5 Red Flags that Indicate a Bad C&P Exam (And What Veterans Can Do)

CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law

Compensation and Pension (C&P) exams are an important part of the disability claims process, helping the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determine the severity and possible service connection of a veteran’s condition.

Unfortunately, C&P exams are often not conducted thoroughly or consistently. If you are a veteran who suspects you have had a flawed C&P exam, then this article will guide you through some of the most prominent red flags that indicate a flawed or inadequate exam, as well as strategies you can use to contest or refute the exam’s findings.

These red flags include:

1. Did your examiner miss or rush through the exam?
2. Was your examiner qualified?
3. Did you accidentally misrepresent your symptoms?
4. Did your examiner make mistakes or misrepresent your symptoms?
5. Did the examiner review your medical records?

Red Flag 1: Did Your Examiner Miss or Rush Through the Exam?

It is unfortunately possible for VA examiners to either miss a C&P exam or fail to adequately perform their duties during the exam. To veterans in this situation, it may feel like the examiner is rushing through the exam. Some signs that may indicate a rushed exam include:

• The examiner asks few or no questions about the veteran’s symptoms.
• The examiner is ignoring key parts of the veteran’s medical history.
• The examiner is not listening or otherwise not giving the veteran a chance to explain how their disability affects their life.

“If this happens, we recommend documenting the experience and submitting a statement to VA explaining what happened during the exam,” says Ethan Muckelbauer, a VA-accredited attorney at CCK Law. “This can be really critical if you need to challenge a bad exam later because, if VA does rely on that exam, you can point to your statement as evidence that it was not complete or it didn’t include all the necessary information.”

Veterans may file a Statement in Support of Claim (VA Form 21-4138).

Looking to learn more about C&P exam red flags? Watch CCK Law’s VA-accredited Lead Advocate and attorney Ethan Muckelbauer and claims advocate Jake Nadreau discuss signs of a flawed exam:

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Red Flag 2: Was Your Examiner Qualified?

“Not all examiners are qualified to evaluate certain conditions,” says Jake Nadreau, VA-accredited claims advocate with CCK Law. “For example, an audiologist or someone that might test hearing levels should not be evaluating you for an orthopedic condition. Say you had an exam for a knee condition: if your examiner does not seem to understand the details of your condition, you may have an unqualified examiner.”

If a veteran suspects that their VA examiner may not be qualified to evaluate their condition, they should:

• Note down the examiner’s name and any other identifying information.
• After the exam, research the examiner’s credentials to determine whether they are qualified to perform the kind of exam the veteran underwent.
• If the examiner lacks the proper qualifications, the veteran should raise the issue with VA to potentially get the C&P exam results overturned or a new one scheduled.

Red Flag 3: Did You Accidentally Misrepresent Your Symptoms?

It is fairly common for veterans to want to downplay the severity of their symptoms when discussing their disability with a C&P examiner. In cases like these, veterans may use language like “I’m fine” or “It’s nothing I can’t handle” when asked about how their condition affects their life.

On the other hand, some veterans unintentionally exaggerate their symptoms, which may lead the examiner to include a note that the veteran is “malingering”, or falsifying their symptoms to make them seem more severe than they are.

Either way, misrepresenting symptoms can be harmful to a veteran’s C&P exam and overall disability claim. It may lead VA to inaccurately rate a veteran’s condition, or even reject their claim outright if they believe the veteran is lying about symptom severity.

“To avoid this, our first recommendation is to be honest and specific about your symptoms,” says Ethan Muckelbauer. “Our second recommendation is to bring a list of symptoms or prepare a statement before the examination. That way, you have all the information you want to tell the examiner ahead of time. You may also consider having a family member attend the examination for support and to help you recollect information.”

By using these and similar strategies, veterans can minimize the amount of miscommunication that may take place, helping them earn the most accurate VA rating possible.

Red Flag 4: Did Your Examiner Make Mistakes or Misrepresent Your Symptoms?

