If the VA is Involved Does That Mean Unfit?

Hi everyone,

Long-term lurker - this forum has been great to get a pulse on a process that otherwise feels a stress inducing black hole that sort of hovers in the back of your mind.

I was referred to PEB on the 10th of September and my PEBLO says that my case is currently at the VA (also confirmed when calling the VA on Monday - rating team assigned, no rater). I've seen conflicting statements on this, but if the VA is involved, does that mean you have been found unfit by the board? Or, is the VA always involved to issue ratings, regardless of the board's decision?

(If it matters, I am in the Navy).
 
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https said:
Hi everyone,

Long-term lurker - this forum has been great to get a pulse on a process that otherwise feels a stress inducing black hole that sort of hovers in the back of your mind.

I was referred to PEB on the 10th of September and my PEBLO says that my case is currently at the VA (also confirmed when calling the VA on Monday - rating team assigned, no rater). I've seen conflicting statements on this, but if the VA is involved, does that mean you have been found unfit by the board? Or, is the VA always involved to issue ratings, regardless of the board's decision?

(If it matters, I am in the Navy).
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If you go to the case timelines forum there are a few Army Cases where we were discussing this (I’m on mobile I’m not sure how to link sorry). The Fort Jackson and Fort Bliss Asthma one’s in particular.

General consensus is that PEBLOs are no longer getting fit/unfit memos and that if you are being rated/have your ratings closed it meant you were already found unfit. BUT, I refuse to get my hopes up because I know how the Army works
 
If you’re found fit by the PEB they return you to duty. If you’re found unfit they send your case to the VA for ratings. You’re unfit.
 
I have seen people posting about being notified if they were found fit/unfit. My stuff was sent to the PEB end of Oct. I never got notified of a finding, but when I called the VA, they said they were working on my proposed ratings. PEBLO hasn't given me any information, but I have a coworker who works with them pretty closely and they told me that if they are working on the ratings you were found unfit already, as if you were found fit by the PEB, you'd be getting RTD.
 
morgmeb said:
I have seen people posting about being notified if they were found fit/unfit. My stuff was sent to the PEB end of Oct. I never got notified of a finding, but when I called the VA, they said they were working on my proposed ratings. PEBLO hasn't given me any information, but I have a coworker who works with them pretty closely and they told me that if they are working on the ratings you were found unfit already, as if you were found fit by the PEB, you'd be getting RTD.
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It used to be correct that the VA would not rate you until you were found UNFIT by your services PEB. That is not the case any longer. My MSC told me because of how long it takes to process a claim they start processing as soon as your last exam uploads to Tricare Online.

Example...my last exam uploaded in July.

I was found UNFIT 26OCT and my VA claim closed 30OCT...the VA did not process my claim in 4 days. It takes 60-90...they had been working on it since July.
 
I have hired a reputable IDES lawyer and he stated the following when I asked this question just today, 13 DEC 2024:

"Yes, in IDES, VA only makes proposed ratings if the IPEB has found you unfit. The trigger for the VA to rate is the request from the IPEB which tells them which conditions they have found unfitting."

He is an expert so I trust he's correct, but like nl2023 said, I'm not getting my hopes up because the Army has fucked me too many times.
 
PolloxTroy08 said:
I have hired a reputable IDES lawyer and he stated the following when I asked this question just today, 13 DEC 2024:

"Yes, in IDES, VA only makes proposed ratings if the IPEB has found you unfit. The trigger for the VA to rate is the request from the IPEB which tells them which conditions they have found unfitting."

He is an expert so I trust he's correct, but like nl2023 said, I'm not getting my hopes up because the Army has fucked me too many times.
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Your lawyer is just regurgitating what the doctrine says. That is what lawyers do. They stopped doing it that way to our benefit. If they waited to submit your claim for ratings until you were found unfit every Medboard would easily take 12-15 months instead of 9-12.

Now I will say that the VA didn't ISSUE my ratings until 4 days after I was found unfit. But my claim was submitted for ratings in July when my last exam populated on Tricare Online. I know this for a fact. I wasn't found unfit until late October.
 
We may both be right. It sounds like that the claim may go to the VA right away for them to start working, however, the ratings aren't issued until after the PEB notifies them of the UNFIT status; that sounds like what happened to you. I feel we need more data points to know for sure how the process actually works. In my case, my PEBLO sent my case to the PEB on 18 NOV and on 10 DEC the VA open and closed the claim. In the claim it shows a file called "IDES Benefits Estimate Letter" (BEL), but I'm not sure if that's done for all IDES claims regardless if the PEB has made a decision or not. I was looking at the process in the VA Handbook and it's not clear. In X.i.6.H.1.a. it states:

Proposed rating activity should begin upon completion of the Medical Evaluation Stage. The Disability Rating Activity Site (DRAS) will identify cases requiring action using the Pending Rating Preparation Report in Veterans Tracking Application (VTA).

In my case though, I do not know if the BEL populated because it was requested by the PEB or because the VA works off a 20-day suspense to issue ratings (which is how long mine took.) I'll see if my contact has access to VTA and can see any entries that would help.

