Statements Made By Veteran

[free_spirit_etc]

I remember reading once where if a veteran made a statement that was detrimental to the claim - that such a statement could not be used in adjudicating the claim - that the claim had to be adjudicated as if the veteran had not made the statement.

In essence, that would mean that a veteran could not "testify" against themselves.

It should also mean the RO / BVA can't use any of the veteran's statements "against" them in denying a claim.

I would also think this would apply to contradictory statements - that they couldn't use the rationale I have seen them use where they say the vet reported one thing at one time, and then stated something that contradicts that. If the contradictory statement is a detriment to the the vets claim - the claim should be adjudicated AS IF that statement had NOT been made.

Does anyone know the law or policy I am referring to?

I know I read it somewhere - quite a while back - and thought it was an interesting concept - and should be kept as a resource for those times the VA uses the old "You said blah blah blah.." to deny a claim.

Free

[SLEDGE]

They have used several 'alleged' statements made by me, and reported by a VA doctor, to deny and/or delay my claim.

He made up some BS that made it look like I was a water skiing fanatic until I decided to file a claim on my back injury.

We had been discussing reasons 'why' I fall down all of the time.

He also gave me the diagnosis of personality disorder 'because of' the fibromyalgia symptoms and sleep apnea, combined with rampaging PTSD.

He claimed that I had all of the aforementioned symptoms since the age of 14.

Where do they get these psycho doctors?

Then the RO ignored the presumption of soundness.

Since absolutely no records exist anywhere to back up the VA idiots, my lawyer beat them in court without any trouble.

But, it took some time.

Basically, we are not to be confused with or accused of being doctors by the VA.

Therefore, we can't make a diagnosis and the medical records have to back up our assertions.

They will combine your medical records with somebody else's in order to make up a reason to deny.

The VA is great when it comes to losing records and forgetting their own rules.

They will lie if it's required to deny, they do it all of the time.

sledge

[john999]

Anything you say at the VA can be used against you. If, for instance, you say you are feeling better that will be used by the VA to show you are getting better. What you say to your doctor or their doctor goes in the record and can be used for or against you. If you are getting IU and you tell them you are working watch out, buddy.

[Berta]

One thing I have noticed in many many years of reading SOCs and BVA decisions is that the VA looks for consistency in veteran's statements.

If they tell a VA doctor that their buddy's head blew off in front of them and then they state in their claim that a buddy got shot during the manuever but they could not remember his name-the VA will wonder why a vet cannot remember the name of a true 'buddy'.

Also in a case I worked on recently- a "widow" claiming benefits was denied because the veteran himself had told VA he had no wife, no common law wife and no dependents whatsoever.

A local vet wrote to President Clinton of an extraordinary inservice event in attempt to get PTSD comp many years ago.

The veteran changed the circumstances of the event during the PTSD C & P.

He could provide no proof at all of what he wrote to the Pres about.

He also told me three or four versions of this event fogetting what he had said each time.

It did not jive at all with what his unit did at the time in Vietnam.I checked.

He fully believed that since VA had diagnosed him with PTSD he did not have to prove his stressor.His claim was denied.

The VA is very good about noting a lack of consistency in reporting stressors.

You all know I worked with combat vets at a vet center.

If they relayed their stressors they used very few words to describe them and the description never ever changed.

True stressors become an imprint on the brain and this is why many vets have flashbacks-the event is repeated over and over again and they cannot control it and it never changes.

If I notice a vet starts to add to or embellish a 'war story' a big red flag goes up for me-

I have seen contradictory statements made by veterans whose mental disorder certainly affected the way they described events-in that case their statements were not held against them-

also some vets simply forget important facts and I would think it is easy to get dates mixed up etc-

and it doesn't matter anyhow if their stressor could be proven.

I am not aware if there is any reg on this or not-

If a veteran has experienced anything in service that would cause anxiety,depression or PTSD they usually always give an accurate account and it does not change.

The biggest factor for any claim like this -depending on a stressor is bonafide proof of a stressor.

Wall tracings are a good example.

In order to find a buddy on the Wall the vet needs to know unit ,approximate date of death, and also the veteran's full name and their hometown helps too-

then with the Wall tracing or a print out from the Wall web site -they often have positive proof that this vet died in their unit at the same time they were on the same manuever.

Also combat-

death is a fact of life in a combat zone.

Thousands of veterans have seen deaths of other servicemen in combat zones.

and thousand of these veterans dont have PTSD.

The death of a buddy-however- is a situation that would lend to PTSD.Or the death of unit members that goes above and beyond the 'normal' consequences of combat.

Ironically many war stressors I have heard over the years in 100% PTSD combat vets were not from combat as they considered that to be their job-

they were from unusual results of combat or simply just horrible events-maybe involving deaths of friendlies or terrible recovery operations.

Edited August 20, 2007 by Berta

[Pete53]

Actually I can't remember the names of lots of buddies but their faces I do.