BVA Timeline

[FlyboyLeRoy]

BVA direct review w/o judge submitted 01-11-2022. "average wait time of 1 year" was just pulled 2 days ago, 3 plus years later. I was curios on your, or someone you may know, experience with the timeline from a judge reviewing to decision, no matter the outcome. Thanks.
 

[pacmanx1]

18 hours ago, FlyboyLeRoy said:

BVA direct review w/o judge submitted 01-11-2022. "average wait time of 1 year" was just pulled 2 days ago, 3 plus years later.

Can’t speak for anyone else but the BVA just started my review this month and I am closer to three years then you are, but it seems that VA is now moving forward with the direct review appeals. The last time I contacted the National Call Center, I was told even though the va.gov website states that a direct review should be completed, less than 365 days, that the website does not make any sense because direct review appeals are taking close to three years and even though you are five months away there are still some veteran’s direct review appeals that have been waiting longer.

If our direct review appeals are taking three years who knows how long or could guess how long a with evidence review and or a hearing review would take. I know for me it was well over 1000 days before the BVA assigned my appeal to the VLJ. It has been several weeks and all I was asking for was an earlier effective date (EED) that had supporting documents from a VA contractor C & P examiner’s opinion, including VAMC Medical records. I will most likely hit the three-year mark before my decision is made. Since this is the end of the VA's fiscal year, the BVA may try to get the older appeals out before the new year begins in October.

I will post and let you know if I hear something.

Edited August 24 by pacmanx1

[Lemuel]

Depends on the date counted.  From the day appealed or the day the appeal is granted.  I think most of the delay is at VARO preparing their case against the record.

Took less than 30days from the day my motion was misread to slam a "direct review" on me.  Too 3 years to get there from an appeal of remands that were incomplete.

[broncovet]

In the 2023 BVA chairmans report (the most recent available), it shows the time frames.  

https://www.bva.va.gov/Chairman_Annual_Rpts.asp

You need to scroll down to page 43 of this report, because the VA buries it there, as most people who try to read this will fall asleep "long before page 43" and the VA most certainly does not want people to know how long it takes.  

The report "breaks it down" into days, also, and you have to add the days up and divide by 365 to know how many years it will likely take.  

My trips to the BVA were long, but never this long.  In May, 2002, I applied and was denied.  I appealed and the appeal was completed by the BVA in 2003.  

Of course, the VA ensures the delays will continue by "implementing" my award at 0 percent, so I had to appeal all over again.   And appeal another time to get the correct effective date.  After the smoke cleared, I finally got my benefits in 2020, 18 years later.  This is why we have a broken VA.  

Of coruse, each department blames another department:  The VARO blames the BVA, the BVA blames the court (CAVC), and the courts blame the attorney's.  The attorneys blame the judges for so many remands.  

Its been my experience that within a couple months of the Judge reviewing your appeal, you should get a BVA decision.  Of course its gonna take longer for you to get any money because the VARO has to "implement" the board decision even if you were awarded benefits.  

My VSO told me I should get an answer in 4 to 6 months, and that was in 2002.  He did not tell me that 90 percent of Veterans who do get benefits only get them after appealing to the BVA and that takes years, which ultimately cost me my home, and I became another homeless Veteran.  Fortunately, the kindness of strangers meant I was only homeless for a short period.  

[FlyboyLeRoy]

13 hours ago, Lemuel said:

Depends on the date counted.  From the day appealed or the day the appeal is granted.  I think most of the delay is at VARO preparing their case against the record.

Took less than 30days from the day my motion was misread to slam a "direct review" on me.  Too 3 years to get there from an appeal of remands that were incomplete.

I’ve heard 30 days a few times so I’ll hope for that but expect another 3 years. Thanks

2 hours ago, broncovet said:

In the 2023 BVA chairmans report (the most recent available), it shows the time frames.  

https://www.bva.va.gov/Chairman_Annual_Rpts.asp

You need to scroll down to page 43 of this report, because the VA buries it there, as most people who try to read this will fall asleep "long before page 43" and the VA most certainly does not want people to know how long it takes.  

The report "breaks it down" into days, also, and you have to add the days up and divide by 365 to know how many years it will likely take.  

My trips to the BVA were long, but never this long.  In May, 2002, I applied and was denied.  I appealed and the appeal was completed by the BVA in 2003.  

Of course, the VA ensures the delays will continue by "implementing" my award at 0 percent, so I had to appeal all over again.   And appeal another time to get the correct effective date.  After the smoke cleared, I finally got my benefits in 2020, 18 years later.  This is why we have a broken VA.  

