The Nexus Letter plays an essential role in providing documentation in support of a veteran’s claim to win an award of a disability benefit. In many situations, the Nexus Letter from an expert is the only evidence that will tip the scales in favor of the veteran.
Criteria for winning an award of a Disability Benefit:
- You have to show eligibility of your military service.
- You must have a current diagnosis of a condition or disability.
- You must be able to provide evidence that the diagnosed condition had its origin during the time of your military service, or if the condition was preexisting, that it was aggravated by your military service.
Tips for the Nexus Letter
- Seek an expert physician to review your complete medical records and write a letter on your behalf stating that it is their opinion that your condition/injury is related to your military service. Preferred language of the expert’s opinion should express that “it is more than not (i.e. probability greater than 50 percent) that the condition was incurred or aggravated during active service.”
- You may write your own letter if the physician is too busy or is unaware of the proper statements to make and have him or her sign the letter; however, the expert who signs the nexus letter must have thoroughly reviewed all available and pertinent medical records and state that fact in the letter. If the expert can’t reasonably verify that all records were reviewed, the letter won’t be of much value.
- When writing a nexus letter great care must be given to recording only facts and the doctor's conclusions—must be brief, factual, and to the point.
Optional Support Verifying Service Connection
In addition to the physician letter, a Veteran may ask relatives, friends, and co-workers to write letters on their behalf. Letters should include the following:
- The author’s full name, address, telephone number (day and night), fax number (if applicable), and the date the letter was written.
- The author does not have to use absolutes or conclusions in her or her statements, but should provide their opinions based on firsthand accounts of observing facts and possibilities arising from those facts.
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The following statement: “I have certified the info I have given is true to the best of my ability.”