Five Killer Quora Answers To Veterans Disability Law
Veterans Disability Lawyers
A veteran disability lawyer can help you through the entire claims process. From collecting medical and service evidence to filing an appeal on a denied claim A veteran disability lawyer can help you throughout the claims process.
Select a veteran disability lawyer that specializes in these types of 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 provide disability benefits if it can be confirmed that your illness is connected to your military service. This is referred to as a connection. There are a variety of evidence that you could prove the connection, such as medical records or independent medical exams (IME), and letters from current healthcare providers or therapists (especially for mental health conditions). There are occasions where veterans are diagnosed with medical disabilities, but they cannot be considered to be service-connected due missing or incomplete documents. These cases require the help of experienced New York disability attorneys who are skilled at presenting an entire case and submit evidence backed by unbiased experts.
It is much easier to prove that there is a direct connection to your service for injuries or illnesses which occurred while in the military. If you have been injured in the military and you now suffer from headaches or concussions it is much easier to establish a direct connection to the service.
However, it is more difficult to be connected if you have an existing medical condition that worsened during your time in the military. In order to prove that your military service worsened or aggravated an existing condition it is necessary to provide expert medical evidence that rises to the level of "clear and undeniable" proof.
Appealing a Denial
The VA will review your application after you have submitted your application and submitted medical evidence. The VA usually issues the decision of approving or disapproving benefits. If the decision isn't favorable, the veteran is given a year to file a notice of disagreement. A veterans disability attorney can help the claimant navigate through the three review options: either a supplemental claim or a more advanced review, or a direct appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
When deciding on when choosing a New York veterans disability lawyer Take into consideration whether they understand your military experience and culture of the armed forces. This can make things easier for you and lessen the requirement to explain your situation and experiences in a layman's way.
You also want a firm who will remain on your case for the entire multi-year appeals process. Beware of companies that will only assist you with the initial stages of your claim, and then vanish.
An experienced New York veterans' disability attorney can assist you through all phases of the claim, including appeals. They can assist you in submitting additional medical evidence or request a formal hearing, and represent you at any Board meetings to ensure your case is handled in a fair manner. They can also help win you benefits, such as assistance, monetary compensations and attendance benefits, education benefits, or unemployability.
Receiving a Better Rating
It may happen that your disability becomes worse or your symptoms are more severe. In this case it's logical to ask for an increase in your rating. A veteran disability lawyer can help you with this process and assist you to gather evidence to back your claim.
It's not uncommon to see the VA to make mistakes that result in being awarded a lower rating than what you deserve. It's worth getting an expert to examine your records for mistakes. They could have missed an injury or left out any issue that could have been added to another disability to receive an even higher rating.
Even when it's been over a year since your initial rating decision, you still have the option of filing a higher-level review or supplemental claim. These can include a review of your entire dossier, that could lead to changes to your effective date and a new rating more accurate to what you feel.
If you believe you deserve an assessment of 100 percent or higher, consider requesting a supplemental claim. A disability attorney can help you create a compelling argument for this kind of rating, which is reserved for extremely severe disabilities. For example, a mental health condition might qualify you for an absolute disability rating due to the fact that it causes significant disruption to your work or frequent periods of hospitalization. These don't typically trigger this kind of a rating for a cardiovascular disease or other medical problems.
Need Help with the Appeals Process
Despite what some believe, the denial of an appeal for disability by the VA isn't the end of an individual's chance to get benefits. In fact, a former veteran has a year from the date that the local veteran's hospital or office sends them a negative decision to file an appeal.
An experienced attorney for veterans disability lawsuits can help a vet determine which of the three pathways for appeal would be the most appropriate for his particular case. They can also help a vet get all the evidence required to convince a higher level reviewer that their previous decision was wrong. They may even be able to provide a veteran with a formal hearing before an Veterans Law Judge.
A New York veteran disability lawyer can give you the personalized attention your claim requires. They also have extensive experience dealing with VA disability claims, and are familiar with the rules and procedure inside and out. Some attorneys are veterans, so they know the challenges that disabled veterans face. This can create a distinct kind of empathy that could help in the resolution of the case of a disabled veteran.
The team at Sullivan &Kehoe of highly-trained lawyers can review your VA disability claims for no cost to determine whether we can help you. Call us today to schedule your complimentary evaluation.
