Fighting a bad C&P medical opinion.

[pwrslm]

When you get a C&P exam with a bad opinion you can challenge that with peer reviewed medical literature.  Most of the time, these opinions fail to identify any source proving the basis for the opinion. This can be challenged with medical literature from valid sources.

I can access college library with links to professional journals, as well as Google Scholar that also provides links to professional journal articles. These are  peer reviewed, and considered equal in weight to any opinion that a medical professional can provide. Anyone can use web sites as well that help find articles from journals that are recognized and authored by medical professionals, such as

https://medlineplus.gov/ , 

https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional , 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ , 

and Va HealthEVet also has a library with links.

Example: Opinion from C&P exam states that there is no way that your service connected left leg condition can cause your shoulder injury. Claim denied. Request for reconsideration with new evidence can be submitted without an expensive IMO from a medical professional.

New evidence include studies reported in Medical Journals stating that radiculopathy with foot drop frequently cause falls, and more studies that shoulder injuries are commonly caused by falls. Reconsideration includes 3-6 opinions each on both falls and injuries, which disproves the claim that there is no connection between your left leg condition and your shoulder injury. Results: award of 20% for shoulder injury because you proved that the examiner was a clown.

[Dustoff1970]

You are so right about reputable and credible research treatise/studies being used by vets as legal evidence in support of your claim/appeal and here is just one of several federal court (precedent) decisions agreeing with you. The key word to use is "TREATISE" as this is the term the BVA uses in most decisions.

Federal Appeals Circuit court in Hensley v. West, stated:  "A veteran with a competent medical diagnosis of a current disorder may invoke an accepted medical treatise in order to establish the required nexus; in an appropriate case it should not be necessary to obtain the services of medical personnel to show how the treatise applies to his case."  Hensley, 212 F.3d at 1265 (citing Wallin, supra).  

However knowing all this and using this evidence in your claim will probably only help you only upon your appeal to the BVA as the initial VA raters routinely ignore this and state you have no evidence in one short simply sentence.  I know as it has happened to me and they do not consider it as new evidence when you request reconsideration.  Not fair or just or maybe even legal for them to do this but it is what it is.

Thanks for those very useful links.

My information is not legal advice as I am not an attorney, paralegal, or VSO.

[pwrslm]

On 1/16/2020 at 2:24 AM, Dustoff 11 said:

will probably only help you only upon your appeal to the BVA as the initial VA raters routinely ignore this and state you have no evidence in one short simply sentence.

So far, I have used this in all initial claims since my first one. I think it persuades the C&P examiner more than the RO.