Connecting Medical Findings to the Alleged Event Without Overstating What the Records Prove

Executive Summary

Medical evidence in military investigations should be evaluated by separating observed findings, patient history, diagnosis, causation, timing, and alternative explanations.

Medical records can document important findings without necessarily establishing exactly how, when, or why those findings occurred. A later summary may assign a specific mechanism or time even when the treating record itself is more limited.

DI-127 explains how defense investigators can separate observed findings from patient history, diagnosis, causation, timing, and alternative explanations. It emphasizes obtaining complete clinical records, images, diagrams, and laboratory results rather than relying only on summaries.

The investigator should also document the timing of examination and treatment, identify provider qualifications, preserve the exact language of medical opinions, and trace every material statement back to its original source. When counsel determines expert review is appropriate, qualified experts should receive complete underlying materials and clearly defined questions.

The objective is not to reject medical evidence automatically. It is to preserve the distinction between observation and causation, identify what the medical source actually establishes, and accurately report the limits of the evidence.

DI-127 explains how defense investigators evaluate medical findings by separating observation, patient history, diagnosis, causation, and timing while preserving complete clinical records and the exact limits of medical opinions.