Evening star., 1932-05-15
HUGE WAR CLAIMS
LAID TO DOCTORS
West Virginia Legislator
Holds Only II Per Cent
Are Legitimate.

trust placed IN them by the veterans
Administration frequently have been
responsible for bogus claims upon
which disability allowances are being
paid, according to Representative Bow
man of West Virginia.
Nearly s78,0oo,ooo is being paid an
nually in disability allowances to vet
erans whose disabilities were acquired
either before or after their war service,
Bowman says.
There are approximately 100000
awards of disability, and the director
of Veterans Administration says they
will average $l8 month. Only about
IL per cent are cases in which dis
ability could be shown to be service
connected. The remaining cases are
either fraudulent, about 10 per cent or
those in which the injury or illness is
not fairly attributable to war service.
Fraud Evidence Impossible.
'It is almost impossible to show
evidence of fraud in many cases of
disability allowance because disability
evidence" Representative Bowman ex-
planned. They are rated only on evi-
dence recorded by bureau medical
examiner.
Where the bureau or administration
has designated a medical examiner in
the field it frequently develops that the
doctors have padded their examiners
reports. The bureau is from time to
time finding these doctors, sometimes
when the case may warrant his being
hospitalized or studied in a diagnostic
center, where the examination shows
he did not have the disability the
doctors report stated.
ut IS hard to determine how many
such cases there are now. AS a rule,
when such a doctor comes under sus-
picion a review is made of all cases in
his territory. The Veterans Admins
tration now has SO or so doctors un-
der indictment. In New York there
have been three convictions and the
guilty persons sentenced to from three
to five years. In Pennsylvania there
have been two convictions. These were
designated medical examiners who for
money, according to testimony, padded
the medical examiners report, gener-
ally on a percentage basis of so or Is
per cent.
Many Prior Disabilities.
1HCIC IudIly CdSES W1lCIc d Ild4A
Is receiving disability allowances for
disabilities that existed before his serv-
ice. These number ABOUT 10 per cent of
the total of 100000. These are cases
careful examination would show are
not service connected The only rel-
able check is to trace the individual
case.
You will find men. with an eye out,
or with fingers missing, which were not
lost during service, but there is no rec
ord of such defects at the time they
entered the service. You will find hun
dreds of cases where the beneficiary Of
Government pension had pneumonia,
meningitis or some other diseases whose
after effects were not noted when he
entered the service and which did not
bother him while in service. But as
years go on and his constitution is
weakened, these disabilities are empha-
sized They are not service connected.
THE law is weak IN not saying that
the veteran must have suffered disabil
ity while in military service or after he
came out. The law states the only
qualifications o. man must have: that
he enlisted before November II, 1918,
served 80 days or more, and that his
service was terminated by honorable
discharge.
"If he has met these qualifications,
makes claim showing he filed no in
come tax report the year previous, and
can show he has Is per cent disability
or more, he Is entitled to a pension,
unless his disability is due to miscon-
duct
Much evidence in disability claims,
IN record form, was lost by the sinking
of ships or by fires in camps, such as
Camp Meade, Md; Fort Myer. Va, and
Camp Mcclellan, Admission, Ala, where
two-thirds Of the division records were
lost.
The records OF possibly per cent of
men in the service we're lost. Then,
too, men would frequently go to a dis
pensary for a few days for treatment
the medical officer did not think worthy
of record, and now the Government Is
paying the bills because there are no
records.
sac Monthly in Pension.
ANY man who came into the service
before November Ii, 1918, served 80
DAYS, and hasn't paid income tax the
year previous, can lose arms or legs in
an automobile accident and then draw
q pension through the Veterans Admin
istration, just as though he had lost his
limbs in war service. The only differ
ence in pay is that under the pension
he is paid on a basis of $40 a month
for total injury. and for service disabll-
ity it would be on basis OF Sl00
month for total injury.
I'm the New York convictions have
mentioned it was shown in one case
that the designated doctor examined
man and reported the applicant had
active pulminory tuberculosis. whereas
further examination by bureau hos
pital disclosed no evidence that this
man had ever had tuberculosis.
Among the frat dulent cases is a big
percentage of disability compensation
claims, rather than disability allow
ances. ~ allowance cases disabilities
do not have to be traceable to service
and are on S12, $18. $24 and $40 basis.
The disability compensation rate Of pay
for temporary condition is on basis
of $50 a month and for a permanent
condition 500 month.
Fraud In Larger Amounts.
Fraud is praGticed in the larger
amounts, which must be traced to war
service. Under the presumptive clause,
If the applicant can show he suffered
to the extent of 10 per cent disability
on or before January l, 1925, the law
presumes that the disability must be
accepted as due no military service. In
other words, il he was accepted for
military service, the presumption is that
he was physically o. K.
The classes Of presumptive cases are
ell nervous disorders, unless it can be
shown that thesef are of the misconduct
status and tubercular conditions.
sOf BIS, 900 awards of disability COM
pehsation, at least so per cent are pre-
sumptive. 1t is hard to determine how
many are being paid through fraudulent
testimony.
The Veterans Bureau formerly was
not active in checking these cases.
During the last two years, however, the
Veterans Administration has been get
ting after the cheating doctors and in
dieting them"
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