August 18, 2026, 2:00-3:30 PM ET: Identifying Inadequate VA Medical Exams and Opinions (VSO)

The VA is often required to provide veterans with a medical examination and/or opinion to determine if a disability is related to military service or to ascertain the severity of the condition. Unfortunately, many of these examinations and opinions are inadequate for a variety of reasons. This results in veterans having their claim for service-connected disability benefits improperly denied or receiving the wrong disability rating. Thus, it is critical for veterans service officers to be able to identify inadequate VA examination reports and opinions, so that they can seek review of any decision that relies on such a report or opinion to deny a claim.

In this webinar, we will discuss many of the mistakes VA examiners make that render their reports or opinions inadequate. After viewing it, you will be better able to identify inadequate examination reports and opinions and explain to the VA why a new exam or opinion is required by law. We will cover the following and more:

• How to determine if a veteran is entitled to a medical examination or opinion under the VA’s duty to assist and what to do if the VA fails to provide one
• The numerous reasons why the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have found VA medical examination reports and nexus opinions to be inadequate
• Boilerplate language, with helpful case law citations, that advocates can use to persuade the VA that an examination is inadequate
• How to effectively argue that the VA must provide a veteran with a new medical examination or opinion