Regional Office Claims



This is a leaflet dropped from a plane in the Street Without Joy in late 1967. I picked one of them up after the plane
dropped them on a village. I'm not sure what it says but I figure it had something to do with what a good life the VC would
have if they surrendered.

Regional Office Claims

  A veteran lawyer gives this advice: "As a rule always try to deal with your claim at the REGIONAL LEVEL!!! Most claims that get up to the Board of Veterans Appeals are there for years and then are simply remanded BACK to the Regional Level anyway! "

  I figure this lawyer doesn’t have much experience on dealing with VA claims, so I disagree with the above statement.

  The Regional Office will almost always never change a decision against a veteran. You can disagree at the Regional Office level and months later get turned down again. The BVA will order the changes to fix the mistakes the Regional Office makes and then remand it back to the Regional Office for them to fix those mistakes. This will take time again that many older veterans don't need to waste.

  Because there are so many mistakes by the Regional Offices, it often takes a long time to get a BVA hearing. But if you have a legit claim, the BVA will almost always catch the mistake and order it to be fixed, if you were wronged by the Regional Office.

  My advice is if you are turned down by the Regional Office for a claim or an increase on a current disability, immediately appeal to the BVA. Skip the Regional Office. They will probably not change the original decision. You may several months or even years of waiting.