Like many veterans, you may receive a decision on your VA disability benefits application that you disagree with, whether due to an outright denial of your claim or the VA’s determination of your disability rating or effective date. However, when the VA decides your disability benefits claim in some way that you believe is incorrect, you have the option to pursue the appeals process. Appealing a decision on a VA disability benefits application may include pursuing your case with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
The AMA Framework for VA Appeals
In 2017, Congress passed the Appeals Modernization Act, which overhauled the VA’s administrative appeals framework. The AMA established three appeal options for veterans who wish to challenge some aspect of the VA’s decision on their disability benefits application:
- Higher-level review
- Supplemental claim
- Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
The AMA also improved the notification process for VA decisions and established mechanisms to resolve disability benefits claims more efficiently.
Taking Your Case to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
When a higher-level review or a supplemental claim fails to correct an adverse or unfavorable decision in a VA disability benefits claim, a veteran may further pursue an administrative appeal with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA). The BVA is an independent administrative appeals body within the Department of Veterans Affairs to which veterans and their families can submit appeals challenging VA decisions regarding benefits.
In an appeal to the BVA, a veteran can choose from one of three docket options:
- Direct review: In direct review, a veteran does not submit additional evidence to the BVA, nor does the Board schedule a hearing. Instead, a Veterans Law Judge resolves the veteran’s appeal based on the existing case file.
- Evidence submission: During evidence submission, a veteran can submit new, additional information or documentation for the Veterans Law Judge to consider alongside the existing record; however, the BVA does not hold a hearing.
- Hearing: A veteran who requests a hearing can appear before the Veterans Law Judge to present additional evidence and argue why the BVA should overturn or modify the VA’s decision.
Beyond the BVA: The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
A veteran may further appeal an unfavorable decision by the BVA to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). The CAVC is an Article I court (a specialized court created by an act of Congress, rather than the traditional federal courts established under Article III of the Constitution) separate from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The CAVC hears appeals of VA decisions in which a veteran raises a question of law or claims that the VA or the BVA made a legal error in its determination, such as a failure to apply the benefit of the doubt or a violation of due process. In most cases, a single judge hears an appeal, although in rare cases a panel of three judges will hear it, resulting in a precedential decision binding the VA and future CAVC appeals.
Veterans who disagree with the CAVC’s decision can further appeal to the Federal Circuit, a circuit court of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Contact Our Firm Today for Experienced Advocacy
After the VA renders an unfavorable decision on your disability benefits claim, or you disagree with some aspect of the decision, such as your disability rating or effective date, you can contest that decision through the VA’s appeals process, which can include pursuing appeals with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals or the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Contact Kinman Law Office today for a free consultation with a VA disability benefits lawyer to learn more about pursuing administrative appeals of decisions on VA disability benefits claims with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
