VA Evidence-Collection Errors Rise Alongside Claims Automation, Investigation Finds

An investigation by The Beam, a newsroom at Arizona State University, and republished by Military Times, links the VA's growing use of automation to a surge in evidence-collection errors on veterans' claims.

Snapshot

Military Times republishes an investigation by The Beam tying the VA's expanding use of an automated claims tool to a sharp rise in evidence-collection errors and returned decisions. The VA says there is no evidence the tool causes mistakes, an attorney calls it a contributing factor, and the outlet notes that published data does not separate automated errors from human ones.

Key points

• Tool: The VA launched its Automated Decision Support tool in December 2021 to gather records and write summaries for claims raters. It does not set compensation.
• Errors: The VA counted more than 66,000 evidence-collection errors in fiscal 2021 and over 329,000 in fiscal 2026.
• Send-backs: Higher-level reviews returned about 23% of decisions in fiscal 2021 and 35% in fiscal 2026.
• Scale: The VA plans to use the tool on 90% of claims by the end of 2027.
• VA response: Press secretary Quinn Slaven said there is no evidence the tool causes errors, and that appeals of denials quadrupled from 2020 to 2026.

Quick take

The Beam notes that published VA statistics do not separate automated mistakes from human ones. Attorney John Niles told the outlet the tool is a contributing cause of errors, while a VA official testified in April 2026 that accuracy was improving.

Read the full story at Military Times.