Of all the factors that determine the speed and success of a DBA claim, none is more practically significant than the quality and completeness of the records package. Yet records retrieval is consistently the aspect of DBA practice most likely to be deprioritised — until a hearing date is approaching and crucial documentation has still not arrived.
The Records Landscape
A comprehensive DBA records package typically requires documentation from multiple sources: the National Personnel Records Center for military service records, the Department of Defense for deployment and assignment records, the VA for medical treatment history, the employer for employment and payroll records, overseas medical treatment facilities for in-country records, and the claimant's current treating physicians for contemporary medical evidence. Each source has different request procedures, timelines, and response characteristics.
Common Failures in Records Retrieval
The most common failure is delay — requests that are submitted late, not followed up, or allowed to lapse. NPRC requests can take weeks or months; failing to submit them at the outset of a case creates unnecessary pressure later. The second most common failure is incompleteness — requests that do not specify the relevant time period, location, or record type, resulting in partial responses that require follow-up requests and further delay.
In-Country Records Challenges
Medical treatment received at overseas military facilities presents particular challenges. Records may be held by the military treatment facility, the contractor's employer, a private medical provider operating under contract, or some combination. These records are often difficult to obtain and may be incomplete — but they are also frequently crucial in establishing contemporaneous evidence of injury and treatment.
The Business Case for Early Action
Every week of delay in initiating records requests is a week added to the claim timeline. In a practice managing thirty or more active cases, the cumulative effect of delayed records retrieval on average case duration is significant. Systematising records requests — submitting them immediately on intake, tracking responses, and escalating overdue requests automatically — is one of the highest-impact operational improvements a DBA practice can make.