Jump to content
VA Disability Community via Hadit.com

VA Disability Claims Articles

Ask Your VA Claims Question | Current Forum Posts Search | Rules | View All Forums
VA Disability Articles | Chats and Other Events | Donate | Blogs | New Users

  • homepage-banner-2024-2.png

  • donate-be-a-hero.png

  • 0

Request a Claim Decision now?

Rate this question


BigRedDog

Question

Hello all, this my first post and question.  Trying to keep it simple for now, but I'm planning to post my more convoluted history shortly in regards to my big picture circumstances.  I've learned quite a bit here recently from the elders, mods, and last but not least, the new guys and gals asking questions such as this.  I'll try to give just enough info below, without going overboard, especially in order to help others understand their own particular situations.

Basic question(s):  On eBenefits, should I go ahead and request a claim decision?  I currently have nothing else to add .... but would it be worth it to submit a buddy statement?

Basic situation:  The claim is for IU (already eligible since 2014 at 70% combined) and an increased rating for seizures (currently 40%).  Last week, I scanned and submitted a requested statement about my self employed endeavors over the past year (type of work, hours worked, hours lost, gross & net income), for which there is a Dec 29th deadline.  FWIW, it was pretty depressing, and a net loss.  And yesterday I scanned in the 21-4192 Employment Info for my last W-2 job, which was 4.5 years ago.  Per eBenefits, this was "No longer needed," as of Oct 31, but since I finally received it in the mail from my old employer, I submitted it anyway.  C&P exam on Nov 13th by a VES doctor seemed to go as well as I could have hoped.  From judging the tea leaves and chicken innards on eBenefits, it looked like VES submitted the exam before Thanksgiving, the status moved to Prep for Decision after the holiday weekend, then back to Evidence Gathering with the request for more info about my self employment (generally a disaster trying to find work from home).  BTW, I still haven't gotten the physical letter requesting anything, so in these instances eBenefits is actually useful.  Estimated completion date is now March - June, previously being December.  My understanding of these estimated completion dates is that they are completely arbitrary, but I obviously want to get the ball rolling again ASAP.

Any insight on what to expect on this?  I'm assuming that if I don't request a claim decision, the rater won't even look at my claim again until that December 29th deadline.  The only buddy statement I could add regarding my worsening condition would be from my girlfriend, so I'm not sure if the VA can take that any more seriously than my own statements.

Thanks in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Answers 10
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters For This Question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

It's definitely entertainment.  You'll laugh .... you'll cry ....

Just checked it again and it's at "Preparation for Notification," with a date range of 27DEC2018 to 16JAN2019.  No other changes yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

So ......... I logged in to eBenefits tonight, and the first thing I saw under open claims was "Decision Notification Sent," but also back to "Review of Evidence."  Oh crap.

So I click on the claim ..... and the expected completion range is now 19JAN2019 to 09MAR2019.  Arrrggghhh. 

But I start thinking, hmmm, sounds like some sort of partial decision maybe.  I went to look at my disabilities, and BOOM, there's the big 100% at the top of the screen.  Looking further, I see that I'm at 100% for seizures now, with the date I filed the intent form, and one (but not all) of my 20+ year conditions is noted as (PROTECTED).  BTW, I noticed several weeks ago that maybe half of my rated disabilities have the wrong effective date.   Bottom of the screen still shows all the pending claim stuff, but I'm guessing this will all work itself out.

I checked the benefits link and they have added the Education Assistance Program AND I'm rated for SMC (S-1).  The letters page confirms everything as well.

I won't truly believe it until I get the BBE and the money, but it looks good right now.

Big thanks to everyone here who has shared helpful info in the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
1 hour ago, BigRedDog said:

So ......... I logged in to eBenefits tonight, and the first thing I saw under open claims was "Decision Notification Sent," but also back to "Review of Evidence."  Oh crap.

So I click on the claim ..... and the expected completion range is now 19JAN2019 to 09MAR2019.  Arrrggghhh. 

But I start thinking, hmmm, sounds like some sort of partial decision maybe.  I went to look at my disabilities, and BOOM, there's the big 100% at the top of the screen.  Looking further, I see that I'm at 100% for seizures now, with the date I filed the intent form, and one (but not all) of my 20+ year conditions is noted as (PROTECTED).  BTW, I noticed several weeks ago that maybe half of my rated disabilities have the wrong effective date.   Bottom of the screen still shows all the pending claim stuff, but I'm guessing this will all work itself out.

I checked the benefits link and they have added the Education Assistance Program AND I'm rated for SMC (S-1).  The letters page confirms everything as well.

I won't truly believe it until I get the BBE and the money, but it looks good right now.

Big thanks to everyone here who has shared helpful info in the past.

Sounds good. But, you might want to appeal the effective dates for your rated disabilities. Then again, other than getting a bit more change in your pocket. You're still going to get retropay with the current effective dates. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Guidelines and Terms of Use