BVA

[Ken Dillon]

I have a claim in at the BAV for direct decision, it's been there for 13 months ( I know others been there longer) , according to VA.gov. It's still waiting to be assigned a judge. Since I made the decision for direct decision I can not submit anymore information if I had any. By why not as far as I know no judge assigned, I should be able to send more information without losing my spot in line. Sorry just Bitching. And thinking lol

[ShrekTheTank]

It really depends.  I would say it should not, as I have submitted it before and been fine.  I have heard of people saying it did make it take longer.

If it was me, I would submit it as if you do not, they could make a decision without all the information.

You will not lose your place, could just take longer due to them needing to look at new information.

[broncovet]

If you have IMPORTANT relevant evidence, by all means submit it now.  

Even "if" it causes some delay, any delays due to submission of new evidence is way less time to you than getting a denial, and having to start all over again.   If denied at the board, then you have to appeal to the CAVC, AND if you get a remand (back the the BVA) you will likely have a much longer wait than if you just submit new evidence now.  

Example of IMPORTANT relevant evidence is an exam containing "at least as likely as not", and or relevant symptoms "if" your appeal is about a disability percentage.  

It may not delay you "at all", it likely depends on what stage your appeal is in, "waiting for judge can mean a bunch of stuff".  

For one thing, if you have a VSO, most of the time your VSO will "prepare a brief" in your behalf, and I have no idea if that has been done or not.  You may be able to call your national VSO and ask them, but you should still submit important relevant evidence or your delays will be even bigger.  

[ArNG11]

Agreed.  Make sure you keep copies and date stamps on submission.  In my claims here recently I have found instances where Functional Capacity Examinations ( medical evidence) although submitted and acknowledged conveniently not available when the claim is service connected and rated.  Be mindful of this.  These are just my experiences, hopefully they won't repeat themselves in your claim but be mindful and keep watch.  One last thing whether Pro Se or using a VSO keep meticulous records, tracking and submissions, hopefully you won't need them, but if you do, you got them at the ready. JMO from my own experiences.

[ArNG11]

To my understanding you still can submit more evidence, whether it is applied to the current decision I can't really say but most likely not. You shouldn't loose your position in line though, unless you change appeal lanes so I would be watchful on that front. This is just my opinion on how things have worked in my claims.  Tactics change and you have to adjust accordingly.  Hope this helps.

[broncovet]

The old regulation was "New and Material Evidence".  

This was changed to "new and RELEVANT Evidence".  

For Veterans, the major distiction between "material" and "relevant" is, while either of these can result in a favorable benefit outcome, "material" evidence could do it "on its own", without other evidence.  However, if your submitted, for example, 2 pieces of "relevant" evidence such as 2 seperate medical exams, where "exam A" provided a nexus, and "exam b" provided symptoms, then those together can result in a favorable benefit outcome.  

The older "New MATERIAL" evidence would not always be as favorable as an outcome, because VA could say, again in this example, that documentation of symptoms is not "Material" if the condition is not service connected.  

In other words "material" evidence can change the outcome, while relevant may or may not, on its own.  

In short its easier to meet the "relevant" criteria than the "material" criteria.  

What all this means to you is to go ahead and submit new evidence if you have it, and let VA figure out if its "material" or "relevant".