Private

“[P]rivate medical evidence since the initial exam that indicates the veteran’s medical history [] include[s] cold injury residuals [is] based upon his verbal history—not the evidence of record.” R. at 3583. There is no doubt that the RO’s distinction between the “evidence of record” and the veteran’s own statements was completely misleading at best. See 38 U.S.C.§ 5107(b) (requiring the Secretary to “consider all information and lay and medical evidence of record in a case”); Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (noting that VA is required to give due consideration to all pertinent medical and lay evidence in evaluating a claim to disability or death benefits); Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331, 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (explaining that””lay evidence is one type of evidence that must be considered, if submitted, when a veteran’s claim seeks disability benefits” and holding that, in certain situations, “competent lay evidence can be sufficient in and of itself” to establish entitlement to such benefits). The language used in the request indicates that the veteran’s own statements are not “evidence of record” and would require at least corroboration in service medical records to be credible and probative. That is contrary to Buchanan, 451 F.3d at 1335 (finding improper the Board’s determination that ‘lay statements lacked credibility merely because they were not corroborated by contemporaneous [SMRs]”).; » HadIt.com For Veterans Who’ve Had It With The VA

[ad_1] Single Judge Application; Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009); The RO’s request distinguished between…

3 years ago

How ‘Saving Private Ryan’ changed the way we look at WWII

[ad_1] Welcome to That One Scene, a semi-regular series in which Task & Purpose writers wax nostalgic about that one…

3 years ago

Public Bath Houses and Private Massage

[ad_1] After a day of blogging, surfing and trawling the web, I find myself at Xiawu fandian (restaurant), the small…

3 years ago

Private Property, Public Benefit

[ad_1] New York's rent regulations have produced all sorts of strange ways to think about real estate. So while a…

3 years ago

The Four Horsemen of the Private Equity Apocalypse

[ad_1] IntroductionOver 10 years, across 24 private equity sponsors, for 100 portfolio companies, and past 300 deliverables, certain patterns emerge.…

3 years ago

Teleseminar Marketing Funnel Number 2: Free Telesummit to Paid Class, Upsell to Private Coaching

[ad_1] If you have a keen following for your blog, newsletter, tweets or forum posts, here's a way to channel…

3 years ago