19ARefusal to undergo medical examination etc. may delay consideration of claim or application

#### 19A Refusal to undergo medical examination etc. may delay consideration of claim or application (1) Where: (a) a claimant, being a veteran, has refused or failed to undergo a medical examination for the purpose of the investigation of the claim or the consideration of the claim by the Commission; or (b) a claimant has refused or failed: (i) to consent to the release to the Secretary, or to the Commission, of information concerning a veteran for the purpose of the investigation or consideration of the claim; or (ii) to comply with a request under paragraph 32(1)(c) to furnish material to the Commission; the Commission may, if it is of the opinion that that medical examination, information or material is likely to affect the decision it will make in respect of the claim, defer further consideration of the claim until the veteran has undergone the medical examination, or the claimant has consented to the release of the information or furnished the material, as the case may be, and, if it does so, the Commission shall serve on the claimant a notice, in writing, informing the claimant that the claim has been so deferred. (2) If, at the expiration of 6 months after a claimant has been informed under subsection (1) that a claim has been deferred by reason of the refusal or failure of a veteran to undergo a medical examination, the veteran has not undergone the medical examination, the claim shall, by force of this subsection, be deemed to have been refused. (3) If, at the expiration of 6 months after a claimant has been informed under subsection (1) that a claim has been deferred by reason that the claimant has refused or failed to consent to the release of information or to furnish material: (a) the claimant has not consented to the release of the information; or (b) the claimant has not furnished the material or satisfied the Commission that the material is not in the claimant’s possession or under the claimant’s control; as the case may be, the claim shall, by force of this subsection, be deemed to have been refused. (4) In this section: > claimant means a person who has made a claim under section 14 or an application under section 15.