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 is familiar with the VA's system inside and out. This will ensure that your case gets the attention it deserves.

Proving Service Connection

The VA will only award disability benefits if you can prove that the condition is linked to your military service. This is known as a "nexus. There are many types of evidence to prove this connection. This includes medical records, independent health examinations (IME), or an nexus letter from your current health care providers (especially in the case of mental health conditions). There are occasions that veterans suffer from medically-determined disabilities, but they cannot be considered to be service-connected due incomplete or omitted records. These cases require the assistance of skilled New York disability lawyers who know how to make a complete claim and submit evidence that is supported by independent experts.

It is easier to prove an immediate connection with your service to illnesses or injuries that occurred while in the military. For example, if you were struck in the head during service and now suffer headaches and concussions, there is a direct link between the two events and your current condition.

However, it's more difficult to be connected if you have a pre-existing medical condition that got worse when you were in the military. In order to prove that your time in service aggravated or made worse an existing illness, you must supply expert medical evidence that is at the level of "clear and irrefutable" evidence.

Appealing a denied application

The VA will review your application after you have submitted your application and provided medical evidence. It usually issues a decision which either approves or denies benefits. If the decision is not favorable the veteran has one year to file 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.

Consider whether the lawyer understands your military experience and the military's culture when choosing the New York veterans' disability lawyer. This will make the process more enjoyable and eliminate the need for you to talk about your experiences and situations in layman's terms.

You also need a company who will continue to work on your case throughout the entire duration of your appeal. Be wary of firms that only assist you with the initial phases of your claim and then disappear.

A seasoned New York veterans disability attorney can assist you in all stages of your claim including the appeals process. They can assist you in submitting more medical evidence, ask for an official hearing and represent you at any Board meetings so that your case will be dealt with fairly. They can also assist you to obtain benefits including monetary compensation, aid and attendance, educational benefits, or unemployment benefits.

Getting a Higher Rating

There might come a time where your disability gets more severe or your symptoms become more complex or broader. It is logical in this instance to seek an increase in rating. A veteran disability lawyer can help you in this process and help gather evidence to back your claim.

It's not uncommon for the VA to make mistakes that result in being denied a disability rating lower than you deserve. It's a good idea to hire an expert to review your records for mistakes. They might have missed an injury or neglected to mention the issue that could be coupled with another disability to earn a higher rating.

Even when it's been over a year since your initial rating decision, you have the option of filing a higher-level review or supplemental claim. This includes a review of your entire dossier, which can result in modifications to your effective date and a new rating more accurate to your personal feelings.

It's also worth pursuing an additional claim or higher-level review if you're arguing that you're entitled to a disability rate of 100 percent or higher. An attorney for disability can assist you in putting together a convincing argument for this kind of rating, which is reserved for extremely serious disabilities. For example mental health issues could be a reason to get a 100% disability rating due to the fact that it causes significant disruption to your work or frequent periods of hospitalization, which don't normally trigger such an assessment for a cardiovascular illness or other medical issues.

Assistance with the Appeals Process

Despite what some people may think that denying an appeal for disability by the VA is not the end of an individual's ability to collect benefits. Former veterans have one 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 would be best for his particular situation. They can also assist veterans gather the evidence needed to convince a higher level reviewer that their previous decision was not correct. They may even be able to provide a veteran with a formal hearing before an Veterans Law Judge.

The best thing about having an New York veteran disability attorney handle your appeal is that they are able to provide the personal attention your claim needs. They will also have extensive experience handling VA disability claims, and they are aware of the rules and procedure in detail. Some lawyers are veterans, and therefore know the challenges that disabled veterans face. This can result in a unique type of empathy which can help improve the outcome of the case of a disabled veteran.

Sullivan & Kehoe can review your VA disability claim for no cost to determine if we can assist you. Contact us today to set up your free assessment.