Is it normal for va to add other conditions to my claim

[Mtippie]

Is it normal for VA to add additional conditions that I have to my claim.  I applied for Anxiety and Depression.  They added PTSD and Sleep Apnea.  I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea by privates and it is listed in my VA medical records.  I have screened positive for PTSD at VA but did not file a compensation claim for PTSD.

[Rattler]

The short answer is yes if the VA a knows about a SC issue they are required to explore that issue. You can tell them that you are not interested in SC foe am issue. The only way you would want to do that is if you could not prove it and need more medical records.

[broncovet]

VA has a duty to "maximize Vets benefits".  Source:  Try reading some cavc cases.  

One good example:

   If the Veteran has applied for benefits, and tells VA "Im homeless and out of work, cant find a job", and this Veterans statement IS recorded, this can be an informal claim for increase (tdiu)   

   Source:  I did exactly that.  I wrote an email, to my VSO, in 2002, after applying.  He printed my email, sent it to VA.  

Somewhere down the line, that letter got shredded.  (it was evidence that I was seeking tdiu in 2002. ).  So, when I got a copy of my cfile, and noticed the letter missing (after my VSO said he sent it), I resubmitted this evidence, and My VSO confirmed he sent this to VA along with my original application.  

   After a long ardous fight, VA in 2020 finally consented that my letter was a "reasonably raised claim" for TDIU.  

Veterans dont have to use VA lingo "I want to apply for total disability due to individual unemployability" (TDIU).   

Case law suggests in Roberson, and Ab vs Brown, that VA has a duty to maximize benefits, and that the VA is to give a "liberal (and favorable) interpretation" of the Veterans filings. 

Source CAVC and BVA case law, feel free to do your own search.  

[brokensoldier244th]

Yup- if its an issue that is intertwined with the claimed contention, or, say, a TBI that we find evidence of, we can add stuff like that, usually at the RVSR level- I can't unless I ask someone higher up about it. Sometimes, though, the wording on the claim 526 itself is loose enough that I can infer or at least be on the lookout for other related contentions and if nothing else add the symptoms and whatnot to my notes before I request the exam. 

You can always tell us not to pursue an issue via phone or 21-4138, or even a letter- there is no prescribed form for that. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by brokensoldier244th