BVA DENIAL, What's next? (File a notice of Appeal) Must be filed within 120 days.

[broncovet]

YOU DO NOT have a year to file a NOA (notice of appeal).  It must be received within 120 days.  Dont wait until day 119, either.  

You can simply fill out the enclosed form, with the enclosed directions.  

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DO NOT make the mistake of thinking its one year.  This applies only to appealing VARO decisions, for BVA decision appeals, it must be filed within 120 days.  

There is a $50 filing fee.  However, if you cant afford the $50, ask for a waiver and they waive the filing fee for most Veterans, who have a net worth less than $500,000.  If you have over $500,000, you will likely need to pay the fee.  

For directions and the form see here:

https://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/documents/RulesFormsAppendix.pdf

    Your attorney can file for you.  If you have not yet gotten an attorney, go ahead and fill out the form and send it in.  You can get an attorney after you file the NOA, provided that a law firm will accept your case.  

     Many/most law firms representing VEterans will represent you "Just" for EAJA fees, which means at no cost to you, provided that they are not TOO busy to handle your claim or they dont feel you have a good case to appeal.  (Or they just dont handle your type of claims, dont be discouraged if one or more law firms decline to represent you).

    I was turned down by 3 law firms, hired by the 4th one.   He won a remand for me, and told me how to "win" at the BVA.  I followed his instructions, EAJA PAID ALL THE FEES.  I later won my appeal at the BVA (represented by a VSO).  The only thing I paid for was an IMO which cost me $600, of which I made 2 payments of $300 each put on a credit card.  I had no trouble paying off the card, when I got a six figure retro check.  

In summary, if you have been denied at the BVA, you can hire an attorney (recommended).  However, if you cant find an attorney quickly enough, file your own appeal, and you can get an attorney later.  Veterans have informed me that they get offers to represent "once an appeal" to the CAVC has been filed.  I personally got representation offers when I filed a writ of Mandamus.   (Pro SE)/. 

[Lemuel]

My last appeal from the BVA was handled by Pro Bono vets.  An attorney group that your filed appeal goes to.  There are pro se (personal appeal forms) on the CAVC website.  Easy enough to file.  But your claim must be about the law, not the facts.  Whether or not the law was followed.  Anything to get a new BVA judge to look at the facts.

When you go to the BVA you must point out to the BVA judge, in a hearing or by brief before the hearing, all of the facts of record the rating officer ignored in deciding your case.  FACTS ARE DECIDED AT THE BVA.  The BVA is the sole decider of facts.

There are now two cases where the presumption of accuracy of VA medical records have been overturned.  Still you have an uphill battle to get a BVA judge to find a fact against your C&P examinations.  

CUE is extremely difficult.  Not impossible.  Usually depends on records like inpatient records that were not in the file for your claim showing an error in the summary of you hospitalization record.  Appears to me to be the most frequent.

The CAVC will remand easily in conference between an attorney for you and an attorney for the VA GC.  Very difficult if you cannot get an attorney to take your case.  And no attorney will take your case if you are just arguing the "facts" and not the law applied to the facts because it goes nowhere at the CAVC.