VA Disability Appeals Taking Longer To Resolve

Over the past few years almost all of the reporting on the VA compensation claims system has focused on the “backlog” of pending claims. However, the VA only includes new claims for benefits that have been pending for over 125 days as part of the backlog. Meanwhile, the time it takes for VA to process appealed claims have grown significantly. In fact, the average time for an appealed claim to work its way through the VA disability appeals process is more than 900 days.

This news comes as VA released reports showing that they have reduced the backlog. During the last decade the average time for an appealed claim to be resolved has been between 500 and 750 days. Officials at VA have stated that their long-term appeals resolution goal is 400 days. According to a statement released by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals the increased appeals processing time is not indicative of inactivity but is instead a result of the many layers built into the claims appeals system.

While the VA’s long-term appeals resolution goal is 400 days; its short-term goal is 650 days. The closest they have come to that goal was in 2010 when it reduced the average appeals time to 656 days. Many veterans advocacy groups have pointed to the VA’s focused efforts at reducing the backlog as a large reason that appeals processing times have grown. Although the media has just learned about the increased appeals resolution time, this unacceptable delay in resolving appeals is not news to the thousands of veterans who have been waiting for several years to have their appeals processed.

Legal Help with a VA Disability Appeal

The VA appeals process can be intimidating, even aside from the incredible wait times many applicants face. Our veterans disability advocates are here to help if you need legal assistance. Learn more about the VA appeals process or tell us about how we can help you with a VA appeal. Veterans Help Group prides itself on assisting veterans to receive the state and federal benefits they have earned through their service.