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WHAT IS A MEDICAL NEXUS AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Usually, the most important part of any claim for veterans disability benefits is being able to prove that there is a “link” between your current medical conditions and your service while in the military. This is called the “nexus”. The nexus, or link, between a veteran’s current disability and something that happened to you “in-service” is often the hardest thing to prove in your claim for VA disability benefits. However, without a nexus, your disability benefits claim with the Veteran’s Administration (VA) WILL NOT WIN!
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Leah Wingeart, Clinical Psychologist

Leah Wingeart is a clinical psychologist, currently licensed in Nevada, Hawaii, and Colorado.

She has a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland, a Master's

of Education degree in School Guidance and Counseling K-12 from Loyola College in

Baltimore, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in health

psychology from the University of Denver. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum

Laude from the University of Maryland and was inducted into Chi Sigma Iota while at Loyola

College. She has worked in the mental health field as a school guidance counselor

and as a clinical psychologist for 18 years. She served honorably in the U.S. Navy from

2008 to 2015 and is affiliated currently with the U.S. Naval Reserves.

She lives and works primarily in Henderson, NV, but works also in

Colorado and Hawaii throughout the year.

Need more information, have questions, or want to do a free

15-minute phone or email consult?

Call 855-949-3676 or email to drwingeart@gmail.com.

2990 Sunridge Heights Pkwy #100
Henderson, NV 89052
855-949-3676 (phone)
888-363-8949 (fax)
drwingeart@gmail.com

Providing in-person therapy and psychological assessment in

Nevada. Also providing independent medical

evaluations and consulting services in Nevada, Hawaii, Colorado

PTSD Evaluations and Veteran Medical Opinions

Brett Valette, PhD

Clinical Psychologist

If you have served in any war from Viet Nam to Iraq and Afghanistan, and if you’ve had

any traumatic experience that is affecting you today, then you need to talk to me as

I can do a compassionate record review and Independent Veteran Medical

Opinion (IMO) based on your psychiatric issues.

I’m Dr. Brett Valette, a clinical psychologist and I’ve specialized in PTSD and

trauma evaluations for over 15 years. If it’s a combat trauma, or if you were

non-combat but experienced traumatic events, or if you were a victim of sexual trauma,

I want to help you because VA often mis-categorizes these serious PTSD

related issues as personality disorders.

If you were previously denied benefits, or you were labeled as “not fitting criteria” or if you

have not had a service connected condition, I can help you as I have 15 years

worth of experience with these types of veteran medical opinion related benefits.

Maybe you felt pressured upon your return to fill out your forms stating “I’m fine,” and now your

wife is going to leave you because you’re ‘acting crazy’ and your parents say,

“You aren’t the same person anymore.” So, in your records you have denied

any problems and there is no paper trail of treatment or symptoms.

You now feel you are ‘left out to dry’; abandoned by the military. I can help you.

Some Vets have worsening of their condition after they’re home for a few years. Suddenly

they find themselves living in isolation, sleeping with their gun, having angry outbursts at

their partners and even their children. The people who are important to you are now afraid

of you. When you leave your house you scan for danger, you plan escape routes

(even in McDonalds), ‘stupid drivers’ should be run off the road, and disrespect for

you is all around. You need to talk to me.

Maybe your service connected disability rating is too low. Things change.

Symptoms change. Stress and life pressure changes. Let me help you.

Some Vets have waited for months or years to get an evaluation. Then the doctor they see

is pressured and gets them “in and out.’ The interview was short and shallow, the final

report was incomplete and inadequate. And who has to live with the outcome? You do.

This will never happen if you want an evaluation with me.

I have been providing Independent Medical Opinions and Evaluations for over 15 years.

I specialize in PTSD, TBI, Post Concussive Disorder, Cognitive Impairments, and

Mood Disorders (depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety;

many of these symptoms are part of PTSD).

Call or email me and let’s talk. I want to help, and I can help. An effective, specialized

evaluation with a complete, compassionate, compelling, and clinically supported

report will absolutely positively impact your claim. I charge one flat fee for my

evaluation (phone, or computer), full review of your medical records, and a VA c

ompliant report that identifies the issues correctly so that the VA can rate your

benefits appropriately in the most advantageous way for you. ( n.b. The VA rules

state that the most advantageous rating is supposed to be assigned for each

patient based on the patient’s records and a veteran medical opinion.)

