This Is The Ultimate Guide To Veterans Disability Law

Veterans Disability Lawyers

A veteran disability lawyer will guide you through the entire claim process. From gathering medical and service evidence to filing an appeal against a denied claim.

Choose a lawyer for veterans who focuses their practice on dealing with these cases, and who knows the VA system from head to toe. This will ensure that your case receives the attention it deserves.

Proving Service Connection

The VA will only grant disability benefits if it is confirmed that your illness is directly related to your military service. This is referred to as relationship. You can make use of various types of evidence to prove the connection. This includes medical documents, independent health examinations (IME) or a nexus letter from current healthcare providers (especially in the case of mental health conditions). Sometimes veterans have medically determinable disabilities but are not connected because of incomplete or missing military treatment records. These cases require the help of experienced New York disability lawyers who know how to make an accurate claim and Veterans disability lawyers submit evidence that is backed up by experts who are impartial.

It is simpler to prove the direct connection between your service and illnesses or injuries that you sustained while in the military. If you were injured in the military and you now suffer from headaches and concussions, it's easier to establish a direct connection to the service.

However, it is more difficult to get connected if you suffer from an existing medical condition that became worse while you were in the military. To show that your time in service caused or aggravated a pre-existing health condition, you'll have to provide expert medical evidence that is "clear and undeniable".

Appealing a denied application

The VA will review your application after you have submitted your application and provided evidence of medical necessity. The VA will usually issue an opinion either approving or denial of benefits. If the decision is unfavorable the veteran has one year to submit a Notice of Disagreement. A disability lawyer for veterans can help the claimant navigate the three possible review options -- an additional claim, a more extensive review or an appeal directly to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

Be sure to consider whether the lawyer has a good understanding of your military experiences and the military's culture when selecting a New York veterans' disability lawyer. This will make the process more comfortable and eliminate the need for you to describe your experiences and situations in plain language.

You also want a firm who will continue to work on your case for the entire multi-year appeals process. Beware of firms that help you with the initial stages of your claim, and then vanish.

A seasoned New York veterans' disability lawyer can assist you in all stages of the claim including appeals. They can assist you in submitting additional medical evidence and request a formal hearing and represent you at any Board meetings to ensure that your case is handled in a fair manner. They can also assist you to get your benefits, such as monetary compensation, aid and attendance, education benefits or unemployed benefits.

How to get a higher rating

It could be that your disability gets more severe or your symptoms become more severe. It makes sense in this scenario to ask for an increase in rating. A veterans disability lawyer can assist you in this process, and assist you in finding evidence to prove your claim.

It's not uncommon for the VA to make mistakes that result in being denied a disability rating lower than you're entitled to. Whether they accidentally miss an injury that you suffer from or overlook a problem that could be a combination of other disabilities in order to get an improved rating, it's worth having a professional look over your records to spot any mistakes.

You can still make a higher-level claim, or review if you have been assessed for more than a calendar year. This involves a thorough review of your file and can result in a change to your effective date or a new rating that's more accurate to what you truly feel.

If you believe that you are entitled to a rating of 100 percent, or higher, consider making a claim for supplemental benefits. An attorney for disability can help you develop an argument that is convincing for this type of rating, which is reserved for very severe disabilities. A mental health issue for instance, might be a reason to get a 100% rating of disability because it could affect your job or Veterans Disability Lawyers trigger frequent hospitalizations that don't normally trigger this level of severity for a heart problem or other medical conditions.

Getting Help with the Appeals Process

Contrary to what many people believe the denial of claims for disability by the VA isn't the end of an individual's ability to get benefits. In fact, a former military member is given one year from the date that their local veterans hospital or office sends them a negative decision to file an appeal.

A skilled veterans disability lawyer can assist a veteran to determine which of the three current appeals options is best for their case. They can also help a vet get all the evidence required to convince a higher-level reviewer that the previous decision was incorrect. They can also provide a veteran with an additional formal hearing before an Veterans Law judge.

The best thing about having a New York veteran disability attorney handle your appeal is that they will provide the personalized attention your claim needs. They will also have extensive experience in managing VA disability claims, and they know the rules and procedure inside and out. Additionally, some attorneys are veterans themselves, which means that they are aware of the difficulties disabled veterans have to face. This creates a unique type of empathy that may enhance the outcome of a veterans disability case.

The Sullivan & Kehoe team of experienced lawyers can evaluate your VA disability claims free of charge to determine whether we can help you. Contact us today for your complimentary evaluation.