Vietnam War Veteran Prevails

August 20, 2018, Washington, DC ~ Bergmann & Moore attorneys worked closely with a Vietnam War Veteran and prevailed in his disability claim appeal for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

In 1991, the Veteran from Tennessee filed a disability compensation claim for PTSD against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  However, the local VA Regional Office denied the Veteran’s PTSD claim because VA did not believe the Veteran had PTSD or any other mental health condition in service.

The Air Force Veteran, who served from 1966 to 1970, reopened his VA claim for PTSD several times, most recently in 2009.  Yet VA continued to deny his claim.  In 2015, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) reopened his claim, finding new and material evidence had been submitted. However, the Board denied the Veteran’s claim in October 2017. 

In February 2018, the Veteran contacted B&M and appealed the Board decision to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  B&M and the Vietnam War Veteran prevailed when VA agreed to a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) which the Court approved in July 2018.  In the JMR, VA admitted that VA made several mistakes, including these four:

  ~ VA admitted to the Court that the Board and Regional Office failed to request military pay records that would contain evidence of the Veteran’s deployment to the Vietnam War, such as hazardous duty or hostile fire pay.  VA had requested records from the wrong unit.

  ~ VA admitted to the Court that the Board overlooked a military medical record indicating the Veteran may have been in Vietnam.

  ~ VA admitted to the Court that the Board ignored another military medical record showing the Veteran received mental health treatment while in service.

  ~ VA admitted to the Court that the Board failed to add the Veteran’s private medical records to his VA disability claim file, even though VA had possession of his records.

As result of the JMR, the Veteran’s appeal for service connection was returned to the Board in order to correct VA’s errors and decide the claim again.

B&M is honored to assist Veterans with their VA disability compensation appeals against VA.  For a free consultation, please call 877-838-2889, or contact us at info@VetLawyers.com.