Doctor wrote false statement

[ogj23]

Indiana.
VA examiner wrote false statement. Exam was recorded by me my va lawyer transcribed it for me. The examiner wrote statements that he said I said and it's not true. This could have possibly caused me to be denied some va benefits. Any ideas on what I can do. Thanks

 

[quincy]

Indiana.
VA examiner wrote false statement. Exam was recorded by me my va lawyer transcribed it for me. The examiner wrote statements that he said I said and it's not true. This could have possibly caused me to be denied some va benefits. Any ideas on what I can do. Thanks

Generally what is written would be covered by a qualified privilege and not subject to a civil action, unless what was written was written with actual malice - knowledge that it was false and communicated with an intent to cause harm. Substantially true statements or false statements that do not affect the gist of what was said (that do not change the overall meaning) are generally also safe from a civil action.

Exactly what false statements were written that you believe might have lead to a VA benefit denial? How were your statements changed?

You can have another lawyer in your area review the false statements. The attorney you see can listen to your recording and compare it to the transcription and the VA examiner's report to see if there is any legal action to consider.

Good luck.

 

[ogj23]

Reply

He wrote down that I said I had a excessive drinking problem didn't say anything like that. He said I retired from my job and my opening statement about my problems were changed to say what he wanted it to say. Thanks

 

[quincy]

He wrote down that I said I had a excessive drinking problem didn't say anything like that. He said I retired from my job and my opening statement about my problems were changed to say what he wanted it to say. Thanks

Do you have an excessive drinking problem that can be evidenced by anything other than your words?

Paraphrasing what someone says can be okay if the gist remains the same but creating false facts is not okay.

You will probably want the personal review I suggested earlier.

Good luck.

 

[justalayman]

If he wrote a verbatim quote of your statement and it contrasts with what was actually said, it needs to be corrected

The problem is what is written is not likely to be a verbatim quote but the examiners interpretation of your statement. While their interpretation or understanding of your statement may not reflect what you intended to say, unless they intentionally misreported your statements, you have no legal action available. You can address the misinterpretation with the examiner but in the end, if the examiner wrote their opinion of what you said or meant to say, there is no real action available to you.

 

[quincy]

If he wrote a verbatim quote of your statement and it contrasts with what was actually said, it needs to be corrected

The problem is what is written is not likely to be a verbatim quote but the examiners interpretation of your statement. While their interpretation or understanding of your statement may not reflect what you intended to say, unless they intentionally misreported your statements, you have no legal action available. You can address the misinterpretation with the examiner but in the end, if the examiner wrote their opinion of what you said or meant to say, there is no real action available to you.

If the examiner misreported the statements, intentionally or otherwise, there could be an action to consider.

What exactly was said by ogj23 and exactly how the examiner transcribed it would need to be reviewed.

For example, if ogj23 said he drank wine with dinner every night and the examiner wrote that ogj23 drank excessively, that could be an opinion based on the examiner's beliefs about alcohol drinking and what is excessive - but that would be an inaccurate interpretation of what was said, to the point of defamation or possible defamation.

Opinions have to be expressed very carefully so that false and potentially defamatory facts are not communicated along with the opinion.

Again, a review by an independent lawyer is probably a good course of action for ogj23 to take if ogj23 believes he was denied valuable benefits as a result of the examiner's report.

 

[Ohiogal]

And none of this has anything to do with lawyer malpractice.

 

[quincy]

And none of this has anything to do with lawyer malpractice.

Well, that is a bit unclear.

Ogj23 mentioned in his title that a "doctor" wrote a false statement, and in his post ogj23 wrote that a VA examiner wrote a false statement ... but he also wrote that it was a VA lawyer who transcribed what ogj23 recorded.

So there could have been an error in transcription by the lawyer, or the error could have come from the examiner who added or changed what was transcribed ...

... or, I suppose, ogj23 could have been drinking excessively at the time of the recording and does not remember what he said or didn't say.