	Introduction

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides an array of benefits to veterans and to certain members of their families. These benefits include disability compensation and pensions, education benefits, survivor benefits, medical treatment, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, and burial and memorial benefits. In order to apply for these benefits, in most circumstances, the claimant will send an application to his or her local VA Regional Office or apply online. The VA has a "duty to assist" the claimant throughout the claim process. Furthermore, the VA, when adjudicating any claim for benefits, is obligated to give the claimant the "benefit of the doubt" when there is "an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding" any claim, and must also consider legal theories that a claimant fails to raise if it would help substantiate a claim for benefits. This report will analyze the VA's duty to assist claimants and the pro-claimant standard of proof used during the adjudicatory process for veterans' benefits. The VA must provide those forms and instructions to such person free of charge. Duty to Assist During the Development of a Claim

		Duty to Inform Claimant of Evidence Necessary to Substantiate a Claim

After the VA receives a complete or a substantially complete application for benefits, the VA is required to assist in the development of the claim. Duty to Assist Claimants in Obtaining Records to Substantiate a Claim

The VA is required to "make reasonable efforts to assist a claimant in obtaining evidence necessary to substantiate the claimant's claim for a benefit under a law administered by the Secretary [of Veterans Affairs]." The claimant has an obligation to cooperate with the VA during the development of the claim. Thus, the VA can deny the claim only if the preponderance of the evidence is against the claimant.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides an array of benefits to veterans and to certain members of their families. These benefits include disability compensation and pensions, education benefits, survivor benefits, medical treatment, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, and burial and memorial benefits. In order to apply for these benefits, in most circumstances, the claimant will send an application to his or her local VA Regional Office or apply online. Once a veteran has filed an application for benefits with the VA, the agency has a unique obligation to the claimant when adjudicating the claim—the VA has a "duty to assist" the claimant throughout the claim process.
This duty to assist imposes numerous requirements on the VA during the claim process. The VA must assist claimants in obtaining the forms and information necessary to apply for a benefit; inform claimants of any information missing from an application; explain what evidence must be obtained in order to substantiate a claim for benefits; assist the claimant in obtaining records and evidence from both private and federal entities; and provide certain claimants with a medical examination or opinion when certain conditions are met.
In addition to assistance the VA must provide during the development of a claim, the VA also is required to implement other pro-claimant standards when adjudicating a claim. For example, the VA must consider legal theories that a claimant may not have argued in his application for benefits and must grant those benefits if they are supported by law. Furthermore, the VA must adjudicate a claim for benefits under a pro-claimant standard of proof—the VA may deny a claim only if the preponderance of the evidence weighs against the claimant.
This report analyzes court decisions that have examined the VA's obligation to assist veterans during the claims process.