Qq About Dr. Bash? Requesting For Imo..

[bob_abad]

QQ gang,

I live in northern California(Sf Bay Area), and Dr. Bash's office is in Maryland/Washington D.C. area. I am aware that he is an expert helping out Vets for disability claims, etc.

As an option and if I decided to work with him coming up w/ an OSA IMO, will VA sort of raise the flag how in the heck can I have an IMO from a well known Vet friendly/VA oriented doctor 3k miles away? I could be wasting $$$. This possible?

Hope to hear from the gang. Thanks!

[retiredat44]

retired,

What disability/s is your current 50 % SC for ?

carlie

I was granted 50% for the medical problems I had on active duty from Petroleum chemicals, jet fuel, edema, severe headaches...I also had hypertension, and tremors.

I had also claimed for more problems, but was denied those at the time.. I thought I had MS. But they denied that,,

Turns out I have dystrophy, pancreatitus, thrombosis, edema, and lots more.. ( tons more..). and I really mean lots more.. Everytime I read my medical reports I freak out... my days are numbered and short as my body is in total breakdown..

It took all these years to get more complete diagnosis's.

[retiredat44]

I just got my medical IME/IMO report, and gave it to my VSO so he can review the report and letter. it is a 'more likely than not letter'. This is a doctor I found after having to search the Internet for. I researched and looked for many weeks, and finally found a specialist doctor here in Southern California. A doctor that does insurance work for insurance companies that specializes in Toxicology (toxicology for those working in chemical fields like the petroleum industry). She doesn't normally see people that are not paying her fees without being payed through insurance companies and insurance company referrals. But I got lucky when she accepted my plea.

A re-cap. I was already rated at 50% and put in a new claim recently. My VSO (Vet service officer) told me it would be a good idea to get an outside opinion to include with my new claim. So, I paid this doctor $1,600 for a two hour exam and gave her a bunch of paperwork from my medical records.

She just recently finished the report and sent it to me. I was thinking I would get a 2 or 3, or even a 5 page letter, stating that my illness maybe service related. I really thought that would be it. But, She not only sent an extremely detailed 'more likely than not letter' but also that part was maybe 15 pages. But to top it off, she sent in all the research, and it was at least 4 inches! It took two post office mailing packages to enclose all the

I am not sure if my VSO thinks we should send in all the research papers to back up her work.pages! I have not yet had the meeting with m y VSO, I have a new appointment to talk to him about the IME/IMO to find out how much of it he thinks would be best to send in.

I want to make sure the VA gets it before they get to my claim. It has been about 5 months since we sent in my claim so I need to make sure they get it before they proceed working on it.

I also recently had a sleep test done through the VA, and haven't received the results yet. That had nothing to do with the claim, at least not directly, but was part of my neurology exam I had recently.

btw, those that got an IME/IMO for their claim, how big was the letter, and was the research on it included also?

[Berta]

"btw, those that got an IME/IMO for their claim, how big was the letter, and was the research on it included also?"

In the IMos I got from Dr. Bash they were two pages long with references to quotes he used from Medical texts.After the quote he just put the name of the text and the page number.

In the two pages he was able to provide a complete medical rationale for his opinion and also referenced prior VA SOCs I got as well as other VA opinions.He alluded to my FTCA award only once but this tipped them off that he knew I had proven prior negligence.

The first IMO I got however was only 2 sentences in email from a former VA doctor. It took me months to find him.

Dr. Bash contacted him for the same email statement on his formal letterhead to reference in his IMO.

The BVA gave great weight to each of these three medical opinions.

Your IMO doc was not familiar with doing IMOs for VA. But it sounds to me like she did a very detailed assessment here.

On the initial page of the IMO did she make the "more likely than not" statement? In case they just breeze over the rest of the IMO?

Best to see what your rep thinks- it will certainly help your claim but maybe she had a reference sheet of the research links? instead of sending the whole research part of the IMO? Save copies of all that you send them and get a proof of mailing for this.

[retiredat44]

This doctor had previously worked for the VA, but has her own practice...

her specialties:

Toxicology

Internal Medicine

Occupational medicine.

The research links and statement are 4 inches deep...

If my VSO want to send any of it, that's up to him, I am not sure how he wants to handle all that..

I am just making sure he knows I have it and he can look it over in the next few weeks...

I haven't read everything yet, but did find the statement that says there's a good chance the pancreatitis was caused by the chemical exposure..

Also the neurological symptoms, just to much... gotta sit down and have a good read,,

I am just in shock having 4 inches of references to the study and report..

my father got 100% without any of this, he had one exam and he got it pronto.. and I am way sicker than he was..

he served in the Marshall Islands during the time when they were setting off nukes there.. in the early 1950's. He passed away many years ago..

I will update when I learn more.. to tell the truth it scare sme to read my medical record.. I have one foot on a banana peel, the other foot in the grave.. It truly shakes me up bad..

[allan]

retiredat44,

You might want to copy everything to a CD disk & make a copy for you, your rep & the DVA to view. If you don't make it simple enough for a 5th grader to understand, it will likely get denied.

I would make a couple copies for backups as well.

A CD might make the IMO simple enough for them to browse through and harder to loose the pages.

Edited October 17, 2009 by allan

[broncovet]

After reading about IME's and IMO's, it would seem to me to be that we Veterans advocates recommend an IME and not an IMO, because it is clear to me that a Veteran is more likely to win his case with a favorable IME than just a favorble IMO, because, as has been pointed out, they will deny the claim because the VA doc (who offered an unfavorable opinion) actually saw the Veteran, while the IMO doc never actually saw the Veteran.

This is one time I will agree with the Va. If I were forced to pick which witness was more important..one who SAW the crime, or one who read about it, I think I would favor the eyewitness every time. Even if the IME doc says...I examined the Veteran, and his medical records show a history of depression..that is more credible than saying..

well, I never saw the VEteran, but his records show he is depressed.

I would go so far as to say I probably would not pay for an IMO. An IME, yes, but the IMO doc really cant give you any NEW evidence, but merely HIS interpretation of the evidence. I think the "favor the Veteran" rule, as well as the doctrine of equipose, would mean that if 2 docs saw the Vet..the VA would have to use the evidence most favorable to the Veteran. However, I just dont think that would apply with a doc who never so much as ever saw you.