About Us
After conducting more than 3000 C&P (Compensation & Pension) exams for the VA, Dr. Pillai began noticing a pattern: Veterans were paying thousands of dollars for very poor independent medical evaluations and/or nexus letters that were being immediately dismissed due to their lack of credibility.
Veterans were being cheated out of their money, led to believe they were getting an evaluation that would be given weight.
She felt this injustice deeply as she has dedicated her career to serving the veteran community, and integrity has always been her strongest personal value.
So, Dr. Pillai decided to start conducting her own independent medical evaluations for veterans filing or appealing claims with the VA, using the same standards she was held to as a VA examiner herself.
Why Many Nexus Letters/Private DBQs Get Dismissed
A private DBQ that exaggerates impairment gets you nowhere. Raters cross-check every statement against the medical records — and when they don’t match, the opinion loses weight.
Many private evaluators who have never worked within the VA system completely misunderstand the measures for occupational and social impairment, leading them to mark every box and use a rationale to support it that does not line up with VA definitions or the medical records.
Medical opinions and/or DBQs that only review a DD214 and are based on an interview alone, or even an interview and a self-report assessment, are not given significant weight.
Record review is a MUST for a quality independent evaluation.
The VA demands its examiners review the records, so independent opinions must also reflect the records.
Dr. Pillai has seen the worst of what this market produces.
One nexus letter crossed her desk — written by a clinician who never met the veteran, never reviewed a single record, and based an entire medical opinion on an interviewer's notes. It was offered as evidence on which a veteran's claim depended.
She decided she could no longer watch veterans pay for evaluations she knew would be dismissed.
The closer you can get your independent DBQ and opinion to VA standards, the more weight that opinion is typically given.
This is not a guarantee.
Any psychologist who will guarantee that your claim will be approved with their letter is being dishonest.
All we can do is improve the odds.
And the best way to improve the odds is to start with a quality evaluation in the first place.
Why We Start With a Pre-Evaluation Consultation
Before Dr. Pillai conducts an evaluation, she needs to understand your situation: the condition being claimed, where you are in the claims or appeals process, what evidence you already have, and what your claim is likely to need to succeed.
The consultation is a focused, one-on-one conversation with Dr. Pillai herself.
It's your chance to be heard — and her chance to give you an honest read on where your claim stands, before you spend $1,299 on an evaluation.
Here's our commitment: you'll get the truth.
- If your claim is strong and an evaluation will strengthen it further, she'll tell you that.
- If the records aren't there yet to support an opinion, she'll tell you exactly what's missing and, if it exists, how to get it.
- And if an evaluation simply isn't likely to help your claim, she'll tell you that too — even though it means telling you not to buy one.
What she won’t do is decide for you.
This is your claim, your money, and your choice.
Not every veteran needs an independent evaluation.
But every veteran deserves an honest assessment before spending money on one.
$99
credited in full toward your evaluation whenever you decide to move forward.
Book Your $99 ConsultationPlease note: if significant developments occur after your consultation — a new rating decision, new medical evidence, or changes in VA policy — a brief follow-up consultation may be recommended to make sure your evaluation strategy still fits your situation.
For Attorneys and Claims Representatives
Independent mental health evaluations for veterans' disability claims.
Dr. Pillai provides psychological evaluations, DBQs, and medical opinions for veterans filing initial claims or appeals involving mental health conditions — directly for veterans, or at the direction of counsel.
Why attorneys refer cases to Dr. Pillai
She was the standard other examiners were measured against.
Dr. Pillai conducted more than 3,000 C&P exams for the VA — PTSD, MST, TERRA, mental health, and mental-health-secondary-to-physical-disability.
She was also routinely tasked with reviewing and correcting other examiners' insufficient medical opinions.
Today she builds private evaluations to the standard the VA applies when it decides which opinions to rely on.
Her opinions are built to survive scrutiny.
Every evaluation includes a clinical interview and a full review of the available records — because an opinion that isn't grounded in the record is an opinion the VA will discount.
