Question:

VA still certifies appeals before sending to BVA as I understand the process. If the RO discovers, during this certification process, that the VET is correct will they issue a new / revised decision or simply let the appeal move forward to the Board? 

Jim's Reply:

Will the VA have a sudden change of heart in your favor? I'd guess the chances of that are somewhere between slim and none.
 

Yes...accidents do happen and VA sometimes gets it right, that's why there's a certification process. Cars are inspected during the manufacturing process and anything not perfect is rejected and most other step by step processes have similar follow-up checks. VA tries to emulate all that but doesn't always get it right. Think the Lada inspection line.
 

The sad fact is that the certification process isn't all that great. Rubber stamp is one phrase that comes to my mind. That's a reason we see so many remands from the court to the regional offices telling them to do it again, in part or in whole.
 

In a nutshell, flawed decisions wind their way to the court and the court sends it back for a redo. This is all too often a repetitive process and many years ago was tagged as "The Hamster Wheel". This can happen when your claim is appealed to BVA and after a few months a clerk at BVA notices an inadequate C & P exam so that judge remands it back to the RO to set up your new C & P. 
 

That takes a while and your appeal is returned to the BVA where a new clerk and judge get a look after a few months wait and they see an error in what the RO says about the second C & P so they remand it to the RO for an IMO with new DBQs and an ACE process to be conducted by the VHA. 
 

During all this your file may make a stop at the Appeals Management Center which is a bit like an old tire junkyard, thousands and thousands of denied claims stacked up as far as the eye can see. There isn't much good that results from the place and it's a bother to everyone who gets involved but nobody can do anything about it.
 

My best advice when you decide to appeal a denied claim is to retain a lawyer as soon as you get the chance. Lawyers win maybe +/- 15% more appeals than veterans do when they manage their own cases. That's a lot.
 

Good luck sir.