Near the start of each month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports on the current claims inventory and backlog statistics for applications submitted to the VA requesting disability benefits. In our April 2017 veterans disability benefits statistics overview, we explain how claims numbers changed over the last 30 days.
April 2017 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Inventory Status
Any pension and compensation claims still awaiting the VA’s determination decision are reported on each month by the Veterans Benefits Administration. On April 1, 2017, 375,646 applications fell under the claims inventory. The total claims inventory numbers in this month’s report fell significantly compared with those we saw in March. This is a good sign the VA is hard at work reviewing current disability applications.
- As of April 1, 2017: 375,646
- As of March 4, 2017: 390,509
- Difference: -14,863
- Daily churn: -743.15 claims
April 2017 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Backlog Status
Any application still under the VA’s review after 125 days moves into the claims backlog category. In the April 2017 veterans disability benefits statistics report, the backlog category contained more than 97,000 claims. This is good news for veterans still waiting to hear from the VA. It also continues the downward trend in clearing out the claims backlog we saw beginning in March.
- As of April 1, 2017: 97,382
- As of March 4, 2017: 98,431
- Difference: -1,049
- Daily churn: -52.45 claims cleared from the backlog
Though only have as many claims were deleted from this month’s backlog compared with March, it’s heartening to see the VA making every effort to reduce these numbers. Any veterans with recently submitted claims should be encouraged by these reduced claims backlog numbers.
You May Qualify For VA-Accredited Legal Assistance
It can be extremely beneficial to seek information and assistance from a VA-accredited attorney near you. An experienced advocate or lawyer can walk you through every step in the claims process. They’ll also explain how to improve your odds of winning benefits, including any backpay the VA owes you. They can also help you gather medical evidence, request status updates from the VA and even file your appeal. Best of all, these attorneys always work on contingency. That means you pay $0 for legal assistance if the VA doesn’t award you benefits. But if you do win, then you’ll only pay a small, one-time fee.
Ready to see if you may qualify? Click the button below to start your free online benefits evaluation now!
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Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.