Veterans, Need Help With Disability Claims And Appeals?

Posted on: 4 January 2017

It's not easy to get paperwork through Veterans Affairs systems, even if some of the protocols and procedures are in veteran and tax payer best interests. The system needs to prevent fraud, ensure that the right amount of compensation goes to each eligible veteran, and confirm that medical, psychological, and many other forms of transition assistance is available at multiple tiers. To understand what you should be getting and how to break through the sometimes stagnant VA queue, here's a few things to expect and ways a lawyer can help.

How Are Conditions Related To Military Service?

A successful VA disability claim or appeal will point out specific conditions, then show how those conditions are related to military service. This creates a service-connected disability statement, which should lead claims officials from point A to B with cause and effect.

For example, it's not enough to ask for disability because of a broken leg. A veteran would need medical documentation showing that there is a leg problem, and there needs to be either an incident report showing how the injury happened during military service or that you were already suffering when you got out of the military.

Not all veterans have organized administrative offices as they leave the military, so its understandable that you may not have a well-written, detailed document of what happened to you. That said, its up to you to report the issue as soon as possible so it can't be blamed on something else in your life as easily.

Denied Compensation For Legitimate Injuries

It's not hard to find a veteran who was either completely denied or given mixed success during their claim. Sometimes the problem is not filling out forms correctly, but most of the time, a few missing pieces of paperwork will simply get a letter asking for more information.

A lawyer can help you with document preparation and evidence gathering if you don't want to deal with the paperwork process, but if you've been denied after submitting as much information as you can, it's time to take a step back and figure out what the VA is looking for.

Consider the broken leg scenario again. If the veteran has no military report of the injury and waited for years to report the problem, the VA is likely to turn down the claim because it could have been from any other event after leaving the military.

What if the leg isn't broken, but weak or hard to move? Medical evidence needs to be gathered, and if you have some sort of neurological or difficult to pinpoint muscular condition, you may be denied because some conditions simply can't be observed immediately. 

Don't take the denial to heart. The VA has to get through a lot of claims, and although the responsibility is on you to appeal, there's a lot you can do to keep the ball rolling. You can appeal as much as you want without penalty, and a lawyer can help you get the better evidence you need.

With a lawyer's help, similar situations can be researched and successful claims can be copied to get the results you need. A lawyer can dig through different successful patterns and connect you with medical professionals who can search a lot more thoroughly than the initial Veterans Affairs hospital visit, and your claim can have a more specific chance at being reviewed and accepted.

Contact a lawyer to discuss your condition, claim and compensation needs.

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