Even if a veteran conveys their symptoms clearly and accurately, it is still possible for the C&P examiner to note down inaccurate statements in their final reports.

This can take several forms: for instance, the examiner might mistakenly claim that a veteran’s symptoms are the result of a flare up, or that the veteran has full range of motion in a limb, despite the examiner neglecting to conduct a range-of-motion test.

Since mistakes like these can lead to inaccurate ratings, veterans should be on the lookout for any such errors that the examiner may report. The best way to do this is to request a copy of the final exam report and parse through it to make sure the examiner’s findings are all accurate:

1. Fill out and submit a Privacy Act request on VA Form 20-10206. Alternatively, veterans with VA-accredited representatives can access exam results directly from VA’s systems.
2. Once the veteran receives a copy of their exam results, they should carefully review them to unearth any potential mistakes or inaccuracies.
3. If the veteran finds serious mistakes in the report, they can submit a written statement to VA refuting the examiner’s findings on the basis of inaccuracy.
4. Additionally, it may help the veteran to pursue a private medical opinion to contradict any facts that were misrepresented in the examiner’s final report.

If the veteran is successful in using the above strategy, it may be possible to counter the results of the veteran’s flawed C&P exam.

Worried about how your C&P exam went? Check out the video below for tips from CCK Law Partner Michael Lostritto on how to handle a bad C&P exam:

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Red Flag 5: Did the Examiner Review Your Medical Records?

If a veteran suspects that their VA examiner failed to review the veteran’s medical records prior to conducting the exam, it may also serve as grounds to throw out the results of an unfavorable C&P exam.

“So, an examiner can’t really speak to the basis for service connection or the severity of a disability if they haven’t actually looked at your medical records and your medical history,” says Ethan Muckelbauer. “If the examiner seems like they don’t know basic details about you or your history, they may not have properly researched you before the start of the examination.”

In situations like this, veterans should consider writing and submitting a statement to VA explaining the situation.

Did VA Reject Your Disability Claim? Contact CCK Law

If VA rejected your disability claim based on a faulty C&P examination, then the representatives at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick may be able to help.

Call CCK Law at 800-544-9144 or online for a free case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a C&P exam?

Compensation and Pension (C&P) exams are medical evaluations that veterans undergo as part of the disability claims process for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). These exams are typically conducted by medical professionals either employed by or contracted under VA.

C&P exams have several purposes, including:

• Confirming a veteran’s medical diagnosis for their disability.
• Helping VA determine the possible service connection of a veteran’s disability.
• Evaluating the severity of a veteran’s condition and how it impacts their ability to live and work.

By having veterans undertake these exams, VA gets a sense of what disability percentage rating would be most appropriate for the veteran’s condition.

How do I know if my C&P exam went badly?

There are a couple of different signs and indicators of a bad C&P exam, including:

• The VA examiner is not showing up or rushing through the exam.
• The examiner does not seem qualified to evaluate the veteran’s particular condition.
• The veteran accidentally downplays or exaggerates their symptoms, and the examiner making note of this.
• The examiner seemed unaware of the veteran’s medical history or condition, indicating they have not read the veteran’s medical records.
• The examiner making a mistake or otherwise misrepresenting the veteran’s condition in their notes, which could lead to an inaccurate rating being assigned.
• The veteran being unprepared to speak about their disability and giving unclear or conflicting information.

What not to say at your C&P exam?

Veterans should generally avoid saying or doing the following things during their C&P exam:

• Veterans should avoid downplaying their symptoms by responding with statements like “I’m fine” or “Nothing is wrong,” since this may lead to the veteran being underrated for their condition.
• Veterans should also avoid exaggerating or playing up their symptoms, as it is likely the examiner will make note of this, and it could end up damaging the veteran’s credibility in the eyes of VA.
• Veterans should avoid being confrontational or argumentative with the examiner. In situations where the veteran feels like the examiner is giving an inadequate exam, it would be better and more efficient for them to submit a statement to VA afterwards to express their concerns.