Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Monday, February 29, 2016
This is a sad story. The Veteran who languished on a VA list for a long time has, unfortunately, passed away.
The exposé on the VA delays in providing medical care came directly from this Veteran and the saga he had to live through. I have written in the past about the delays in VA care and disability claims.
Never Miss a Deadline
In fact, because of the delays, I always tell veterans this when they first meet with me: “The process is more important than the claim because, if you miss any VA imposed deadlines during the process of filing a VA disability claim, then the claim is final and unappealable and can only be reopened under the tough standard of providing to the VA “new and material evidence.” This standard requires that the evidence provided is of the type that the VA has never seen before in a Veteran’s claim file and it must be directly germane to the claim. As an aside, I tell veterans to NEVER miss a deadline!
The second thing that I tell veterans during our initial meeting is that, in all likelihood, from the time they first meet with me, it will most likely be 5 years before they see any money or an increase in money from the VA and that there is absolutely nothing they can do to speed up the timetable. This is the unfortunate truth for Veterans when they are fighting a denied VA disability claim. I am a long time Bruce Springsteen fan. I wish this were the anthem and the mission statement of the VA.
If you are fighting with the VA regarding your disability claim at the RO (Regional Office) level, the BVA (Board of Veterans Appeals), or before the CAVC (Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims), please feel free to contact me to see if I can assist you.
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