Opinions On My Sc Nexus?

[TexasCop]

My military service record history:

1991 - Automobile accident where I was taken to the post hospital and treated for shoulder and c-spine injuries. Sent home with Motrin after Xrays were normal (did they have MRI's back then??). Went to Troop Medical Clinic the next day in pain. Sent home again and told it was normal. Gave up going to sick call after that.

1993 - Subluxation of the patella in my knee. I was running during a night exercise while wearing night vision goggles. That 3rd dimension (depth) is really important when running, huh? I was on a remote island out in the Pacific. Was flown to Hawaii for treatment at Trippler. Xrays showed negative, sent home with Motrin. Again, no MRI's??

1994 - Left the military and became a civilian police officer.

1998 - L-5 disc in my back ruptured. Diagnosed with DDD at the young age of 27. Laminectomy surgery. Resulted in nerve damage to my leg. I now live with daily muscle cramps and a much larger left calf than right due to the constant muscle spasms.

2002 - L-5 disc ruptured again. Laminectomy surgery.

2011 - Went through a spinal decompression regimen with a local chiropractor to relieve pain in my lumbar region.

To this day I struggle with severe back pain. I don't go to the doc because I now know the difference between the chronic pain I'll just have to live with and new "more serious" pain. More recently I've started suffering from c-spine pain. I believe I have a bulging disc between my shoulder blades. I have numbness in my 3 outside fingers on my right hand (not trigger finger, thank God, or I'd be in a pickle) and periodic shooting pains down my arm.

Realizing that I'm likely going to have to have yet another spinal surgery, I felt it was time to bite the bullet and file a VA claim. I can't afford surgeries for the rest of my life. I didn't wait for a denial, I immediately hired Dr. Craig Bash for an IME to seal up my nexus. He seems to be concentrating on the following:

1. Spinal degeneration in the lumbar region began either at the point of the accident or when I blew out my knee.

2. Car accident caused the c-spine issues and numbness in my hand and shooting pains.

3. Continued chronic pain in knee and shoulder region.

4. Numbness and nerve damage down my left leg from surgery.

I may have jumped the gun hiring Dr. Bash at the onset, but my VSO told me that it's better to woo the heck out of the VA from the start instead of waiting until the appeals process. You guys actually have experience with this sort of stuff, what are your thoughts on my chances for SC on my injuries?

Thanks,

Texascop

[Berta]

"I may have jumped the gun hiring Dr. Bash at the onset, but my VSO told me that it's better to woo the heck out of the VA from the start instead of waiting until the appeals process. You guys actually have experience with this sort of stuff, what are your thoughts on my chances for SC on my injuries?"

I agree with your VSO!

Dr. Bash surely gave a definitive nexus statement that the VA might not even try to go against.

I got 2 separate IMOs from him for my DMII death claim.

Then at last minte I 'jumped the gun' myself. The BVA remanded for a third VA opinion,prior to considering Dr. Bash's IMos.

They remanded for a cardio doc and I found out right away that a PA was doing the opinion and I paid for a Cardio forensic IMO.

I also knocked down the PA's opinion and sent my rebuttal to the BVA.

I paid for the cardio opinion and felt confident it would corroborate all the medical evidence I had.After about 3 or 4 weeks I starting looking out for this new cardio IMO in the mail , only to find a BVA envelope appearing in my mail box.

The PA VA opinion was thrown out and the BVA had awarded my claim ,referencing my 2 opinions from Dr. Bash, a brief freeby from a former VA neuro and certainly they must have considered the extensive other evidence I sent to them too.

The forensic firm actually refunded about half of the fee I had paid when I called them to let them know my claim had just been awarded as the IMO ad not been finished yet.

If IMos were not so costly, it would be great for almost every vet or survivor to provide an IMO right from the git go.

Not all claims need IMOs but an IMO can cut through a lot of the VA BS.

I did a show with Dr. Bash at SVR radio here at hadit recently.It is available in the SVR archives.

I am working with him on something that might favorably change the claims process for all vets.

For the cost of his IMOs, which I know is a lot of money, he will review the entire medical record far better than any review the VA will do,in my opinion.

IMOs fees can be absorbed by the first comp checks they generate, checks that a veteran might never see, without the IMO.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Berta

[Berta]

http://www.svr-radio.com/archives.html

You can hear these shows through your media player and his show was March 7th I think.

[TexasCop]

Thank you, you made me feel more at ease about hiring him at the start of the process. My heart sunk when he quoted his price. I had to incur a debt to get the money together, but I've heard he's well worth the money. I'm in Dallas, but am going to get up to see him in June so he can mark that he did an IME on me. I'm reading that this makes his opinion more validated?

[Teac]

Thank you, you made me feel more at ease about hiring him at the start of the process. My heart sunk when he quoted his price. I had to incur a debt to get the money together, but I've heard he's well worth the money. I'm in Dallas, but am going to get up to see him in June so he can mark that he did an IME on me. I'm reading that this makes his opinion more validated?

Would you mind telling us what he is charging?

[Jumpmaster]

Texas Cop thanks for your post and I wish you success with your claim endeavor. It will motivate all of us still wading through the BS of the VA.

Please post Dr. Bash's fee for all members and guests here on Hadit.Com. It will help someone like me budget for it before visiting with family in the DC Metro Area later this year. Good Luck and I'm sure all of us here at HadIt.com are prayiing for your win and hope to see you post a victory here in the near future.

[carlie]

TC,

Be sure he reviews your SMR's, states he did so and provides full medical rationale connecting todays

current medical conditions to whatever on active duty.

He's got a good track record.

You can check him out more at the following links for BVA claims.

carlie

http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/bva_search.jsp?QT=Dr+Craig+Bash&SQ=&RPP=10&UA=Search

Realizing that I'm likely going to have to have yet another spinal surgery, I felt it was time to bite the bullet and file a VA claim. I can't afford surgeries for the rest of my life. I didn't wait for a denial, I immediately hired Dr. Craig Bash for an IME to seal up my nexus. He seems to be concentrating on the following:

1. Spinal degeneration in the lumbar region began either at the point of the accident or when I blew out my knee.

2. Car accident caused the c-spine issues and numbness in my hand and shooting pains.

3. Continued chronic pain in knee and shoulder region.

4. Numbness and nerve damage down my left leg from surgery.

I may have jumped the gun hiring Dr. Bash at the onset, but my VSO told me that it's better to woo the heck out of the VA from the start instead of waiting until the appeals process. You guys actually have experience with this sort of stuff, what are your thoughts on my chances for SC on my injuries?

Thanks,

Texascop