Veterans Disability Lawyers

A veteran disability lawyer can assist you throughout the claims process. From gathering medical and service evidence to filing an appeal of a denied claim.

Choose a veterans disability attorney who focuses their practice on dealing with these cases, and who knows the VA's system inside out. 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 related to your military service. This is known as a linkage. There are various types of evidence that you could demonstrate this connection, including medical records or independent medical exams (IME), and nexus letters from current healthcare providers or therapists (especially for mental health conditions). There are times when veterans have medically determined disabilities, but they cannot be considered to be service-connected due insufficient or missing records. These cases require the help of experienced New York disability attorneys who know how to present an entire claim as well as submit evidence that is backed up by independent experts.

It is easier to prove the direct connection between your service and injuries or illnesses that you sustained while in the military. For instance, if you suffered head injuries during your time in service and you are suffering headaches and concussions, there is a clear link between the two events and your current condition.

However, it's more difficult to get service connected if you suffer from a pre-existing medical condition that worsened while you were in the military. To show that your time in service aggravated or worsened a pre-existing medical condition, you'll need to present medical evidence from an expert that is "clear and irrefutable".

Appealing an Denial

After submitting an application and providing medical evidence after which the VA will examine the case. The VA typically issues an approval or denial of benefits. If the decision isn't favorable, the veteran is given a year to file a notice of disagreement. A veterans disability attorney can assist the claimant through the three review options: the supplemental claim, or a higher-level review, or a direct appeal before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

Be sure to consider whether the lawyer has a good understanding of your military experiences as well as the military's culture when selecting a New York veterans' disability lawyer. This can help you feel more comfortable and reduce the need for you to talk about your experiences and situations in layman's terms.

You should also find a firm that will continue to work on your case throughout the duration of the appeals process over a period of years. Beware of firms that help you with the initial phases of your claim and then disappear.

A seasoned New York veterans disability attorney will assist you with every stage of your claim and appeals, including the appeals procedure. They can help you submit more medical evidence, file an official hearing and assist you in any Board meetings to ensure your case will be handled fairly. They can also assist you to claim benefits such as monetary compensation, aid and attendance, education benefits or unemployment benefits.

How can you get a better rating

There may be a point when your disability gets worse, or your symptoms get more complex or broader. In that situation, it makes sense to request a higher rating. A veteran disability lawyer can help you in this process and help gather evidence to prove your claim.

It's not uncommon for the VA make mistakes, resulting in receiving a lower score than you deserve. It's a good idea to hire an expert to look over your records for any errors. They may have missed an injury or neglected to mention any issue that could have been coupled with another disability to get an even higher rating.

You can still file a higher-level claim or review if you've been assessed for more than a calendar year. These are a thorough examination of your file. It could result in the change of your effective date or a new rating that's more accurate to how you really feel.

If you believe you deserve a rating of 100 percent or higher, you should consider seeking a supplemental claim. A disability attorney can help you create an argument that supports this type of rating, which is reserved only for difficult to treat disabilities. For instance an illness that is mental could be a reason to get an absolute disability rating because it could cause significant disturbance to your job or frequent periods of hospitalization, which don't usually trigger this level of an assessment for a cardiovascular disease or other medical problems.

Getting help with the Appeals Process

Despite what some believe, the denial of a disability claim by the VA is not the end of an individual's chance to receive benefits. In fact, a former servicemember is given one year from the date their local veterans hospital or office sends them a negative decision to appeal.

An experienced veterans disability attorney can help a vet determine which of the current three appeals options would be the most appropriate for his particular situation. They can also help an individual vet put all the evidence required to convince a higher level reviewer that their previous decision was wrong. They can give a veteran an opportunity to have a formal hearing front of an Veterans Law judge.

The benefit of having a New York veteran disability attorney handle your appeal is that they will provide the personalized attention your claim requires. They will also have extensive experience managing VA disability claims, and they know the rules and procedures in detail. In addition, some attorneys are veterans themselves, which means they understand the challenges disabled veterans have to face. This creates a distinct type of empathy that can sometimes enhance the outcome of a disability claim for veterans.

The team at Sullivan &Kehoe of experienced lawyers can evaluate your VA disability claims for free to determine if we can assist you. Contact us today to arrange an evaluation for free.