Richards and Repatriation Commission (Veterans' entitlements)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr. Richards' widow, Mrs. Janet Richards, following the Repatriation Commission's refusal to grant an entitlement to an Exceptionally Disabled Allowance (EDA) for the period between 27 May 2012 and Mr. Richards' death on 15 July 2014. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Richards' accepted war-caused conditions, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated conditions, were a contributing factor to his severe disablement during this period, particularly in relation to his back pain and carcinoma of the colon. The case was heard by Miss E A Shanahan, Member, of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr. Richards' lumbar spondylosis, which manifested as back pain, was a war-caused condition or a contributing factor to his overall disablement. Furthermore, the Tribunal had to consider whether his carcinoma of the colon, diagnosed in October 2010, was a war-caused disease, and if so, whether it contributed to his severe disablement. The central legal issue was whether the accepted war-caused conditions were a sufficient cause for the grant of an EDA, which requires a severe disablement.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the medical evidence and the timeline of Mr. Richards' conditions. While the family reported long-standing back pain, the first medical recording of back pain by his general practitioner was in October 2011, nearly a year after his colon cancer diagnosis. The Tribunal noted that despite the reported pain, Mr. Richards remained active in his work, gardening, and social activities until around 1990. The Tribunal also considered the advanced stage of his colon cancer, which had spread to lymph nodes and other areas, causing obstruction of his left ureter due to retroperitoneal malignant invasion. The Tribunal accepted that Mr. Richards had radiologically mild lumbar spondylosis with a disc bulge, but the symptoms were not consistently recorded as severe or directly attributable to this condition until late in his illness, and the significant disablement appeared to be primarily linked to the progression of his cancer.

The Tribunal determined that the evidence did not establish that Mr. Richards' accepted war-caused conditions were a contributing factor to his severe disablement during the assessment period. Consequently, the claim for an EDA was not granted.