Cue

[Gail]

How do I submit a CUE claim. What form do I use

[broncovet]

There is no "Cue" form.  Most use a 21-4138. 

We suggest you "write up" your CUE, and post it here before sending it in.  There are members here who are Cue Experts (ok, expert, Berta). 

You need to cite the regulation(s) you allege the Va violated.  Remember a few things:

1.  A "difference of opinion" is not CUE. 

2.  The error must be "undebatable". 

3.  The error must be based on regulations in place "at that time". 

4.  Often, CUE is not the best route to go.  If possible, a request to reopen due to N and Material evidence is often better.  (If there is evidence the VA did not consider). 

5.  If you are in the 0ne year appeal period, consider filing an appeal instead. 

[Berta]

I hope Vync sees this- as he won a CUE after the forms changed, and I dont know what specific form he used:

https://community.hadit.com/topic/77846-successful-cue-claim/

Some have used the 21-526 EZ:

https://www.va.gov/vaforms/form_detail.asp?FormNo=21-526EZ

Is this a Regional Office decision or a BVA decision, that you are filing CUE on?

I filed my most recent CUEs before the form changed, as just a letter, which always worked for me in the past , but then the forms changed,  and the VA sent me the proper forms- as I am a survivor of a veteran.

If you are the widow of a vet,  I will look up the form I filed , and post the link here.They are different from forms a veteran uses.

Others here have succeeded in CUE after the regulations changed- Hope they chime in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2020 by Berta
spelling (see edit history)

[Vync]

@Berta It was a regional office decision. 

I used 21-4138 Statement in support of claim and 21-0958 Notice of disagreement, plus wrote a detailed letter that went into detail. I explained I was unable to find a specific form. Months later, I found there was no specific form for CUE in M21-1.

After talking with numerous different VARO personnel, including a VA attorney, they agreed there was no specific form to use, but recommended that a 20-0996 Higher Level Review be submitted to ensure it gets routed to a Decision Review Officer (DRO) who actually handles CUE. Supposedly, the VA is working on getting a dedicated CUE form setup, but there is no ETA for when it will be completed. Of course, I learned all of this after my CUE was sent to the wrong department and mishandled, although one was granted and the other denied (not on the merits).

Yes, a letter is sufficient for CUE. If within the appeal window, it doesn't hurt to also submit a 20-0996 Higher Level Review form to prevent misrouting since the VA's document analysis AI is far from perfect.

 

@broncovet explains CUE very well. I agree that HLR or New and Material Evidence may be a better route for some situations, especially if it doesn't fit the strict CUE criteria, if you are within the appeals window and benefit of the doubt would be required.

I'll add that you can't just simply assert the VA made an error. You have to show exactly how the CUE was made and how you would have benefited if the error did not occur. CUE does not have a time limit. You cannot use relative equipoise (benefit of the doubt) for CUE. It cannot be a judgement call. It can also be due to evidence being in the VA's possession sufficient to grant SC or a higher rating that was completely ignored by the VA (they are required to use all evidence).

In my case, the CUE was due to the VA not following a regulation. They just made something up and used it to grant a low-ball rating.