Hall v. Shinseki

Hall v. Shinseki, docket no. 2012-7115 (Fed. Cir. June 7, 2013)
A veteran alleging PTSD due to an in-service sexual assault cannot rely on the relaxed evidentiary standards of 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(3) to require VA to accept his statements alone to prove that his in-service stressor occurred. This regulation only applies to a veteran whose in-service stressor “relates to an event or circumstance that a veteran experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with and that was perpetrated by a member of an enemy military or by a terrorist.” The Federal Circuit noted, but did not address, the veteran’s argument that the existence of § 3.304(f)(5) (regarding in-service personal assault) does not prevent the application of
§ 3.304(f)(3).