#Bva decisions on ptsd how to

What saved this Veteran was 2 things: first, he had a LOT of COMPETENT medical and lay evidence from a lot of sources that recorded their first-hand observations – not just echoing what the Veteran said.īecause that evidence was in the file, the BVA’s error started when it gave less weight to competent evidence that it thought lacked credibility, without explanation. In this case, the BVA appears to have – without explanation – decided that any evidence (except the VA Medical evidence) that relied on the Veteran’s statements lacked CREDIBILITY. Credibility is about the WEIGHT that the BVA should assign to individual “pieces” of evidence. Competence is largely about WHO can offer certain evidence. Lesson 2: You must use “5 Star Evidence”.

#Bva decisions on ptsd how to

This eBook has instructions how to get not only your C-File, but also all 3 documents that comprise the VA C&P Exams in a way that the VA MUST comply with: If you already have your C-File, then request the 3 documents that comprise the C&P Exam: the VBA Request for an exam (formerly, the VA Form 2507), the Examiner’s notes, and the Opinion itself. I recommend that Veterans request their C-File from the VA shortly after the VA C&P Exam. If you wait to see your C-File until you are at the BVA – or worse, before the Veterans Court – you will have very little time to get evidence in the record to counter very negative evidence like a diagnosis of malingering. Lesson 1: Get your C&P Exam Results IMMEDIATELY after the exam (Step 2: Get your Claims File NOW!) 4 Ways the Thomas Case – and all Veterans Court Decisions – Teach us to Improve our VA Claims: Instead, the Court thought that the BVA did not properly assess legal issues related to the evidence – something that is wholly within the bailiwick of the Veteran’s Court.Īnd that is where the Court’s lesson begins. The Veterans’ Court was concerned with the BVA decision: a common theme running through the decision is how the BVA assessed the evidence – not the weighing of it (the Veteran’s Court cannot weigh evidence). In 2014, the Veterans’ Court vacated and remanded the BVA Decision. The BVA, in 2012 ( 3 years after the most recent denial of the claim in 2009), concluded that the Veteran was not credible, and (this point may be arguable) that anybody who relied on the Veteran was not credible, and gave a “thumbs-up” to the VA on its denial of the increased impairment rating for Post Traumatic Stress (PTS, or PTSD). The Veteran for example, did not know the 1st US President, concluded that 5+4 equalled 20, and thought the colors of the US flag were red and white.ħ) A private medical exam with a GAF Score of 49, and a statement that the Veteran was “adequately reliable” in the information he provided, given his level of functioning due ot the mental health condition.Ĩ) A VA exam which “un-diagnosed” malingering.ĩ) A lot more favorable – and unfavorable – medical evidence, from private and VA practitioners. The Veteran included – among other things – the following evidence in his claim:ġ) A statement from his wife that he “sat up all night waiting on the enemy”.Ģ) VA Medical exam documenting suicidal and homicidal thoughts, hearing noises that sounded like boomsģ) A VA Medical exam that diagnosed the Veteran as “malingering”Ĥ) A private medical opinion that diagnosed PTSD, and documented poor short-term memory, poor coping skills, and an inability to handle changes in stressful situationsĥ) A VA Medical Exam that documented intrusive daily thoughts of Vietnam, twice weekly nightmares, difficulty sleeping, problems concentrating, and detachment from others.Ħ) VA Exams that documented hearing non-existent gunfire, isolation, jailtime for fighting with his wife, and more. The Veteran thought he was entitled to a higher rating, above 50%. The Veteran – who served in Vietnam from April 1969 – November 1970 – challenged the VA’s decision to grant an Impairment Rating of 10% for his PTSD. Here’s a link to the decision, if you want to read it for yourself. I’m going to teach you how the Veterans Court taught us the value of 4 of those Steps in a Vietnam Veteran’s PTSD increase claim:

With 10 years of representing Veterans before VA Regional Offices all around the country and the BVA, I have a firm belief that Veterans can improve their VA Claims by following 8 Steps to Improve their VA Claim.Ī recent non-precedential opinion of the Veterans Court seemed to follow those Steps in pointing out the flaws in a BVA decision.