If you’ve attended a C&P exam, then it’s no mystery the examiner spent as little time as possible on your file, and probably ignored a lot of evidence.

Thankfully, veterans can obtain their own medical opinion that rebuts bad exams and resubmit the claim to the VA, all while preserving your backpay. This results in a faster approval, getting you the benefits you deserve, without waiting years to go before a judge.

There are now hundreds of companies claiming to offer nexus opinions. Many are not qualified, or will send you a boiler plate report, while charging hundreds if not thousands of dollars. We only work with well qualified experts who offer opinions specific to your case, not a boiler plate template.

Talk with us today to see if a nexus opinion is right for your case.

The VA claims system is “non-adversarial”, meaning the VA has to consider any statements you submit in support of your claim, so long as there is not evidence to the contrary. Submitting new statements can help verify an injury, exposure to toxins, the severity of a disability, or verify you have suffered from an injury since it occurred on active-duty. Statements from yourself, your spouse, friends, and people you served with can all be valuable for a supplemental claim.

A supplemental claim is also appropriate when the VA did not consider a specific theory of entitlement. For example, you originally filed a claim for bi-lateral knee pain on a direct basis, which the VA denied. However, if you are service-connected for a back injury, there is likely a strong case for secondary service-connection.

Another example is filing an OSA claim as secondary to PTSD, when your service records have complaints of daytime drowsiness and note you are mildly obese. A supplemental claim on a direct basis would be helpful in this example.

Supplemental claims aren't only for service-connection claims. When filing a claim for an increased rating, the VA will send you to a new C&P exam. One that likely will not be thorough, where the examiner hardly reads your records. Obtaining your own exam and submitting it as a supplemental claim would be a great option. We coordinate private exams for you and submit the supplemental claim to the VA.

VA proceedings are legally considered ex parte, meaning you the Veteran are not a part of the proceedings until you get that 25-page denial in the mail. Very rarely, if ever, do you actually get an opportunity to interact with your decision maker. The solution to that problem? A hearing.

38 C.F.R. § 3.103(d)(1), states that you, the Veteran, are “entitled to a hearing on any issue involved in a claim within the purview of part 3 of this chapter before VA issues notice of a decision on an initial or [a]supplemental claim.”

What does all this mean for you and why is it important? For one, it is your right as someone claiming VA benefits. If you are like me, I often wonder if the VA was even look at the right guy’s file when they made a decision. Guess they totally missed those 3 deployments to Iraq somehow? What do you mean I don’t have back problems? I sent the VA the MRI showing you couldn’t fit a piece of paper between those discs.

You get the picture. Another big reason for wanting a hearing is the opportunity to humanize the VA process. The only human interaction you get with the VA is during a C&P exam. At best, you go to a contractor in the back of a shopping mall, who looks you over for 3 minutes and sends you on your way. (I have heard horror stories and am aware of a few other examples of just how bad these contract C&P exams can get.) Other than that, you don’t get to personally interact with the VA when it comes to your claim. The only interaction you get is via the mail when a decision comes, or another “Important Your Reply Needed” letter.

The hearing gives you a real opportunity to humanize this process, speak to someone about your case. Tell them what evidence the VA has overlooked, when symptoms began, how you would take a bath in jet fuel daily, and started shaking like a stripper two years after service, until the doctor finally said you had essential tremors. The opportunity and right to a hearing is very powerful within the VA, yet, is is something very few Veterans even know about.

Not to mention the best part about doing a hearing, the VA employee you have the hearing with has to be the person who decides the case. If for some reason they can’t the VA has to give you the opportunity for a new hearing. This gives us a single point of contact for any issues involved in your supplemental claim.

The opportunity and benefits that come with a hearing are numerous and a hearing is a powerful tool that you have at your fingertips. Our firm often utilizes this option to give real meaning and attention to your supplemental claim.