VA’s Disability Claims Backlog Tops 900,000

The Veterans Affairs Department’s disability claims backlog edged above the 900,000 mark this week, with 608,365 -- 67.6 percent -- stuck in the system more than 125 days. VA reported Thursday that total disability claims hit 900,121 as of Dec. 24, up 24,725 -- 2.7 percent -- from the backlog that existed at the start of the calendar year on Jan. 3, 2012.

Claims backlogged more than 125 days increased 7.5 percent or 45,245 since January. In April, representatives of veterans services organizations described the backlog of 897,566 disability claims, with more than 65 percent pending for more than 125 days, as a “staggering” figure that denies veterans quick payment of benefits...