Veterans Disability Lawyers

A veteran disability lawyer can assist you through the entire claim process. From gathering medical and service evidence to filing an appeal of the denial of your claim.

Choose a veteran disability lawyer that is experienced in these cases and is familiar with the VA system. This will ensure that your case receives the attention it deserves.

Proving Service Connection

The VA will only award disability benefits if you prove that the condition you are suffering from is connected to your military service. This is referred to as a nexus. You can use different types of evidence to prove the connection. This includes medical documents, independent health examinations (IME), or an nexus letter from your current health care providers (especially in the case of mental health problems). There are times when veterans suffer from medically determinable disabilities, but are not able to be connected due to incomplete or insufficient military treatment records. These cases require the assistance of skilled New York disability attorneys who are able to present an entire claim and submit evidence that is backed up by independent experts.

It is much easier to prove an immediate connection with your service to illnesses or injuries that occurred while in the military. For instance, if you received a head injury while serving and are now suffering headaches and concussions, there is a direct link between the events that led to your current condition.

It is a lot more difficult to become connected to a service if you have a pre-existing condition that worsened during your military service. To prove that your time in military service worsened or aggravated an existing illness, you must supply expert medical evidence that rises to the level of "clear and undeniable" evidence.

Appealing a Denied Application

The VA will review your case after you have submitted your application and provided evidence of medical necessity. The VA usually issues a decision approving or denying benefits. If the decision is unfavorable the veteran has one year to make a notice of disagreement. A lawyer for veterans' disabilities can assist the claimant in navigating the three review options -- a supplemental claim, higher-level review, or a direct appeal to the Board of Veterans disability law' Appeals.

Be sure to consider whether the lawyer has a good understanding of your military experiences as well as the tradition of the armed services when selecting the New York veterans disability compensation' disability lawyer. This will make the process more comfortable and reduce the need for veterans disability law you to describe your experiences and the circumstances in layman's terms.

You also want a firm that will continue to work on your case for the duration of the appeals process over a period of years. Beware of firms who only assist you with the first stages of your claim and then go away.

An experienced New York veterans disability litigation disability attorney can assist you in all stages of your claim including the appeals process. They can help you submit additional medical evidence or request a formal hearing and represent you at any Board meetings to ensure your case is handled fairly. They can also assist you to get your benefits, like monetary compensation aid and attendance, educational benefits or unemployability benefits.

Receiving a Better Rating

It may happen that your disability gets more severe or your symptoms become more severe. It is logical in this case to request an increase in your rating. A lawyer for veterans' disability can help with that procedure, and assist you in locating evidence to prove your claim.

It's not uncommon for the VA make mistakes, which can result in being awarded a lower rating than what you deserve. It's worth getting an expert to examine your records for errors. They could have missed an injury or missed an issue that could be in conjunction with another disability to receive an improved rating.

Even the fact that it's been more one year since you made your initial rating decision, you can file an additional review or claim. This involves a thorough review of your dossier and may result in changes to your effective date or a new rating that's more accurate to what you really feel.

It's also worth pursuing a supplemental claim or higher-level review if you're arguing that you're entitled to a disability rate of 100 percent or more. A disability attorney can help you develop an argument that supports this type of rating which is reserved only for difficult to treat disabilities. A mental health issue for instance, might make you eligible for a 100% rating of disability because it could hinder your employment or result in frequent hospitalizations that would not normally trigger this level for a cardiovascular problem or other medical issues.

Need 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 chance to recover benefits. In fact, a former soldier has one year from the date that their local veterans hospital or office sends them a negative decision to appeal.

A skilled veteran disability lawyer can assist a veteran to determine which of the three current ways to appeal is most suitable for their case. They can also assist an individual vet put the evidence together needed to convince a higher level reviewer that their previous decision was not correct. They may even be able to provide veterans disability litigation with a more formal hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

A New York veteran disability lawyer can provide you with the personal attention you require for your claim. They also have a lot of experience managing VA disability claims, and they know the rules and procedures inside out. In addition, some attorneys are veterans themselves, which means that they understand the challenges disabled veterans face. This can create a distinct type of empathy which can help improve the outcome of a veterans disability legal' disability case.

Sullivan & Kehoe can review your VA disability claim for free to determine if we can help you. Call us today to arrange an evaluation for free.