VA Has 'Systemic' Problem of Shredding Benefit Claims

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General says the VA is improperly shredding documents related to veterans benefits claims, and says the problem is "systemic" throughout the VA.

The OIG released a report Thursday that said the controls put in place by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) are "not effective," and aren't stopping VA regional offices, or VAROs, from "potentially destroying claims-related documents."

The report was done after complaints that VA officials in Los Angeles were shredding mail related to claims. After making recommendations to the Los Angeles office, the OIG examined 10 VA offices around the country to see if there were similar problems.

"VBA's controls were not fully effective in preventing VARO staff from destroying claims-related documents at six of the 10 VAROs, where we performed unannounced inspections," it said. "We found that 69 of 155 claims-related documents (45 percent) — which VARO staff had not matched to veterans' claims folders — were improperly scheduled for destruction."

The OIG said that of the 69 claims documents that were about to be shredded, 11 either affected or had the potential to affect benefits claims. While the rest didn't, the report said those documents were still required to be included in veterans' claims folders.

The OIG said the problem shouldn't be underestimated.

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