Inspection of the VA Regional Office, Hartford, Connecticut

We conducted this inspection to evaluate how well the Hartford VARO accomplishes this mission. We found the Hartford VARO staff properly established dates of claim in the electronic record and corrected errors identified by the VBA’s Systematic Technical Accuracy Review program staff. VARO performance was generally effective in processing claims related to herbicide exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder, and handling claims-related mail. However, the VARO lacked effective controls and accuracy processing some disability claims. Inaccuracies in processing temporary 100 percent disability evaluations resulted when staff did not schedule medical reexaminations. Errors in processing traumatic brain injury related claims occurred because staff used insufficient medical examinations and incorrectly evaluated the severity of disabilities. Overall, VARO staff did not accurately process 28 (28 percent) of the 100 disability claims we reviewed. We recommended VARO management provide additional training to improve the accuracy of evaluating residuals of traumatic brain injuries. Management also needs to strengthen controls over the processing of Notices of Disagreements and improve oversight of Systematic Analyses of Operations. Moreover, management needs to amend the VARO workload management plan to ensure timely completion of competency determinations. The VARO Director concurred with our recommendations.