Opinion ID: 211171
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Adverse Presumptions

Text: Cromer's claim breaks down into two components. First, he argues that because his medical records were in the custody of the government when they were destroyed by fire, the government should be presumed to have acted negligently in failing to preserve them. Second, he argues that once negligent destruction is presumed, an adverse presumption of service connection should be imposed against the government. Cromer's arguments in support of this double presumption lack merit. First, neither presumption is rooted in any applicable statute, regulation, or judicial decision.2 In fact, both presumptions are contrary to the general evidentiary burden in veterans' benefit cases, which requires that a claimant has the responsibility to present and support a claim for [VA] benefits. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(a). The presumptions, by effectively shifting the burden of proof to the government, conflict with that standard. Second, Congress and the VA have expressly carved out exceptions to the general rule of § 5107(a) where they deemed a shift in the burden of proof to be 2 With regard to the negligence presumption, we note that at common law, the loss by fire of bailed goods did not give rise to a presumption of bailee negligence. See, e.g., S. Ry. Co. v. Prescott, 240 U.S. 632, 640 (1916); Hammond v. United States, 173 F.2d 860, 863 (6th Cir. 1949). In Missouri, where the 1973 fire occurred, the bailor of destroyed goods has the burden of showing bailee's negligence, except in actions brought pursuant to a bailment contract. See Thummel v. Krewson, 764 S.W.2d 700, 705 (Mo. Ct. App. 1989). The government's custody of its own records is not a bailment in the classic sense, but the common-law rule is instructive in these circumstances. Following enactment of the Uniform Warehouse Receipts Act, some jurisdictions have reversed the common-law rule, but many—including Missouri—have not. 05-7172 8 necessary or just—see, for example, 38 U.S.C. § 105(a) (creating a presumption that injuries incurred during active military service were incurred in the line of duty), and 38 U.S.C. § 1116 (creating a presumption of service connection for diseases associated with Agent Orange)—but have not done so here. The VA is obligated by statute to make reasonable efforts to assist a claimant in obtaining evidence necessary to substantiate a veteran's claim for benefits. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A. The VA discharged that obligation here by seeking and obtaining alternative medical records to supplant the records apparently destroyed in the 1973 fire, and Cromer does not contend otherwise. The relief Cromer seeks would amount to a judicial amendment of the statutory duty to assist—a measure beyond the power of this court. In addition, the VA, cognizant of the difficulties faced by veterans whose records have been lost, has enacted several regulations precisely to ease the evidentiary burdens faced by veterans whose records were lost in the 1973 fire. The VA Adjudication Manual provides a procedure for cases affected by the 1973 fire, requiring the VA to assist the claimant in obtaining [medical] evidence from alternate or collateral sources and listing ten alternate sources that might substitute for service medical records in decisions relating to service connection for a disability. Similarly, in cases involving lost records, the Board has a heightened duty to explain its findings. See O'Hare v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 365, 367 (1991). In the absence of a statutory or constitutional imperative, it would be improper for this court to impose a judicial remedy to supplant or supplement the remedies and procedures already provided by Congress and the VA. 05-7172 9 Finally, Cromer has identified no decision in which an adverse presumption or inference was drawn in the absence of bad faith or, at a minimum, negligence. Conceding this failure, Cromer asks this court to create a new rule for the admittedly unusual circumstances presented by the paternalistic and nonadversarial context of veterans' benefits. This we decline to do. Congress, the VA, and the courts have been aware of the challenges posed by the loss of records in the 1973 fire for more than thirty years, and have enacted procedures intended to ameliorate those challenges for veterans. That Cromer finds the procedures adopted by Congress and the Executive inadequate is not a sufficient basis on which this court can create a new rule that would alter the process for benefits claims. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Veterans Court. AFFIRMED No costs. 05-7172 10