I’ve been at the Board for almost two years. Is there anything I can do to speed up the process?

[BEJack]

Hi. I started my claim in 2015. My claim is at the Board since 9/2020. My claim is for Ménière’s Syndrome. My attorneys say my claim is very strong and that both the RO and HLR were both wrong in reading the evidence. I um under the AMA on the Evidence docket. Nowhere on VA.gov do they tell me where I am in line or when my claim is likely to be reviewed. When I call the Board all they tell me is that my appeal is there and they can’t even give me an approximation of when it might be reviewed. I have contacted my Senator and House member, but they have not been any help. Any insight would be appreciated.

[broncovet]

You are not alone.  Many, if not most of us have "hadit" with the VA and or BVA regarding delays.  

At least one law firm has said, "enough", and sued VA:

https://cck-law.com/blog/cck-law-takes-legal-action-against-department-of-veterans-affairs/

Congress gave VA "billions of dollars" to fix the delays, about a couple years ago.  It was sweeping new legislation, and lead to a divide between AMA and legacy claims.   And, what happened instead?  More delays.  

Its a broken record.  The VA says, "we need more money"...so congress gives them more money, the VA squanders it on nepotism contracts for well connected friends and family, and when it fails to work, the VA says, "we need more money".  

This has happened with the VA's IT system for decades.  Probably 3 or more times, congress gave VA billions to "upgrade the IT system".  Sure enough a bunch of nepotism contracts later, the new IT system fails, costing taxpayers billions and frustrating Veterans.  

It has actually been worse, beleive it or not.  There has been a million claim backlog, and it took 4 or 5 years to complete a BVA appeal.  

It took the regional office a year or more to "certify" the appeal to the BVA..and the VA admitted this should take 20 minutes.  

So, the AMA eliminated the certification to the BVA, and that was supposed to fix it, at least cutting off a year.  

It did not, as you can see.  Its a broken VA, and many Veterans have "hadit".  

We used to have a phone number where we could call BVA...that is apparently gone.  

Tell your congressman to fix VA, for example, start with fixing the VAOIG.  Its an "in house" police force.  Its been called the fox guarding the hen house.  

When the VAOIG finds something wrong, they dont prosecute the offenders.  (At least not if they are VA employees, the VAOIG does go after Veterans who abuse the system).  Instead, the VAOIG "makes recommendations" to the VA, and the VA says, "We have in place fixes to this problem"...and its business as usual.  

The VA has some very corrupt high level officials, which can not be fired.  Instead, they move them to a different area, where they can repeat their corrupt practices.  Part of the problem is the UNION, which sues VA whenever an employee is fired, and they usually get their job back..even when the employee was corrupt.  There is unchecked Whistleblower retailiation...Many have blown the whistle on corrupt practices, and most have lost their jobs and this scares others into looking the other way with VA corruption.  

More money never fixes VA problems, instead it fuels and funds additional corruption.  

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by broncovet

[MilvetHD]

It's just like in the military, hurry up and wait! If any of the below entitled hardships apply you may have a chance otherwise there is nothing you or anyone else can do to expedite the process. The Board may advance an appeal on the docket (AOD) if the appellant demonstrates unusual hardship such as serious illness, severe financial hardship, or other sufficient cause. 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a), (b); 38 C.F.R. § § 20.800, 20.902. If you would like to request prioritization of your appeal, submit your request in writing to the Board stating the basis for your request, and include supporting documentation to factually demonstrate reasons for advancement. The following are some examples of unusual hardship or other potential sufficient cause, along with recommended supporting documentation (as all motions for advancement on the docket require claim-specific evidence of hardship):

• Severe financial hardship (bankruptcy petition, home foreclosure notice, statement that the individual is experiencing homelessness);
• Serious illness (physician’s statement);
• Advanced age (defined as 75 years or more);
• Administrative error resulting in a significant delay in docketing your appeal; and
• Unusual hardship due to a natural disaster such as a hurricane, earthquake, or flood (personal statements regarding the impact of the natural disaster, newspaper clippings, pictures, FEMA declarations, etc.)

[Dustoff1970]

Because I turned 75 during my BVA appeal process the judge automatically advanced my appeal on the docket and soon after he granted my OSA Sleep Apnea due to PTSD claim.  I filed the claim in 2017 and the BVA approved my claim/appeal in December 2021, so it took 4 plus years, but I did receive SMC-S and 4 years back pay.

Perhaps your age if 75 or your illness can get you advanced on the docket.  You have nothing to lose by direct request to the BVA.  They can 1. grant the request, 2. ignore the request, or 3. just say no.  Request May even speed up the process.

My comment is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer, paralegal or VSO.

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Dustoff 11

[GBArmy]

I received a decision about 5 weeks after it got to the BVA about 6 months ago, But that was because I was advanced on the docket  (75+) and it was the direct lane. You are in the evidence lane; word now is it is YEARS for them to get to it. If you don'y meet the criteria for advancement on the docket, it's a long wait. A Congressman's inquiry is not going to help unless you meet the criteria. Good luck.

[Vync]

The BVA queue has swelled over the past several years for numerous reasons. The VA was pressured to reduce the number of initial claims as quickly as possible. This resulted in VARO employees being pressured to turn over claims as quickly as possible and resulted in sloppy processing errors. With the AMA changed in 2019, the VA can now quickly close a claim by merely issuing a decision letter, whether it is correct or not. That forces veterans into filing for supplemental or HLR review, and/or going straight to the BVA.

 

[Whodat]

I am so glad that I have stayed in the Legacy appeal even though it's no better with the timeframe. VA had came up with a plan to speed up VA claims by this new process called AMA. This plan was implemented in Feb 2019.  Lots of Vets opted in the AMA to speed up their claim process.

At the same time, VA had made a promise to exhaust Legacy appeals by 2022. Too much on their plate now. 

All of the troops were pulled out of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2020. Majority of the vets had gotten out of the military shortly afterwards and started applying for benefits. Now the AMA is backlogged. 

So now the VA is under a lot of pressure for promises but little progress.