Are you a veteran submitting a disability claim with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)? Are you appealing a denied disability claim? The success of your disability claim is determined by your ability to prove that your injury, illness, or medical condition is related to your years of military service and the evidence and documentation you provide with your VA disability claim is used to create that link. A nexus letter is one piece of documentation that you may want to consider adding to your claim and you may be asking — what is a nexus letter for VA disability claims?

To put it simply — a nexus letter is a document written by a healthcare professional with knowledge of a veteran’s injury, illness, or medical condition that illustrates the healthcare provider’s opinion on how and why the veteran’s condition is connected to their military service. The letter is intended to clearly state an answer to the question — how likely is it that the medical condition is connected to military service — and is often answered with language like at least as likely as not.

Why Do Veterans Need a Nexus Letter for VA Disability Claims?

When a veteran submits a VA disability claim, they must provide strong evidence that establishes a connection between the medical condition and military service — this link is often called the nexus. To support this claim there are multiple types of evidence that may need to be provided — discharge documents like the DD214 form, medical records from your time in service, private medical records and documents from your personal healthcare provider, and lay evidence that includes statements from friends, family, and other service members. 

A nexus letter is a separate piece of documentation that veterans can add to their disability claim that provides additional support. There are a few key reasons why veterans with disability claims may want to consider adding a nexus letter to their claims:

• Additional Evidence and Stronger Claim – Like we mentioned above, there is no such thing as too much evidence and documentation when it comes to your disability claim. A nexus letter is an added piece of evidence to illustrate the connection between your condition and your service.
• Establishes Secondary Service Connections – The nexus letter is a valuable piece of evidence that can be used to establish secondary service connected conditions. These secondary service connections are medical conditions that are connected to an already established service-connected disability.
• Additional Evidence for Denied Claims – A nexus letter is especially valuable as evidence for a denied disability claim. When a disability claim has been denied, you may need stronger evidence to prove a service connection and a nexus letter from a healthcare professional is a piece of evidence that may be able to reverse the decision on the denied claim. 

What Are the Key Elements of a Nexus Letter? 

A nexus letter is a clear and concise document that provides valuable information for a veteran’s disability claim. There is specific criteria for a nexus letter that starts with the letter being clear and concise in an effort to make the medical information easy to understand for VA officials. Here is a list of additional criteria needed in a nexus letter: 

• A summary of the healthcare provider’s qualifications and credentials.
• A review of the veteran’s medical records — both in-service and post-service records.
• The healthcare provider’s opinion on the likelihood of the veteran’s medical condition being connected to military service.
• The reasoning behind the healthcare provider’s opinion with supporting medical journals, literature, or research.
• Any additional information or documentation that can establish potential causes of the medical condition that the healthcare provider believes to be connected to military service.

READ MORE: How Long Does a VA Disability Claim Take to Be Approved?   

If you are a veteran that needs to prove a service connection for your medical condition for your disability claim, you may want to consider a nexus letter and you may be asking — what is a nexus letter for VA disability claims? We hope that this overview of nexus letters will answer your questions.

Contact VA Benefits Attorneys today for more information on VA disability claims and appeals!