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If you’ve filed a VA claim for disability compensation with the VA and been denied or disagree with the initial decision, you have options!
VA Form 10182 is just one of several forms in the VA’s new appeals process. You can choose from three decision review options (Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, or Board Appeal) to continue your case.
VA Form 10182 initiates a Decision Review Request: Board Appeal, also called the Notice of Disagreement. This is all part of the VA’s new process to improve the veterans’ appeal process for initial claim decisions made on or after February 19, 2019. The new process is designed to improve timeliness, transparency, and fairness.
By filing VA Form 10182 Notice of Disagreement, you’re requesting a case review of your claim by a Veterans Law Judge. If you want to learn more about your options when it comes to the type of review performed by the Veterans Law Judge, read on.
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Keys to Using VA Form 10182
Key Fact #1 – When should I use VA Form 10182?
There are a few different ways to handle a VA disability claim outcome that doesn’t meet your expectations. If you want to start the VA Board of Appeals Process, Form 10182 is the way to go. At VA Claims Insider, we recommend you file VA Form 10182 for a Board Appeal only if the other two options (Supplemental Claim or Higher-Level Review) don’t fit your situation.
If you disagree with a VA decision and want a Veterans Law Judge to review your case, then the Decision Review Request: Board Appeal – Notice of Disagreement (VA Form 10182) is the form to use.
Besides the Board Appeal: Notice of Disagreement, there are two other “lanes” in the appeals process to consider.
If you simply want to provide new evidence to support your claim with a Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim, use VA Form 20-0995. (The Decision Review Request: Board Appeal—Notice of Disagreement also allows you to submit new evidence, but it’s slower.) Read more here.
A Higher-Level Review allows your claim to be reviewed by a more senior VA adjudicator to address your disagreement with a VA decision. For this lane, use VA Form 20-0996. If you have not tried a Higher-Level Review yet, VA Claims Insider highly recommends pursuing this instead of a BVA appeal. Read more here.)
Key Fact #2 – Basic information and ways to file a VA Form 10182
When filling out the VA Form 10182, you will need to provide some basic information about yourself and your service, including:
Section 1 – Personal Information
This section requires basic information: full name, Social Security Number, date of birth, current mailing address, telephone number, email address, VA file number, and representative name if applicable.
Section 2 – Board Review Option
In this section, you check a box to indicate which type of board review you want to request. You can choose one of three options when you request a decision review: Direct Review, Evidence Submission, and Hearing with a Veterans Law Judge.
Direct Review
The first option is to request a direct review by a Veterans Law Judge. This option will typically provide veterans with the quickest decision when filing VA Form 10182, as you can’t provide any more evidence to the board and won’t meet with the Veterans Law Judge. In considering the reasons your claim was denied or you didn’t receive the desired decision, this is a great option if you feel there’s a misinterpretation of the law or facts of the case.
VA Claims Insider recommends this option, and that you include your legal/administrative argument when submitting the form.
Although this is often the quickest route, it’s still a lengthy process. The VA’s goal is to return a decision on direct review requests within one year.
Evidence Submission
The second option in a Decision Review Request: Board Appeal is to provide additional evidence you want the Veterans Law Judge to review in support of your appeal. This option gives you 90 days to submit additional evidence that supports what’s already in your file once you file the Notice of Disagreement. The more evidence submitted, the more likely your chances of a favorable review.
The VA usually takes over a year to make a determination on Notice of Disagreements requesting additional evidence submission. Therefore, VACI does not recommend this option, since if you have new and relevant evidence your best option is to submit a Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995).
(In a Supplemental Review, your case along with the new evidence is reviewed by a VA adjudicator (a different one than the one who originally decided your claim), not a Veterans Law Judge. The Supplemental Review will generally go more quickly than any Board Appeal option, so if you have new evidence to submit, you’ll want to weigh timing with the possible value of being reviewed by a Veterans Law Judge.)
Hearing with a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ)
The third option grants you a hearing with a Veterans Law Judge. In addition, you still have the opportunity to provide additional evidence within 90 days of submission of VA Form 10182. Sometimes disabilities impact you in a way that’s difficult to describe or explain in writing. A hearing with a Veterans Law Judge allows you to tell your story and explain the impact on your life in a way that may be more compelling for your case. The board will contact you to schedule your hearing.
