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https://vaclaimsinsider.com/top-5-doctors-who-write-va-nexus-letters/ Dr Bash and Dr Anaise are on this list https://www.veteransaidbenefit.org/claim_support_disc/8 Sources for Claim Support Services/Sources for Medical Nexus Opinions, Claims Files Reviews and Other Claim Support Services.pdf Dr Valette is a member here I believe and also had helped many here. The hadit post here might help: https://community.hadit.com/topic/54428-national-directory-of-independent-medical-examiners/ https://americanmedicalexperts.com/veteran-nexus-letters/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtqL-BRC0ARIsAF4K3WG5ISeHx4KojbAsqJkQkgoZwkGbAFFzImUzQHnmdfdWA1yKbAMUlKgaAlBgEALw_wcB

https://vaclaimsinsider.com/top-5-doctors-who-write-va-nexus-letters/ Dr Bash and Dr Anaise are on this list https://www.veteransaidbenefit.org/claim_support_disc/8 Sources for Claim Support Services/Sources for Medical Nexus Opinions, Claims Files Reviews and Other Claim Support Services.pdf Dr Valette is a member here I believe and also had helped many here. The hadit post here might help: https://community.hadit.com/topic/54428-national-directory-of-independent-medical-examiners/ https://americanmedicalexperts.com/veteran-nexus-letters/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtqL-BRC0ARIsAF4K3WG5ISeHx4KojbAsqJkQkgoZwkGbAFFzImUzQHnmdfdWA1yKbAMUlKgaAlBgEALw_wcB

Does anyone know an IME in the San Antonio area? San Antonio is known as Military City USA. It would be sad not to have some here.

My VSO let me know that my OSA appeal was denied. My original claim was a direct service connection. I read the sleep apnea field manual from Chris Attig and appealed the decision. On appeal I stated the OSA should be secondary to PTSD and sinusitis. I obtained an IMO from Dr Anaise and a DBQ with the at least as likely as not and medically necessary (CPAP) statements from my psychiatrist. My question is on appeal can you submit evidence to make it a secondary condition or does it need to be filed as secondary from the beginning? I haven't received the RAMP appeal denial letter yet. Also is there a section in the 38 CFR regarding secondary conditions with an original direct service connection claim?

I sent in my packet to the Ellis Clinic in OKC. Does the $500 include the exam and nexus letter or is the nexus a separate charge?

im currently writing my award time frame and my success story for this Great Veterans Blog Information site. but, in the mean time i want to stress and admit that all the others here stressed to me ,,,, if you get any type of small retro and believe your going further in your VA quest for benefits you deserve. please please,,, do your self a favor and save $2,500 and get an IMO/IME... it is the world of difference... if i can say that 1 of the 5 most important things ive learned here on this site is,,, the importance of realizing that a C and P exam will never get you there no matter your evidence. please take this advice and save up to get your imo/ime and then get your win from the VA.

Morning all, I am new to the forum but been an avid reader and learner from the posts listed here on this site as well as other sites. My situation, I was able to get an IMO from the Ellis Clinic plus an Nexus from the VA Dr. and submitted in as a new claim and was wondering what are my chances in winning. I know every scenario is different and I review the citations as well on BVA. Can anyone share their successes or disappointments? P.s. Flores97 I emailed you :) I wished you well in your case. Sincerely, Thank you.

Back in May 2015 had a IME/IMO exam and was told I should put in a claim for deviated septum cause I had surgery for same while on active duty and again the same exact surgery in 2009 at VA. I had no intention of applying for it until it was brought up. I went ahead and submitted and it got denied, did an NOD and still sitting in Appeal now. I have not had any additional deviated septum surgeries since filing (2015) and no more clinical indications another surgery is needed therefore MY QUESTION: (1) Does the fact I have had two surgeries mean anything as far as service connection goes or.... (2) is this just a lame duck I should cut loose since no more surgeries have occurred since 2009. Final question, if still sitting and waiting on multiple Appeals does dropping one of those Appeals speed the others along any faster or does it even matter? Can those on Appeal be processed individually at any point in time that RO decides to overturn same..... or do they wait until all of the Appeals made and filed together are fully decided one way or another? Just seeking some opinion on this from more seasoned folks in Forum.

Hi All, I am submitting a NOD for a disability claim that was denied. I know 2 doctors that are willing to look at my record(s) and submit an opinion. They are not a referral and have never submitted an opinion to the VA. Is there a template or can anyone point me in the right direction to ensure they hit the key salient points? Thanks in advance!

