★ Post-decision review
Almost every denial turns on one sentence in the reasons-and-bases section naming the element VA found missing. Find that sentence below and you know what the case is actually about — and whether spending money on more evidence would change anything.
Type a few words from your decision letter — or scroll the list. Each entry explains what VA decided and what the record needs next.
What it means: VA accepted a current diagnosis and something in service, but found no link between them. This is a nexus finding under the Caluza elements.
What moves it: The target is the reasoning in the examination report VA relied on. A medical opinion helps only if it engages that reasoning with a rationale — a second opinion saying the same thing does not add weight.
Do I need another nexus letter? →What it means: VA found no diagnosed disability in the record. Pain alone can qualify after Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2018), when it causes functional impairment.
What moves it: This is a diagnosis and functional-loss evidence question, not a causation question. Treatment records and a current examination are what move it.
Denied for no current diagnosis →What it means: The service record VA has does not document the event. Missing service treatment records are common and do not end the claim.
What moves it: This is a records problem: personnel files, unit records, deck logs, line-of-duty reports, buddy statements, and — for combat — 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b).
Denied for no in-service event →What it means: Service connection was granted. The disagreement is about measurements against 38 CFR Part 4, including flare-ups under DeLuca and joint testing under Correia.
What moves it: Compare the examination findings to the diagnostic code criteria. An inadequate examination is itself a ground for review.
Was your C&P exam adequate? →What it means: Effective dates run under 38 CFR § 3.400 and are frequently the largest dollar issue in a decision — months or years of retroactive pay.
What moves it: Inside one year of the decision, the date is challenged in a review lane. After finality, the argument has to meet the clear-and-unmistakable-error standard.
Earlier effective date claims →What it means: VA found the service-connected conditions do not prevent substantially gainful employment under 38 CFR § 4.16. Marginal and protected work does not count against you.
What moves it: Work history, accommodations, absences, and failed work attempts are the record VA weighs — not just the percentages.
TDIU application guide →What it means: A proposal is not a decision. Payments continue through the notice period, and the burden to justify the action sits with VA.
What moves it: Two clocks start: 60 days to submit evidence and 30 days to request a predetermination hearing under 38 CFR § 3.105(e) and (i).
Proposed rating reduction →What it means: A secondary claim under 38 CFR § 3.310 was denied. Aggravation is a separate theory from causation and is often never addressed.
What moves it: Check whether the examiner answered both questions. An opinion that only addresses causation leaves aggravation undecided.
Secondary service connection →The element that was denied determines the lane. Filing in the wrong one costs months — a Higher-Level Review, for example, is legally barred from considering new evidence.
Not sure? Answer four questions and get routed →
One year from the date of the decision notice to file a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, or a Board appeal and keep the original effective date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence can be filed after that, but the effective date generally moves to the new filing date. 38 CFR §§ 3.2500, 3.2501.
The consultation is free. Under 38 U.S.C. § 5904(c)(1) and 38 CFR § 14.636(c), an accredited agent or attorney may only charge a fee for work performed after VA has issued a decision, the fee must be in a written agreement filed with VA, and it must be reasonable. Oakridge Claims charges 20% of awarded past-due benefits — below the 33⅓% that is presumed reasonable under the regulation — and nothing on initial claims.
Filing a brand-new claim on the same issue usually resets the effective date and can cost back pay. Whether a Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, or Board appeal fits depends on whether new evidence exists and how the existing record was decided.
No. Nothing changes until a written fee agreement and VA Form 21-22a are signed. A conversation about what the decision says does not revoke any existing appointment.
Nothing is barred to a veteran acting on their own behalf. An appointed representative can read the electronic claims file directly instead of waiting on a FOIA production, identifies which element the decision turned on, and files in the lane that matches the record. Outcomes depend on the facts of each case and are never guaranteed.
Four fields. A VA-accredited claims agent reads it and tells you which element the denial turned on — free, and with no change to your current representative.
Requesting a consultation does not create representation and is not a guarantee of any outcome. Representation begins only after a written fee agreement and VA Form 21-22a are signed.
Disclaimer: Oakridge Claims is a private business and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. No specific outcome, rating, or approval can be guaranteed — results depend on the individual facts of each case and applicable law.