I also work with Dr. Bash who can also provide a collaborative and integrative

veteran medical opinion, physical exam, IME and expertly detailed report.

Thank you for your time and your trust in me,

Brett Valette, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist National Register Psychologist #54029

My web sites: www.globalhealthevaluations.com and www.Shrink911.net

My Email: bvalette@aol.com

Office: 303 465-3147

Dr. Craig Bash has been helping veterans with

independent medical opinions for over 20 years.

In that time, he has helped over 4000 veterans with over 40,000 claims with a high

success rate. He has hundreds of cases at the BVA, which can be searched under

the BVA search engine or found on his web site at www.veteransmedadvisor.com.

He has over 1000 name mentions at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).

He is an assistant Professor and invited lecturer at the Uniformed Services

University of the Health Sciences. He has been an expert witness for world class

medical systems such as the the VA and Johns Hopkins medical centers.

Additionally, he has 15 years of research experience at the National Institutes

of Health (NIH) where he studied experimental MRI imaging of neurologic disease.

He was previously a deputy doctor of medical services at the Paralyzed Veterans

of America (PVA) and he has done over 50 sites visits to the

VA's largest hospitals for quality of care purposes.

Dr. Bash has been 100% VA disabled since his 1984 spinal cord injury which

required a 5 month VA inpatient rehabilitation stay. Thus he is familiar with VA

care and rating system from a users prospective.

He also professional knows the private and government sector issues in quality

of care and how these care issues/diseases interface with the VA rating system.

The key to his success is his training, credentials, thoroughness and

experience with VA cases.

Craig N. Bash M.D., M.B.A.
Neuro-Radiologist and Associate Professor

Dr. Bash works hard to get veterans the Maximum Available

Benefits (MAB) for their disabilities. Some examples of his work are at the links below...

http://www.theskanner.com/news/northwest/9088-doctor-helps-

disabled-veterans-settle-benefits-claims-2010-12-22

http://www.theskanner.com/news/usa/18088-expert-says-biggest-

delay-in-va-backlog-lies-with-wasteful-appeals-management-center-2013-04-05

http://salem-news.com/articles/march282009/quad_doc_3-29-08.php

http://www.theskanner.com/?searchword=craig+bash&option=com_

search&searchphrase=exact&limit=50&ordering=newest

Radio:

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

Veterans Affairs Disability Benefits

IMO/IME Independent Medical Opinions

Independent Medical Examinations Nexus Letters

Medical records Review

IMO/IME Independent Medical Opinions

Independent Medical Examinations

We recommend that every veteran consider seeking an Independent Medical

Examination (IME) or an Independent Medical Opinion (IMO) for their VA

disability benefits claim. The VA has become increasingly difficult to navigate.

Because of the difficulty in receiving a fair decision from VA,

we at VAWatchdog have recognized that veterans who have even the

simplest claims can no longer rely on a fair decision. Every veteran should prepare to

have expert help as they develop their claim. This includes legal representation by a

VA accredited attorney as well as expert opinions from highly skilled and well qualified physicians.
There is a difference in the IME and the IMO. The IME requires your physical presence

in front of the examining physician. The IMO is based on the opinion of the physician

after he has thoroughly reviewed your records. It is our opinion that the IMO may

be the better choice in most cases. To write an acceptable IMO is not a simple task.

The physician must first understand the law that applies to the claim.

The physician must know the details of how disabling conditions may affect the

overall quality of life of the veteran patient. Disability law is not something that most

physicians are trained in. Each of the doctors featured here is expert in the arena of

disability medicine. We urge veterans to review their claims with one of these

physicians and to seek the help of an attorney.

Dr. David Anaise is a physician and a lawyer.

In interviews with Dr. Anaise we've asked and learned much about him.

In discussions with Dr. Anaise he's told us:
"In addition to being a lawyer, I am a surgeon with almost thirty years of medical experience.

I was Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery and Attending Surgeon in Transplantation at

SUNY at Stony Brook. I served as President of the New York Transplantation Society

and as Assistant Editor of Transplantation Proceedings.
I have authored three book chapters, three patents and 106

research papers published in peer reviewed medical journals.
My background in medicine and research makes me well qualified to thoroughly

review and present your disability case. I obtain, study and analyze all your medical

records and perform independent medical research relevant to the issues of your case.