I want to start a thread for people to post names of IMO/IME's they have used. THIS IS FOR GOOD AND BAD DOCS. We want to know who to go to and who to avoid (Keep in mind if your symptoms and evidence does not support a DX or SC that does not mean they are a Bad doctor, it means you havent given them what they need to do what you want) Rules: (and Tbird/mods have final say) 1) Follow the template below, Copy and Paste 2) do not list out your whole story of your claims spanning back 20 years, keep it concise 3) If they were good or bad, list concise (ie quick and to the point) reasons why. TEMPLATE: COPY AND PASTE -------------------------------------------- WHERE ARE THEY: NAME: WHAT IS THEIR SPECIALTY (or what you were seen for): COST: CONTACT: REVIEW (keep the Yes or No, based on whats correct) Did they review your entire file (YES) (NO) -- Did they provide a well written DBQ/IMO/IME (YES) (NO) -- Were they familiar with VA Claims (38 cfr, M21, etc) ? (YES) (NO) -- Would you classify them as "Vet Friendly" (YES) (NO) -- Would you recommend them to other veterans? (YES) (NO) -- Comments: (Be Brief) --------------------------------------------------

OK Folks, Been a while since I posted on here, but I've been lurking and reading. After receiving my SOC on several conditions, and being informed by the Houston VARO that they will be sending an SSOC within the week, I think it's time that I hire somebody a good bit smarter than I am, and who can navigate the BVA system. I ran the gambit myself for the most part, obtaining all of my military medical and personnel records from NPRC when the VA said they couldn't find anything, getting an IME/IMO from Dr. Ellis in Oklahoma, an IMO from Dr David Anaise in Arizona, an IMO from my oncologist of the past 18 years, and a bundle and a half of my civilian treatment records. I fought with the help of Ted Ebert of the VA to get 95 pages of medical records that belonged to other veterans out of my C-File. (First denial and first SOC contained a ton of citations of these records, some of which were before I was even born.). I still have one record from some poor Airman whose name is nowhere close to mine, who has a rough condition that they still cannot seem to remove, but at least it's only one page now....I hope. I requested and received three copies of my C-File, gettting a different number of pages each time, and always something new from my military records that they couldn't find before when they did their first rating. I went through three C&P's, with an affirmative one in 2012, and two adverse ones in 2015 (after introducing Dr. Ellis' IME/IMO) and another in 2016 (after introducing Dr. Anaise's IMO). I started all this in June, 2010, and have to say that it has been a ride, bumpy, but educational. I've filed NOD's, Form 9 Appeals and all kinds of other junk, and have learned that eBenefits has a long way to go before being truly veteran friendly. (But it is better than the old VONAPP system that I used when I first started this mess.) When I receive my SSOC in the next few days, (It should have already arrived by now, but hey...it's the VA, right?), I'll do whatever needs to be done to keep the ball moving, but old Mark is ready to let somebody else navigate. I don't mind working, submitting to more exams, blood work, x-rays, etc, but I think I need an attorney to move on. My American Legion guys, who have been friendly, etc. through it all have only really served to help me eliminate the long waits on the 1-800 number, and that's about it. And of course, the VA finally has fixed that a bit and the waits are pretty small now. So, question is, who do you folks recommend to help me from here as I enter BVA land? Thanks again for the wealth of information so far, and I have to say that I would not have gotten the much-needed 20% that I received without your advice early on in this march. Have a great weekend, and I look forward to hearing from everyone who has had experience with good law firms, and warnings from those who have bad experiences from others. Mark

Howdy All! Been a while since I've posted, but I've been reading, lurking and watching.....oh yes....I've been out there watching.....(that was creepy). Took some great advice and contacted Ted Ebert from the VA, via e-mail about my frustration with 95 medical and psych records belonging to other veterans being contained within my C-File, and that they were cited by the VA's last C&P examiner (held by Veterans Evaluation Service in Houston by a 12 year old nurse practitioner dude with a ponytail and a whopping 2 years of experience as a nurse practitioner......ok he may have been 16 years old.....maybe) and the VA's rater (who apparently only knows two functions on his keyboard....copy and paste). Early this year, Mr. Ebert was able to get the VA to acknowledge and purge all of these records, and the latest C-File I received in July looks like it was finally Mission Accomplished after several years of pleading with them to pull the records and reassess. While waiting on this, I received another IMO from Doctor David Anaise on multiple conditions. Although Mr. Ebert advised that the actual C&P examination report, rating denial and the rating decision letter (all three had information from medical records of other individuals) could not be removed or redacted, he advised that he would note in the file that there were incorrect records and that these documents had cited them. The VA finally did a reset and pulled me back down from pending a BVA Appeal back down to the run of the mill Notice of Disagreement, and has now recently scheduled me for a third C&P examination with QTC (My first time dealing with them in this six year Disneyland ride line.) The first C&P by a real doctor at VES was favorable to me, the third was blackballed by Nurse Skippy with the ponytail citing other veteran's records, and now it looks like I'll see another doctor at QTC from what I read. I did an "interview" over the phone with an office employee, who went over the DBQ questionnaire with me and had me answer her verbally line by line each question on the multiple DBQ's. They had already FedEx'd me the DBQ questionaires with appointment information and instructions, which I filled out as instructed, but she said that this would save time and make it easier for the doctor to review than reading my handwriting or filling it out himself. (Don't worry, I plan to bring my own handwritten copies as well, as well as the IMO from my oncologist, affirmative C&P from the VES doctor in 2012, the IME/IMO from Doctor Ellis and the IMO from Doctor Anaise, as well as my STR's and other supporting medical materials. I may also bring a couple of Doctor Seuss books just in case. The office employee was patient and friendly thus far. Fangs may be out when I arrive next week, but who knows? She even let me give her more information when I called her back with additional symptoms that I had forgotten to tell her in the initial telephone interview (I wasn't home when she called, and she caught me flatfooted.) I'll keep everybody advised of what happened on my first QTC experience. Gotta be better than the last VES experience....I hope. This one will involve C&P's for service connection on several conditions and a rating increase on another. Have a great weekend! Mark

