Questions from attorneys

$1,500, and that covers every condition in the case. Rush delivery is $500 more. We bill when we deliver the signed opinion, not before.

Then there’s no charge. If the records don’t support at least one condition, we tell you what we found, and you don’t pay for the review. That’s a promise about our review, not a prediction of how VA will decide.

No. If the file has a negative opinion, responding to it is part of the report.

No. Most drafts are ready to file as written. If you want changes, they’re included.

Drafts are ready within two weeks. If your deadline is closer than that, rush delivery gets you a draft within 48 hours of receiving the C-file, for $500 more. Tell us the deadline when you send the case.

Within 24 hours of receiving your case.

The conditions, the theory or theories you’re weighing, your deadline, and a link to the C-file. If the claim has been denied, include the decision and any C&P exams. They show exactly what VA thought was missing.

A shared link works best: Google Drive, Dropbox, Files.com, or your own file share. Send the full C-file, not excerpts. The detail that carries a nexus argument is often one nobody flagged: a sick-call note, a separation exam, a line in a personnel record.

Yes. Send every condition the case needs. One opinion covers them all, at one fee.

Direct service connection, secondary service connection, aggravation, TERA and non-TERA toxic exposures, DIC, and rating increases. See the claims we address.

If you’re arguing secondary service connection, ask for both causation and aggravation under 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. VA has to address both, and an opinion that covers only causation leaves an opening. See El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013).

It’s a nexus letter, and it’s also what most firms call an IMO. The terms overlap. A nexus letter is any medical opinion on whether a condition is connected to service. An IMO, an independent medical opinion, is one written by a physician outside VA after reviewing the records. An IME, an independent medical examination, adds an exam of the veteran.

Kensington writes records-based IMOs. We don’t examine veterans, so if you need an in-person exam, we’re not the right fit.

“At least as likely as not,” the 50 percent threshold that, with the benefit of the doubt under 38 C.F.R. § 3.102, decides the claim for the veteran.

The conclusion is only half of it. An opinion’s weight comes from its reasoning, not from the physician’s credentials or the fact that the file was reviewed. See Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295 (2008). So each opinion explains the medicine that connects the records to the conclusion, and cites the research behind it.

We answer the examiner’s reasoning, not just the conclusion.

A common weak spot is a rationale like “less likely than not, because the service treatment records are silent.” Silence in the records isn’t evidence against the claim when the veteran has described the injury, and an examiner who relies on that silence while ignoring the veteran’s account has given an inadequate opinion. See Dalton v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 23 (2007). The physician points to what the examiner missed and explains why the evidence supports the veteran. More on negative C&P opinions.

Yes. Every opinion comes to you as a draft first, and most are ready to file as written. If something needs a change, send it over. We’ll correct facts and clarify wording, and the physician reviews each change before signing. The medical conclusion stays the physician’s own.

Yes. The physician reaches their own conclusions from the records, and we never promise a particular one. If the records don’t support a condition, we’ll tell you rather than stretch the opinion. A stretched opinion is the easiest kind for VA to discount.

No. We don’t do in-person or video exams, mental health exams, or DBQs. Every opinion is based on the records.

Board-certified physicians with at least ten years of experience, matched to each case. We’re happy to share physician names and full CVs with attorneys and their staff. Request CVs.

Yes. Tell us the kind of case you’d like to see, and we’ll send a redacted sample that’s as close a match as we have. Request a sample.

Yes. We work with accredited agents and their staff the same way we work with attorneys.

We work through the veteran’s attorney. A medical opinion helps most when it answers the right question at the right point in the claim, and an attorney who handles VA claims knows how to get the most value from it. When a veteran reaches us without one, we connect them with one of our attorney partners. Information for veterans.