the EBenefits estimation, its never right.

It sounds like the RAMP your Atty put part of you claim for the earlier effective date in should be done pretty fast.

Looks like my "lucky" attorney put the RAMP in on May 23, 2018 just one week after your RAMP date.  So I am on day #81 of my partial conversion to RAMP.  We'll have to see just what goes forward.

In my attorney's quoted email above, he is/has ignored a very important aspect of my appeal, and that is service connection for and rating of my Sleep Apnea and Major Depression along with the needed IMOs.  I have a disturbing feeling that my attorneys are going to take the 100% TDIU as an end-all AND RUN ignoring their promised IMOs for OSA and MDD.  That would exclude any SMC retro or future, or about $350/month going forward and $+25,000 of retro SMC.  One would think that these lawyers would like that additional 20%/$5,000 in their pocket as well, but who knows...   They are already due ~$9,000 or so if/when the 100% TDIU retro portion goes through.

Edited August 12, 2018 by HorizontalMike

[broncovet]

Mike,

    I have no idea if your attorneys ignored this, or maybe they just did not tell you, and DID have your back.  You should find out in a few months or so.  

    This attorney no longer represents me, as I "won" a remand at cavc, got most of my attorney fees paid by EAJA.  Then, the remand decision happened and I "won" but was not satisfied with the effective date of that board decision.  Julie Glover elected not to repesent me (again), so I hired Chris Attig, instead, since I was again, at the cavc level.  

      I have now been represented by 3 attorneys, tho not by choice.  One, the NVLSP, 2 Julie Glover, and 3, Chris ATTIG.  

      My experience has been that attorneys do very little or no "hand holding".  They are not our counselors, they dont write us long emails detailing a rebuttal to our newest entitlement theory we sent them.  While we may not think so, they dont make all that much money.  

       I think Julie billed EAJA for about 30 hours of attorney time.  That was not near enough.  My cfile was at least 1500 pages long.  JUst to read that, if you can read a page in 2 minutes, is 50 hours. (Its a very fast reader to read a page in 2 minutes)    This is not to prepare a brief, not to do anything..just read my file.  So, she had to have done a lot of work and not get paid for it.  Lots of it.  

      I dont know about you, but I dont like working and not getting paid...for all my hours.  (Whatever the hourly rate is)  You probably also wanted to get paid for all your hours worked when you worked by the hour.  

      So, I did/do not get a lot of handholding and they dont send me a letter then discuss ramp on the phone for an hour.  No.  They simply just do what they think is best.  I dont blame them.  I dont call every Veteran and explain every thing to them either.  I tell them to go to hadit, read all they can, if their question is not answered I will try to get to their question, but others might instead.  Im glad others answer questions.  

     VA law is not all that lucrative.  At least one attorney I met "no longer does Vets benefits".  Why?  Well would you like to work for a man and then "maybe" get paid 5 years later?  Its no wonder so few want to do Vets law.  

      Anyway, Chris Attig is also extremely busy and does not return every call and answer every time I ask him if he thinks this or that will fly.  I read his brief he filed for me, and it was very very good, and he described my claim way better than I could.  So did Julie.  

      I suggest you "hang in there"..with RAMP, you will likely know something maybe by the end of this year.  I am glad at least one attorney recommends RAMP, as most dont like it.  You will like it also, if you get some retro, even if you still have to appeal effective dates or whatever.  Anything is better than waiting 5 more years on an appeal in my opinion.  

[Wayne TX]

Bronco.....I agree with so much you say.   Attorneys are not about hand holding and very short in their email replies if any given at all......phone calls.......hmmm lucky to get one every 6 months.  I elected to opt into RAMP. I did not even ask my attorney his opinion because I already knew I was better off giving RAMP a whirl than waiting several more years for my time to come around in Legacy.  I have no idea how my 4 Appeals will measure out, but I can say this one positive about RAMP......... I opt in May 10......94 days later (today) I am sitting at Pending Decision Approval, which means something should shake down within the next 30 days. That was never going to happen sitting in my spot in line in Legacy. I was looking at a minimum two more years, and now I should see a decision forthcoming within months. HUGE! 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Wayne TX
typo

[bpweryz]

I have never used an attorney, and have pretty much given up on DAV. I have pretty much gathered my own evidence and prepped my own cases the three appeals that I have put in.  I won 2 of them.  The one thing I will say about an attorney is the longer your claim goes the more money they get in the long run.  I worked at social security for a few years and I have seen how they disability claims process moves. I think opting in in the long run will be a good thing.  

[Wayne TX]

I got to 50% on my own (starting back in 2009) doing all the work myself and then just handing it over to a VSO to electronically file for me....usually at VAMC.....to insure VA got it!   But once I got to 50% the games started with ultra stupid denial reasons and I knew I'm heading to a VideoConference Judge if upcoming RAMP results are not as anticipated.  I have been fighting VA over OSA since 2015, and all they can say despite mounds of evidence, CPAP,  two positive tests, and IMO's citing secondary SC connections has been this lame...."active duty records are silent for sleep complaints."  They fight everyone seeking a 50% disability rating....not an easy one to win anymore even with a winning hand.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Wayne TX
typo

[bpweryz]

Oh I have been fighting with the VA since about 2003.  I have been at 90% for about 2 years and its been a fight to get here.  To include changing a disability completely and dropping the percentage in both legs 10% each. Had they not done that I would have been 100 since 2015. But the fight continues.  I play their stupid game and keep plugging away.