A Nexus Letter is a physician's medical opinion connecting your current condition to your military service, or to a condition that is already service connected. It is often the piece that pulls a claim together.
Start My Free Readiness CheckStill have questions? Request a call from Dr. Clinton
A real Nexus Letter isn't a short “it's related” note. We pull things together from your whole history and tie it to where you are now.
Where and when you served, deployments, and exposures.
What your job demanded of your body: jumps, rucking, running, lifting, noise, and more.
Injuries, sick calls, and treatment in your service treatment records.
Post-service treatment, how the condition progressed, and related conditions that followed.
Your current diagnosis and findings, tied back to service with medical reasoning and supporting literature.
Service treatment records, VA and private medical records, prior decisions, and your statements — not just a single visit.
A claim needs a current, properly documented condition. When that's missing or unclear, a DBQ can establish it.
The opinion addresses whether the condition is “at least as likely as not” (a 50% or greater probability) related to service. When the evidence is evenly balanced, VA must resolve reasonable doubt in the veteran's favor (38 CFR § 3.102).
A medical opinion is weighed by its reasoning, not just its conclusion. An opinion that explains how the facts and the medicine connect carries far more weight (Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 2008; Stefl v. Nicholson, 2007).
Where the research links conditions, we cite it. See our secondary & associated conditions page for examples.
Dr. Clinton has performed or participated in more than 30,000 disability examinations, DBQs, and disability-related assessments.
A condition that began in, or was caused by, your service.
A condition caused by a condition that is already service connected (38 CFR § 3.310(a)).
A condition made worse by service or by a service-connected condition (38 CFR § 3.310(b)).
Not being on a presumptive list doesn't mean a condition isn't connected. It means it needs real medical evidence. See our PACT Act page.
Claiming a new secondary condition? Submit it with a DBQ alongside the Nexus Letter. The rater sees plainly that there is a diagnosis on the DBQ, and sees the reasoning for why it's secondary in the Nexus Letter. The argument shows up in both places, which ties things together more securely when your claim goes to the rater or you go in for your exam.
Do I need a Nexus Letter? You don't always need one, but it can often help a lot. That's what the free readiness check is for — or a follow-up phone call.
Still have questions? Request a call from Dr. Clinton
For more information, call (910) 830-1587 or email info@nexusready.net.
NEXUS