The VA Claims process is a paper pusher’s utopia. So many forms, decisions, notices, documents, instructions, letters, and more fly back and forth between a veteran and the VA. Most of these are “CYA” forms for the VA, or documents that allow the VA to pretend that the process is non-adversarial to veterans. But there are 2 documents that are critical in your VA Claim or Appeal – the VA Ratings Decision and the BVA Decision.
The VA Ratings Decision and the BVA Decision are the 2 most important decision letters in the entire VA Claims and Appeals process. A denial of benefits in one of these decision letters starts a time clock on when a Veteran can appeal and move to the next stage of the VA Claims & Appeals Process.
So many Vets – and more than a few VSOs – still confuse these 2 decision letters. Doing so may cause a Veteran to miss an important deadline in their claim or appeal.
And when you miss an appeal deadline, you almost always lose an earlier effective date (which means you get paid WAY less by the VA).
This video will walk you through the major phases of the VA Claims Process, explain how the VA Ratings Decision and the BVA Decision move you into another phase of your appeal, and shows you different versions of the VA Ratings Decision and the BVA Decision.
If you are ready to file a Notice of Disagreement, check out this blog post walking you through the Key Ingredients of a Notice of Disagreement, and check out this VIDEO walk-through of a Notice of Disagreement.
If you are still deciding whether or not to file a Notice of Disagreement or what your VSO is telling you is a “reconsideration” request, you might want to take a look at this post, first.
