How to Describe Functional Impact at a C&P Exam
Describe functional impact in one sentence: the activity, how often, the limit, what you do differently, and a recent example. Cover typical days and flares; the rating rules ask about both.
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How to Request a Buddy Statement Without Writing It for the Witness
Choose the witness who knows the fact you need, ask for specific observations, find a service member you lost touch with, and leave the wording to the witness.
What Medical Records Should a Clinician Review for a Nexus Letter?
Build a nexus review packet around the medical question: current diagnosis, service or primary-condition records, DD214 and personnel records, the timeline, earlier opinions and the facts that cut against the claim, with page references.
New and Relevant Evidence Examples for a VA Supplemental Claim
New evidence was not in the record VA had. Relevant evidence tends to prove or disprove a matter at issue, including a theory of entitlement VA never addressed. Fictional examples show how.
Nexus Letter for a Secondary VA Claim: What the Opinion Must Address
A secondary nexus opinion should answer two questions by default: did the service-connected condition cause the second condition, and did it worsen it beyond its natural progress? Here is what each answer needs, including VA's baseline rule.
Nexus Letter vs. DBQ: Different Jobs in a VA Claim
A DBQ records diagnosis, symptoms, exam findings and functional limits. A nexus opinion explains a medical connection. One document can contain both, but they answer different questions in a VA claim.
How to Organize Medical Records for a VA Disability Claim
Keep source files unchanged, build a source inventory, index passages by condition and evidence role, preserve page references, and log records not found.
What Not to Say at a C&P Exam: Avoid Guessing, Minimizing, or Performing
Do not guess at dates, use absolutes that are not true, minimize symptoms, exaggerate, avoid hard mental-health topics, argue, or recite a script. Each mistake has a better, truthful answer.
What to Bring to a C&P Exam, and What to Submit Before You Go
VA says you do not need to bring anything to a claim exam. Submit new non-VA records beforehand, and bring the practical items that help you attend, including a current medication list.
GERD Rating Reduction Reversed: What the Board Found in A25062915
VA reduced this veteran's GERD rating from 30% to 10%. The Board restored it and separately awarded 60% from May 2022, based on the evidence for that period.
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