Hi.
I'm Travis Studdard, a veterans disability attorney with Perkins Law Firm.
Today I want to talk to you about one of the shortest deadlines in veterans disability
law that you are likely to encounter.
Many veterans file their claim and then receive their ratings decision, and then file what's
called an NOD, or notice of disagreement.
After they do that, they eventually receive a statement of case from the regional office,
which is a document that explains the reasons and basis for the decision by the VA.
If you're like a lot of veterans, you've waited a long time, months, or even years for that
statement of case to come in.
Then when you get it, your eyes start to glaze over a little bit by all the legal jargon
and statutes that are cited in that multi-page document.
What you may miss in that process is one of the shortest deadlines in veterans disability
law, and that is the deadline to file your substantive appeal to the board of veterans
appeals.
Even though you filed your notice of disagreement, there's a second document that you must file
to complete your appeal to the BVA.
Many veterans don't know that.
They think if I file my notice of disagreement, say I don't agree and I want to appeal, that's
it.
That's all I have to do.
That is not true.
If you want to keep your claim alive, you have to file the Form 9.
What is this short deadline?
With the Form 9, you have 60 days from the date the statement of case was issued.
That is a short deadline compared to many others such as the one-year deadline to file
your NOD.
If you don't file that Form 9 within 60 days, then your claim stands denied.
In terms of filing the Form 9, it's a relatively easy process.
It's a one-page document, you select whether you want a hearing or no hearing or a travel
board hearing or a video conference hearing, and you select and specify which issues you
disagree with in the statement of case.
It's an easy process, but so many times I find veterans who have either missed that
deadline, or they're calling me on day 58 or 59 when it's due on day 60.
You don't need to wait that long.
If you do, you may mess something up and miss that deadline.
If you have already handled your claim so far by yourself, if you're getting to that
point, it's probably a good idea to consult with a veterans disability attorney who knows
the appeals process and can help you through that to make your claim successful at the
BVA and make sure it even gets there in the first place.
If you watch one of my other blogs about a remand, you can learn a little bit more about
how that attorney can help you avoid that remand, what I call the yo-yo back and forth
between the regional office and the BVA.
I hope you found this video helpful.
If you did, give it a thumbs-up on You Tube, and you can also subscribe on our You Tube
page, Perkins Law Firm, for other videos, and you will be notified when those become
available for information about your veterans disability claim.
You can check out our website winyourvetclaim.com for other articles and videos regarding your
claim.
You can get a consultation set up with us through that website, or give us a call at
770-214-8885.
Thank you for watching.