Fleshman v. West

Richard Fleshman (plaintiff) was injured during active duty with the United States Army when he fell from a rappelling tower. Upon his discharge in 1987, Fleshman sought disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) (defendant), but he failed to complete the second page of the application form, which included critical elements of the application, such as the signature and consent to release medical information to the VA. The VA notified Fleshman of these errors, requested that he return the corrected form as soon as possible, and informed him that if he failed to do so within one year any benefits might not be effective until the correct form was received. Fleshman never returned the form. In 1992, Fleshman filed a new, complete application, and the VA granted him benefits effective from 1992. Fleshman appealed the effective date, alleging that benefits should date back to 1987. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board) denied Fleshman’s claim for an earlier effective date, holding that he had abandoned his initial, incomplete claim. Fleshman appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (the veterans court), which upheld the board’s ruling, on the grounds that the initial claim was a failed informal claim because it did not comply with VA requirements and had not been timely cured to a valid claim. Fleshman appealed.