Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This section requires expeditious Board treatment of claims remanded by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. It also requires the Board to promptly determine whether a hearing-request case involving a compensation claim based on military sexual trauma is a covered case.
Subsection (a) applies when the Court remands a claim to the Secretary and directs expeditious treatment by the Board. For subsection (b), a covered case must concern compensation based on military sexual trauma and include a Board hearing request in the notice of disagreement. The term military sexual trauma takes its meaning from section 1166.
How this helps your claim
The statute addresses handling priority. It does not promise a completion date or a favorable outcome, and its military-sexual-trauma provision uses the specific covered-case definition in subsection (c).
What to check in your records
Confirm the remand source or covered-case elements and preserve the procedural history showing priority status.
- Keep the Court remand order and subsequent Board or VA correspondence.
- For an MST case, preserve the Board notice of disagreement and hearing request.
- Track status inquiries, scheduled actions, and evidence submitted after remand.
Keep the priority-triggering document visible
Place the Court remand order or the qualifying Board hearing request at the front of the procedural file. When checking status, identify the statutory basis for expedited handling and the action still pending.
Continue responding to evidence requests and scheduled hearings. Expedited treatment changes priority, not the need to complete required development. If delay becomes a legal issue, the facts and available remedy require a separate current review.
Does expeditious treatment guarantee a decision within a set number of days?
No. Section 7112 requires expeditious or prompt handling in the situations it identifies, but it does not state a fixed completion deadline or guarantee the result.
Official statutory text
38 USC § 7112
OLRC release: pl-119-108. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The statutory text is shown here; publisher source credits and editorial notes remain in the linked official release.
§ 7112. Expedited treatment of certain claims
(a) Remanded Claims.—The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to provide for the expeditious treatment by the Board of any claim that is remanded to the Secretary by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
(b) Claims Involving Military Sexual Trauma.—The Board shall promptly determine whether a notice of disagreement filed with the Board is a covered case.
(c) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) The term “covered case” means a case—
(A) that concerns a claim for compensation based on military sexual trauma; and
(B) for which the appellant has requested a hearing in the notice of disagreement filed with the Board pursuant to section 7105 of this title.
(2) The term “military sexual trauma” has the meaning given that term in section 1166 of this title.
Related references
- 38 USC § 1166: Specialized Processing for Military Sexual Trauma Claims
- 38 USC § 7107: Board Appeal Dockets and Hearings
- 38 USC § 7252: What the Veterans Court may review
Ready to review your own document? Start your free claim review.