Hired Dr. Bash

[Scout Swimmer]

My wife was denied Asthma and headaches in 2011. The appeal is currently at BVA and after I had her pull her file from her CVSO, I realized her vet rep was rather incompetent. (Her claim was a real mess and I knew she would lose if something didn't change fast).

My first step was meeting with John Dorle. We bought her paperwork and met at a caribou coffee in Elk River MN, 4 weeks ago.

He proceeded to go over all her paperwork and give us his opinion. He informed us that we would lose and are representation we currently had was inadequate to say the least. He also advised us if we hired him, we should hire Dr. Craig Bash as well.

I was very impressed with John. He seemed very knowledgeable and friendly. He came up with a plan that seemed to make sense rather quickly, so we took his advice and hired Dr. Bash.

We then met with Dr. Bash accompanied by John. He looked over my wife's file and felt confident that he could help us. We hired him that day and wrote a check. He also provided IMO's for new secondary conditions and said he would attend any conference we might have with BVA.

He then contacted us later in the week and asked us for more money because he felt that her case was stronger than he first anticipated. I thought it strange that he would renegotiate an already negotiated price but we agreed.

We paid a lot of money, and I am wondering if any of you have had a bad experience with Dr. Bash in a claim. (If you lose, does he just ride off in the sunset? Does he really live up to his name, ect ect)? I understand that no claim is a guarantee and the VA has a rather large bag of tricks to screw Veterans out of entitlements but I hope these guys will fight for us.

Thanks,

Edited March 25, 2015 by Philgrenier

[Buck52]

Oh Lord don't get PUREADY started...eh!

 

...........Buck

[RUREADY]

Hey Buck I wont say nothing but this,,, next time I would buy the Judge for

10k. Good luck with your claim. You got it ,you sure can spend it

[Valsacar]

I've  Dr. Bash and John, I actually found John because I was originally having a hard time getting a hold of Dr. Bash.  I'm overseas, so doing everything via email and fedex.  So far I've only gotten one aspect of my appeal completed, which cited Dr. Bash as well as my normal doctor.  Not only did they reverse a previous decision, but also granted a new condition that I didn't expect.  Back pay, even after John's well earned cut, was almost tripple what I paid Dr. Bash... and I still have a number of things on appeal.

I was a little worried about having wasted so much money on Dr. Bash, but now I'm glad I did.  Statements from my normal doctors are good, but Dr. Bash knows how the VA thinks and is able to tie it together in an easy to digest package, putting it in wording the VA likes to see.

 

For anyone else thinking about hiring help, John Doyle is worth it.  He's knowledable, hard working and keeps in constant contact with you.

 

Dr. Bash isn't cheap, but if you've done your part then, IMO, he will bring it all together to put it over the top.

[broncovet]

Of course, I agree with Basser.  I dont want to "flame" Dr. Bash.  This said, I would exercise caution from anyone who asks for money up front for services even tho its uncear  if he makes all Vets cough up up front money to do an IMO.  I think he may ask for upfront money, but not from everyone, as not all Vets have money.    If Dr. Bash allows you to pay him out of retro, I can certainly understand why he wants more.  I, too, would rather be paid now than 4 or 5 years from now.  In other words, I may well accept 1000 now over a maybe 2000 dollars in 5 years.  

  Dr. Bash is well, well known by VA.  They see his name over and over.   For some that would be a positive, but, for others, my guess is that they tire of the concept that people who can afford Dr. Bash should get disability while those who can not afford him should get nothing.  I chose NOT to use Dr. Bash for me, but I know others made a different choice and all had good reasons for choosing his services.  I simply thought Dr. Bash was too expensive, that reading over a medical file and typing a report should not cost thousands and thousands of dollars, when I can go to a local doc, get an Examination with the report that costs less, with the caveat that even then, I must discuss with the doctor the specialized wording of the report.  

HIring Dr. Bash is not a guarantee that your claim will be awarded.  

Its my humble opinion that, in many/most cases a local physician, who can/will examine you can provide a better IME that Dr. Bash for less cost.  YOu do have to be careful, as your doc may not know how to write an IME that works for Dr. Bash.  Your local doc could easily make the mistake that your condition "maybe" related to service.  I dont even think VA likes it if the doc says, "probably" related to service.  They need to say it in the format of "at least as likely as not" related to service.   You need to discuss this issue with your local doc performing the IME.  An IME, in most cases is superior to an IMO.  YOu see, an IME is NEW evidence, and the only time an IMO would be new evidence is if the IMO doc found medical history that VA did not know about.  (yes that is possible or even likely).  

 

[Andyman73]

broncovet,

Should I then contact the sleep lab that did my sleep study and see if the dr will give me an IME and how much they charge?  I'm facing a possible denial on my depression secondary to chronic pain claim, and want to see what I can do to convince them to grant my claim.

I have a therapy session tomorrow with my VA MH dr and will be speaking of this with him, as far as if he will write a favorable opinion in regards to my claim.  He told me before I filed the claim the pain, especially chronic pain can and does lead to depression.

Thanks.

Semper Fi.

Andyman

[bolt_vet23]

Andyman73,

During an appointment with my VA Neurologist, I brought up how the VA would not grant me service connection for sleep apnea even though it was in my records.  He asked if I wanted him to write an IMO.  He emailed me the IMO and now I'm waiting on my appeal.  It doesn't hurt to ask since they've most likely done it before and just need to update the IMO with your information.  Plus, it can save you some money.  Best of luck.