Informal appeal process?

Hello Halifax275,

I have gone through what you are approaching. Chapter 17 even under the new post TOD is lengthy.
Like Newfie mentioned, BPA is one avenue. You can also contact a legion service officer for support, or even a private lawyer. I used all of the above with some success over my time. But doing it myself succeeded very well.

I do not want to confuse you, but be aware of consequential claims. As well as submitting a new lower leg function L/R claim in years to come...

I called today and she said that my called has been logged and I should hear back from someone in roughly 8 weeks.

Bureau of Pensions Advocate. 1-877-228-2250
I called for reassessment of decision based on info be not used in decision. I received a call back within 2 hours and was advised to upload my missing info thru myVAC

Thank you. I will call them today.

Call the bureau of Pensions Advocate and ask for a "departmental review" of your assessment decision. The office of the advocate will review all of the information you submitted along with the rationale of the assessment made by VAC. The advocate will provide you with advice on whether or not to appeal the assessment.

First of all, I want to thank all that contribute such great information to these forums. I have been reading posts for quite a while now and they helped me get 2 successful decisions in the last year.

My question is with regards to what to do post-decision if you don't agree with the assessment. I was granted full entitlement for Degenerative Disc Disease Lumbar Spine assessed at 10% (9 + 1 QOL). I have some numb toes in my left foot that can be related to a bulging disc at L4-5 (in my opinion through reading reputable sources online). Table 17.19 has "Sensory Loss in Dermatomal pattern" as a qualifying factor for a rating of 13. I believe that I should have been awarded that rating.

I know that I can file a formal appeal through the VRAB but is there a more informal way to nudge them to see if they have considered that symptom or if it was just missed when reading all doctors' reports? Can I just send them a letter explaining all this or do I need to file a formal appeal?

Thank you