As a fellow disabled Veteran, I realize it can be extremely frustrating to have your VA claim denied.
In this post, I share the two most common reasons why VA claims get denied, and how to easily overcome them with additional medical evidence.
But first, let’s talk about the basic eligibility for VA disability benefits.
Do I Qualify for VA Benefits?
In order to qualify for VA benefits by law, a veteran must have an honorable or other than honorable discharge.
In addition, a veteran must meet three fundamental elements to get VA compensation benefits, which include:
- Medical diagnosis of the disability in a medical record. This diagnosis can be in service treatment records, VA medical records, or any private medical records.
- The disability was caused or made worse by a veteran’s active duty military service for direct service connection OR by another service connected disability rated at 0 percent or higher for secondary service connection.
- Persistent and reoccurring symptoms of the disability into the present day, which we call “severity of symptoms” at VA Claims Insider. Be thinking about “how” your disability is limiting or affecting your work, life, and social functioning.
Top Two Reasons Why VA Claims Get Denied
Reason #1: Not enough medical evidence! This means you probably didn’t go to the doctor enough on active duty and your service treatment records either don’t contain a medical diagnosis or don’t even have subjective complaints of your current disability.
Reason #2: No clear Nexus! A Nexus is simply a logical link or connection to an in-service incident or event to a veteran’s military service needed to prove his/her service connected disability.
Medical Evidence is the SECRET Sauce in VA Disability Claims
If you’ve already filed your VA disability claim and your VA claim got denied or you’re underrated, you likely need more medical evidence.
A VA DBQ and a Medical Nexus Letter will help you win your VA claim, get service connected, and obtain the VA rating and compensation you deserve in less time.
VA DBQ forms are simply a standardized way to present medical information to the VA.
The best part about a DBQ is it will contain a medical diagnosis of your disability and document your current severity of symptoms.
A Medical Nexus Letter helps a veteran prove service connection by listing information about your medical history, medical research, VA case law, and the doctors independent medical opinion as to the likelihood that your disability was either due to your active duty service or to another service connected disability in your body for Secondary Service Connection.
The result is you’re likely to get your disability service connected, meaning you’ll be able to prove the VA nexus requirement on at “at least as likely as not” basis, even if you’ve already been denied.
What is VA Claims Insider Elite?
The VA Claims Insider Elite membership program connects veterans with our vetted network of independent medical providers for DBQ reviews and Medical Nexus Letters.
Veterans also get access to our proprietary system called the Elite Experience Portal (EEP), which contains over $7,500 worth of VA claim resources (e.g., video lessons and tutorials, step by step VA claim guides, real examples of Statements in Support of a Claim, and Buddy Letter templates, among many others).
VA Claims Insider Elite Cost
Veterans can get started inside VA Claims Insider Elite for FREE.
The only time we charge fees for our membership program is if and only if you get a higher VA disability rating as a result of our program.
The doctors in our vetted referral network of independent medical professionals do charge fees at discounted rates for DBQs and Medical Nexus Letters.
If you’re wondering about the VA Claims Insider Elite cost, here are the current discounted rates inside the VA Claims Insider Elite program (*Note: NONE of these fees are required and you may be able to get medical evidence from your own doctors):
- One-Time Med Team Access Fee…………………………………………………….$100
- PA-C: Disability Benefit Questionnaire (DBQ) Review………………….$100
- PA-C: Detailed Independent Medical Nexus Letter………………………$200
- PA-C: Service Dog Letter……………………………………………………………………$275
- PA-C: 100% Permanent and Total (P&T) Letter……………………………..$275
- MD: Medical Eval (Exam/Diagnosis/DBQ Combined)…………………..$375
- PhD: Psych Eval (Exam/Diagnosis/DBQ/Nexus Combined)…………$395
✔️Join VA Claims Insider Elite, get instant access to the ELITE Experience Portal (EEP) and $7,500 worth of proprietary VA claim resources TODAY, and obtain VA DBQs and Medical Nexus Letters.
About the Author
Brian Reese
Brian Reese is one of the top VA disability benefits experts in the world and bestselling author of You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned (Second Edition).
Brian’s frustration with the VA claim process led him to create VA Claims Insider, which provides disabled veterans with tips, strategies, and lessons learned to win their VA disability compensation claim, faster, even if they’ve already filed, been denied, gave up, or don’t know where to start.
As the founder of VA Claims Insider and CEO of Military Disability Made Easy, he has helped serve more than 10 million military members and veterans since 2013 through free online educational resources.
He is a former active duty Air Force officer with extensive experience leading hundreds of individuals and multi-functional teams in challenging international environments, including a combat tour to Afghanistan in 2011 supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
Brian is a Distinguished Graduate of Management from the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, and he holds an MBA from Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business, Stillwater, OK, where he was a National Honor Scholar (Top 1% of Graduate School class).