VA Handbook Link
 
PolloxTroy08 said:
We may both be right. It sounds like that the claim may go to the VA right away for them to start working, however, the ratings aren't issued until after the PEB notifies them of the UNFIT status; that sounds like what happened to you. I feel we need more data points to know for sure how the process actually works. In my case, my PEBLO sent my case to the PEB on 18 NOV and on 10 DEC the VA open and closed the claim. In the claim it shows a file called "IDES Benefits Estimate Letter" (BEL), but I'm not sure if that's done for all IDES claims regardless if the PEB has made a decision or not. I was looking at the process in the VA Handbook and it's not clear. In X.i.6.H.1.a. it states:

Proposed rating activity should begin upon completion of the Medical Evaluation Stage. The Disability Rating Activity Site (DRAS) will identify cases requiring action using the Pending Rating Preparation Report in Veterans Tracking Application (VTA).

In my case though, I do not know if the BEL populated because it was requested by the PEB or because the VA works off a 20-day suspense to issue ratings (which is how long mine took.) I'll see if my contact has access to VTA and can see any entries that would help.

VA Handbook Link
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michaels1992 said:
Your lawyer is just regurgitating what the doctrine says. That is what lawyers do. They stopped doing it that way to our benefit. If they waited to submit your claim for ratings until you were found unfit every Medboard would easily take 12-15 months instead of 9-12.

Now I will say that the VA didn't ISSUE my ratings until 4 days after I was found unfit. But my claim was submitted for ratings in July when my last exam populated on Tricare Online. I know this for a fact. I wasn't found unfit until late October.
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There is a book answer and there is the way things are actually happening. Unfortunately, because of the inconsistency in how things have been happening (following the threads for the last few years), there's no apparent rhyme or reason why it appears some are handled one way or another.

My PEB was complete 20Nov and found unfit. I did call the VA prior to that and the answer I got was my claim "is being reviewed." Subsequent calls after the 20th with the last one being on Dec 13th, the VA said i was in "Preparation for decision."

The hypothesis I formed based on my own research through VA instructions, peoples experiences, and etc. is that in IDES, your claim is worked up to a certain point (not sure what exactly that point is). At that point, it waits on the PEB decision to continue processing the claim through DRAS. The lengthier and complex claims take longer which is why most are waiting after being found unfit. The easier cases where the proof is all there (good medical records, proper C&P, etc.) are rated quickly.

Just my two cents, I am no expert. Just some guy trying to make sense of this beast, lol.
 
Do
FatherTime39 said:
There is a book answer and there is the way things are actually happening. Unfortunately, because of the inconsistency in how things have been happening (following the threads for the last few years), there's no apparent rhyme or reason why it appears some are handled one way or another.

My PEB was complete 20Nov and found unfit. I did call the VA prior to that and the answer I got was my claim "is being reviewed." Subsequent calls after the 20th with the last one being on Dec 13th, the VA said i was in "Preparation for decision."

The hypothesis I formed based on my own research through VA instructions, peoples experiences, and etc. is that in IDES, your claim is worked up to a certain point (not sure what exactly that point is). At that point, it waits on the PEB decision to continue processing the claim through DRAS. The lengthier and complex claims take longer which is why most are waiting after being found unfit. The easier cases where the proof is all there (good medical records, proper C&P, etc.) are rated quickly.

Just my two cents, I am no expert. Just some guy trying to make sense of this beast, lol.
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do you have the contact number for the VA? I was notified by my lawyer that I was found unfit in VTA but don’t see anything on the VA app
 
You won’t see anything in the VA app until they close your claim.

The hotline number for VA is 800-827-1000.

It’s hit or miss. Some reps will give you a status others will refer you to the MSC. You may have to call a couple of time to get a rep to tell you some details.

You can also try Vera. Schedule a virtual appointment with them, they tend to provide more info than the hotline. Here is the link to make an appointment: VA Vera
Toro9 said:
Do

do you have the contact number for the VA? I was notified by my lawyer that I was found unfit in VTA but don’t see anything on the VA app
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PolloxTroy08 said:
We may both be right. It sounds like that the claim may go to the VA right away for them to start working, however, the ratings aren't issued until after the PEB notifies them of the UNFIT status; that sounds like what happened to you. I feel we need more data points to know for sure how the process actually works. In my case, my PEBLO sent my case to the PEB on 18 NOV and on 10 DEC the VA open and closed the claim. In the claim it shows a file called "IDES Benefits Estimate Letter" (BEL), but I'm not sure if that's done for all IDES claims regardless if the PEB has made a decision or not. I was looking at the process in the VA Handbook and it's not clear. In X.i.6.H.1.a. it states:

Proposed rating activity should begin upon completion of the Medical Evaluation Stage. The Disability Rating Activity Site (DRAS) will identify cases requiring action using the Pending Rating Preparation Report in Veterans Tracking Application (VTA).

In my case though, I do not know if the BEL populated because it was requested by the PEB or because the VA works off a 20-day suspense to issue ratings (which is how long mine took.) I'll see if my contact has access to VTA and can see any entries that would help.

VA Handbook Link
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What did you do between Grade determination and your retirement date. I was found UNFIT from the PEB in April my file is with the VA since 2 May. I called they said it was with reviewer but no further date. This has been dragging out. The though of doing a Grade Determination board adding months would just be a pain in the ass for me.
 
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