Dep't of Veterans Affairs' Refusal to Give Medical Exam In Disability Case Upheld

Waters v. Shinseki, No. 09-7071, involved a challenge to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Affairs' dismissal of petitioner's action challenging the Department of Veterans Affairs refusal to give him a medical examination to aid it in determining whether his medical disability during military service had a causal relationship to the different medical disabilities he suffered after his service.

In addressing the petitioner's assertions to support his claim of a nexus between his military illness and his present medical problems, the court rejected petitioner's interpretation of the Veterans Court's ruling as holding that establishing such a nexus necessarilly requires medical evidence.  Thus, the court affirmed the dismissal of petitioner's claim and rejected his argument that medical examinations are to be automatically provided to all veterans in disability cases involving nexus issues.

Related Resource:

• Full text of Waters v. Shinseki