20 Things You Must Know About Veterans Disability Law
Veterans Disability Lawyers
A veteran disability lawyer will guide 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 assist you through the entire claims process.
Choose a veteran disability lawyer who specializes in these cases and is familiar with the VA system. This will ensure that your case gets the attention it deserves.
Proving Service Connection
The VA will only grant disability benefits if you can prove that the condition you suffer from is linked to your military service. This is referred to as relationship. There are different types of evidence that you can prove the connection, including medical records, independent medical examinations (IME), and letters from current healthcare providers or therapists (especially for mental health issues). There are occasions that veterans disability law firms suffer from medically-determined disabilities, but they cannot be considered to be service-connected due incomplete or omitted records. These cases require the assistance of experienced New York disability attorneys who are skilled at presenting an entire case and submit evidence backed by impartial experts.
It is much easier to establish a direct service connection when illnesses or injuries were sustained while serving in the military. For instance, if suffered head injuries while serving and are now suffering headaches and concussions there is a clear link between the two events and the current condition you are suffering from.
However, it's more difficult to get connected if you suffer from a pre-existing medical condition that worsened during your time in the military. To prove that your time in the military caused or aggravated a pre-existing condition, you'll need to provide medical evidence from a professional that is "clear and irrefutable".
Appealing an Denial
The VA will review your application after you have submitted your application and submitted medical evidence. The VA will typically issue an opinion either approving or denial of benefits. If the decision isn't favorable, the veteran has a year to make a formal complaint. A veterans disability lawsuits disability attorney can help the claimant navigate through the three decision review options: either a supplemental claim or a more advanced review, or an direct appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
Consider whether the lawyer understands your military experiences and the culture of the armed services when selecting the New York veterans' disability lawyer. This will help you feel more comfortable and less demanding for you to talk about your experiences and situations in plain language.
You want a firm who will be working on your case throughout the lengthy appeals process. Beware of firms that assist you with the first stages of your claim, and then disappear.
An experienced New York veterans' disability attorney can assist you through every stage of your claim including appeals. They can assist you in submitting more medical evidence, request an official hearing and represent you at any Board meetings to ensure that your case is handled in a fair and fair manner. They can also assist you in obtaining you benefits like monetary compensations, aid and attendance benefits, educational benefits, veterans disability law firms or even unemployment.
How can I get a better rating
It could be that your disability becomes worse or your symptoms get more severe. It makes sense in this scenario to ask for a higher rating. A veteran disability lawyer can assist you in this process, and also help you collect evidence to prove your claim.
It's not unusual for the VA to make mistakes that lead to a lower disability rating than you deserve. It's worth getting an expert to look over your records for any errors. They might have missed an injury or neglected to mention the issue that could be in conjunction with another disability to get an even higher rating.
Even even if it's been more than one year since your initial rating decision, you can file an additional review or claim. These involve a full review of your file, and could result in changes to your effective date or an entirely new rating that's more accurate to what you feel.
If you believe you're entitled to a rating of 100 percent or more, it's worth seeking a supplemental claim. A disability lawyer can assist you in putting together a compelling argument for this kind of rating, which is reserved for very debilitating disabilities. A mental health problem for instance, might make you eligible for a 100 percentage disability rating since it can interfere with employment or result in frequent hospitalizations that are not typically triggering this level of a cardiovascular issue or other medical condition.
Getting help with the Appeals Process
Contrary to what some may believe the fact that contrary to what some may believe, a VA denial of disability benefits doesn't mean that a person has no chance of recovering benefits. Former veterans have one year to appeal any decision that isn't favorable.
A skilled veterans disability lawyer can assist a veteran in determining which of the three appeals options is best for their case. They can also assist veterans put the evidence needed to convince a higher level reviewer that their previous decision was not right. They can give a veteran an additional formal hearing before an Veterans Law judge.
The benefit of having an New York veteran disability attorney handle your appeal is that they are able to give you the attention and care that your claim requires. They will also have extensive experience dealing with VA disability claims, and they know the rules and procedures inside out. Some attorneys are veterans, so they know the challenges that disabled veterans face. This can result in a unique type of empathy which can sometimes improve the outcome of the case of a disabled veteran.
Sullivan & Kehoe can review your VA disability claim at no cost to determine if we can help you. Contact us today to set up your free assessment.
