Every month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs releases a statistical report showing the current claims inventory and backlog numbers for VA disability benefits applicants. Our March 2017 veterans disability benefits statistics report summary shows how these numbers changed during the past 30 days.
March 2017 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Inventory Status
Any outstanding pension and compensation claims still waiting for the VA’s determination decision are listed in this monthly report from the Veterans Benefits Administration. As of March 4, 2017, the claims inventory included 390,509 pending applications. The March 2017 veterans disability benefits report shows a small increase in total claims inventory numbers, which seems to indicate the massive changes we saw in January and February were just statistical anomalies.
- As of March 4, 2017: 390,509
- As of February 4, 2017: 389,932
- Difference: +577
- Daily churn: +28.85 claims
March 2017 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Backlog Status
If an applicant’s claim waits more than 125 days for a determination from the VA, it falls under the claims backlog category. In March more than 98,000 claims were backlogged. This shows a slight reversal from February’s unusual spike of 1,000 new daily claims added during each workday.
- As of March 4, 2017: 98,431
- As of February 4, 2017: 100,593
- Difference: -2,162
- Daily churn: -108.1 claims cleared from the backlog
We’ve got great news this month! The March 2017 veterans disability benefits report shows claim backlog numbers are down again. This comes after after February’s unusual spike of more than 100,000 backlogged claims. This may indicate the VA is making extra efforts to clear pending applications from this category and get more veterans the benefits they deserve. These numbers are more aligned with the monthly claims backlog statistics we saw during 2016, which hopefully will ease the minds of concerned veterans currently applying for disability benefits.
You May Qualify For VA-Accredited Legal Assistance
Before filing your own disability claim, you may find it helpful to consult with a VA-accredited attorney in your area. An experienced disability advocate or attorney can provide helpful information about the claims process and how long it might take. Your disability advocate or attorney can also help you gather important medical paperwork to support your disability claim, which may help you get a faster determination decision. Attorneys can contact the VA on your behalf, request claim status updates and file your appeal, if needed. Best of all, many legal professionals work on a contingency basis – so you won’t pay any legal fees unless you win disability benefits.
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.