Veterans Administration Disability Benefits Process
The first step is to apply at your regional office. You will then get what is called a Ratings Decision. If you are unhappy with the result you then file a Notice of Disagreement to your regional office within one year. You will then get a Statement of the Case or SOC. At this point you may submit additional evidence. Then you will get a Supplemental Statement of the Case or SSOC. If you are still not pleased with decision you can appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals or BVA. You do this at your regional office. You have 60 days from your SOC or one year from your Rating Decision. You have opportunity for hearing before BVA at this stage. You will then receive your decision from the BVA. This can take a very long time. The BVA can do a few things. They may send it back on remand to the RO for a new decision. They can also grant benefits. Lastly they can issue the final denial of BVA. If you are still unhappy with decision you can file suit at United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims or CAVC. You have 120 days from BVA decision. The process can be long and involve many "appeals."
VA Veterans Disability Hearings
There are two types of Veterans disability hearings. There is a hearing with an employee of the local VA office and there is a hearing with an ALJ from the Board of Veterans' Appeals. What type of hearing you have depends on how and when it is requested.
Veterans Disability Hearing Before Decision Review Officer at Regional Office
After you file your Notice of Disagreement or NOD you may requestthat your case be reviewed again by a Decision Review Officer or DRO from the VA regional office. You can request a personal hearing in front of the DRO. A personal hearing allows you to provide testimony and add insight into your case to try and persuade the DRO. You can have a representative or lawyerto assist you. If you have a representative they will ask you questions and present your case.The DRO may also ask questions. This is an informal process.
Veterans Disability Hearing Before Board of Veterans Appeals or BVA
After you file your Notice of Disagreement or NOD, the VA will send you a Statement of the Case or SOC. Thereafter, you file a Substantive Appeal with your local regional office using the VA Form 9, which is when request a hearing before a member of the Board of Veterans' Appeals or BVA.
There are a few ways you can have your hearing before the BVA. One option is to go to Washington, D.C. and have a hearing at the BVA location. A second option is to request a video hearing. At a video hearing you are at your local office and theBoard Memberis in Washington. Your last option is to have a hearing before the board member at your local office. There can be long delays with this method because there is a limited amount of judges and they travel from local office to local office. These are informal hearings. You will not find out the day of the hearing if you have won or lost. A decision will be mailed to you. The Board can allow, deny or remand your case. A remand is when the board sends your case back to the Regional VA office to get more information and reevaluate the case.
Elizabeth H. Scherer Attorney At Law, LLC. will fight to help you win and receive the VA benefits you deserve and to which you are entitled. Contact us for a free initial consultation and case review for all persons, who have already been denied VA benefits.
