Legal Question in Veterans Law in Louisiana

i filed a claim for a knee condition in 1968 and it was denied.i file a claim for billateral hearing loss in march of 2010 and it was granted because on my discharge examination in 1967 it stated that i had bilateral hearing loss. would this be a cue? from my understanding the va has a duty to consider all potential clams raise by the evidence. the evidence was in my folder for the hearing loss when i filed for the knee condition.


Asked on 7/24/10, 12:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jill Mitchell-Thein Heard & Smith, LLP

The VA is not obligated to review every file for every possible claim when you file for one thing or another. Back then you filed for a knee condition. Had the evidence about your knee revealed, for example, an ankle injury that occurred at the same time, or a scar on the knee, then they were probably obligated to consider the related issues. But when someone files a knee claim, the VA has no duty to review the file for anything else and ask you if you are still having a problem with it. They will very rarely give you something you don't ask for. A veteran can have a file full of all kinds of medical problems, but the VA will only grant service connection if the vet files a claim for it and produces proof that the problem is current.

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Answered on 7/25/10, 2:05 pm


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