15 Reasons To Not Overlook Veterans Disability Law
Veterans Disability Lawyers
A veteran disability lawyer can assist you through the entire claims process. From gathering medical and service evidence to filing an appeal against an appeal denied.
Choose a veteran disability lawyer who focuses their practice on handling these cases and knows the VA's system from top to bottom. This will ensure that your case gets the attention it deserves.
Proving Service Connection
The VA will only provide disability benefits when it can be proven that your condition is connected to your military service. This is known as a relationship. You can use different types of evidence to prove the connection. These include medical documents, independent health examinations (IME), or the nexus letters from current health care providers (especially in the case of mental health conditions). There are instances when veterans have medically determined disabilities, but they cannot be considered to be service-connected due incomplete or omitted records. These cases require the help of skilled New York disability attorneys who are skilled at presenting an entire claim and provide evidence backed by impartial experts.
It is simpler to establish a direct service connection when illnesses or injuries occurred while you served in the military. For instance, if you received a head injury during service and now suffer headaches and concussions, there is a direct link between those events and the current condition you are suffering from.
It is harder to get connected to the military if you suffered from an existing medical condition that was worsened while you were in military service. To show that your time in service was a catalyst for the worsening or aggravation of a pre-exist medical condition, you'll need to present medical evidence from an expert that is "clear and undisputed".
Appealing a Denial
After submitting an application and submitting medical evidence, the VA will review the application. The VA usually issues a decision approving or denying benefits. If the decision is not in favor, the veteran has one year to file a Notice of Disagreement. A lawyer for veterans' disabilities can help the claimant navigate the three possible review options which include an additional claim, a higher-level review, or a direct appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
Take note of whether the lawyer is familiar with your military experiences as well as the tradition of the armed services when selecting a New York veterans' disability lawyer. This will make it easier for you and lessen the requirement to explain your situation and experiences in a layman's way.
You'll want a firm that will work on your case through the lengthy appeals process. Be wary of firms that assist you in the initial stages of your case, only to then vanish.
An experienced New York veterans' disability attorney can assist you at all stages of the claim and appeals. They can assist you in submitting additional medical evidence, request a formal hearing and represent you at any Board meetings to ensure your case is handled fairly. They can also help win you benefits such as assistance, monetary compensations and attendance benefits, educational benefits, or unemployability.
Earning a higher rating
There may be a point where your disability gets more severe or your symptoms become more difficult or wider. It is logical in this situation to ask for an increase in the rating. A lawyer for veterans' disability can help with that process, and they can help you find evidence to back your request.
It's not unusual to see the VA make mistakes, resulting in receiving a lower score than you deserve. If they overlook an injury you've suffered or overlook a problem which could be linked to other disabilities to earn a higher rating, it's worth having an expert review your records to identify any errors.
Even when it's been over one year since the initial rating decision, you still have the option of filing a higher-level review or supplemental 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.
It's also worth seeking an additional claim or higher-level review if you're trying to argue that you deserve a disability rating that is 100 percent or more. A disability attorney can help you create an argument that supports this kind of rating, which is reserved only for serious disabilities. A mental illness for instance, might make you eligible for a 100% rating of disability because it can interfere with employment or cause frequent hospitalizations that would not normally trigger this level for a heart problem or other medical conditions.
Assistance with the Appeals Process
Contrary what some believe the fact that contrary to what some may believe, a VA denial of disability benefits doesn't mean that an individual isn't eligible to receive benefits. Former service members have a year to appeal an outcome that is not favorable.
An experienced veterans disability attorney can help a vet determine which of the three options for appeal is best for his particular case. They can also assist veterans gather all the evidence required to convince a higher-level reviewer that the previous decision was incorrect. They can even provide a veteran with a more formal hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.
The best thing about having a New York veteran disability attorney handle your appeal is that they can provide the personalized attention your claim deserves. They also have a vast experience dealing with VA disability claims, and they know the rules and procedures inside and out. In addition, some attorneys are veterans disability law firms themselves, which means they understand the challenges disabled veterans have to face. This can result in a unique type of empathy which can improve the outcome of an issue involving veterans' disability.
Sullivan and Kehoe's team experienced lawyers can evaluate your VA disability claims free of charge to determine if we can help you. Call us today to set up your free evaluation.