This Is The Advanced Guide To Veterans Disability Law

Veterans Disability Lawyers

A veteran disability lawyer will guide you through the entire process of claiming. From assembling medical and service evidence to submitting an appeal of a denied claim.

Choose a veteran disability lawyer that is solely dealing with these cases and who is familiar with the VA's system from top to bottom. This will ensure that your case is given the attention it deserves.

Proving Service Connection

The VA will only offer disability benefits if it's proven that your condition is linked to your military experience. This is called a nexus. You can use different types of evidence to prove the connection. These include medical records, independent health examinations (IME), or an nexus note from current health care providers (especially in the situation of mental health conditions). There are instances where veterans are diagnosed with medical disabilities, but they cannot be considered service connected due to insufficient or missing documents. These cases require the help of skilled New York disability lawyers who know how to make an accurate claim and submit evidence that is supported by independent experts.

It is much easier to establish a direct connection when illnesses or injuries occurred while you served in the military. If you've been injured while during your military service and now suffer from headaches or concussions it is much easier to prove a direct service connection.

It is more difficult to be connected to a service if you have an existing condition that got worse while you were in military service. To prove that your time in military service worsened or Veterans Disability Lawyers aggravated an existing condition you must provide a doctor's medical evidence that rises to the level of "clear and irrefutable" evidence.

Appealing a Denial

The VA will review your case after you have submitted your application and provided evidence of medical necessity. It usually issues a ruling which either approves or denies benefits. If the decision is not favorable the veteran has one year to make a notice of disagreement. A veterans disability attorney can assist the claimant through the three decision review options - an additional claim or a higher-level review, or an direct appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

When choosing when choosing a New York veterans disability lawyer Be sure to think about whether they understand your military experiences and the traditions of the armed forces. This will help you feel more comfortable and less demanding for you to talk about your experiences and situations in plain language.

You should also find a firm that will work on your case for the duration of the appeals process over a period of years. Be wary of firms that assist you in the first stages of your claim and then disappear.

A seasoned New York veterans disability attorney can assist with all stages of your claim including the appeals process. They can help you submit additional medical evidence, request a formal hearing and represent you at any Board meetings to ensure your case is treated fairly. They can also help you win you benefits, such as assistance, monetary compensations and attendance benefits, education benefits, or even unemployment.

Achieving a Higher Rating

There might come a time that your disability becomes more severe or your symptoms become more complex or broader. It is logical in this situation to ask for a higher rating. A veteran disability lawyer can help you in this process and assist you to gather evidence to support your claim.

It's not uncommon for the VA to make mistakes that lead to an under-reported disability rating than you're entitled to. It's worth getting a professional to check your records for mistakes. They may have overlooked an injury or omitted any issue that could have been added to another condition to get an even higher rating.

You can still make a higher-level claim, or review if you have been evaluated for more than a calendar year. These involve a full review of your file, and could result in a change to your effective date or an updated rating that is more in line with how you feel.

If you believe you deserve an assessment of 100 percent, or more, it's worth applying for a supplemental claim. A disability lawyer can assist you to build a strong case for this rating, which is reserved only for the most severe of disabilities. A mental health condition for instance, veterans disability lawyers might qualify you for a 100 percent disability rating, as it could affect your job or cause frequent hospitalizations which would not normally trigger this level of a cardiovascular issue or other medical condition.

Help with the Appeals Process

Contrary to what many believe contrary to what many may think, an VA denial of disability benefits doesn't mean that a person isn't eligible to receive benefits. In fact, a former servicemember is given one year from the date that their local veterans hospital or office sends them an unfavorable determination to file an appeal.

A skilled veterans disability attorney can assist a veteran in determining which of the current three options for appeal is the best option for his case. They can also help veterans put the evidence needed to convince a higher level reviewer that their previous decision was not right. They can even provide a veteran with a more formal hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

The benefit of having an New York veteran disability attorney handle your appeal is that they can give you the attention and care that your claim requires. They will also have extensive experience managing VA disability claims, and they understand the rules and procedure completely. Additionally, some lawyers are veterans disability law firm themselves, which means that they are aware of the difficulties disabled veterans have to face. This creates a unique kind of empathy, which can improve the outcomes of a disability claim for veterans.

The team at Sullivan &Kehoe of highly trained lawyers will review your VA disability claim for free to determine whether we can help you. Call us today to schedule an evaluation for free.