Jim,
Hi my dad recently passed away after a massavie heart attack & he had filed his nehmer claim when was diagnosed with coronary artery disease back in June 2011..he passed away in August 2011. I have filled out va form 21-534 as I was instructed to do & to put on the form that it was in reference to a nehmer claim. I was just wondering how long this process takes & if theres anything I can do to speed it along. & just wondering how long should I expect & if theres a way to check on the process at all. thank you very much !
Reply:
Please accept my condolences. I'm sorry for your loss of your veteran father.
I'll suggest that you read http://www.jimstrickland912.com/Substitution_of_Claimant.html
You've done everything correctly so far. Now you get to wait. The process is likely to take at least a year and can take much longer. Nehmer reviews are ongoing and this one will be at the end of a very long line. There is no way to speed up the process. Likewise, there is no way to check the status of any VA claim. You may want to learn more by clicking here http://www.jimstrickland912.com/Track_Your_Claim.html
Also, read more of the Nehmer class of claims by clicking here http://www.jimstrickland912.com/Nehmer_Class_Claims.html
There is a backlog of claims at VA that is often estimated to be in excess of one million claims that are seriously delayed. Any attempt to speed up the process or even to get a status update may seriously delay a claim.
I'll hope you mailed in the form using certified mail. If not, please keep in mind that in the future you must communicate with VA by using certified mail, return receipt requested. This is the only acceptable way of keeping track of paperwork you send to VA.
I'd advise that you do nothing for at least 6 months or so. Then you may write a brief letter to VA (using certified mail) and ask if they would please notify you of the status of the claim. This letter is more to ensure that you have a paper trail than anything else. If one year passes without notice, I'd begin writing a status check letter every 30 to 60 days...only for the purposes of future use in any appeals you may need to do.
The electronic tracking systems you may hear about are notoriously unreliable and I advise that you avoid them. The toll free number is also unreliable and will only serve to confuse you. Patience and eventually a few well written letters will be the way to go.