Is the VA on Your Side? (Is the VA non-adversarial?)

0:00 Introduction
0:41 What does adversarial mean in the traditional legal context?
1:17 What does non-adversarial and pro-claimant mean? Why does VA take this approach?
2:07 Does the VA claims process become adversarial at any point?
3:38 What is a statute of limitations and does VA have one?
4:18 At the VA, when does a decision become final? What is “new and material” evidence?
6:53 What is the VA’s duty to assist?
8:17 What do “reasonable efforts” to gather evidence look like for VA?
8:58 VA Medical Exams and The Veterans Claims and Assistance Act (VCAA) of 2000
10:57 At the agency level, how can you show a medical nexus without a C&P exam?
12:02 Can veterans obtain their own records?
12:58 Hearings at the Regional Office (with a Decision Review Officer or DRO) or at the Board (with a Veterans Law Judge)
14:14 What happens if VA does not fulfill its duty to assist?
15:52 Duty to Assist under VA Appeals Reform (including RAMP)
16:38 Do other government agencies have similar non-adversarial systems?
17:23 VA’s Benefit of the Doubt Doctrine – What is it and what is “equipoise”?
19:01 How is this standard of proof different than other legal systems?
19:44 What are the limits of this benefit of the doubt rule?
21:33 How does benefit of the doubt apply to VA ratings?
22:17 What are VA’s rules on “favorable findings”?
24:40 VA’s rule on the attitude of rating officers
25:55 Does VA do a good job of providing a non-adversarial system where veterans get the benefit of the doubt?
28:06 What are the stated and unstated goals of VA in the benefits process?
30:12 How has the introduction of attorneys into the VA appeals process changed the (non-)adversarial nature of the VA?
32:35 The VA’s “Duty to Sabotage” – What is development to deny?
36:25 What can veterans do to help their claim if they get a bad C&P examination?

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