Of coruse, each department blames another department:  The VARO blames the BVA, the BVA blames the court (CAVC), and the courts blame the attorney's.  The attorneys blame the judges for so many remands.  

Its been my experience that within a couple months of the Judge reviewing your appeal, you should get a BVA decision.  Of course its gonna take longer for you to get any money because the VARO has to "implement" the board decision even if you were awarded benefits.  

My VSO told me I should get an answer in 4 to 6 months, and that was in 2002.  He did not tell me that 90 percent of Veterans who do get benefits only get them after appealing to the BVA and that takes years, which ultimately cost me my home, and I became another homeless Veteran.  Fortunately, the kindness of strangers meant I was only homeless for a short period.  

thank you. Will loook into it. 

[FlyboyLeRoy]

2 hours ago, broncovet said:

In the 2023 BVA chairmans report (the most recent available), it shows the time frames.  

https://www.bva.va.gov/Chairman_Annual_Rpts.asp

You need to scroll down to page 43 of this report, because the VA buries it there, as most people who try to read this will fall asleep "long before page 43" and the VA most certainly does not want people to know how long it takes.  

The report "breaks it down" into days, also, and you have to add the days up and divide by 365 to know how many years it will likely take.  

My trips to the BVA were long, but never this long.  In May, 2002, I applied and was denied.  I appealed and the appeal was completed by the BVA in 2003.  

Of course, the VA ensures the delays will continue by "implementing" my award at 0 percent, so I had to appeal all over again.   And appeal another time to get the correct effective date.  After the smoke cleared, I finally got my benefits in 2020, 18 years later.  This is why we have a broken VA.  

Of coruse, each department blames another department:  The VARO blames the BVA, the BVA blames the court (CAVC), and the courts blame the attorney's.  The attorneys blame the judges for so many remands.  

Its been my experience that within a couple months of the Judge reviewing your appeal, you should get a BVA decision.  Of course its gonna take longer for you to get any money because the VARO has to "implement" the board decision even if you were awarded benefits.  

My VSO told me I should get an answer in 4 to 6 months, and that was in 2002.  He did not tell me that 90 percent of Veterans who do get benefits only get them after appealing to the BVA and that takes years, which ultimately cost me my home, and I became another homeless Veteran.  Fortunately, the kindness of strangers meant I was only homeless for a short period.  

that seems to be legacy. I am not legacy and have already 3 years in the direct review. Judge is currently reviewing it, so i was curios on the average timeline of that. 

[Lemuel]

BVA Decision, 05/11/2017.  BVA grants TDIU from appealed Rating Decision 09/10/2010 back to 07/10/2009 and makes more remands to VARO including an extra-schedular claim on 06/24/1987. Decision appealed to CAVC on denial of Tinnitus EED to 1974 claim of "hearing problems."  Denied because remands by BVA make the decision not final.

VARO only does the referral to the Director, Compensations Services and ignores the rest of the remands including assessment of tinnitus rating level and EED.  (also should have been reviewed by the Director.)

Director, Compensation Services grants TDIU EED to 09/15/1985, the last date of full-time employment on 04/08/2020.

01/31/2021 appealed the ignored remands to BVA.  Added 20.1000 requests for redo of earlier decisions.

The next delay now is that the BVA does not follow the law in Legacy but slammed into direct appeal.  Once in Direct appeal took about 30 days for the 11/29/2022 decision that leads to an appeal to the CAVC, where in the conference of attorneys, it is agreed to remand to the BVA on 10/26/2023, but the remand is only for a part of the case.

Legacy appeal hearing scheduled for 11/19/2024.  Timeline for an expedited because of age appeal process.

I do not favor "direct appeal".  Without briefing the BVA on the facts of your case, you cannot use the "arbitrary and capricious" mode to dispute the facts in appeal to the CAVC. 

Example, I have a 1990 confirmation of epilepsy and treatment for epilepsy with the wrong drug.  The decision on epilepsy in 1992 should be considered "arbitrary and capricious" because "appears to have partial and complex partial seizures" together with a mistreatment of the same with the wrong drug, delaying treatment to 2015 for a drug that worked, should be considered "arbitrary and capricious" because it rose to the level of "more likely than not".

If the BVA does not decide that I have had epilepsy since the nexus in the medical records in 10/1969 as a fact, given my briefing of the facts, I will appeal on the basis of "an arbitrary and capricious finding of fact."

A direct appeal, if you have the facts on your side and the RO ignored them, will likely get the Rating Decision by the RO rubberstamped because you have not briefed the "facts" with supporting references to the BVA and the BVA does not have to review the facts but can.

Edited August 25 by Lemuel
add info, correct word