By THOM STODDERT
Veterans Voice

The Veterans Administration, as everyone knows, is a large bureaucracy and as such works on paperwork. Lots of paperwork.

The most important paperwork is the evidence given in support of a claim for benefits. It can come from almost anywhere, but the evidence must be factual and compelling to result in a favorable decision. A claim is never cookie cut and molded, thus evidence is focused on the needs of each veteran.

So what evidence does the VA require?

The basic prerequisite for evidence that the Veterans Benefits Administration requires is fairly simple. Something must have happened on active duty and it is linked to a present matter. In other words, what happened during active military service has a relationship to an issue now. Evidence links both the present and the past.

A simple example usually follows like this. You were injured in service and now there is a medical diagnosis of traumatic arthritis. You have identified to the VA that you were treated for a knee problem while on active duty. The VA then obtains your service medical records and finds that you were hurt playing sports and were treated. Your present doctor (military, VA, or civilian) documents a history of complaints and with a diagnosis of traumatic arthritis of the knee. A VA medical exam is scheduled to provide evidence of how much this injury now impairs your productivity on your job and/or social life.

Once all the information is gathered, a decision whether to grant the legal status of “service connection” is made and how much benefits are given out. Unfortunately, we all know this can take a long time. However the VA has instituted a program call the Fully Developed Claim process, in which the claimant essentially provides all the needed information to the VA up front and the evidence/decision process is much shortened.

Where does the evidence come from to support a claim — it can come from anywhere, but the starting point is most often is your military records, especially the medical documents. But what about when there are no evidence to support your claim  in your military records? Many vets can get favorable decisions when they submitted compelling lay statements from people who witnessed the event, or treated the injury. Former commanders, NCOs, medics, and/or several folks who witnessed the same event are excellent sources of evidence. Statements from people who stand to benefit financially from any favorable decision are not usually considered to be strong supporting evidence.

Locating former members of your unit is easy and even fun. Military.com is an excellent source. Just about every boat the U.S. Navy ever floated has a very good web page. Go to your old unit and see if there is any one you remember and who remembers you. Establish contact and see if that person remembers the incident and will write a statement to support your claim.

Most units do have some sort of reunion functions. “Old” letters to friends and family carry very valuable credible evidence. I have seen old newspaper articles do the trick for a deserving vet. Sources of claim supporting evidence are unlimited. However, it always must be compelling to the reasonable person reading it.

Sometimes there is no clear linkage between what you have and what happened in the service. This is when a written opinion of an expert who explains why your medical issue is linked to your military service. For example, a vet is diagnosed with a disease that has not been presumptively associated to exposure of the herbicide Agent Orange by the VA. However, the expert (such as an oncologist) in a written letter explains why the cancer is believed to be associated to herbicide exposure and not other carcinogens.

Frequently, the VA denies claims for PTSD for lack of evidence of a credible stressor event. This is when a lay statement from a former buddy comes in. For example, a vet was in the artillery and as such would not receive a Combat Infantry Badge. Yet he was in frequent fire fights protecting his firebase. The VA denies his claim for lack of proof of a verifiable stressor such as a combat award. But the vet provided details as to the time he was in the unit that was attacked. He provided places, details and statements from those he served with. All of his information was verified through the various third-party resources that VA has and they were able to grant him a favorable decision.

When a claim is denied by the VA they will provide in their letter an explanation why the claim was denied and, more importantly, it should describe the needed evidence to get a positive decision. The VA and its Rating Board are legal entities and as such must have solid, compelling, and reasonable evidence to allow them to grant benefits. In almost all cases when a claim has been denied, it usually is because of the lack of good, strong, credible evidence. So that is where you start. Plan your evidence carefully.

— Thom Stoddert is an Army combat veteran (Vietnam and Desert Storm) and former VA rating specialist.Contact him at DeltaTrooper@outlook.com.