The title on this was what caught my eye. It was a search engine term that came in on my site stats. Obviously some enterprising Vet is girding himself in armour to do battle with the evil VictorAlphabeast.

What do you say at a hearing? I have only done two, but I will tell you the procedure is very relaxed. In both hearings, the only participants were the judge, the tape recorder, my DAV rep. (in 1990) and my wife in 2011.

I built three three-ring binders-one  for each claim so as not to confuse the different ones. The judge swore us both in and said we would be allowed 45 minutes to present my claims. He did not offer to have me call him Mark, nor did I. I was told I could address him as Mr. Hindin. I chose “Your Honor”. Hey, he’s the one who will make the call. I’m sure not going to annoy him with “Dude!”

I started out with the Tinnitus claim and said all I had to say about why they should pay me back to July 1989 or, on an alternative theory, to March 1993.

Next, I moved into my HCV claim and pointed out that it was never finished in January 1995. Due to that fact, the correct date of claim is March 1994. I also am claiming my PCT back to that date because they are inextricably intertwined.

Lastly, I plead my case for my back claim from 1989. I submitted an alternate theory of Clear and Unmistakable Error because they gave me the Bum’s rush and didn’t go get civilian records in the outback of Thailand.

When the time ran out, the Judge was so engrossed, he changed out the tape, put in a new one and had me continue. We consumed about an hour and twenty minutes. He asked numerous questions when I quoted a VAOPGCPREC or a Court precedent. He was amazed that I could have assembled everything without a VSO or an attorney. When we walked out, the last thing he said was that I should consider helping Vets…

The process is non-adversarial. The idea is to conduct a hearing like  adults without a lot of “Objection, your Honor. Leading the Witness.” I find it better to look a man in the eye across a table where I can see his demeanor. I don’t cotton to the idea of  videocamera hearings. You don’t get the feel for the man. Its too much like, well, TV.

With that said, I don’t trust anyone with legal blood flowing through their veins except for my brother in law. They’re like pit bulls- vicious, unpredictable and liable to turn on you. All the little head bobs are well and fine. A little compliment to throw you off guard. When the judgement comes down, more Vets than not are likely to scratch their heads at the end and say “Huh? I thought I had it in the bag.”  Hopefully, we shall see what the BVA gods have in store for me sometime this year. Hopefully. I’m polishing my CAVC armour, just in case.