Vsr Duties Sc Death Claims

[Berta]

Dont know whether here or asked in vet org DIC email- ?

from M21-1 -

http://209.85.165.104/custom?q=cache:4jCd2...381742111066612

"Change Date November 15, 2004

a. Requirement for Receipt of All Required Evidence Unless there is a statutory bar, a VSR must not deny any claim until

all evidence otherwise required for a rating decision has been received and reviewed, or

all reasonable efforts to obtain the evidence have been exhausted, and, for evidence from Federal sources, it has been determined that either

the record does not exist, or

further efforts to obtain the record would be fruitless

. "Denying a Claim Without a Rating Decision, Continued

b. Situations in Which a VSR May Deny a Claim A VSR may deny a claim for service-connected (SC) disability or death benefits without a rating decision if any of the following conditions exist:

there is a legal bar to entitlement

the claimant does not respond within 60 days to a request for evidence needed to determine whether or not there is a legal bar to payment, such as in cases involving continuous cohabitation

in death cases, the claim is one in which

service connection was not specifically claimed, and

there is no reasonable probability that the cause or contributory cause of death was related to service."

My claim has been with a rater for months but the VSR has had access twice or more in the last month to check on the file-(per Covers screen)most recently last week-

prior to that it was denied by a DRO without considering any of my evidence-and is on remand-

My I-9 which the BVA got in July 2006 specified clearly how the VA violated regs and ignored my medical evidence-and the claim was remanded about a month later-back to the RO.

This movement is good news for me-

because the VSR can deny a claim like this under the circumstances above even before it gets to a rater.My AO death claim keeps going back to a rater who has the I-9 statement to comply with -on remand.They say all the issues are going to be addressed together. The appeal and the CUES etc.

This is why I say to put on the very first page of the I-9- (they dont give you much room)- the exact reason on page one-of why you feel your denial was incorrect-especially if you had sent to RO medical evidence that they ignored.

A remand is worked by the ROs directly from the I-9-

regarding what specific errors the VA made that caused your denial.

Also I posted here the "Preserve on Appeal ALL Errors " Statement that I had to fit into the hearing part of the I=9-available under a search -

This too should be put on every I-9 but is not as important as telling the BVA on the very first page at the bottom-exactly what errors the RO committed in the denial of your claim.

Edited April 16, 2007 by Berta