The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released its August 2018 veterans disability benefits statistics report. See how unrated VA claims changed in the past 30 days and what the report means for vets below.
August 2018 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Inventory Status
The August 2018 veterans disability benefits statistics report lists all VA claims still pending with the Veterans Benefits Administration. On August 4, 2018, the VA claims inventory category held 360,505 pending applications. For the second month in a row, unrated claims increased in the inventory category. According to VA data, each application must wait an average of 101 days to receive a disability rating decision. But if you’re a disabled veteran, these latest claims numbers shouldn’t worry you. That’s because the average time it takes to process each claim varies from state to state.
- As of August 4, 2018: 360,505
- As of July 7, 2018: 349,319
- Difference: +11,186
- Daily churn: +559 claims
If you have at least one service-connected disability and medical evidence to prove it, you can file your claim online. Fully developed claims (FDCs) filed through the VA’s eBenefits site take 97 days to complete, on average.
July 2018 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Backlog Status
Once a claim waits more than 125 days for the VA’s rating decision, it automatically transfers into the backlog. The August 2018 veterans disability benefits statistics report shows a similar increase in backlogged claims as we saw last month. Luckily, however, most claims currently stuck in the VA’s backlog aren’t first-time applicants.
- As of August 4, 2018: 81,383
- As of July 7, 2018: 76,028
- Difference: +5,355
- Daily churn: +286 claims added to the backlog
August 2018 veterans disability benefits data shows 81% of vets filing supplemental claims already get some VA money each month. These supplemental applications are most likely to end up in the VA claims backlog. More than half this month’s backlogged applications are from Gulf War veterans (31%) and those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan (25%).
You May Qualify for Free Legal Assistance
Want professional help with your claim? You’ll pay nothing for legal advice from VA-accredited lawyers in your area before you apply. Getting a lawyer to help you file is the best way to get paid the most benefits you’re owed faster. And if the VA already turned you down, a lawyer can represent you in court when you appeal. In recent years, more than 4 in 5 disabled vets with lawyers prevailed against the VA in court.
Ready to see if you may qualify? Click the button below to start your free 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.