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VA Ending Special Handling Rules For Disability Claims

It was disclosed in 2008 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was employing special handling rules for disability claim documentation. According to the disclosure, information that was necessary to support veterans' disability claims was shredded. The VA has announced the rules they put into effect following that disclosure will no longer be used.

The shredding occurred at multiple regional offices (ROs). Included in the RO's shred piles was original paperwork veterans submitted in support of their disability claims. There is no way to know how much supporting paperwork had been shredded prior to that discovery. The VA, then, was forced to announce in November 2009 they would be using "more lenient claims processing rules."

The time has come to stop using those more lenient rules, states to the VA. There was an 18-month window in which the original supporting documents could have been destroyed. The VA's more lenient rules have been in place for 30 months, and the VA believes there are no longer any active claims that could possibly be affected by the possibility of missing supporting information.

It was the VA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that discovered the "improperly handled documents," and stated the claims possibly affected by the mishandling would have been filed between April 17, 2007 and Oct. 14, 2008. The VA has stated they will "backdate effective dates or claims" for any veteran claiming their original supporting documentation is missing and was filed during the above time period.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.