Her DBQs are completed to the criteria raters apply, and her medical opinions state their rationale explicitly, applying the appropriate evidentiary standard to the facts the records support.
You'll get a straight answer about the claim.
Dr. Pillai does not write opinions the evidence doesn't support — and she will tell you, before your client spends money, when an evaluation is unlikely to move a claim.
She does not guarantee outcomes, and is skeptical of any evaluator who does.
What she offers instead: an honest assessment of whether an evaluation will help, and work product that will hold up when it does.
Scope of Practice
Mental health conditions only:
What You'll Receive
A written evaluation package including a completed DBQ addressing the applicable rating criteria — with records reviewed noted within the DBQ — and a reasoned medical opinion connecting findings to the relevant evidentiary standard.
Delivered within two weeks of the evaluation.
Attorneys may initiate evaluations directly for their clients or refer clients to schedule their own consultation.
To discuss a referral or a specific case, contact us directly: hello@firstclassevaluations.com
Definitions
The evaluation the VA schedules — through its contractors — when you file a claim. The examiner documents your condition and the VA uses that report to help decide your rating.
The standardized VA form used to document how severe a condition is and how it affects your daily functioning. A well-completed DBQ addresses the exact criteria a VA rater will be looking for — this is where most private evaluations fall short.
A letter from a healthcare professional asserting that your condition is connected to your military service — the “nexus” the VA requires for service connection.
Because the term covers everything from a treating therapist's letter (which can carry weight when grounded in a history of treating the veteran) to letters written by clinicians who never examined the veteran or reviewed the records, the weight a nexus letter carries varies enormously.
A written clinical conclusion that answers the question your claim depends on, with reasoning tied to your records and to the standards VA raters apply — presented in the form VA reviewers are accustomed to seeing.
An opinion grounded in a full record review and interview, formatted the way VA evaluators themselves document findings, is given substantially more weight than a letter based on clinical impression alone.
Evaluations related to toxic exposures during service — burn pits, contaminated water, airborne hazards, and other hazards now recognized under federal law, including the PACT Act.
Mental health evaluations for veterans filing TERRA-related claims can be complex and require familiarity with the relevant VA regulations on toxic exposures.
Mention TERRA when booking your pre-evaluation consultation so Dr. Pillai can tailor it properly.
FAQs
No. Any psychologist who guarantees your claim will be approved with their letter is being dishonest. All we can do is improve the odds — and the best way to improve the odds is to start with a quality evaluation.
Yes — the VA considers private medical evidence, and the closer your evaluation adheres to VA standards, the more weight it typically receives. The VA may still schedule its own exam; your evaluation is part of your evidence file, not a replacement for the VA's process.
A clinical interview with Dr. Pillai, a comprehensive review of your records, a completed DBQ, and a written medical opinion. One flat fee, agreed before you book. ($99 consultation credited in full.)
Bring what you have to the consultation. If something important is missing, Dr. Pillai will tell you — and, if it's obtainable, how to get it.
Your completed evaluation report — interview, record review, DBQ, and medical opinion — is delivered within two weeks of your evaluation. Very large or complex records may extend that slightly; you'll know at your consultation if that applies to you.
Mental health evaluations for veterans filing TERRA-related claims can be complex and require familiarity with the relevant VA regulations on toxic exposures.
Mention TERRA when booking your pre-evaluation consultation so Dr. Pillai can tailor it properly.
Yes. Attorneys may initiate evaluations directly for their clients, or refer clients to schedule their own consultation.
Dr. Pillai doesn't prepare, file, or submit your claim — that's your job or your representative's. Her role is the evaluation and the medical evidence. She also won't write an opinion the records don't support.
So you get an honest read on your claim before spending $1,299.
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For Attorneys and Claims Representatives
Independent mental health evaluations for veterans' disability claims.
Dr. Pillai provides psychological evaluations, DBQs, and medical opinions for veterans filing initial claims or appeals involving mental health conditions — directly for veterans, or at the direction of counsel.