Veterans Disability Lawyers A veteran disability lawyer will guide you through the entire process of claiming. From gathering medical and service proof to filing an appeal on a denied claim, a veteran disability lawyer can help you throughout the entire claims process. Select a veteran disability attorney that is experienced in these types of 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 when it can be established that your condition is related to your military service. This is referred to as a nexus. You can use different types of evidence to prove the connection. These include medical records, independent health exams (IME) or a an nexus note from current healthcare providers (especially in the case of mental health problems). There are instances when veterans have medically determinable disabilities, but cannot be considered to be service-connected due insufficient or missing documents. These cases require the help of experienced New York disability attorneys who are skilled at presenting an entire claim and submit evidence backed by impartial experts. It is simpler to prove an immediate connection with your service to illnesses or injuries that occurred while in the military. If you suffered injuries in the military, and now suffer from headaches and concussions it is much easier to prove a direct service connection. However, it's harder to get connected if you have a pre-existing medical condition that grew worse when you were in the military. To prove that your time in the military caused or aggravated a pre-existing medical condition, you'll need to present medical evidence from an expert that is "clear and undisputed". Appealing a Denial The VA will review your case after you have submitted your application and submitted medical evidence. The VA typically issues 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 veteran's 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. Make sure the lawyer is knowledgeable of your military experiences and the culture of the armed services when selecting a New York veterans' disability lawyer. This can make the process more relaxed and reduce the need for you to describe your experiences and situations in layman's terms. You'll want a firm that will take on your case throughout the lengthy appeals procedure. Beware of firms that only assist you with the initial stages of your case, only to then vanish. A seasoned New York veterans' disability lawyer can assist you in every stage of your claim and appeals. They can help you submit more medical evidence, request an official hearing and represent you in any Board sessions to ensure that your case will be dealt with in a fair manner. They can also assist you in obtaining you benefits like assistance, monetary compensations and education benefits, attendance benefits, or unemployability. Achieving a Higher Rating There may be a point that your disability becomes more severe, or your symptoms get more complicated or broad. It is logical in this case to request an increase in rating. A lawyer for veterans can assist in that procedure, and assist you in locating evidence to prove your claim. It's not unusual for the VA to make mistakes that result in being denied a disability rating lower than you deserve. If they miss an injury you have or miss a condition that could be combined with other disabilities to get an improved rating, it's worth having an expert look over your records to find any errors. Even even if it's been more than one year since the initial rating decision, you still have the option of filing an additional review or claim. These include a review of your entire record, which could result in modifications to your effective date, as well as a new rating that is more corresponding to your feelings. It's also advisable to file an additional claim or a more thorough review if you are entitled to a disability rating of 100 percent or greater. A disability lawyer can assist you to build a strong case for this rating, which is reserved only for the most debilitating of disabilities. A mental illness such as depression, for instance, could allow you to receive a 100 percentage disability rating since it can interfere with employment or cause frequent hospitalizations which don't normally trigger this level of severity for a heart problem or any other medical condition. Getting Help with the Appeals Process Despite what some believe the denial of an application for disability benefits by the VA is not the end of a person's chances to recover benefits. In fact, a former military member is given one year from the date their local veterans hospital or office mails them an unfavorable determination to appeal. An experienced veterans disability lawyer can assist a veteran to determine which of the three appeals routes is most suitable for their case. They can also help veterans in obtaining the evidence needed to convince a higher-level reviewer that their previous decision was wrong. They can even provide a veteran with a more formal hearing before an Veterans Law Judge. The most appealing aspect of having a 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 dealing with VA disability claims, and they know the rules and procedures inside and out. Some lawyers are veterans, so they know the challenges faced by disabled veterans. This can result in a unique kind of empathy that can improve the outcome of a veterans' disability case. The team at Sullivan &Kehoe of highly trained lawyers will review your VA disability claims for no cost to determine if we can assist you. Contact us now to schedule your free evaluation.