Veterans Disability Lawyers

A veteran disability lawyer can help you through the entire claims process. From gathering evidence of medical and other service to filing an appeal of a claim that has been denied.

Choose a veteran disability lawyer who focuses their practice on handling these cases and is aware of the VA system from head to toe. This will ensure your case receives the care it deserves.

Proving Service Connection

The VA will only provide disability benefits if you prove that the condition you suffer from is related to your military service. This is known as a relationship. You can use different types of evidence to prove the connection. These include medical records, independent health examinations (IME), or an nexus letter from your current health care providers (especially in the situation of mental health conditions). There are instances when veterans have medically determinable disabilities, but they are not able to be considered to be service-connected due missing or incomplete documents. These cases require the assistance of skilled New York disability attorneys who are able to present an entire claim and submit evidence backed by impartial experts.

It is simpler to establish a direct service connection when injuries or illnesses were sustained while serving in the military. If you suffered injuries in the military, and now suffer from headaches or concussions, it's easier to prove a direct service connection.

However, it is harder to get connected if you have an existing medical condition that grew worse while you were in the military. To prove that your service time was a catalyst for the worsening or aggravation of a pre-exist condition, you'll need to provide medical evidence from a professional that is "clear and irrefutable".

Appealing a Denial

The VA will review your application after you have submitted your application and submitted medical evidence. The VA will typically issue the decision of approving or disapproving benefits. If the decision is not favorable, the veteran has one year to submit a Notice of Disagreement. A disability attorney for veterans can assist the claimant through the three review options - an additional claim or a higher-level review, or an direct appeal before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

Be sure to consider whether the lawyer has a good understanding of your military experience as well as the culture of the armed services when selecting a New York veterans' disability lawyer. This can make the process more comfortable and less requiring you to talk about your experiences and circumstances in plain English.

You should also find a firm who will continue to work on your case throughout the entire multi-year appeals process. Be wary of firms that only help you with the initial stages of your claim and then disappear.

An experienced New York veterans disability lawyers' disability attorney can help you with all stages of the claim, including appeals. They can assist you in submitting additional medical evidence and request a formal hearing and represent you at any Board meetings to ensure that your case is treated fairly. They can also assist you to obtain benefits like monetary compensation aid and attendance, education benefits or unemployability benefits.

How can you get a better rating

It may happen that your disability gets worse or your symptoms get more severe. It makes sense in this instance to seek an increase in the rating. A veteran disability lawyer can help you with this process and assist you to gather evidence to back your claim.

It's not unusual for the VA to make mistakes that result in being denied a disability rating lower than you're entitled. If they overlook an injury or miss a condition that could be a combination of other disabilities to earn an improved rating, it's worth having a professional look over your records to identify any errors.

Even if it's been more than one year since you made your initial rating decision, you can file a higher-level review or supplemental claim. These are a thorough examination of your dossier and may result in a change to your effective date or an entirely new rating that's more accurate to what you truly feel.

If you believe that you are entitled to an assessment of 100 percent, or higher, you should consider making a claim for supplemental benefits. A disability lawyer can assist you to create a compelling case for this rating which is only available for the most debilitating disabilities. A mental health issue, for example, may make you eligible for a 100% rating of disability because it could affect your job or trigger frequent hospitalizations that are not typically triggering this level for a heart problem or other medical issues.

Need Help with the Appeals Process

Contrary to what some may believe the denial of an appeal for disability by the VA isn't the end of an individual's ability to get benefits. Former service members have a year to appeal an outcome that is not favorable.

A skilled veterans disability lawyer can help a veteran determine which of the three current appeals options is most appropriate for their particular situation. They can also help veterans in obtaining the evidence required to convince a higher-level reviewer their previous decision was wrong. They may even be able to provide a veteran with a formal hearing before an Veterans Law Judge.

A New York veteran disability lawyer will give you the individual attention your claim requires. They will also have extensive experience in handling VA disability claims, and they are aware of the rules and procedures completely. Some attorneys are veterans, so they know the challenges that disabled veterans face. This creates a unique type of empathy that can sometimes help improve the outcome of a disability claim for veterans.

Sullivan and Kehoe's team highly trained lawyers will review your VA disability claims for no cost to determine if we can assist you. Contact us today to set up your free assessment.