Jim,
It's a pleasure to introduce myself to you. I am an AF veteran. I came about your website at work and I wish I would've known about this in 2009.
Things are okay so far. I wanted to know what I should do in my turn of events for increase of disabilities ratings. Stay waiting or send more requests?
Here is what has happen so far since 2009:
Filed first claim in July 2009. Received 1st award letter Oct 2009. Hand-typed Notice of disagreement Dec 2009. Filed another NOD for several items in July 2009, including sleep disorder which I had a sleep study and made a copy of the results and sent to VSO which added to my claim. (Before my one year mark of ETS). Heard nothing all of 2010, and one item, iritis came back stronger for over two months in the summer. Had appointments all summer long; weekly.
Had a C&P exam for PTSD late Oct 2011, no news yet. Social worker at local VA clinic months before exam stated I have "combat stress" but not "PTSD" I'm pretty sure they are similiar. Received a statement of denial for some items and appeal that in 2011. Finally received a 10% rating for razor bumps 2011 (still awaiting backpay from 2009, sent letter to change effective date, no update as of today). Finally received a service-connected, yet 0% rating for iritis in 2011 (sent nod and asked for a increase of rating, was filed on original claim in 2009). Seen a VSO in 2012 for claim again for sleep apena.
Now, with that being said. I have heard nothing from the VA basically from a few items in 2010 NOD and even though I have a well-grounded claim and evidence, still no news from the VA on any items in a while. Call the toll-free number and they tell me, its in the "decision-phase" which I have heard the same standardized statement for over 3 years. I have moved a few times and the VA has my updated address. Even on the EBenefits site, it is updated.
I helped a friend of mines get the ball rolling on his case and he waited for one claim, PTSD, from Sept. 2011 til about two weeks, and he was able to get a check in the mail. I think my case/claim may be complicated or it may be overlapping because according to the VA, I have two appeals out there which may be running into each other. Do you think this is the case? Shall I just sit and wait since I haven't heard anything and I know I have answered each piece of paper that has came in the mail; whether good or bad.
Also, I finally found the number to my POA, which is the usual VSO group and the local organization is in Atlanta, and I am contacting them again tomorrow morning to see if they can tell me anything on my behalf. I guess they were chosen as my POA since I had all my documents sent to the VA thru a VSO at a VA local clinic.
I really thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read my e-mail. And I look forward to your expertize on the matter. I will bookmark your site and keep reading over and over and over again!
Reply:
Yes, your many claims and appeal processes are overlapping each other and causing delays. I try to avoid such things whenever possible because delays are almost always the result.
There isn't much to do but wait patiently and hope that the system will correct itself before too long. If you have an opportunity to modify or add to your claim, try to avoid doing that.
If you become a regular visitor to the VAWatchdog web site, you'll learn that you're doing at least 2 things I recommend that veterans avoid.
You do not need a veterans service officer to come between you and the VA. The VSO is nothing more than a middleman and they can actually cause some of the delays we see. VA can't tell you this but they would prefer to work directly with you. I am near the Atlanta office myself. I made zero progress until I fired my VSO representatives and took over my own claims.
Once I did begin to manage my own claims, it took 3 years to fix the mess that my VSO had made and only then did I prevail.
You don't need to actually do anything to terminate your relationship with your VSO. You can begin your DIY advocacy by simply avoiding the VSO route. Trust me, they won't notice and they won't care.
Then, I urge veterans to avoid the eBenefits site and the toll free number. They are rarely correct or helpful. To tell you things like "Your claim is in the decision phase" is an insult. Of course it is. >From the second a claim comes in the door, it's in the decision phase. What other phase would it be in? Until there is a decision, it will stay in the decision phase. Duh.
This is one of the ways that VA attempts to cloud the issue for you. The truth is that nobody has a clue where your claim is and they won't know until the day it shows up on some random rater's desk for adjudication. Your claim folder can be anywhere from Atlanta to Los Angeles...claims folders are sent all over the country in hopes of finding someone with the time to make your decision.
There's no mystery to any of this. VA just doesn't like to share the facts with you. Your claim comes in the door and some low ranking people try to piece it together. It gets in line with hundreds of thousands of other claims. Each time you add to it or modify it, it gets pulled out of line and then it gets back in line at the start of the process. There's the delay. It sits somewhere in a cardboard box until the day of a decision by a senior rater. That person has 5 or 6 claims he must decide that day. The usual requirement is to close 5 or 6 folders every work day. Your folder will get about 30 minutes of attention by the rater. Then a letter will be generated and you'll know if you are denied or awarded your claims.
You say you have 2 appeals but you don't say what kind of appeals? If you decided on a DRO appeal, nothing will happen to any of your claims until the DRO is able to sort this out. DRO appeals are taking a couple of years to process. If you have asked for BVA appeals, and you aren't using an attorney, you may be looking at 5 years before BVA gets to your folder. Even then, it's going to be returned to the regional office for any further work.
The iritis claim may be set and won't change. Iritis is rated as;
6000 Choroidopathy, including uveitis, iritis, cyclitis, and choroiditis
General Rating Formula for Diagnostic Codes 6000 through 6009
Evaluate on the basis of either visual impairment due to the particular condition or on incapacitating episodes, whichever results in a higher evaluation.
With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 6 weeks during the past 12 months...60%
With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 4 weeks, but less than 6 weeks, during the past 12 months...40%
With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 2 weeks, but less than 4 weeks, during the past 12 months...20%
With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 1 week, but less than 2 weeks, during the past 12 month...10%
Note: For VA purposes, an incapacitating episode is a period of acute symptoms severe enough to require prescribed bed rest and treatment by a physician or other healthcare provider.
If you haven't had "incapacitating episodes", or visual impairment, the rating will remain at 0%. You can learn more about the way VA rates each claimed condition here
http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/bookc.asp