Have you run into a brick wall with the VA over a disability claim that seems impossible to prove? While no VA claim is essentially “unprovable” there are many VA disability claims that are tough to prove.
There are two major reasons that can make proving your case difficult: missing medical records and unclear service connection. Fully documenting both of these areas is essential to being awarded the benefits you have rightfully earned.
Medical records serve as the very foundation for building your claim. Records of medical exams, hospital stays, your doctors’ notes and medical test results, all of these provide material evidence of your disabling injury or illness.
Tracking Down Missing Medical Records
But what if you have been told that your records cannot be found? If someone has told you that your files cannot be located, you should not simply give up on your attempts to find them. There are many instances where Veterans have pursued their records requests diligently, and the records were eventually discovered. Here are a few additional things you can do to help find your missing records:
- Be Persistent. Many Veterans have received letters from the VA stating that their medical records cannot be found. However, the VA has a duty to continue to request medical documents needed for claims every two months, so don’t give up hope if the missing records aren’t found on the first attempt.
- Provide Details. If you are trying to locate information in a service medical record, you should provide as many details as possible to help the VA in its search. Dates, locations, the name of your commanding officer, which unit you served in, as well as the names of people you served with can all be invaluable when tracking down lost records.
- Don’t Rule Out Legal Action. A VA disability attorney may be more successful when it comes to getting organizations to track records down. An attorney can take action against an institution that is stalling or hiding information, but they can also tell you if the VA is not being faithful in its duty to assist you in finding your records.
Another possible course of action is to file a Freedom of Information Act request for the records. There are no special forms required to submit a request. However, the VA requires that your Freedom of Information request be submitted in writing. Your attorney can offer advice as to whether this is sensible strategy.
You also may be able to bridge the gap of missing records and strengthen your case with other documents like these:
- A buddy letter — also known by the VA as a “Statement in Support of Claim” — can help support your VA disability claim by providing an eyewitness report that substantiates your disability and when it happened.
- Medical studies and reports related to your condition may help back up your claim.
- A fresh medical opinion from a different healthcare provider can sometimes give your claim the boost it needs.
Proving a Connection Between Your Military Service and Your Disabling Condition
One of the biggest challenges when applying for VA benefits is establishing a firm link between your disabling condition and your military service. You must show that an in-service incident or event directly caused or made worse the medical condition you’re currently suffering from. There are many different ways to establish this connection, each of which has its own methods of proof, including:
- Direct Service Connection. Veterans have a direct service connection if their injury occurred while they were performing active military duties. A direct service connection usually relies on proof established in the Veteran’s service medical records. If there is medical evidence that an accident occurred, a medical condition was diagnosed, and a doctor agrees that your current condition is related to the incident, you have a good chance of approval under a direct connection.
- Aggravated Service Connection. This connection applies to Veterans who suffered from a health problem before they began military service, but their duties in service aggravated the condition and led to an eventual debilitating injury. Proof can be established using the Veteran’s entrance medical exam records, or another medical diagnosis of your condition prior to your entering service. It is important to note that Veterans will also need to establish a specific event during service that led to a worsening of the condition, since many pre-existing conditions will worsen over time.
- Presumptive Service Connection. Some medical conditions are automatically accepted as service-connected by the VA as long as they have arisen within a certain amount of time after service has ended. Brain injuries, cancers, infectious diseases, conditions caused by chemical exposure and injuries suffered by prisoners of war may be established under presumptive service connection. Proof for a presumptive condition includes a positive diagnosis and medical evidence that symptoms appeared before the maximum time period has expired (the limit in most cases is 90 days).
- Secondary Service Connection. In some cases, a service-connected disability will lead to a secondary medical condition, such as when a head injury causes depression. If the first injury has been established through a direct service connection, you will need to provide a medical diagnosis of the secondary condition, as well as a doctor’s opinion linking the secondary condition with your service-connected disability.
To support your case for service connection, a Nexus letter from a medical professional can be persuasive evidence. “Nexus” is defined as a tie, bond, link, or connection between two things. In this letter, a medical professional provides evidence that your disability is linked or connected to an event during your military service.
As we all know, the VA is large bureaucracy that can seem remote and uncaring, especially when you are faced with the difficulties of proving your case. But you don’t have to take on the VA alone. Consult with a VA-accredited attorney to talk about your options and get guidance in deciding what makes the most sense for your individual case. Contact us at Cuddigan Law for a free evaluation of your situation. And if you hire us, we only get paid when you win your case.
When you hire an experienced VA disability attorney you have a much greater chance of winning your claim than if you have no representation. The VA’s own statistics from the Board of VA Appeals show that in fiscal 2024 nearly 43% of appeals were approved with attorney representation, compared to less than 30% without representation.
Veterans represented by attorneys also experience a lower denial rate for their claims. The denial rate for Veterans with attorney representation before the BVA was less than 15% compared to more than 21% of claims were denied among those Veterans with no representative to fight for their rights. VA disability attorneys also had a higher success rate than any of the Veteran Service Organizations.
