Gobber v. Derwinski

Lambert Gobber (plaintiff) served in the United States Navy from 1954 to 1977, typically working near jet airplanes. After his discharge, Gobber filed a claim with the Veterans’ Administration, later named the Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) (defendant) for a service-connected disability for hearing loss. His initial claim was denied by the VA because an examination failed to show any current hearing loss. When Gobber sought to have his claim reopened in 1983, additional testing did show hearing loss, but the VA again denied his claim, holding that there was no evidence of a service connection for his current hearing disorder. In 1989, Gobber again sought to have his claim reopened and submitted as new evidence a copy of a hearing test that allegedly showed hearing loss during his service. Gobber asserted that that he had copied the document from his service records when he was discharged. The document was not dated, however, and did not indicate the name of the person being tested. The VA refused to reopen the claim, holding that the copy of the test was not material without a date or a name of the subject. Gobber appealed to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board). The board affirmed the VA’s decision, holding that the copied test was not determinative of the issue in the case. Gobber appealed, and the VA moved for summary affirmance.