VA Claim Denied but Favorable Findings? Read the Two Together
A VA denial can list favorable findings, or follow a favorable C&P exam. Favorable findings are facts VA accepted and must keep; the reasons section names what is still unresolved.
Intelligence Brief
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63 articles · All sections
VA Nexus Letter Examples and Template: What a Doctor's Opinion Must Explain
Three annotated VA nexus letter examples show what a doctor's opinion has to explain for direct, secondary and aggravation claims, with short passages from real Board decisions and a blank template for your clinician.
What Makes a Nexus Letter Persuasive, and How to Review Yours
The Board weighs a nexus letter by its facts and reasoning, not its wording. See the legal standard, how opinion quality lined up with Board outcomes, and a record-by-record check for the letter you have.
Examiner Specialty Predicts C&P Adequacy: 73% to 26% in the Same System
Urology C&P exams come back adequate 72.8% of the time. Sleep medicine C&P exams come back adequate 26.3%. Same system, two different reports.
VA Buddy Letter Examples and Template: Spouse, PTSD, Back Pain and More
Complete fictional VA buddy letter examples: a wife's statement about sleep apnea, a spouse letter for back pain, a spouse letter for PTSD, a coworker and a service buddy, plus a fill-in template and a fact-or-opinion check.
ED Secondary to PTSD: Medication Timeline, Medical Evidence and SMC-K
VA can grant erectile dysfunction secondary to PTSD, including ED caused by PTSD medication. The ED rating is 0%, but the grant opens SMC-K. What the medical opinion has to explain and what to check in the decision.
How to Get VA Medical Records: Downloads, Requests, and C-File
Find VA medical records online, request missing treatment notes, distinguish your C-file, and track which records you have actually received.
M21-1 Update: VA Reorganizes How It Service-Connects Insomnia
The VA revised M21-1, Part V, Subpart iii, Chapter 13, the Mental Disorders chapter, to reorganize and clarify how claims processors handle service connection for insomnia.
Aggravation Claims Are the Hardest Path: 25.3% Grant Rate at the BVA
Aggravation claims grant at 25.3% across 11,084 BVA condition records. The 9-point grant gap hides a 32-point remand gap that's the real story under Allen v. Brown.
38 CFR 3.13 Update: Discharge to Change Status Rule Changes 2026
The VA has issued a substantive amendment to 38 CFR 3.13, the rule governing how discharges to change status are treated for benefits eligibility. The change takes effect February 23, 2026, and could affect veterans with multiple periods of service or reenlistment histories.
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