I then present an analysis presenting your medical history in a way that best supports your claim.
The submission all the medical report which does not contain an actual physical

examination or even the submission of a medical treatises requires the board to

address the reports or the medical treatises. In a decision rendered by

Judge Bartley In Bowers v Shinseki NO. 11-3022 Judge Bartley was critical of the BVA’s

failure to address a medical treatises provided by the veteran.
The BVA held that such report was merely laypersons opinion. Judge Bartley held,

'As a layperson, the Veteran is not competent generally to render a probative opinion on a

medical matter. Mr. Bowers, however, was not offering his own subjective opinion as to the

growth rate of gallstones; he was repeating the data reported in professional

medical treatises he submitted. Certainly, a layperson is competent to report information

provided by a medical professional. Cf. Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377

(Fed. Cir.2007) (holding that a veteran is competent to repeat a

medical diagnosis and report observable symptoms).
In labeling the veteran's report of the growth rate of gallstones as incompetent lay

opinion, the Board avoided addressing the substance of the medical treatise

evidence Mr. Bowers submitted, just as the Board failed to address those treatises

directly. Thus, the Board's failure to address the medical treatise evidence that

was favorable to Mr.Bowers was not harmless. See Sanders and Caluza, both supra.

As such, remand is warranted.'"
You may learn more about Dr. Anaise by visiting his web site here.

VA SPOTLIGHT

Brett Valette, PhD

UPDATED...April 2017

This is a series of stories

bringing light to the dark side of the

VA’s treatment of some Veterans

applying for disability. Whether out

of frustration, desperation, anger, or

‘just to make it right” they contacted me, and together, we fought the injustice.

These are actual cases and claims.

I have changed names and identifying

information for confidentiality reasons.

Spotlight March 2017

This is the first in a series of stories bringing

light to the dark side of the VA’s treatment

of some Veterans applying for disability.

Spotlight April 2017

Claim Killer DBQ Questions.
VA Spotlight is a series of stories bringing

light to the dark side of the VA’s treatment

of some Veterans applying for disability.

Whether out of frustration, desperation,

anger, or ‘just to makeit right” they contacted

me, and together, we fought the injustice.

Click Here To Contact Dr. Valette

Hello Jim,

I know we spoke about this not long ago, but I had an example that shows just how powerful a properly prepared "nexus" letter from an IMO can be in winning benefits.
The surviving spouse of a veteran had been seeking "DIC" benefits, claiming that the veterans cause of death was related to one of his service connected disabilities
The Death Certificate found "Acute Coronary Syndrome" as the "primary" cause of death, and "renal failure" as the secondary cause of death.
The VA Regional Office repeatedly denied the claim pointing out that the veteran only had Service Connected PTSD, Tinnitus, Hearing Loss and non-compensable residuals of Malaria. They relied upon the medical opinion of their chosen C&P examiner who went into great detail explaining how none of the Service Connected disabilities were at all related to the cause of death.
The surviving spouse contacted my office and we appealed the Regional Office denial to the BVA. I also contacted the physician I deal with exclusively in VA related claims, discussed the facts of this claim and set up a time for this “Independent Medical Examiner” to meet with the surviving spouse. I also, of course, provided the IME with a complete AND specifically organized copy of the VA Claims file for his review. Following his review of the Claims File, and his meeting with the surviving spouse, this IME provided us with a written Medical Opinion containing all the “magic language” required by the VA. His report further contained his reasoning as to why the Service Connected disabilities of PTSD and Malaria were "as likely as not", the underlying cause of death.
The BVA Judge, after receiving our IMO, correctly found that the evidence in the case was equal (in equipoise) as there was one opinion against cause of death being related to “service connected” disabilities (their C&P exam), and one opinion for cause of death being related to “service connected” disabilities (our IMO). Therefore, under the law, when all evidence is equal, THE VETERAN WINS. In our case, that means the surviving spouse wins!
This spouse will now receive DIC benefits which NEVER would have been granted without getting a well-reasoned IMO of our own.

/s/ Roger Hale