7 Things About Veterans Disability Law You ll Kick Yourself For Not Knowing

Veterans Disability Lawyers

A veteran disability lawyer can assist you through the entire claim process. From assembling medical and service evidence to submitting an appeal of a claim that has been denied.

Choose a veterans disability attorney that is solely dealing with these cases, and who knows the VA system from head to toe. This will ensure that your case gets the attention it deserves.

Proving Service Connection

The VA will only provide disability benefits if you can prove that the condition you are suffering from is connected to your military service. This is known as a nexus. You can use different types of evidence to prove the connection. These include medical records, independent health examinations (IME), or nexus letter from current healthcare providers (especially in the situation of mental health conditions). There are instances that veterans suffer from medically-determined disabilities, but they are not able to be service connected because of incomplete or omitted records. These cases require the help of experienced New York disability attorneys who are skilled at presenting an entire claim and provide evidence that is backed up by independent experts.

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

However, it's more difficult to get connected if you suffer from an existing medical condition that got worse during your time in the military. To show that your time in service has aggravated or exacerbated a pre-existing condition, you'll need to provide medical evidence from a professional that is "clear and irrefutable".

Appealing a Denial

The VA will review your case after you have submitted your application and provided medical evidence. It usually makes a decision which either approves or denies benefits. If the decision is not in favor the veteran has one year to submit a Notice of Disagreement. A veterans disability attorney can guide the claimant through the three decision review options - either a supplemental claim or a more advanced review, or an direct appeal before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

When deciding on the right New York veterans disability lawyer Take into consideration whether they are familiar with your military experience and the army's culture. This will make the process more relaxed and reduce the need for you to explain your experiences and situations in layman's terms.

You'll want a firm that will work on your case through the lengthy appeals procedure. Be wary of firms that only assist you in the initial phases of your claim and then go away.

An experienced New York veterans disability lawsuit disability attorney can assist with all stages of your claim including the appeals process. They can help you submit additional medical evidence, request an official hearing, and also represent you at any Board meetings to ensure that your case will be dealt with without prejudice. They can also assist in obtaining you benefits such as assistance, monetary compensations and education benefits, attendance benefits, or unemployability.

How do I obtain a higher rating

There may come a time where your disability gets more severe or your symptoms become more complex or broader. In that situation it is sensible to ask for a higher rating. A veteran disability lawyer can help you with this process, and also help you gather evidence to back your claim.

It's not uncommon for the VA to make mistakes that result in a lower disability rating than you deserve. Whether they accidentally miss an injury you've suffered or ignore a condition that could be combined with other disabilities to get an increase in rating it's important to have an expert look over your records to spot any mistakes.

Even when it's been over one year since your initial rating decision, you can file a higher-level review or supplemental claim. These involve a full review of your dossier and may result in an amendment to your effective date or an updated rating that is more accurate to how you feel.

If you believe that you are entitled to an assessment of 100 percent, or higher, consider requesting a supplemental claim. An attorney for disability can help you create an argument that is convincing for this kind of rating, that is reserved for those with difficult to treat disabilities. A mental health issue like this one, for instance, may be a reason to get a 100% rating of disability because it could affect your job or result in frequent hospitalizations that are not typically triggering this level of severity for a heart issue or other medical condition.

Getting help with the Appeals Process

Despite what some people may believe, the denial of an appeal for disability by the VA isn't the end of an individual's ability to collect benefits. Former service members have a year to appeal any decision that isn't favorable.

An experienced veterans disability attorney can assist a vet in determining which of the three options for appeal is best for his case. They can also assist a vet in gathering the evidence required to convince a higher-level reviewer that their previous decision was not correct. They may even be able to provide veterans with a more formal hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

A New York veteran disability lawyer can provide you with the personal attention that your claim needs. They also have a lot of experience managing VA disability claims, and are familiar with the rules and procedures inside and out. Additionally, some attorneys are veterans themselves, which means that they understand the challenges disabled veterans face. This creates a unique type of empathy that may enhance the outcome of a case involving a disabled veteran.

Sullivan & Kehoe can review your VA disability claim for free to determine if we are able to help you. Contact us today for your free assessment.