Dickens v. McDonald
2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 3726
| Fed. Cir. | 2016Background
- Dickens filed a 1998 PTSD claim with in-service events and alleged Purple Heart/Bronze Star; DD-214 evidence is missing and uncorroborated today.
- Dickens died in April 2006 while the claim was pending; Ida Dickens filed a claim for accrued benefits.
- Board denied accrued benefits in March 2012 for lack of combat evidence.
- Joint remand in September 2012 directed more discussion on combat status; on remand, the Board again denied in March 2013.
- Dickens argued the VA violated its duty to assist by not prompting her to obtain Mr. Dickens’s service records; the Veterans Court declined to consider this argument for failure to raise it before the Board.
- Dickens appealed to this court; the court affirmed the Veterans Court’s decision based on issue exhaustion.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether issue exhaustion barred the duty-to-assist argument | Dickens argued the VA violated its duty to assist | VA contends exhaustion applies; argument not raised to the Board | Affirmed the Veterans Court; issue exhaustion barred the argument |
Key Cases Cited
- Maggitt v. West, 202 F.3d 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (discretionary application of issue exhaustion; not required in all cases)
- Cook v. Principi, 353 F.3d 937 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (limits jurisdiction to review factual determinations; applies to exhaustion inquiries)
- Scott v. McDonald, 789 F.3d 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (outlines scenarios for invoking issue exhaustion)