Army BCMR Denial

[Dcmd124]

Greetings,

If my one year to appeal the decision has passed, what can I do?

Is it appropriate to file another ABCMR?

Thanks for your assistance.

Regards,

Sam

 

[FloridaInjuredInCombat]

Follow on question to that... if a claim is denied at the ABCMR, is an appeal to them mandatory, or can the claim be taken to the Court of Federal Claims without an appeal to the ABCMR?

 

[Dcmd124]

Can I file a new claim to the BCMR? Or is it more appropriate to file an appeal with the courts?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

I am hoping to get steered in the right direction.

Sam

 

[pittpan2005]

Honestly, when you start talking about "exhaustion of administrative remedies," you should talk with an attorney with experience at the Court of Federal Claims. There are a lot of moving pieces, like when the statute of limitations (SoL) begins to run, whether you can immediately request review in the Court of Federal Claims or whether you need to appeal, etc.

 

[chaplaincharlie]

I agree with @pittpan2005, if you decide to appeal to the courts, you should hire an attorney.

 

[FloridaInjuredInCombat]

In my opinion, the best way to "hold their feet to the fire" at the BCMR/BCNR is to file a lawsuit in Federal Court. For disability and military pay matters, I tend to think that the best court with jurisdiction on these matters is the US Court of Federal Claims. In fact, I often look at whether it makes sense to go to the BCMR/BCNR in the first place. It is possible to get a good outcome from these boards, but I think that in most cases, it makes more sense just to file directly in court. Exceptions apply, but that is my sense.

I ran across this input from Jason Perry relating to the BMCR/BCNR, may apply here as well. Hopefully Mr. Perry will chime in.