Okay so I think I have a great additional letter from my podiatrist for my upcoming DRO Review Hearing. Please let me know your thoughts! NOD doctor letter_Redacted.pdf

Team, When is it best to get an IME vs an IMO? Which hold more power in the VAs world? Thanks

When is it too late to submit new and material evidence in an appeal? I just got my Dear John letter from the VA this weekend in the form of a Statement of the Case from a NOD I had filed on an initial rating back in 2013. I haven't filed my Form 9 yet, and know I'm a few days into my 60 day deadline clock, so don't want to waste too much time. I'm just wondering that if I receive another IME or IMO if I can submit them before my case gets transferred to the BVA. I haven't decided my options for hearings yet....video...in person....etc. Any thoughts? Thanks again! Mark

I have a TDIU claim that is awaiting to go to BVA since September 2011. I have a docket number. I recently put in a DBQ and IME saying I can't work at all and my condition is Catastrophic 100% disabling Permanent and total with reasonable medical certainty. I also have a Not Feasible for employment letter by Voc Rehab and am on social security. I now found out my case went to a DRO for review. Is this standard procedure for DRO to pull a case waiting for BVA and to relook at the case? Is this in my favor. I put in for TDIU could they give me Schedular rating instead. I still don't want to lose my place in line at BVA if the DRO denies some or part of my new DBQ, IME evidence. Thanks for any clarification

After waiting a year for my C&P exam the examiner refused to address any of my issues she considered "secondary" to my primary injuries even though I had supporting Doctor's reports; MRI's; X-Ray's and other supporting documents. The rating letter arrived today and the rating was not changed, so no surprise there. I need to file a NOD and would like to get an IME done as well. Are there any peer recommendations in Texas, particularly the San Antonio area for an Attorney to consult with on the NOD and a Physician to do the IME? I have the information on the Attig Law Firm, Dr. Anaise and Dr. Bash from prior posts and can go that diretion if there is no local San Antonio or Texas recommendation(s).

Folks: Does anyone know of or had experience with an Orthopedic Doctor in the Seattle, Wa Area who can Perform an IME on me. I have well docuemented back issues that are clearly covered in my military medical files. I also have brand new MRI and CT's which clearly shows my condition. The C & P was done by a VA Nurse and it was not done propoerly from what I later found out. For range of motion, she took my way past the point of pain which had never been done in any exam before? In the past, I would bend over until the pain started..but with this exam not so.

Does anyone know of a doctor near NY/NJ, that familiar with the VA system, that can provide me with an Independent Medical Exam (IME)?

I am wondering what is the best option, IME or an IMO, for wading through the VA's appellate process after a NOD has been filed? Would it be wiser to go with a good quality IME examiner first, or just do an IMO with a records review, and then wait for the VA to decide to order any additional C&P's? Part of me thinks that by going through a C&P process with DBQ's in obtaining an IME might be a time saver. Thoughts or advice? Mark

i have narrowed my search of drs for my imo down to 2. ive read posts concerning verbiage for initial compensation connecting it to service. for example as least likely as not etc... however i am already sc for ptsd at 30%. i filed a nod and requested a dro hearing in person for a higher rating. i had the dro hearing and was sent for a new c&p exam. i am not happy with the drs notes from the new c&p exam? therefore i am seeking an imo to submit as more evidence. my question is what exactly am i asking the dr to state in his report? i dont want to spend the $1600 and have something thats not helpful to my claim? what im asking i guess is what questions should i ask of the drs before deciding what one to choose for the imo? i know what i need. after examining me and me telling them how severly my ptsd affects my whole life. i need the dr to honestly describe my current mh condition and the effects it has on my daily life and functioning to include impaiment with work etc.... but how do they word it. do they say in my opinion the veteran fits the requirements for such and such % disabilty? i hope i have explained what im trying to ask? thanks for any and all help tankerjoe0