VA's Mishandled Document Probe Widens

Week of November 03, 2008

The Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) has been conducting a series of investigations into document mishandling at the 57 Regional Offices (VARO) across the country. VARO, run by the Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA), handle claims for veterans in their particular geographical area. The investigations were conducted to look at the issue of "timeliness," that is how VAROs process incoming documents critical to a veterans' claim. VAOIG wanted to know if the documents were logged into the VARO system in a timely manner, date/time stamped, attached to the veteran's file and then moved on to the proper person for processing of the claim. It is not clear at this time whether any documents related to a disability claim were shredded at any VARO. To learn more, read the full article on Military.com.