If someone has told you that your medical files cannot be located, you should not simply give up on your attempts to find them. There are many instances where veterans have pursued their records requests diligently, and the records were eventually discovered.
The VA has a duty to continue to request medical documents needed for claims every two months, so be persistent. Don’t give up hope if the missing records aren’t found on the first attempt.
Provide as many details as possible to help the VA in its search. Dates, locations, the name of your commanding officer, which unit you served in, as well as the names of people you served with can all be invaluable when tracking down lost records.
There are additional things you can do to help a medical institution find your missing records. For more insider tips watch the Cuddigan Law video “How To Locate Military Service Medical Records” at cuddiganlaw.com/video.