Denial of veterans’ disability claims is happening more and more with an overburdened and undertrained VA workforce. Because the claims adjudicators don’t understand how the veterans’ claims process works, many claims are incorrectly denied and end up being appealed and ultimately overturned. In some ways, this is good news for veterans, but if your VA claim is denied, it can lead to a lengthy and complicated appeals process where you need an experienced veterans benefits attorney on your side.
Denial of Veterans Claims: First You Have to File
The veterans’ claims process begins at your Regional Office. If you want to think about it in terms of the law in general, the RO is similar to trial court. You must file your claim here, and a claim adjudicator will look it over and decide whether to approve or deny it. This process is not fast. As of 2006, the average processing time for a claim was 127 days. If your claim is initially denied by the RO, don’t give up. There are a number of things you can still do at the RO level. Talk to VA employees or a VSO representative. If, however, a denial of veterans claims still occurs after you’ve exhausted your resources at the regional level, the next part of the veterans claims process is to appeal.
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Appealing an RO decision means you will then have to deal with the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). The BVA is made up of attorney board members, one of whom will act as an administrative judge in your appeal. The BVA can consider new evidence and even seek out medical opinions on its own before deciding on your appeal, and the process averages two to two-and-a-half years.
Continued denial of veterans claims means that you will be utilizing the Court Of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). This seven-member court’s only responsibility is to deal with appeals from the BVA, which should tell you something about just how many appeals are made.
If that does not work, the next stage of the veterans claims process is the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). This court has jurisdiction over VA regulations and reviews CAVC decisions. If your VA claim is denied here, it means that you will have to appeal to the US Supreme Court. This has only happened one time, and the outcome was very interesting. The Supreme Court decided in the veteran’s favor, but Congress quickly put through legislation that countered their ruling on the denial of veterans’ claims.
If you are denied veterans benefits and feeling overwhelmed by the process, you can seek the help of an experienced veterans disability lawyer.
