Fee for IMOs

[Attkdriver64]

Just had my initial phone call with Dr. Bash. I was very happy with what we discussed and was pleasantly surprised that he asked about all my disabilities, not just the one I had been concerned with. He did quote me 10,000 for his services. From what I have learned about him he is well worth it. Has anyone else here had a similar fee and if so where you happy with the outcome. Also, has anyone been able to work out payment or does he always expect payment upfront? I’m currently at 50% and the doc believes he can get me to 100%. Would love to hear some feed back. 

[Tbird]

make sure to also search google for information on any imo doctors you are thinking of hiring.

[broncovet]

I think 10,000 is outrageous.  It may help if he lets you pay it out of the proceeds from retro, when you get it.  

Dr. Bash is "well known" at VA, and its also well known he writes Veteran favorable IMO's.  An IME would be preferrable, IMHO.  The difference between and IMO and IME is that the IME "examines" you, while the IMO merely examines your records and makes opinions based upon other doctors.  

I would not pay 10,000..at least not out of pocket up front, when you dont know for sure if you will ever get benefits.  

[broncovet]

I think 10,000 is outrageous. 

Alex Graham has recommended Mednick and Associates.  Dont quote me on this, but I think they provide a typical IMO for 2000 bucks.  He has indicated they know what it takes to win a VA claim (that is, they know how to write an IMO that includes the stuff VA wants).  

 

[brokensoldier244th]

What a racket, just to read your file and type up a report. Talk about preying on desperation. Writing a report that has what is necessary to the va is not magic. Condition +evidence+citing proper va rules (available for free on internet)= result. 

 

Sometimes that result isnt what you want. Sometimes that result is justified because the evidence doesnt support what you want no matter how much you want it to. 50 to 100% in one go, unless you've gotten a lot worse over the years or there was a pretty obvious error seems like a pretty steep leap, especially if you are looking for an IMO which means you've probably been denied already. Unless there was a glaring  error which any doctor should be able to spot you might not be at a place yet where 100% is warranted. 

[FormerMember]

1 hour ago, broncovet said:

The difference between and IMO and IME is that the IME "examines" you, while the IMO merely examines your records and makes opinions based upon other doctors.  

Well, not exactly. VA has a lot of hospitals with...wait for it... lots of doctors. These doctors can make extra money taking your records home and formulating an Independent Medical Evaluation (IME) which will not be in your favor. IMEs most frequently, are asked for at the appellate level-i.e. a Veteran Law Judge (VLJ) at the BVA is unhappy with the sloppy VA Examiner's negative nexus. The VLJ sends out for another. And, just like an Independent Medical Opinion (IMO), they review your records and make a decision based on them. You will never meet the author of your IME that sandbags you. If you keep tabs on these jokers, you'll see several doctor's names pop up frequently. One  with quite a few negative IMEs up and down the Atlantic seaboard is Dr. Shirin DeSilva. This joker is a specialist in so many fields, one wonders how he ever got out of Med School to actually practice medicine. 

A good IMO shouldn't cost more than $2K. It's too competitive nowadays. Mednick is far more affordable. Medconnect and Medscape are  other outfits who supplies an identical service at the same price. As I have mentioned before, you cannot hire them unless you are an attorney or agent. Dr. Bash simply provides a higher level of service directly to those too busy or uneducated in how the system works. The higher fee represents the fact that he generally flies in to examine you.  The VA's problem with Dr. Bash is simple. If you set up shop to do this (IMOs), eventually you run into a Vet you simply can't help. To my knowledge, I've never heard about any of his clients who were unable to get a nexus from him.  VA raters and VLJs are mighty leery of his product. 

Essentially, the only difference between an IMO and an IME is the former is a genuine independent opinion. I've had psychiatrists at Mednick decline to write a confirming IMO because they weren't convinced.  An IME, on the other hand, is VA buying off Dr. DeSilva with 30 pieces of silver to say it ain't so. 

 

 

[pwrslm]

I hit the phones and called local specialists in my area and asked every single one of them if they would do an IMO/IME for me, and what the cost was up front. 1st day I got a spec w/25 yrs exp for $250 if I brought in the MRI from the VA. I provided the staff who actually wrote the letter for the Spec w/guidance on VA terminology (more likely than not, as likely as not, etc..), and they actually changed it for me to insure that the statements were clear and understandable by anyone who read it. 

That little bit of work won my first claim (May-Sept 2015), which was 36 years out from my original injury on active duty (. Money won't buy you results, but if you invest a little time and honesty with most specialists, they will help you. Lots of them already know what we face when we go to the VA for help, its not a hopeless task.

Edited July 28, 2018 by pwrslm