15 Reasons Why You Shouldn t Ignore Veterans Disability Law

Veterans Disability Lawyers

A veteran disability lawyer can assist you through the entire claim process. From collecting medical and service evidence to filing an appeal for a denied claim A veteran disability lawyer can help you throughout the entire claims process.

Choose a lawyer for veterans who limits their practice to dealing with these cases and who is familiar with the VA's system from top to bottom. This will ensure that your case receives the care it deserves.

Proving Service Connection

The VA will only award disability benefits if it is established that your condition is linked to your military experience. This is referred to as nexus. There are various types of evidence you can prove this connection, such as medical records, independent medical examinations (IME), and letters from current healthcare providers or therapists (especially for mental health issues). Sometimes veterans have medically determinable disabilities but are not connected because of missing or insufficient military treatment records. These cases require the assistance of experienced New York disability attorneys who are skilled at presenting an entire claim and submit evidence backed by unbiased experts.

It is much easier to establish an immediate connection with your service to illnesses or injuries that occurred while in the military. For instance, if were struck in the head while serving and are now suffering from concussions and headaches, there is a strong connection between the two events and the current condition you are suffering from.

It is difficult to be service-connected if there was an existing condition that got worse during your military service. In order to prove that your service aggravated or made worse an existing illness, you must supply expert medical evidence that reaches the level of "clear and unmistakable" proof.

Appealing a Denied Application

After submitting an application and providing medical evidence, the VA will review the application. It typically issues a decision which either approves or denies benefits. If the decision is unfavorable the veteran has one year to file a Notice of Disparagement. A disability attorney for veterans can guide the claimant through the three review options - a supplemental claim or higher-level review, or an direct appeal before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

Be sure to consider whether the lawyer has a good understanding of your military experience as well as the tradition of the armed services when choosing the New York veterans' disability lawyer. This can make the process more enjoyable and less demanding for you to explain your experiences and situations in layman's terms.

You should also choose a firm who will continue to work on your case throughout the entire appeals process of several years. Be wary of companies that assist you in the first phases of your case and then go away.

An experienced New York veterans disability attorney can help you through all phases of your claim, including the appeals process. They can help you submit additional medical evidence, request an official hearing and assist you at any Board meetings to ensure that your case is handled fairly. They can also assist in obtaining you benefits like financial compensations, aid and attendance benefits, education benefits, or unemployment.

Getting a Higher Rating

It could be that your disability becomes more severe or your symptoms become more severe. It makes sense in this case to request an increase in rating. A lawyer for veterans can assist with this process, and help you find evidence to support your request.

It's not unusual for the VA make mistakes, which can result in receiving a lower score than you deserve. It's worth getting a professional to check your records for any errors. They may have overlooked an injury or missed an issue that could be coupled with another disability to earn an increase in rating.

Even even if it's been more than a year since your initial rating decision, you still have the option of filing a higher-level review or supplemental claim. This includes a review of your entire record, that could lead to changes to your effective date as well as the creation of a new rating that is more precise to your feelings.

It's also worth pursuing an additional claim or a higher-level review if you believe you deserve a disability rating of 100 percent or more. A disability lawyer can help you develop a compelling argument for this rating which is reserved for the most debilitating disabilities. A mental health issue for instance, might allow you to receive a 100% rating of disability because it could hinder your employment or trigger frequent hospitalizations that do not normally trigger this level for a cardiovascular problem or any other medical condition.

Getting help with the Appeals Process

Contrary to what some may think that denying an application for disability benefits by the VA is not the end of a person's chances to collect benefits. In fact, a former soldier is given one year from the date that the local veteran's hospital or office sends them a decision that is not favorable to file an appeal.

An experienced veterans disability lawyer can help a veteran determine which of the three current pathways for appealing would be most appropriate for their particular situation. They can also help veterans disability lawsuits in obtaining the evidence needed to convince a higher-level reviewer their previous decision was not correct. They can provide a veteran an extra formal hearing before a Veterans Law judge.

The best thing about having an New York veteran disability attorney handle your appeal is that they can provide the personalized attention your claim deserves. They are also likely to have years of experience handling VA disability claims, and they know the rules and procedures in and out. Additionally, some lawyers are veterans themselves, which means they understand the challenges that disabled veterans face. This creates a unique type of empathy that may help improve the outcome of a disability claim for veterans.

Sullivan & Kehoe can review your VA disability claim for no cost to determine if we can assist you. Contact us today to schedule your free evaluation.