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Compensation and Pension Examination Worksheets (Opens in a new window)- These Disability Examination Worksheets are in use both by the doctors of VHA (Veterans Health Administration) who do the disability examinations and by the rating specialists, hearing officers, and Decision Review Officers of VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration) who do the disability evaluations. Benefits Deadlines (PDF opens in new window) HISA Handbook - This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Handbook establishes uniform and consistent system-wide procedures governing the Home Improvement and Structural Alterations (HISA) program for veteran beneficiaries. NOTE: The procedures presented in this Handbook serve as guidelines only. Each individual case must be reviewed and evaluated based on the specific needs of the veteran involved. This is especially true where the patient presents multiple disabilities. FAQ Besides health care, what other benefits do combat veterans receive?
The newest generation of combat veterans receives the same benefits traditionally associated with military service. That includes disability compensation for those with service-connected health problems, VA pensions for veterans with limited incomes...
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| Home >> VA Benefits >> Definitions |
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New and Material Evidences
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| a. A claimant must submit "new and material" evidence to reopen a previously disallowed claim.
(1) To qualify as "new" evidence under 38 CFR 3.156, evidence, whether documentary, testimonial or in some other form, must be submitted to VA for the first time. For example, a veteran injured while on duty may not have realized immediately that the condition required medical attention and may have sought treatment later that evening from a private physician. A compensation claim might later be denied if the service medical records contain no mention of treatment for the condition. Should the claimant subsequently submit proof of treatment by the civilian physician, that information would constitute new evidence on which the claim could be reopened.
(2) A photocopy or other duplication of information already contained in a VA claims folder does not constitute new evidence since it was previously considered; neither does information confirming a point already established, such as a statement from a physician verifying the existence of a condition which has already been diagnosed and reported by another physician. Even though such a medical evaluation is from a different doctor, it offers no new basis on which the claim might be reopened unless it contains new information, such as evidence that the condition first manifested itself earlier than previously established.
b. In order to be considered "material" under 38 CFR 3.156, the additional information must bear directly and substantially on the specific matter under consideration.
(1) For example, if VA has previously determined that a back condition claimed by a World War II veteran is not service connected, evidence that the claimant received treatment shortly after release from active duty might be considered new and material if VA had previously been unaware of that treatment. However, information addressing only the current severity of the condition submitted now, over 40 years after service, may not have a bearing on the issue of whether the condition was incurred or aggravated during military service and does not warrant reopening the prior claim.
(2) Statements and affidavits attesting to the claimant's good character since his or her release from active duty are irrelevant if the issue is the character of the claimant's military service, but any new information offering mitigating circumstances for an action which resulted in an "other than honorable" discharge would address the specific issue under consideration and would warrant reopening the claim.
(3) A medical opinion is not material if it relies on historical facts which are wholly inaccurate.
c. A determination by VA that information constitutes "new and material evidence" means that the new information is sufficiently significant, either by itself or in connection with evidence already of record, that it must be considered in order to decide the merits of the claim fairly. It does not mean that the evidence warrants a revision of a prior determination.
d. A decision not to reopen a claim because the evidence submitted is not new and material is an appealable decision. The claimant must be furnished notice of procedural and appellate rights. |
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