Of the three board review options, the wait time for a hearing with a Veterans Law Judge is even greater than that of the other two choices. There are only 98 VLJs nationwide, and more than 67,000 veterans waiting for a hearing! VA Claims Insider does not recommend this option.
If you choose this option, make sure to prepare for your hearing.
Section 3 – Specific Issue(s) to be Appealed to a Veterans Law Judge at the Board
List each issue that you’re appealing. Each specific issue must be cited along with the date of the VA decision notice in which it was originally either denied or partially granted. You must also indicate the area of disagreement (for example, if you received a decision granting you a 70 percent disability rating for a condition, but you feel that you are entitled to a 100 percent rating).
This section also includes a checkbox to indicate if you’re opting into the new appeals system following a Statement of the Case (SOC) or Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) from the legacy (former) appeals system. If you had a claim in the legacy system, checking that box withdraws all eligible appeal issues listed on the form from the legacy system and affirms your participation in the new system.
Section 4 – Certification and Signature
Sign and date the form to authorize your Board Appeal request. You’re signifying that the information on your 10182 form is true and correct.
You may submit VA Form 10182 by mailing it to the Board of Veterans’ Affairs: PO Box 27063 Washington, DC 20038. You can fax to 844-678-8979, walk it into your nearest Regional Office, or via direct upload @ Centralized Mail Portal™ (digitalcontentservices.com)
Key Fact #3 – Who reviews your case on the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA)?
The Board of Veterans’ Appeals is made up of board members who are Veterans Law Judges. They adjudicate decisions at a higher level than the Veterans Benefits Administration. This means that upon review, they may be more likely to reverse decisions that come from Regional Offices.
Judges look at evidence from previous decisions to make sure that VA law was followed correctly to arrive at the initial decision. They also consider additional evidence if you choose that option.
There are typically three outcomes from a BVA ruling.
- The BVA could rule in your favor and grant benefits, if you were initially denied (or additional benefits, if for example you were appealing a rating decision).
- The BVA could issue a remand and ask for more information.
- The BVA could issue a final denial—but you can appeal one more time through the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by filing a Notice of Appeal.
Key Fact #4 – Timelines
You have one year from the time of a VA decision to submit VA Form 10182, so it’s important to keep that deadline in mind when preparing to file. The VA has also noted that the Board of Veterans’ Appeals has mistakenly rejected some timely appeal requests since February 19, 2019.
If you’ve been rejected due to an error in timeliness, send a letter asking the Board to recalculate timeliness by March 1, 2022. You can mail your letter to the Clerk of the Board at: P.O. Box 27063, Washington, DC 20038.
If you need to modify your Notice of Disagreement to choose a different review option, you have 60 days after the Board’s receipt of your original Notice of Disagreement. Keep in mind if you already submitted additional evidence or testified at a hearing, you cannot change your review option.
Key Fact #5 – Make sure your statements are true and accurate
As always with any part of your claim, it’s crucial that any remarks you make about your specific issues are true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. There is a penalty of perjury for false statements on a VA disability claim. Be sure your statements don’t contradict any other information in your claim, or any statements you’ve made to the VA in the past.
VA CLAIM DENIED? Here’s How to Win Your VA Higher Level Review or BVA Appeal
MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL THE BENEFITS YOU DESERVE
Regardless of what state you live in, it’s important that you pursue the monthly compensation payments due to you for disabilities connected to your military service.
Most veterans are underrated for their disabilities and therefore not getting the compensation they deserve. At VA Claims Insider, we help veterans understand and take control of the claims process so they can get the rating and compensation they’re owed by law.
Our process takes the guesswork out of filing a VA disability claim and supports you every step of the way in building a fully developed claim (FDC)—so you can increase your rating in less time!
If you’ve filed your VA disability claim and have been denied or have received a low rating – or you’re not sure how to get started – reach out to us for a FREE VA Claim Discovery Call, so you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation you deserve. We’ve supported more than 25,000 veterans to win their claims and increase their VA ratings. NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.
About the Author
About VA Claims Insider
VA Claims Insider is an education-based coaching/consulting company. We’re here for disabled veterans exploring eligibility for increased VA disability benefits and who wish to learn more about that process. We also connect veterans with independent medical professionals in our referral network for medical examinations, disability evaluations, and credible independent medical opinions and nexus statements (medical nexus letters) for a wide range of disability conditions.
